dfunk415

What's up guys? I am officially a mustang owner. She might not be pretty but I lover her. I own a 97 ford ranger with a merkur. Xr4ti swap. I bought a 1991 mustang lx 4 banger auto a couple of days ago. It had sat for about 2 years due to a busted brake line. The guys I got it from was going to swap in a 351 windsor he had because the body was so clean but just let it sit. I put a new battery in it cranked it over for a minute or 2 and what do you know, its running. Granted there is 2 year old gas in the tank but I just wanted to make sure it ran.

The 2 questions I have relate to the auto tranny and the catylitic converter.

I noticed that it was kind of hard to pull through the gears, a little sticky. I attributed that to rusty shifter cables. When I put it in overdrive(d with a circle around it) it wanted to move but didn't. 1st, second, and regular drive(just a d) it moved forward just fine. What would cause this? I'm new to the auto tranny side of the 2.3 world.

The other question is why is the cat glowing red. I'm guessing its clogged along with the fact that it smells like gas bad so it may be from needing a tune up.

Thanks guys, I'm looking forward to learning a lot from you guys.

89ponyboy

Welcome I'm new here myself. I have a 89 2.3L with the A4LD auto transmission that I'm having issues with myself lol. With yours the cat is clogged im sure of that. About the over drive when you put it in tha gear it doesnt go into 4th. Oh it doesnt go from a complete stop? If its just not going into 4th then you need a transmission flush and new filter (screen) and inside the tranny by the filter theres is what they call a speed sensor thats what is keeping it from going into 4th. Congrats on your new car but two years if ir hasnt ran expect to have leaks and I would do a full tune up and also baby it for a few 100 miles. Good luck

89ponyboy

Sorry for some of my typos

Daniel Bente

Have the transmission checked at a reputable shop in your area. I had a similar sounding issue with my wife's 91 LX convertible. IT needed a new transmission/rebuild. Nothing says POS car like sitting on the side of the road because your transmission is shot. The money from the tow bill will be better put towards a newly rebuilt transmission from several places that will cost only a few hundred dollars. Money well spent once, is far better than money thrown away to try and shortcut the inevitable.