New 1988 Ford Mustang GT Owner With Problems. Help!
05-13-2014, 12:56 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: NY
Posts: 12
New 1988 Ford Mustang GT Owner With Problems. Help!
Hello.
I just bought a nice, clean 1988 Ford Mustang GT coupe 5 speed with 122,000 miles.
I believe the car needs a battery, but before I go out and buy a battery I wanted to run this by some experts.
I had to pop start the car to get it running, popped the hood, saw a brand new alternator...let the car run for a few...took it for a ride.
It seemed like every time I took the car out of gear to slow down the car would die and I would have to pop start it. I did get about 10 mins of driving out of here before I took her home. And this was last night, had to use the headlights.
Went to start it this am (expecting failure) and it was dead. Im a finance guy who works for a large dealer group and Im not a mechanic. I can tool around a bit but no expert.
My service manager says to start with a battery. What else could it be if not the batter? Thanks for all your help in advance!
Hope to spend some time here now that I've re kindled my love for cars
I just bought a nice, clean 1988 Ford Mustang GT coupe 5 speed with 122,000 miles.
I believe the car needs a battery, but before I go out and buy a battery I wanted to run this by some experts.
I had to pop start the car to get it running, popped the hood, saw a brand new alternator...let the car run for a few...took it for a ride.
It seemed like every time I took the car out of gear to slow down the car would die and I would have to pop start it. I did get about 10 mins of driving out of here before I took her home. And this was last night, had to use the headlights.
Went to start it this am (expecting failure) and it was dead. Im a finance guy who works for a large dealer group and Im not a mechanic. I can tool around a bit but no expert.
My service manager says to start with a battery. What else could it be if not the batter? Thanks for all your help in advance!
Hope to spend some time here now that I've re kindled my love for cars
05-13-2014, 01:33 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: NY
Posts: 12
Thanks!
I actually sent a fairly nasty email to the guy I bought it from and he claimed to have put in a re-man battery in (wtf lol) and he said that it might not be holding a charge correctly.
He also stated that he would cover the cost of a new battery, which I thought was honest of him. I'm going to try and get out of work early today so I can swap the battery out.
I actually sent a fairly nasty email to the guy I bought it from and he claimed to have put in a re-man battery in (wtf lol) and he said that it might not be holding a charge correctly.
He also stated that he would cover the cost of a new battery, which I thought was honest of him. I'm going to try and get out of work early today so I can swap the battery out.
05-13-2014, 07:44 PM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: NY
Posts: 12
Update!
So the battery fixed the starting and idling problem.
Now when driving it I hear a light rattle/chatter noise in front end. Clutch doesn't seem to affect it. Usually only happens when I slow down to a stop. What could this be?
And speedo doesn't work and not clocking miles. I did have it shipped and the seller claims it could have disconnected while in transit. Thoughts?
Now when driving it I hear a light rattle/chatter noise in front end. Clutch doesn't seem to affect it. Usually only happens when I slow down to a stop. What could this be?
And speedo doesn't work and not clocking miles. I did have it shipped and the seller claims it could have disconnected while in transit. Thoughts?
05-13-2014, 08:48 PM
#5
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 748
Congrats.
Thoughts? You bought a 26 year old American car with a long history. Enjoy it for what it is, expect a lot of little things that need to be fixed, learn to turn a wrench or two, and have fun.
I'd love it if the only issues my '87 had were a dead battery and a light rattle/chatter! LOL
05-13-2014, 11:36 PM
#6
D.R. THE PATHETIC DORK
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 30,863
WHY?? 
Since when do private party sales come with warranties....expecially a car that is 25+ years old with a 122k?? Expect many more issues in the future.
Send the seller another nasty email and see if he'll cover the cost for you to take it to a repair shop for diagnosis and repair 
or just crawl under the car and check the speedo cable and or drive assembly that goes into the tranny...cables often break....... FYI IF speedo isn't registering speed, odometer of course won't work as the speedo/odometer are all mechanical on these cars.
Since when do private party sales come with warranties....expecially a car that is 25+ years old with a 122k?? Expect many more issues in the future.Now when driving it I hear a light rattle/chatter noise in front end. Clutch doesn't seem to affect it. Usually only happens when I slow down to a stop. What could this be? And speedo doesn't work and not clocking miles. I did have it shipped and the seller claims it could have disconnected while in transit. Thoughts?
or just crawl under the car and check the speedo cable and or drive assembly that goes into the tranny...cables often break....... FYI IF speedo isn't registering speed, odometer of course won't work as the speedo/odometer are all mechanical on these cars.
Last edited by mjr46; 05-13-2014 at 11:43 PM.
05-14-2014, 05:52 AM
#7
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: NY
Posts: 12
I should have mentioned that I bought it from a dealer on eBay.
With that being said, I have been in the car biz for over ten years as a salesman and currently as a finance manager. I'm quite familiar with the rights of both the buyer and seller. I'm doing nothing unwarranted
I get that I bought an older car, the eBay add stated it was a turn key, great driver with no issues and was basically flawless for the year and the miles (that can mean a lot of diff things)
I'm registering the vehicle and bringing it to my dealership today. I work for a large dealer group and my office is in our Chevy store. We have no Ford store or I would bring it there. I will have my guys take a look to see what the rattling issue is and hopefully fix the speedo and diagnose rattling. Thanks guys! I will be asking a lot of stupid questions so just a heads up!
With that being said, I have been in the car biz for over ten years as a salesman and currently as a finance manager. I'm quite familiar with the rights of both the buyer and seller. I'm doing nothing unwarranted
I get that I bought an older car, the eBay add stated it was a turn key, great driver with no issues and was basically flawless for the year and the miles (that can mean a lot of diff things)
I'm registering the vehicle and bringing it to my dealership today. I work for a large dealer group and my office is in our Chevy store. We have no Ford store or I would bring it there. I will have my guys take a look to see what the rattling issue is and hopefully fix the speedo and diagnose rattling. Thanks guys! I will be asking a lot of stupid questions so just a heads up!
05-14-2014, 11:44 AM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: NY
Posts: 12
I have no doubt I will be tinkering!
Anyways...over the next couple days my guys will be looking at her.
I have figured out that it is def missing (not firing on all 8) so I'm hoping plugs and wires corrects the problem. Im not driving her anymore in the mean time.
Anyways...over the next couple days my guys will be looking at her.
I have figured out that it is def missing (not firing on all 8) so I'm hoping plugs and wires corrects the problem. Im not driving her anymore in the mean time.
