Villiska

Well, I'm not extremely car savvy and the friend's that I have that are, are usually busy or procrastinate giving me a hand, which is fine I can't expect their time. Anyway, that's why I've come here.

I purchased my first car being a 1999 Mustang V6 Automatic in November or so, that my buddy picked out for me from co-worker. It has 190,xxx miles or so on it. Body is clean, paint is clean, and apparently the majority of every thing in the engine has been replaced because it was rebuilt. I also apparently have like $800 performance headers or something (I'm assuming that's good?). Anyways, I paid $2800 for this car. It drives great, gas mileage is extremely nice oddly enough (I refill maybe once a week for $30-35). I do have a few problems though, with one in particular scaring me a bit.

To start off with the bad:

1. The car eats coolant and I KNOW that's going to bring me bad news. I have to refill the coolant once every two weeks or so, sometimes weekly. That's horrible and what's worse is that I never see any puddles under my car or leaking, so I'm assuming my head gasket is going and that's a very, very expensive repair. That one is eating away at my mind.

2. When I start the car sometimes, I hear a whining screech from the belt for about 5 seconds. My friend said I can lube those up and it fixes it, but I have no idea what to buy for it or where to apply it.

3. The exhaust whistles because there's a hole somewhere in it. It's a custom made welded exhaust that my friend did when the car was being rebuilt, and it sounds nice sometimes, but when you floor it or go uphill, you really hear that whistle until you hit 2nd gear. I plan to replace the exhaust with an X pipe and flowmaster 44's but ONLY if I can resolve that coolant problem that I think is telling me my car is about to die or something. No sense in putting in $300~ (I can get a decent deal) for all of the exhaust stuff I'd need + labor.

Now for the small stuff that I'd love some feedback on quick fixes or something:

1. Trunk won't auto-raise anymore. You have to manually pull it up now and with the tension from the shocks or whatever, it's a bit of a pain in the ***. Would be great to learn how to fix this and get it to auto raise again!

2. Light in the car won't work. Not the manual button lights but the one that comes on when you open your doors. I've put in brand new ones that are compatible, but it turns on and then won't ever turn off even with the doors closed waiting 30 minutes. Man, had to take that damn light bulb out with pliers because it was so hot.

That's about all I can think of right now, and I know some of the issues are small, but I'd really, really like to get some REAL feedback from people that know what they're talking about and not friends that procrastinate or a shop that will blow smoke up my *** until I pay them to fix something that won't need fixing for awhile.

Also, please keep in mind I will be able to sell this car around mid 2015 next year, due to getting my Mom's old car as a gift along with savings by then. So, if these issues will last me another year or two and by the end of those 2 years I'd still be able to get $2000 or so out of this car, then I don't see any sense in repairs if they're expensive. Do you?

Sorry for the novel guys. I look forward to learning a lot here!

Villiska

Also, to add onto my post, my steering wheel tends to vibrate/shake a bit when going down hill. Not sure if that's a tie rod issue or if my front breaks are wearing?

BabyGT

1. Coolant being burnt is BAD. Bunch of things could cause this, most comon is head gasket.

2. DO NOT lube the belt, yes the squeel will go away but that's because the belt is now freely slipping on the pulleys, which means that the accessories are no longer being spun fast enough to work.

Small stuff;

1. Trunk does not auto raise. They never did that new. You have to manually lift it. That's how it's made. Shocks just hold it up after you lift it.

2. The light **** is prolly turned to far counter clockwise, when you turn it till it clicks this turns on the light while your in the car. Try turning the light **** like your turning the brightness down on the gauges, you should feel a slight click. Put the bulb back in first so you can verify proper functioning.

BabyGT

Where you at in Virginia?

Villiska

So the coolant being used quickly is definitely going to cost me out of the ***? Damn it man. I really hope this thing can last me another year or two. Ugh.

Does that mean I have to replace the belts then? It only squeels for 5 seconds when I start the car maybe...1/10 times. It was doing it a little more often in the cold weather.

Oh, I imagined since it had those shock things, that it auto raised when you pressed the button on your key button pad. It doesn't hold itself up anymore, so I guess that is what I was aiming to resolve.

I'll check out what you're saying about the bulb. I usually have my light **** thing all the way to the right past the click. I always figured that made my headlights the brightest along with my gauge lights.


Also, I'm in and out of the Fairfax/Manassas area. I plan on getting my exhaust work done over at HI-Flow Customs out in Manassas if you know the place. That's only if it's even worth it with that damn coolant problem.

Villiska

In my previous post about the light ****, I meant that i have it all the way to the left, not the right. The **** inbetween the steering wheel and the driver door is what I mean. If I turn it all the way to the left, which brightens the gauge lights, it does a little click if I get it all the way to the left. I usually keep it past that click out of habit.

BabyGT

Headlights are a solid brightness no matter the ****, that just adjusts the gauge brightness, and past the click turns that light on. That's just a matter of you need to turn it off.

Yes belt squall always means replace it.

Villiska

Oh, I'm stupid. I re-read what you said about the light and that makes complete sense. I pretty much reiterated precisely what you were telling me not to do! I'll switch it until it clicks and see if it fixes it. My friend thought it was some sort of sensor problem with the door or something. He's not the brightest guy, also the one who told me to lube the belts haha.

Villiska

How much would a new belt be? Would I be able to have a buddy do it for me or does that require a shop? Sorry for so many questions. I'm a bit OCD about my car. I check the thing daily and baby it to the best of my capabilities. Just trying to avoid big costs in a $2800 car.

Daehawk

Ok lets see...my opinions...
1.Do you see it leaking on the ground? When its running and under pressure do you see or hear it spraying? If so leak. If not and you have white smoke or smell burned coolant then ya got a bad head gasket.

2.Belt could have coolant on it making it slip. It could be stretched fix it with the tensioner pulley. May just need replacing.

3. New one to me. If you're sure its the exhaust then perhaps a bad baffle?

and
1. Mine has never auto raised. I dotn think Ive ever seen one do that. If it stays up then what does it matter?

2. If the bulb is ok then check fuses. If they are ok then it could be the door switch itself. If both doors dont make it come on then Im lost hhaha.

That click is where the inside dome light comes on if you pass that click. So basically you have power going to your dome light all the time even with the car off. Since your light isn't working then it may not matter or it could cause a slow battery drain.