Preventative measures: Mustang sidelined
 

Hey everybody.

My 2001 Vortech supercharged GT has been sidelined for awhile. It needs a new intake manifold, coils and plugs. I haven’t been able to spring for the $600-ish I need to do that...kept thinking funds would be around the corner but life keeps throwing curve balls and at this point I’m not sure when it’s going to happen. If the car is going to be sitting for some time longer, and has already been sitting for many months, what do I need to do to prevent issues arising from it just sitting? I realize this is maybe automotive 101, but I’d like to hear from folks that know my car. Oil through the spark plug holes? Manually rotate the crank? It’s bummer seeing it just sit. It’s been stored in an insulated garage the whole time, but I’m worried about internals slowly going to pot. I miss the sound of that motor. Nothing sounds like a Mustang. Thanks for any help.

Why $600?

New FRPP manifold is like $300 with gaskets, you can get a decent set of cheap coils on Ebay for under $100. Although your car being f/i I can understand why you might wanna spend a little more for oem. But just to have it running and kick that can down the road again some cheapies would be fine.

Just keep mice and whatever away from it. Although mine is started and occasionally rolled out of the garage from time to time, it's been sitting since December 2016 and it's fine. I just need to get my life together and pay the People's Republic of California their money so I can start driving it again.

Thanks.

Yeah, because of the supercharger I want to go OEM on the coils (DG-508) and plugs (that’s about $340-ish total), and this is the manifold I want (genuine Ford Racing PI part):

https://lmr.com/item/M9424P46/999-04...res-Lrs-10153A

The deal here is I believe the original factory manifold failed (had the plastic crossover pipe) and previous owner replaced it with Dorman garbage, which has also failed trickling coolant over the two rear-most coils and spark plug wells on the right cylinder bank. This went on for some time under previous ownership, new plugs were installed to address a misfire issue but the shop didn’t get to the bottom of the issue. Under my watch the root cause has been properly identified (the current intake manifold has failed and has been leaking all along). The coils are all original. The car has about 62,000 miles on it, is 17 years old. I want to get the right manifold in there and start fresh with the coils and plugs you know? And then get it performance tuned.

And yeah we’ve got a lot of mice around here, but have an exterminator service knocking that back and because it’s a known issue I keep traps near and inside the car and monitor.

Thanks again for the feedback. I appreciate it.

I guess the other thing that’s concerning me is the fuel...I always use 92 octane, but it’s an E-10 blend. That fuel is bad by now, and I’m worried even gelled up. Shouldn’t I get that drained and maybe even have to clean out lines?

I would drain the gas out of it, because gas over a period of time can gain water and it can gel or form varnish. If I were you, I would just buy a piece at a time. That way you're not breaking the bank.

Yes that’s exactly why I’m concerned.

Any tricks/tips to draining the fuel? Should I drain the rails, lines and the tank? I’m assuming there is a cartridge filter somewhere and I should probably replace that? Is there a good way to drain the tank or does it have to be siphoned?