1hot88drop50

I have grown tired of all the little things wrong w/ my stang. The defroster/heater/AC and the automatic vert top only work when they feel like it (which is hardly ever). The next thing that I am going to do is go to Auto Zone and see if I can get my codes run. I don’t have the work space or knowledge to do repairs myself. O So once I find out the degree of what’s actually wrong I will be taking it to a shop. Is the dealer the safest way to go if there are no clear options for a speed shop? Would I better served to bite the bullet and take it to Ford then risk a place not knowing how to work on Mustangs? My 5.0 is my only means or transportation @ the moment so I want to get her working like it was 1988 again but not lose and arm and a leg if I don’t have to.. Anyone from NorCal have any recommendations on speed shops? TFYH in advance..

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VertStangGT86

I'd look for a good garage, you don't need to find a mustang specific one, there's plenty of cars much more complicated then ours that mechanics are used to working on. If you're just trying to get stuff like that fixed I'd find a reputable shop so you can walk away with all your limbs, unlike at a dealership. As for speed shops can't help you with that since I live up here in NH, good luck.

roundman

you can always try the dealer for a written estimate on what it would take to diagnose and repair the problems you have. then you would have a decent idea of the worst case price for the repairs. I've had good luck with my Ford dealer on repairs when I let them get involved, and since they have a reputation to keep, they don't tend to screw you over very often. They ain't necessarily the cheapest guy in town, but knowing how to diagnose the problem properly is over half the battle of fixing it, and people that work on Fords all the time are naturally going to be better at this diagnosis.

nhdungeonracer

My 99 F150 had problems with the AC/defroster/heater at around 40,000 (figures huh? Right after warranty runs out) Put up with it for a little while, but it bugged me. Finally got a chance to tinker with it, and found out the darn **** had split where it mounts on the shaft. What would happen it when you turned it, the **** would turn, but because it was split on the backside where you couldn't see it, the shaft didn't turn. Pull the **** off (a good pull straight off should do it if it's the rotating kind), and check for a split. You won't see it unless you stick a screwdriver in the hole and give it a twist. Don't twist too hard though, in case it's not split. Don't want to split ot on purpose [:@]
After I put a new **** on, it was like WOW!!, it works again!! Hopefully that's all your problem is.

VertStangGT86

LOL, I def never would have thought of that, that's a good one to keep in mind for the future. You always wanna check the smallest, cheapest things first.

1hot88drop50

all my ***** and everything are ok, like i said it works fine when the 4 "status lights" on my GT flash and then when they flash again.. nothing works.. untill the lights flash again! a quote from teh dealer is a good way for getting an estimate 4 sure.. i was just scared to even drive my 50 on teh lot because i figure they would see me coming a mile away and get they KY out!... I will deffinitly try to find a reputable shop to do my work but am just wary of getting drug through the ringer! since Ford does have a rep as was mentionded b4 i know the work they do will be quality but the parts and teh labor will be a kick in the ***** from what ive heard.

VertStangGT86

the labor is what gets you, the one around where I live charges $70 an hour while other shops I know of are around $50.

roundman

look at it another way. would you rather pay a dealer $60 per hour to find something that might take him 30 minutes, or pay another mechanic who ain't that familiar with the car $50 per hour and have him take 2 hours to figure out what's wrong? especially on something like accessories that are not common among car makers. yeah, basic stuff like plug changes, brakes and tune-ups anybody can do cheaper than a dealer, but some things the dealers are better at because they get the training and technical bulletin updates on fixes for problems that the independent mechanics don't necessary have access to. either way, the decision is up to you, I'm just trying to offer some input.

1hot88drop50

roundman.. i think that the dealer qouting the job will be a deffinite for me.. if the quote is even close to that of a local shop i am going to have teh dealer do it because like you siad, they are familiar with my setup. it will be a couple months before i do this because I am have a freash 396(402) put in my 68 Chevelle so that is kinda draining funds right now. thanks for all your input!

VertStangGT86

Yea, I'm just in the mindset of gears, not thinking about taking a car to a shop when I don't know what's wrong. I was thinking about just intalls that have pretty standard quoting hours. Don't get me wrong, dealerships do a good job and if you don't know of any other good shops it's never a bad idea to go to one.