I have been looking for a 5spd 1990-1993 Mustang LX and I was wondering about the overall reliability of these cars since they are getting older. I do not plan on doing any incredible mods since it will be my daily driver. For example, are these cars something that will have regular littleproblems or can you drive them for months on end without any problems.

And yes Iwould keep up with all the regular maintence.

Thanks in advance

 

overall the engine is pretty stout, most stuff is regular maintenace that needs to be upkeep, plasitcs break, rubber wears out, stuff like that

 

most depends on who you buy from. ill give you my example. i have had the car you see in my sig for about 1 1/2 years and i have not HAD to do anything but tires and basic maintenance on the car. i have spent a ton of money on it but its all aftermarket things. the great thing about the car your looking for is that they are very easy to work on and parts are very cheep. i have a friend that has 202,000 miles on his bone stock 5.0 and it is still running very well with out hardly any maintenance issues.

 

your gunna eventually put money into it.

no one leaves there 5.0 bone stock.

i daily drive mine, and i even drove it in the winter last year. it wasnt fun, but i managed it.

 

Thanks for the input. The ones I have been looking at are definately clean inside and out. Would you guys suggest to look for any particular things when inspecting the Mustangs?

 

Heater cores are notorious for leaking and are a PAIN to change.
other than that not much to go wrong and easy to fix if it is. Parts are relatively
cheap and very available.

89 and up will have MAF
90 and up have air bag but no tilt stearing wheel.

I had mine for 10years and never had one problem with it ...... till I started modding the hell out of it anyway, lol

 

there are a lot of wrecked and repaired fox mustangs out there. make sure you look at all the panels really good. check the edges of the weather strip and other trim areas to see if there is paint on them which would indicate its been painted. also check the inner fender/shock tower area for rust or damage. (seen a lot of these)

i had an 89 notch and now have a 93 hatch and i drove both of them across county with just a tune up and oil change.

 

take WHATEVER you buy to a trusted mechanic to get the unibody checked out for bends. TORQUE BOXES!! bends, cracks all that stuff. check to see if the axle has been bent by spinning out and nailing a curb with the car. mine is pushed over to the right about 1/4 inch. no big deal but good to know before a buy.

 

i haven't had to replace much with my 93 lx. everything major was pretty much my fault. when i bought it in 2000 it was 7 years old, and only had 28k miles. replaced the clutch at 50k miles, the stock one wasn't bad, but i just upgraded to the summit high performance one. i kinda burned the old one out before replacing it though haha. i replaced the exhaust at about 62k with the summit catback. replaced the radiator at 72k. before i owned the car it was hit, and the radiator was pierced. the hole was about nickel size, and was patched, and probably bars leaked or jb welded. the patch blew open one night about a mile from home, and started spraying the fluid all over the road. i made it home though. i replaced the fuel pump relay, and fuel pump at 73k. the relay somehow shorted out the pump, and left me on the side of the road. and the motor went at 86k from having a severe valve cover gasket leak, and losing all oil, and seizing. replaced the motor with a remanufactured, and have since put 10k on it, and have taken it from jersey to california, and back no problem. just yesterday morning though i went out to start it, and nothing. troubleshooted it to the starter solenoid, and bought a new one today. gonna replace it tomorrow. at 96k now thats not many problems. nothin like my old z28 camaro. i also replaced two sets of break pads, one set of break shoes, one tune up on the old motor, all tune up components for the new one, tires, and the motor mounts which were pretty bad before the old motor let go. replaced with polyurethane ones for more durability, and longetivity. those are common problems with the stangs from those years. my passenger side power window motor also failed, and i haven't replaced it yet. besides the motor nothing major, and very reliable. i would take it to cali again and back 10 times if i had to. suspension parts all original, all original steering components, all original drive axles, and joints, original, water pump, starter, ac still works like brand new.