decipha

A friend of mine came to me last night with a bad vibration problem in his 89 mustang gt, so i took a look see and determined that the u-joints and the harmonic balancer is bad. This doesn't surprise me since the car is 100% original, up until last week it had the original plugs that Henry put in the car when he built it :shock:

the kid is young and trying to get on his feet, he knows absolutely nothing about engines but knows mechanics, he is eager to learn and yearning to work on his car. He can't afford much and has managed to scrape together $500 to dump on his car in hopes of keeping it on the roads for a tad longer. The car is not in great shape at all. The interior is shot, the exterior is wrecked, it needs the works. I tried to convince him to get rid of it and cut his loses but he honestly can't, this is his only means of transportation and is vital for him to get back and forth to work.

Surprisingly enough, the engine seems to run exceptionally well, she doesn't burn oil and up until yesterday, she's has no odd happenings and the only problem he's had with the car in the past 6 years is the AOD trans went out 2 years back :shock: I find that amazing for the car being as old as it is with NO MAINTENANCE other than he does the oil changes every other month.

anyway, I'm compiling a list of the most important things he needs to change out and this is what I've gathered, I know absolutely nothing about fox bodies specifically so if anyone see's anything that doesn't look right speak up.

the wires, plugs, cap, rotor, fuel & air filter, where changed last week.

$80 hegos az bosch
$35 ignition coil summit msd street fire
$10 intake gasket az
$29 valve cover gasket az
$20 vac lines az
$61 harmonic balancer az dorman
$30 u-joints napa
$18 oil pan gasket az 1-piece
$46 rear shocks
$108 tie rods in & out az
-----------------------
$437
$480 with tax

anyone see's anything that should be swapped out?? better prices elsewhere??

he's got a bad vac leak at the lower intake gasket, gonna check out the valve-train, I got a feeling he's got a loose rocker or a bad lifter. also has cracked motor mounts, I'm going to fab some solid mounts for him and also cut a coil off both rear springs with the new shocks to reduce the travel, his springs are sprung :roll:

comments/advice/suggestions/recommendations/input/opinions

mjr46

with tie rods, you'll need to factor in an alignment

decipha

good catch, guess he'll be living on the edge for now, looks like that good ole 'eyeball alignment' will have to suffice until he gets paid again to get it done.

mjr46

at best for the meantime, use a tape measure...it'll get it close

decipha

x1145461257 you'll be amazed at how many cars i've aligned with a good ole tape, surprising that some of those cars have been on the road as long as they have with no ill effects, I.E... no uneven tread wear

RogerDodger1

With a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it, it seems a prime candidate for good used parts, especially with a tight budget. An O.E. used coil can probably be had for about $5-$10 and the same for the shocks. The car isn't going to last that much longer anyway, so using used parts might be the best way to go, where possible and not putting brand new parts in a car that is on its last legs. A used harmonic balancer should only be about $30 and the tie rod ends could also be picked up used. I'd guess that the money spent on the needed parts could be cut in half or even better, by using used parts from your local junkyard. This way, you could also budget in changing the transmission fluid and the rear axle gear lube, as well as the alignment that will be needed after changing the tie rod ends. Also, if he's changing oil every other month, he's tossing out good money and good oil. Have him save his money. Modern oils last much longer than that.

Below is a link to a nationwide database of junkyards where you can find used parts in your area. It's nice of you to be helping this fellow out. I hope this has been of help. Good luck with it.

http://www.Car-Part.com