Hey all,

I recently bought a 96' Mustang. Everything was normal, but today when I got home from work, I noticed the car idling strange. I took it back out and noticed it even moreso then before, expecially as I shifted into 1st, let the clutch out and stepped on the gas (almost like a stutter). After a mile, the service engine like started blinking, then it went straight to a solid check engine light. I called the place I bought it from, and i'm bringing it in tomorrow, but I was curious if anyone else had the same issue, or could possibly know what it is. Thanks for any help, much appreciated.

 

Thats what happened to me when my Mass air flow sensor went out; not that the same thing iswrong with yours.

 

My buddy who is a fairly savvy with cars is coming to go with me to get it scanned. The place I bought it atisn't a short distance away, so he says we can run the code from an Advanced Auto store, and see what the code is, and pinpoint exactly what it is.

Thanks for the info about it not being a Mass Air Filter blue stang...its appreciated

 

Update: So, um, yeah, bad news...I blew the head gasket!! The code came up 'Cylinder #6 Misfire', and told the guy at Advance Auto that Antifreeze is coming out the tailpipe. He looked at me with this disturbing look and said 'that sucks man, the head gasket's blown'...I have a 6 month 6000 mile warranty on it, so their going to have to send a 'wrecker' for it tomorrow, and i'm assuming their either going to replace the head gasket or put in a refubished engine. Any thoughts? (besides i'm screwed) Looks like their going to have it a few weeks at best

 

be happy its under warranty. lobby for a new/refurbed engine

 

As far as a head gasket, Its common to blow the market gasket in the early year mustangs. they will probbably replace it with the corect gasket and it shoul be good again. unless driving it with a blown gasket caused other problems.

 

this might help you understand what happend.

Occasionally, the compression in the cylinder will cause a leak to form in the gasket and the gasket will have to be replaced, or severe damage can take place (a "blown" head gasket). This problem has been exacerbated by the use of aluminum rather than iron cylinder heads; while lighter than iron, aluminum has a much greater thermal expansion rate, which in turn causes a great deal more stress to be placed on the head gasket. Engine makers have responded to this by adding a non-stick coating such as Teflon to the surface of the head gasket.
If the gasket fails, a variety of problems can occur, from compression loss (leading to power reduction, or a rough engine), to exhaust gases being forced into the cooling system, leading to the engine overheating and increased engine wear due to the motor oil being mixed with antifreeze. Coolant can leak into the cylinders, causing the exhaust to issue steam[3] and the catalytic converter to be damaged. If a very large amount of coolant does this, hydrolock can occur, causing extensive engine damage. Sometimes, all that may happen when a head gasket is blown is excessive steam erupting from the tailpipe and the engine may act and drive like normal.



[/align]A damaged head gasket can cause compression to leak between cylinders.[/align][/align][/align]Head gasket condition can be investigated by checking the compression pressure with a pressure gauge, or better, a leak-down test, and/or noting any indication of combustion gasses in the cooling system on a water-cooled engine. Oil mixed with coolant and excessive coolant loss with no apparent cause, or presence of carbon monoxide or hydrocarbon gases in the expansion tank of the cooling system can also be signs of head gasket problems.
Driving with a blown head gasket (if possible) can cause additional extensive damage due to overheating or loss of lubrication.
Blue exhaust smoke may be indicative of oil-burning.

 

Make sure that they do both of the head gaskets when they are in there. I can almost gaurentee that they wont put a new motor in it.

 

^Gotcha...I'm 95% sure their just going to replace the gasket since its under THEIR dollar!

Blue Stang:
Thanks for that info man...Very informative!! That information made alot of sense, and at least now I don't feel 'as in the dark!'

I only drove it 3 blocks to Advance Auto, but during that time, the car did NOT overheat, the temp gauge was normal, and the oil pressure gauge was normal. The only effects I saw from this were 'sputtering' at idle, irregular running, trail of antifreeze from tailpipe as I drove it BACK home the 3 blocks, and a very white smoke coming from tailpipe. Nothing was leaking from under the car, surprising to me, but when I pulled back into my carport, antifreeze was trickling out the exhaust pipe. I'm hoping that these signs mean that it didn't effect anything else on the car, but I can't be sure I guess!

 

I read online about 96 Ford Mustang owners having alot of issues with blown Head Gaskets and Ford did a recall with a warranty of 10years/100,000 miles (which i'm valid for either). Needless to say, is there any truth to this, and does anyone know where I can read up more about it?

*I figured I'd just reuse my thread here, because its technically all on the same topic*