Hey guys, I just bought a '94 mustang v6 3.8.

First I'd like to than you all for all the great information on here. I've been reading about the mustang here and been working on it for the past week and a half (since I bought it). The body seems in decent shape, home paint job isn't too shabby, however I seem to having to become a self taught mechanic rather quickly with it.

So far I've replaced all the spark plugs, batter, alternator, and window motor. The previous owner was running water instead of coolant so I'm looking to flush it. The oil looks lighter than it did when I received it so I'm probably going to have to test for leaks. Also the previous owner must have had aspirations of racing. It has racing brakes and a damned hard clutch.

But I have one issue I can't seem to diagnose at all. When in an incline or accelerating the shifter seems to pull from you. I'm thinking perhaps the mounts? Also it feels to slow down a bit harshly if I let go of the gas at any time. Sort of like I'm downshifting or trying to drive with a partial parking brake.

Any ideas?

Thanks again

-Mel (aka Gennss)

 

Welcome to MF! The 94-98s are slow as dogs but they need some lovin too so good car.
First - if the PO was running water thru the block that would be of great concern to me as you could/probably do have rust in the motor and heads. You said the oil looks lighter (in color Im guessing) that before - does it look like a milkshake? Does the car get really hot? If so you might have a blown headgasket as these cars WILL blow the headgasket (stupid Ford). So with that said a compression test should be in order for you just to make sure.
Second - with the brake upgrade you said he did he might have installed it wrong and you could be dragging a pad. Does it pull to one side or another while driving or slowing down?

Matthew

 

Actually it does pull to one side, we thought it was the alignment. The parking brake is non-existent. I'll check the brakes closer to see if it's dragging.

As for the oil. It doesn't, it looks just slightly cleaner than before. Remember there's no coolant just water. I tried shaking around the dip stick to see if there was water/oil mixture and generate some bubbles but none. It feels like oil. It doesn't run hot either.

I live in an apartment so I'll have to visit a relative over the weekend to perform a coolant system flush and put in real coolant.

I am enjoying working on the car, so I believe it was a worth purchase.

 

aaand now she's running hot. Not losing coolant or oil. I'm going to try to check radiator for clogs and check waterpump. It overheats to about 75% of the gauge. Only in stop and go traffic. Perhaps the fan?

 

T-stat could be partially stuck. Let it run and warm up and sit and see if the fans ever kick on.

 

Could be a fan, I'd swap the thermostat and also check if the fan is engaging when the engine reaches running temperatures

 

A little off topic since this is my first project. 1300 too much to pay for a fixer upper if the body is in decent shape?

 

If the shifter itself is drifting, that is caused by bad motor mounts. It's hard to explain without seeing it, but the motor, when mounted to the transmission, makes one continuous unit. Meaning, only way the transmission is going to move (causing the shifter to move) is if something is allowing it to move. Most likely culpriates are motor and transmission mounts.

 

Does it run? How many miles? What year?

Matthew

 

Yes it runs with the exception of the problems i've mentioned. Odometer broke at about 100k miles '94. Paintjob leaves a little to be desired but it looks great on the curb. It seems to have a lot of little things wrong with it but nothing huge. She sounds great after I changed spark plugs. No leaks, No smoke, just a few odd ends.