[Stang1118]

Hey guys, I'm kinda new to the forum, so please bare with me! I bought my first stang in 2007, White 2002 V6, I cant remember much from when I first bought it, but I got it with about 125K miles on it, and after doing a few things to it, it ran like a dream and was pretty fast, since then the power has been decreasing, The tranny fluid and rear axle fluid hasn't been changed, please ask me questions so that you can better help me! The car now is very near to its 150K mark (2200) miles, I missed my 3000K oil change which I plan on doing this weekend hopefully (Put seafoam in the crankcase today, drain it so it gets all the sludge out, only concern is I have a leak at my rear main seal, which is gonna cost to fix, so now im only measuring the oil and I have put a thicker oil weight) so I will go by points but please help me! I can't see my baby die!

2002 V6
-Near 150K
-All stock- New duralast battery last year, My alternator seems bad so I am changing that soon (And suggestions?)
-I want to get a cold air intake (not trying to spend the $230 on the K&N but whats the next best? or somethin on a budget
-I know im not trying to spend much and the more I spend the faster the car will be, I am not going to race it, dyno or anything like that, I just want it to look good, feel good, and drive good, also to last
-If I do decide to sell it, I want it to be easy to sell, although I want it to last so I need to make that happen
-Don't think I want to do the exhaust or anything, maybe add a turbo or something, as you can see I'm basically at square 1.
-Im good with working on cars and I know a lot of shops that specialize in mustangs but before I go in to any, cause I do most of the work myself, I wanted to see what needed to be done.
-Please go into detail with everything that needs to be changed, (fuel filter, o2 sensors etc.)

Thanks,

Again please bear with me!!

[ItaliStang]

first... Look Here Before Asking About Mods


now, specifically for some of your questions...
what seems bad about your alternator? is the battery dying on you a lot?

DO NOT spend anything over $100 for a cold air intake... you will see basically no difference, it's 1-2hp at most... personally, I consider a CAI as a visual mod for the engine bay to look cleaner, and an ok supporting mod for other more major mods...
get this one, it does just as good as the expensive ones... Mustang V6 Cold Air Intake Kit at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

you don't want to spend $300 on an exhaust, but you're considering spending thousands (yes, plural) on a turbo?
What is your budget exactly? we may be able to help better that way... otherwise just follow that link I gave you up top...

[stangcharger]

Originally Posted by ItaliStang first... Look Here Before Asking About Mods now, specifically for some of your questions... what seems bad about your alternator? is the battery dying on you a lot? DO NOT spend anything over $100 for a cold air intake... you will see basically no difference, it's 1-2hp at most... personally, I consider a CAI as a visual mod for the engine bay to look cleaner, and an ok supporting mod for other more major mods... get this one, it does just as good as the expensive ones... Mustang V6 Cold Air Intake Kit at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping! you don't want to spend $300 on an exhaust, but you're considering spending thousands (yes, plural) on a turbo? What is your budget exactly? we may be able to help better that way... otherwise just follow that link I gave you up top...

x2 on CAI and needing to know a set budget.

[Stang1118]

Thanks for the link. My battery used to die on me until I bought a duralast gold last year, and hasn't died since, not too long ago, the battery light would flash the harder i press the gas, or just randomly at times, but when it would flash I would hear and feel the engine going in and out lightly, and then the lights would basically dim and light smoothly..

Well I kinda don't want to get a turbo, but I was considering it. Before I do any major mods, like:

exhaust
paint (which I would like to do soon)
and major engine mods

I want to not 'redo' the engine, but make it run as best as possible by replacing parts that would be worn out if you know what I mean.

So there's no difference between an ebay one, the american muscle.com one, or a K&N?

Thanks a lot so far, appreciate it!

[mcqueen]

The only real difference is that there's a slim chance a CAI from ebay might need to be slightly modified to fit your car perfectly. I haven't personally seen anyone on this forum mention it so your best bet would be to get a CAI from ebay and save yourself a hell of a lot of money.

[ItaliStang]

yes, cheapest as you can find on CAI, for the last few years, the cheapest I've found is that AM one...


and a turbo is a MUCH more major mod than an exhaust man... like, complete opposite ends of the spectrum... haha
Everything Turbo & Supercharger
turbo takes a lot of supporting parts that you have to take into account, which usually adds up to a few thousand dollars, plus a lot of time spent tuning and getting things just right...
where an exhaust just slaps right on and can usually get midpipe and catback done custom at a muffler shop for around 3-400 bucks
normally CAI and exhaust are the first things to be done...


you're saying you want to make it run better, do you mean better performance, or better efficiency?
If you mean to get the current setup working to it's full potential, just to some basic tune ups and keep it maintained... check fluids, seafoam in gas tank then replace fuel filter, seafoam into a vaccuum line into the intake (look up some write ups around here if you don't know how), replace o2 sensors if needed...

[Stang1118]

I did look on ebay, but its like 60 or so, and then 25 for shipping, so better off getting it from AM with free shipping, and knowing its new and all.

(you're saying you want to make it run better, do you mean better performance, or better efficiency?
If you mean to get the current setup working to it's full potential, just to some basic tune ups and keep it maintained... check fluids, seafoam in gas tank then replace fuel filter, seafoam into a vaccuum line into the intake (look up some write ups around here if you don't know how), replace o2 sensors if needed...)

Performance and efficiency, I get about 200 miles or less on a full tank to the neck of the tank. thats like 16 gallons. and that is not driving it hard, thats driving it easy and efficiently, well I've done some basic tune ups, but what do you think needs to be done too, fluids- flush brake system? i know I need a trans fluid change (expensive as hell)... I'm pretty sure my sensors need to be changed though.

I seafoamed a few times, only in the gas tank and intake though, oil not yet until I'm about to do my oil change of course.

By the way if you could answer this too, I am in need of an oil change, its suppose to be 5w-20, but I know my parts are kind of worn down (i have a rear main seal leak) so I bought 10w-40, right now where I live its starting to drop down to freakin cold temps! what type of oil should I use, I always get mobil 1.