[aarons914]

First of all wanted to say hi, been reading these forums for awhile while deciding on what Mustang to go with. I decided on a 95 GT, like the body style and the 5.0 so was a good choice for me.

Now to my questions, Ive never had a 5.0 or driven one so I have nothing to compare it to but it feels like it hesitates a little on acceleration and while accelerating at partial throttle it sounds kind of like its sputtering up front in the engine bay. While in neutral the engine is quiet and all I hear is exhaust which is what I want to hear.

Also, how hot do these run? My gauge is reading close to the overheating zone but still in the normal region, Id say about an 1/8th of an inch from overheating. Is that just how these gauges read or is it not normal?

Now to give some info on the car, its basically stock besides for a K&N cone and Bassani X-pipes/mufflers, 150k miles, check engine light isn't on by the way.

Thanks for any responses, as soon as I get her running right I can't wait to start upgrading some stuff, the car is already fun to drive despite its problems.

 

[Lind]

plugs/wires, check them over, easy to do and cheap to fix

my tempature gauge has never gone past R (80-90 F days)
(check over the cooling system, make sure the fan is turning on)

depending on how much money you want to spend h/c/i (heads, cam, intake) would be a great start to putting alot more ponies at the ground

 

[aarons914]

The fan does kick on when it's close to hitting red and does cool it down a bit but where does your needle sit normally? Is it straight up or does it tend to be to the left or right of the mid point?

And I definitely want to do some stuff to it, probably just mild stuff till the engine needs to be replaced, then Ill probably look to doing everything right. First priority is getting it to run right though then performance.

 

[Lind]

O - thats where mine sits on average driving conditions if not lower, however my 2000 sits just about dead center for normal driving

 

[Bullitt95]

Now to my questions, Ive never had a 5.0 or driven one so I have nothing to compare it to but it feels like it hesitates a little on acceleration and while accelerating at partial throttle it sounds kind of like its sputtering up front in the engine bay.

Take care of basics like plugs, plug wires, dist. cap, rotor, fuel filter.

Also, how hot do these run? My gauge is reading close to the overheating zone but still in the normal region, Id say about an 1/8th of an inch from overheating. Is that just how these gauges read or is it not normal?

Definitely not normal. Check the cooling system, particularly the fan and the radiator. Probably a good idea to drain, flush, and refill with a 30/70 mix of antifreeze/water. Replace the cheap stuff like thermostat and radiator cap while you're there.

 

[95StangMX]

+1 and I would definately not be driving it around, especially getting on it, until you get this fixed or you may be getting those new heads a lot sooner than you think. My workers just drove 1 of my ptcruisers (work cars) HOT and warped the head cost me 2000 to get it all fixed.

 

[aarons914]

Yeah definitely not driving it around yet, Im waiting on the factory service manual then I can start testing some of the sensors. Will definitely try the T-stat and cap and see how that helps.

 

[aarons914]

After messing with the cooling system some more I realized the low speed fan isn't coming on, when the AC kicks on the fan does come on, and the high speed fan kicks in before it gets to the red. I read somewhere people just wire the low speed to always be on while driving, is this correct? I do live in AZ so Im sure it couldn't hurt anyway. Or if there is a way to get it working right but set the kick on temp to a lower temp that would work as well.

 

[Bullitt95]

After messing with the cooling system some more I realized the low speed fan isn't coming on, when the AC kicks on the fan does come on, and the high speed fan kicks in before it gets to the red. I read somewhere people just wire the low speed to always be on while driving, is this correct? I do live in AZ so Im sure it couldn't hurt anyway. Or if there is a way to get it working right but set the kick on temp to a lower temp that would work as well.

You could have a faulty coolant temp. sensor (the one that's screwed into the heater hard pipe assembly) that's not sending a signal to the PCM to trigger the fan. Try replacing that first. If that doesn't work, it's likely that the low speed fan relay in the CCRM (constant control relay module attached near the coolant expansion reservoir) has blown.
You could connect the no.14 wire going into the CCRM to a switched 12v source so that the low speed fan turns on as soon as the ignition is engaged.

 

[94mustang94]

your cluster in you dash could have a bad connection on it too. i replaced everything on my cooling system and the gauge still reads in the high part of normal. put a heat temp gun on the intake and tstat housing and they all read like they should

 

[aarons914]

I don't have a temp gun yet but I actually think my temp gauge works ok since it gradually goes up almost to the red before the high speed fan kicks on which is 228, so at 228 its about 1/8th of an inch from the red zone.

So after I get my low speed running all the time I should be good as far as cooling goes but my next concern is the harmonic balancer that Ive been reading about. Is there a sure way of knowing if its been spun or should you just change it at a certain mileage?

 

[94mustang94]

mine gradually went up like that too and still had the cluster problem

 

[aarons914]

You could have a faulty coolant temp. sensor (the one that's screwed into the heater hard pipe assembly) that's not sending a signal to the PCM to trigger the fan. Try replacing that first. If that doesn't work, it's likely that the low speed fan relay in the CCRM (constant control relay module attached near the coolant expansion reservoir) has blown.
You could connect the no.14 wire going into the CCRM to a switched 12v source so that the low speed fan turns on as soon as the ignition is engaged.

I think I want to wire the fan to run all the time but if I just put a switched source to wire 14 will that be ok with the high speed setting when the AC kicks on or will it give it too much current?

 

[Bullitt95]

I think I want to wire the fan to run all the time but if I just put a switched source to wire 14 will that be ok

That would be fine. Just keep it switched on when you're not using the AC and switch it off when you do.

 

[91Stang5.0]

hmmm

 

[HcaSn95]

Like alot said to a Tune up, plugs, wires, Fuel Filter, PCV, Cap and rotor, But also run half a Can of seaFoam thru the a Vac line and the other put in the Gas Tank..

 

[that5.0girl]

Like alot said to a Tune up, plugs, wires, Fuel Filter, PCV, Cap and rotor, But also run half a Can of seaFoam thru the a Vac line and the other put in the Gas Tank..

seafoam did wonders for my car, all the smoke spooked me a bit but everyone I've talked to said that was normal...so prepare for some smoke when you put it through the vac line

 

[castine917]

I don't have a temp gun yet but I actually think my temp gauge works ok since it gradually goes up almost to the red before the high speed fan kicks on which is 228, so at 228 its about 1/8th of an inch from the red zone.

So after I get my low speed running all the time I should be good as far as cooling goes but my next concern is the harmonic balancer that Ive been reading about. Is there a sure way of knowing if its been spun or should you just change it at a certain mileage?

i have seen some gauges go up to normal but stop while the temp went up and the car over heated.