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Issues with 1997 Mustang GT

4K views 62 replies 11 participants last post by  scottydsntknow 
#1 ·
Hey guys! New to the forum! I hope to turn my recently purchased SN95 project into a nice fun weekend toy. I did buy this car extremely cheap, knowing it would need some work, so lets jump in! 1997 Mustang GT, auto. 125,660 miles. 7/10 interior. 5/10 exterior. But first things first, I want to get it running right. The car will turn over and idle very rough, seems to be running EXTREMELY rich. Plugs on the passenger side are all wet with gas. When you try to give it gas it will just bog badly, it was a...you know what....to try to load on the trailer...should of bought a winch haha. you can put it in drive and reverse and it will take off with minimal gas, but seeing anything about 15 mph or 2000 rpm is almost impossible. So it has me thinking, Coils? plugs/wires? IAC? Fuel pressure regulator? leaky injectors? Car is stock offer than some axle back exhaust the prev owner had.

Also when the vehicle starts, it's like it's gasping for air hardcore! haha Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!
 
#40 ·
Cats wont rob any power on that combo either, not at that level. Make sure your cams have clearance with the NPI pistons, I'd honestly forget Comp and get ahold of Cushman Motorsports. Tell him what you are doing and he'll set you up with the right cams for you and do a degree service on them and spec you out some springs too if you need springs.
 
#42 ·
If its an actual NPI swap car (96-98 bottom with 99-04 top) then the higher compression will be good for extra HP over an actual 99-04 car and higher compression is good for nitrous too. HP numbers honestly aren't so important tho... timeslip is what matters. You will be in the 290-310 range regardless tho, right about where you want to be.

Also going to want to work on your suspension, wheels and tires, make sure the transmission is sorted and practice at the track. Issue with the 96-98 transmissions is paper blocker rings and a ****ed up 5-R slider. If your trans is still working ok then roll with it, in my old 98 the trans was jacked, would not shift fast past 5k RPM. Replaced with a 3650 with all the TSBs done and like a whole new car. Just something else to plan for if you haven't already.
 
#43 ·
Nice! I figured as much! It's mainly going to be a street toy, but I do plan on tracking it as much as I humanly can with my schedule (hospital life:facepalm:) I just started looking into springs and uppers/lowers as well. I do plan to purchase a second set of wheels and tires just for track use.

My father owns a Reputable transmission shop here in my hometown, When i bought my first car (80 C3) I spent a ton of time on his lifts working on it. The other benefit is, I only get charged his cost for parts for any/all transmission work on any of my vehicles. My car is a auto, I have thought of doing a manual swap, but I also have looked into convertors, which I get at cost through my Father. So there is definitely a lot to think about for this fun little project at the moment,:popcorn:
 
#45 ·
***Update***
Started the car last night let it idle/run for awhile. Never saw a glowing red cat from heat or anything. The car idles much better, revs better too. It revs up to 4000 rpms and stops. I actually drove it yesterday too. only drove up to around 30-40 mph cause of the street I went down. However, it would accelerate okay at light to medium throttle, but would completely bog at WOT. No matter the speed, it would bog bad! Also when in Neutral or park it will idle fine when i give it a good 3000+ rpm rev and let it go back to idling it sometimes will struggle to recover.
 
#47 ·
I will do that tomorrow I suppose. Another thing, when the car is idling it doesn't really do it, but when you rev on it, no matter how much or how little, it sends a cloud of white smoke from the passenger side on the back side of the motor. thoughts? This is the side where it burns your eyes to get anywhere near it to try and see what is leaking/burning. I am thinking its valve cover gasket, but I may be wrong? White is usually coolent burning right?
 
#51 ·
Solution. $400-$500 Vic/marquis/towncar engine. Done.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Mustang Evolution mobile app
 
#54 ·
For most people and situations I would agree. However, when the engine in my Dodge Ram let go last year it became a fog machine. The steam did not quickly dissipate, it lingered. From a distance it appeared to be smoke, and there was some mixed in with the steam.

If the OP has steam the result could be a bad head gasket. This would also foul the plugs and cause the symptoms.

The rings or cylinder walls could be worn. This would result in oil in the combustion chamber. Again, fouled plugs, smoke, and rough running.

I'm giving what I hope are extreme examples. My hope is that you have a valve sticking, or some other simple issue.
 
#58 ·
PI swap it. Seriously.
 
#60 ·
If you don't have the cash for a PI swap you don't have the cash to modify these cars period. Its like $500-$800 if you do it all yourself.
 
#63 ·
Pi swap as in a whole pi engine would probably solve his issues lol.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Mustang Evolution mobile app
 
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