my 94 money pit..... i mean GT.

[joethomas1213]

i bot a 94 GT last year for $4k, $6k later i still have issues.

1. temp guage. the dude i bot it off put an after market cluster in it and it constantly shows i'm running hot. i've replaced the thermostat, radiator, and hoses. i bot a temp guage/radiator cap from advance auto, it never goes over 210 degrees. but i constently worry i'm running hot and have to pop the hood all the time, it's really annoying.

2. it needs tuned, it idles at 2 grand and stalls out a lot. plus i have tons of after market parts but it doesn't seem to have the power it should. my roomate has an 03 Stage 1 Roush (stock gt) that has more torque? i have mac headers, exhaust, cobra cold air intake, borred 30 over, diff cams, msd ignition, 75mm throttle body, etc.....

3. it makes a clanking noise when i accelarate hard, it won't do it if it's parked, only when i'm driving. and if i take it easy, which i usually do, it sounds good. my mechanic told me bad gas but it doesn't sound right. the previous owner was drag racing it and ran racing fuel.

i was dumb enough to think i could turn it into an everyday driver.

[MonteCitan]

First, where do you live?

Second have you tried adjusting the ignition timing? If you unplug your MAF then try to start the car, what does it do? (if you can get it to run/idle) if it smooths out/drops down its either your mass air or a vacuum leak somewhere's... I've been fighting idle issues a LOT with both my cars (my 89 would stick and stay at ~2k RPMs all the time, no matter what I did, it was intermittent though and did it til the day I sold the car)

the current one was horrible, it'd idle all over the place... First time it was due to the mass air sensor, C&L, and appareantly made my car run lean as heck - The next one was a pro-m with a plastic housing for cost reasons... BUT that one had a bad casting and one plastic lip bent up in the back with heat exposure...

Finally cured a LOT of my idle issues with a new pro-M metal housed mass air... it'll hunt around 50-100 RPMs but its barely noticeable outside of the car... and it could be just the cam

A tune helped cure the last of it... and now it does act up sometimes, esp. when weather changes from warm to cold outside... When that happens I disconnect the battery, clean the IAC and do a base idle relearn procedure...

Mustangs make great daily drivers, I would drive mine every day if I didn't have to deal with bad weather

[Kiljosh]

Number 1, is the needle on the gauges stuck at hot or does it just go up way to far?

Number 2, sound like what monte said. Vaccuum leak or else bad MAF/IAC. When you under the hood do you hear any hissing or whooshing air?

Number 3, do you have a strut tower brace? What do your motor mounts look like? If you have one and your mounts are wearing you could be banging your intake off the brace. Happens to me when I floor it and my car downshifts sometimes. Is it one loud bang or like a rapping?

If the previous owner ran racing fuel im betting the timing is bumped way up. Check that out and set it back to stock(anyone know what stock advance is?) Hew also may have the thing tuned for the higher octane fuel. I would say your best bet on this is to get the car retuned for 93octane. Either dyno or a quick SCT chip or something.

[joethomas1213]

monte and kiljosh, great feedback guys. i saw some harsh responses on some other posts and was hoping i didnt' get bashed for dumb questions. not everyone is a mechanic, we just want to be.

but i live in orlando, and the temp guage isn't stuck, it just gradually reads hotter and hotter. if i turn on the AC it jumps straight to the redline. i will try the other suggestions this weekend and post some feedback. thanks again

[SpectorV]

check where its pluged in and see if you might need to move the temp gauge, what brand is it?

[joethomas1213]

I know it's been forever since i posted this but the temp issue ended up being a misreading on the cluster. Apperantly everything else was off too, the RPM's by 1x.

The rest of the issues were solved by Lamotta Performance in Longwood, FL. They put it a SCT chip and did a dyno an tune. It runs 100% better! I'm finally happy with my stang. After a year and some change.

Oh and the clanking noise was a bad lifter. I just don't understand why it didn't do it when i would have it idle.

[Mustang GT HO]

What's ur horsepower and torque?

[MonteCitan]

Quote: Originally Posted by joethomas1213 I know it's been forever since i posted this but the temp issue ended up being a misreading on the cluster. Apperantly everything else was off too, the RPM's by 1x. The rest of the issues were solved by Lamotta Performance in Longwood, FL. They put it a SCT chip and did a dyno an tune. It runs 100% better! I'm finally happy with my stang. After a year and some change. Oh and the clanking noise was a bad lifter. I just don't understand why it didn't do it when i would have it idle.

Glad you solved all the issues! and that we were able to help some. My cluster overreads the voltage/temp gauge when the headlights are on.. I know its only the headlights so I never bothered with it but at least you figured it out

And the chip works wonders on our 5.0s, eh?

[joethomas1213]

The chip is awesome and the guys at Lamotta were great. I'm pusing 275 hp to the wheel, torque 330ft.

[MonteCitan]

that's a nice amount of power to the wheels! what sort of work is done to the motor?

We had a guy on here with a 95 cobra running about that with heads/cam/intake

nice torque, too

[joethomas1213]

Thanks. gt 40 head, cobra intake, mac headers/exhaust, cam, induction. Everything was done before I bought it. Dude wasn't paying child support, exwife sold it to me for $4k. I thought it was a steal at first, but I've had to dump a lot of money into it.

New transmission, front end, brakes kit, ac, radiator, waterpump, alternator, tires, battery, etc.

I also spent some unnecessary money on cobra wheels, a short throw shifter, and a sound system.

Still on the list, 2" lowering springs it because I can't stand how high it sits. Carbon Fiber hood.