3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's

dusty97 · **3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Hey all-

New to the forum, and if the pieces fall together tomorrow, new to a 2004 mustang v6 5 speed!! Should be picking up my car from the dealer tomorrow if my tires and manifold came in and were installed as I'm hoping. But to get to the point, I've been looking @ some mods to put on the car and read the sticky and came away with a few questions..

1.a: I live in North Dakota and knowing the winters here are the 3.73 gears and a T-lok a bad idea with winter coming up? I'm nervous about it enough already never having drove a rwd vehicle without 4wd in the winter. Will mostly be in-town driving except for the weekends when I may put some highway milage on to get away from classes/homework.

b: What exactly does a T-lok do for the vehicle besides make both wheels spin together? How/why is this beneficial? (Non-mechanical, more of a tech guy who would have the mechanics installing most of these mods btw.. haha)

2. I noticed that when I test-drove it the shifter was very rigid and there wasn't much play in the stick at all. Coming from a 1988 Chevy Sprint beater and the 1986 Ford Ranger 5 speeds I have drove this is a whole different feel. Would a short throw shifter be smoother or is this just something I'll have to adjust to?

3. I thought it was fast as hell coming froming from that Sprint and the 92 Park Ave I had before that, should I just forget about mods and pretend there is no such thing as a GT? haha

4. What is an underdrive pully and what does it do for a car? I've been reading multiple sites in the past couple weeks and haven't seen much of anything about them, though they are listed on the tier 1 list of mods on the sticky.

I'm just looking forward to having a car to take me to and fro rather than my bicycle. (21 speed FTW) hehe..

But anyways, thanks for any input that you be able to help me out with!

I'll be posting pics asap!

Paincake1 · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Hey dude. Ok an underdrive and water pump pulley set, (their usually sold as pairs) free up rotating weight and thus add horsepower. dont expect too much from them because you are not gonna get the difference between night and day, at best your lookin at around 8-10RWHP. For the V6 3.73's are a good choice in gears, their torquey but still streetable and are prety tame on the highway, seeing as how im from FL and have only lived in Tn for 1 winter now i cant really tell you if a traction lock rear end would be good for winter use. What traction lock does is make both of your back tires spin at the same time and speed so you can put all your power to the ground. Ill tell ya right now I got 3.73's and a T-LOC in my car and on a wet road i slide around like a hockey puck. Its all up to your driving ability i suppose but i probebly wouldnt do it. id say untill you get some serious power put the 3.73's in and beef up the tires a little bit. dont worry about the traction lock for right now.

lowflyn · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Underdrive pulleys make your accesories run slower...hence freeing up horsepower. I would recommend getting an overdrive pulley for your alternator if you run many accessories as the alternator will have problems with a large load at idle.

sonicpony03 · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

I agree with Paincake1, i'd hold off on the tlok. I drove mine (03 auto) one winter and it wasn't too bad, but still hairy at times. I actually think the open differential was better. My buddy drove his 01 Gt 5spd for some of last winter and he said it was a bitch, and we only have Wisconsin winters. But it all depends on your driving abilities and willingness to take your time. Your stock setup would be fine.

dusty97 · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Well I LOVE my car so far. HUGE upgrade from my buick hehe.. Most likely if I do anything it'll be the T-Lok and 3.73's or 3.45's. But I'll probably end up driving it through the winter first to see how that goes and if I even want it to go faster with these winters..

I do have another question though.. How would I go about disabling that god forsaken seat belt reminder light/beeping? Not that I'm against wearing my seatbelt, but I generally don't throw it on for short trips around town and it is driving me insane!

chris098 · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Before you sit down in the car, just buckle the seatbelt, then get in. That beeping nearly drove me insane as well

dusty97 · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Hmm, I wonder if there is a fuse or wire that I can just pull to disable it rather than just sitting on the belt..

dusty97 · **Re: 3.73's and T-Lock among other Q's**

Chris: I just came across this on another message board, haven't tried it yet as I'm at work but I am planning on trying it out when I go home.

How to Disable / Enable Ford's BeltMinder

*****************************************************************
The first method, temporary deactivation, or one time disable: After you have started your vehicle, buckle and then un-buckle your safety belt. Be sure to buckle back up.... This will disable the Belt Minder only for that ignition cycle.

The second method, permanent deactivation: There are 9 steps you need to follow to deactivate or activate your Belt Minder system. Before doing so, make sure that:
The parking brake is set.
The truck/car is in Park (automatic), Neutral (manual).
The ignition is OFF.
All doors are closed.
The driver's safety belt is un-buckled.
The parking and headlights are OFF.
Then follow these 9 steps:

Turn the ignition switch to ON, but DO NOT START.
Wait for the safety belt warning light to go OFF(1-2 minutes).
Steps 3-5 MUST be completed within 60 seconds!

Buckle, then un-buckle the driver's safety belt 3 times, ending with the belt un-buckled.
Turn on the headlights, turn off the headlights.
Buckle, then un-buckle the driver's safety belt 3 times, ending with the belt un-buckled.
After step 5, the Safety Belt Warning Light will be turned on for 3 seconds.

Within 7 seconds of the safety belt warning light turning OFF, buckle then un-buckle the safety belt.
This will disable the Belt Minder if it is currently enabled, or enable the Belt Minder if it is currently disabled.

Confirmation of the disabling of the Belt Minder is provided by flashing the safety belt warning light 4 times per seconds for 3 seconds.
Confirmation of the enabling of the Belt Minder is provided by flashing the safety belt warning light 4 times per seconds for 3 seconds, followed by 3 seconds with the safety belt light off, then followed by flashing the safety belt light 4 times per second for 3 seconds again.
After confirmation, the deactivation/activation of the Belt Minder procedure is complete.