[juju]

THANK YOU for all the replies!! So what I've gathered from web/forum search and y'all's replies is this:

Maintenance wise, I should oil change every 8k miles, use Royal Purple oil and Motorcraft filters. I should shake out my air filter when I do this, which will only be like twice a year or less. I should change the rear, radiator, and transmission fluids when I hit around 60k miles or so. Should I also change all the filters every 60k miles? I should regularly keep fluids topped off and checked. My question is - what are these fluids? How often should I check? Additionally, is there a specific place underneath my vehicle that is best to use to raise it up when I do things like change the oil?

What stuff should I do myself vs having someone else do? My dad is a mechanic and I want to learn how to do some basic stuff with this car, but I also got the Master Tech Vehicle Protection Program when I got my Mustang, for the next 4 years. It covers absolutely everything except brake pads, clutch, and various trimming and cosmetic things. So since I have this protection, should I even do any work on my own at all?? Even though I'd like to learn how and get to know my car better.

I should replace the coolant overflow hose (a degas hose?) when I can, as well as replace my rear axle vent (whatever that is) because there is an updated and better version of both of these. Would anyone rate these changes as "beginner friendly"?

I have found that I want to swap out of the stock shift bushing, though I worry if this will affect any of my insurance. On American Muscle, an article says, "The latest gen, the S550, features a changed shifter bushing and bracket for a firmer, more accurate shift over the 2014 model. Furthermore, the skip-shift feature (a feature that forced a 1-4 shift at low speed versus a traditional 1-2 shift) was eliminated in 2013, and should remain this way for the S550." Can someone explain what the skip-shift thing is all about? I don't quite get it.

But I definitely want to replace the shifter bushing and bracket, because sometimes I find it really difficult to get into first or second gear and I am sometimes locked out of first and it panics me as a new manual driver.

We do want to see a picture of your new baby

I attached my favorite one! Within a few days after I got her, and the lighting was perfect to show what I love about the Kona Blue - it has a sort of color changing aspect to it! Kona Blue can be a bright metallic blue, or in other lighting a deep blue or even purple!

haynes just came out with their repair manual for the mustangs up to 2014 finally...so i suggest getting that so you can learn about the car yourself if/when you need to do your own repairs.

got mine for 18 bucks with shipping here 2005 - 2014 Ford Mustang, Haynes Repair Manual

I saw that this book is based on a complete tear down and rebuild. Will I be able to follow it if I am just using it to learn about the basics of self Mustang care?

OK,
Changing oil, Changing Filter, Keeping it clean, Regular maintenance,
These are all good - Yes _ Every one
*******************************BUT**********************************************
The very best thing you can do to keep your Mustang from falling apart is:::
NEVER LEND IT TO ANYBODY
Not even your best friend or your own Mother, ( NOBODY) EVER
This is still the best method of keeping any car a long trouble free time.
Ronnie

AMEN! :thumb:

I wonder how his used Mustang was treated the first 40,000+ miles of its life :whistling:

She seems to be in pretty good condition! The only reason the woman traded is because she had kids. Her loss, my gain!

 

[David Young]

When i change my oil i just drive the front tires onto ramps. Plenty of room and don't have to do all that jacking

 

[jayochs]

juju, before my mustang, i was always into cars, but more like, i knew cars, not i knew how to build cars or fix things.

i still don't, and i'm still completely new at it with my stang, but the book definitely helps. my dad always bought haynes manuals for every car we've ever had, and he always used them whenever he was doing anything on the car, and he's extremely good at fixing things on cars. so i trust the book will be able to help if you ever have to do any repairs.

 

[MustangmanV6]

juju, before my mustang, i was always into cars, but more like, i knew cars, not i knew how to build cars or fix things.



i still don't, and i'm still completely new at it with my stang, but the book definitely helps. my dad always bought haynes manuals for every car we've ever had, and he always used them whenever he was doing anything on the car, and he's extremely good at fixing things on cars. so i trust the book will be able to help if you ever have to do any repairs.

I 2nd for the haynes book. I have it for my 05 it's a great for learning about the car and seeing what I can do myself.


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[king_13]

The skip shift was a terrible idea. Starting in 1st and slowly cruising up to 3k or so, would show "Skip Shift" or something similar on the dash and lock you out of 2nd or 3rd, forcing you to shift to 4th.

This is of course something that you should decide for yourself, since it's a manual. 13 and up it was removed.

You'd have to tune it to get rid of it.


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[king_13]

The skip shift was a terrible idea. Starting in 1st and slowly cruising up to 3k or so, would show "Skip Shift" or something similar on the dash and lock you out of 2nd or 3rd, forcing you to shift to 4th.

This is of course something that you should decide for yourself, since it's a manual. 13 and up it was removed.

You'd have to tune it to get rid of it.


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[juju]

The skip shift was a terrible idea. Starting in 1st and slowly cruising up to 3k or so, would show "Skip Shift" or something similar on the dash and lock you out of 2nd or 3rd, forcing you to shift to 4th.

This is of course something that you should decide for yourself, since it's a manual. 13 and up it was removed.

You'd have to tune it to get rid of it.

Okay ya that sounds terrible. Does it work in reverse? Is that why I'm sometimes locked out of first or second gear when I'm slowing down, because the car registers me as going to fast? I've never noticed it when up shifting though. Sometimes I've been in both 1st and 2nd before and the bass and music was so loud and I zoned out and forgot to shift (I'm a new manual driver) and would be doing 4k plus RPM and it's never locked me out of the next gear.

EDIT: nevermind. It seems like it's specifically for a 1-4 shift.

 

[Robostang]

The skip shift was a terrible idea. Starting in 1st and slowly cruising up to 3k or so, would show "Skip Shift" or something similar on the dash and lock you out of 2nd or 3rd, forcing you to shift to 4th.

This is of course something that you should decide for yourself, since it's a manual. 13 and up it was removed.

You'd have to tune it to get rid of it.


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You can actually disable it without a tune. There is a solenoid on the transmission that controls the skip shift. If you unplug the cable to the solenoid, it disables it. I unplugged mine a couple of weeks after I got it. No problems, no lights.

The skip shift solenoid is located on the right side of the transmission, close to the back and on top. It is difficult to see it but you will see a black connector leading into a round black housing. Reach your hand up between the transmission and the tunnel and disconnect the cable. There is a small latch on the cable connector that you need to depress. It pulls off very easily once the latch is depressed so if you have to pull hard, you have not released the latch.

It is probably a good idea to cover both the cable connector and the solenoid connector. I used a piece of 3/4" diameter shrink tubing. On the cable connector, I simply slipped it over the connector, folded the shrink tubing back over the cable and tie wrapped it to another nearby cable. On the solenoid, I used the same shrink tubing about 3 inches long and tied one end closed with a tie wrap. I then slipped the open end over the solenoid connector and used my heat gun to shrink it around the connector.

The entire process took less than 15 minutes after I got the car on jack stands.

Below is diagram of the solenoid location.

https://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a6da02b3127cceebba3fe1e27d00000030O00AZtmLly4bt2wPbz4K/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00607789916320160423212207395.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/

 

[king_13]

No, you can't definitely downshift to whatever gear you want, just let off the clutch slowly.

@Robostang, ah that's good, I had an 11 Auto to a 14 MT now so I never stumbled across that problem.

Good to know that it's an easy fix though.


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