Ford problems.

[#1 Pony]

I know Ford cars/trucks tend to have more problems than foreign cars like Honda or Toyota.

What problems have people had with their Mustangs?

I thought since the Mustang was one of their sports/muscle cars they would build it better. I own a Taurus 89 GL it gets me where I need to go, and if it has all the oil and gas in it, it usally starts up just fine.
It might get hot from being on too long and not want to stay on when it starts up, but I know that car has a nice ride and car get up to 75-80 easy after passing the 35-40 mark.
The strauts (spelling?) had to be replaced and a number of odd jobs not worth it for the value of the car but worth it to me because it's the only thing I have right now until the fall.

[95mustanggt]

Honesty...I one of my ball joints is getting pretty squeeky. I lube it up with some gear oil once every 12 months and it's fine. I think I now have an exhaust leak somewhere (the horrible sound I have been worried about the last 2 weeks or so). That's it. In 60,000 miles, 2 minor problems(if you could call them that).

I'm happy with the reliabiliy with my car. It has started in -40 degree winters in Northern Canada and now is running fine in the smoking hot heat of Dallas!

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1995 Mustang GT

[Capri306]

There's one area the rice burners are engineered differently than American muscle cars particularly, and that's tolerances. Those jap cars can burn 85 octane gas and used to require 20W-50 motor oil, so they're obviously designed to run on junk anyway. They thought they'd be really smart and not have a transmission filter, instead using "fill-for-life" tech and blind faith. Sure you can beat the living crap out of an import, but if you wanna fix it after you're done, you will be looking for a low-rate loan. Here is the key to all of this. Most people LEASE cars only for about 3 years, in which time they will put on about (let's be realistic) 40-50k miles, then they trade them in for another. They're not reliable, they just have NO power -- which in turn creates a lot less stress for the powertrain to handle -- and have a lot more room for error. Ever sit in a Civic and watch the revs that thing does before a shift??? It's insane! Oh well, guess if you spin anything fast enough it'll make *some* power.

I'll put my hand on the table here, too. My '87 5.0L notchback has 116K on it with the only mods being a higher stall converter, 3.73 gears, a shift kit, and a MAF conversion. I'll be completely honest about the transmission: I have rebuilt it, and I found out it was rebuilt two or three times before that. Those 2 or 3 times were all in the same year, so obviously somebody didn't know what they were doing. When I rebuilt it, the TCI converter is actually what blew up, though the TV grommet was trash when I bought the car. Stupid things done to AODs is what kills them is my point. She's holding up fine now, even after repeated street races. The engine hasn't been touched except for taking off the upper intake to clean it out...hey, I'm a clean freak when it comes to my engine!

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Capri306, Moderator, The Mustang Works Online
1979 Mercury Capri, 5.0L -- C4 -- 2.73
1987 Mustang LX Notch

[Mr 5 0]

All cars - from Rolls Royce and Ferrari to the cheapest import - will eventually need items replaced, including the standard stuff such as exhaust, tires, batteries, belts, brake pads and so on. This is normal 'wear and tear' and I don't count these items as anything you can chalk up to poor quality - unless they wear our way ahead of time.

That said; in my experience I've had next to no problems with my '90 LX over the eleven years (and 105,000 miles) I've owned it.
Nothing was replaced due to a problem with quality and things like a rotted out radiator were due to my living in the northeast, using my Mustang 12 months of the year and having to drive on salted roads (which kicks up and eventually rots out metal, like my radiator).
I had to replace the door lock actuators a few years ago and my T-5 synchros are a little tired so the trans will have to be rebuilt or replaced eventually, but again, like my clutch replacement (at 87,000 miles), that is normal wear, not a quality issue.

As a rule, 5.0 Mustangs tend to develop a rear seal leak and some have problems with various electrical items such as lights and switches. I haven't, but that could just be chance. Outside door handles sometimes break off, too. A lot of minor things can go bad.
I did need the air-bag clock switch replaced (under warranty) and a factory-installed disc brake pad was installed crooked and wore out at 27,000 miles but other than that, my experience has been one of almost trouble-free driving with my 'Stang, and yes, I race it, but not often. I also drove it off the lot when it was brand new and have done extensive maintenance over the years, which pays off. My mods are minor and don't affect normal wear (rear gears, subs, exhaust, things like that).

I believe a lot of Mustang problems stem from simple neglect and lack of proper maintainance, not a lack of quality.
Since most older 'Stangs on the market now have had two or three or more owners, this can be a problem in some cases and you can buy a poorly-maintained (but good-looking) Mustang and be the victim of years of neglect or just shoddy repairs that come back to haunt you - the unlucky buyer. It happens, and then that unlucky owner posts here that Mustangs are junk because his had this, that and the other go bad and has cost him a bundle and ruined his original joy of ownership. I hate when that happens.

My advice is to be very careful with what you buy used and pay to have a knowledgable mechanic put the car on a lift and really check it out for possible problems.
A neglected car is usually easy to tell, no matter how shiny the finish may be. So is a car that has beeen wrecked and repaired.
Buying a Mustang someone else has modified is also a risk, unless you know for a fact the person who did the mods was a dead-on sharp guy who knew what he was doing and had the knowledge and tools to do it right. That's rare.

I would readily recommend a Mustang to anyone, but as with all used cars, it's somewhat of a risk and nothing is guaranteed.
Overall, they are good quality vehicles and hold up quite well. Besides, parts are readily available and fairly cheap.

Good luck.

[69fastback]

I am the thrid owner of my 69 428 cj. My dad was the second. The car got blown up in 1977 (wich was my dads fault not the cars.) Now that it has been put together properlay by the right people (Blair speed shop Pasadena, CA) I have been able to drive an old big block ford with 4.30 gears (3500 rpms at 55 mph) throught the middle of the desert without overheating. This is 110 dagrees outside at 200 o'clock in august. Now u tell me witch is the better built car. One of those imports or mine? I do mean with out a stumble too. A three hour drive throught the So Cal desert without a hicup at 3500 rpms. No there is no such import.

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69 428 cobra jet: tons of mods.
97 f-150 5.4 xlt mark III
BUCKLE UP. SUCK IT IN.
Objects in the mirror are about to disappear...
QUICKLY!!!!!!

[RAINSTANG]

The only things I've ever "had" to replace on my 92GT were the water pump and radiator. They both started leaking just a little bit at about 60,000 miles. That's it. My Stang is super reliable, always starts and runs perfectly and I'd drive it anywhere.

This is usually how this works (at least my take on it):
If you maintain a car regularly and don't abuse it (unless there is a horrible design flaw) it will last as long as you need it to.
I find it funny that people say "imports are so much more reliable, i haven't had to spend a penny on mine". 10 years later the car is ready for a junk yard.
You can also go without maintaining a domestic car, the difference is when things start going wrong and failing the car will become unreliable whether it's an import or domestic, but the difference: domestics can be repaired for alot cheaper and there are more mechanics that know how to work on domestics (a higher number of people work on domestics) than imports, especially older ones, and as car parts and technology become obsolete it becomes even harder to find a knowledgable mechanic.
Age and mileage will deteriorate anything whether it's German, swedish, american, Korean or japanese, etc. A car is made of parts that fail no matter who builds it, it's just a matter of how you maintain it and not let things get out of hand because of poor maintainance and not wanting to replace common wear items.
I personally like american cars and that's my opinion, but japanese cars aren't all that bad, although i'd be reluctant to buy one or buy a japanese car badged as american just for the fact that parts are more expensive and it's harder to find them, especially when they become "obsolete" and no one has them anymore. Just my $.02

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'84 Mustang 5.0 LX
My car

[Mach 1]

Well, from personal experience, I am 33 years old, Im a professional mechanic, Ive owned 10 different vehicles, and only one Japenese. That would be my latest vehicle, a 96' Isuzu Rodeo/Honda passport.

I can say without a doubt in my mind after owning this import brand that Jap. quality is far superior to american. Just looking at the attention to detail and engineering is something you wont find in an american make.

I think there are the obvious remarks..."anything mechanical needs maintenance"...well....duh.

Its no secret that Jap. cars are OVERALL of superior quality. This has been well known and talked about for many years now, and there are statistics to back it up.

As for Ford, Ive lost a lot of faith recently. The mustang in particular has been a fairly reliable and well built car since the fox body, primarily because of two excellent engines, the 302 and the 2.3 are both known to be reliable, long lasting engines. (althought he 2.3 will probably require more maintenance when higher up in mileage). The basic platform (the old fairlane suspension) is simple design and reliable. However, these cars flex like crazy and arent very strong structurally without the aid of sub frame connectors.

I think we can all agree that american cars were of good quality back in the 60's and early 70's. Maybe they were even better in the 50's, but Im not that old to know from personal experience(maybe some old timers can throw in their .02). Around 1975, pollution controls became mandated with stricter emission regulations (first year for catalytic converters) and american car companys started playing with electronic igniton for the first time. In these years, all the way into the through the 80's american cars were garbage, period. I think GM was the worst in this time frame, Fords werent that bad, and most of us remember chyslers srtuggles with bankruptcy. This time period is why I hate GM cars to this day. I saw so much crap from GM it was apparent to me that they just didnt care about quality at all. Fords were better, but didnt compare to the quality of the Japenese cars.

Since the late 80's into today, american cars improved greatly, but it was this period from mid 70's to mid 80's that damaged their reputation the worst, and when people starting buying Jap cars because of their reliability along with the feul crisis.

As far as power, yes, most of them are underpowered, and yes, I agree that this can help reliability (toyota in particular has made some extremely reliable but extremely underpowered pick-up trucks in their past), althought he high powered jap cars are just as reliable as the underpowered ones. They dont take shortcuts. My friends 300ZX has a main bearing support girdle from the factory for example.

Ok, ive rambled long enough. Bottom line, American cars have improved, but still take a back seat to Jap cars in quality.

But if you like rear wheel drive v8's like me, youll keep that stang around...

And my 96 Rodeo makes 190 horsepower from a N/A 193 cubic inch engine. Not bad.

[#1 Pony]

Anyone ever has squeeky motor belts?