Newbie questions

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

Hi guys. I'm not the only Mustang owner in the family, but I'm the only one who uses his as a daily driver.

Hence, there are some things that are happening that I can't immediately dismiss as "normal", but that seem out of place. Allow me to elaborate:


The car is a '93 LX notchback, with 92.6K on the clock. It's absolutely bone-stock, AFAIK. The main issues are as follows:


1: I've heard from many sources that the oil pressure guage on late-model Fords isn't actually a guage, but rather just a mechanical idiot light. Is this true of the Fox body 'Stangs? My guage seems to move around a lot when I tap the gas. It normally sits between the "M" and the "A" in "NORMAL", but occasionally dips down to just under the "A". Is this, in fact, normal?


2: I appear to be having minor clutch problems. When the clutch comes out in neutral, and then goes back in, I hear a soft *thump* from the rear when I engage 1st gear. It almost sounds like an automatic transmission dropping into gear. I assume this is the clutch not fully releasing.


3: Transmission woes, pt. 2. I think my synchros are starting to go. 3rd gear seems really notchy, and sometimes I'll go to shift and it won't fully engage 3rd; I end up starting to release the clutch and I'm met with a grinding noise for an instant before I realize what I've done. Is that just bad stick-rowing on my part, or is something wrong?


4: The clutch vibrates occasionally, or judders, when I depress it to shift.


5: It also seems to be awfully grabby when I'm slipping it to pull away from a stop, and the result is I either bog the motor, lurch ahead, or light the tires up for a few feet until I get out of the gas. Also, it has sort of a rubber-band effect in 1st gear at low speeds, such as in a parking lot. This initially lead me to believe the previous owner put 3.73's in it, but I no longer think that's the case (unless 5500 RPM in 1st is about 43-45 on the speedo with 3.73's).

The last several issues seem to point to a weak link somewhere in the tranny, but right now I don't know where exactly. I'd really, really appreciate any help you guys could give me. This car is brand new to me and I'm moving up from a total s**tbox of a car, so I'm deathly afraid of something serious going wrong with my new "baby". Thanks in advance.



[This message has been edited by Jeb_Bush_2000 (edited 07-08-2001).]