1994 Mustang GT money pit I mean project

joe_momma

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I found a free one on the App Store, 5 stars with something like 12k reviews. I'll give it a test at lunch.

Also, no cup holder in this thing which is a real PITA after having vehicles with them everywhere. At present, I just wedge my coffee cup between the seat and the e-brake. Works fine unless I hit the brakes hard.
 

tjm73

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I found a free one on the App Store, 5 stars with something like 12k reviews. I'll give it a test at lunch.

Also, no cup holder in this thing which is a real PITA after having vehicles with them everywhere. At present, I just wedge my coffee cup between the seat and the e-brake. Works fine unless I hit the brakes hard.

In '98 the cars got cup holders. Look for a '98-04 console in the same interior color and swap it.
 

joe_momma

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In '98 the cars got cup holders. Look for a '98-04 console in the same interior color and swap it.

Ahh, excellent info, thank you.

Updated speedo numbers:
GPS/Speedometer
50 - 55
65 - 72
75 - 82/83
 

Juice

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That's one speedo gear tooth away from "as close as you will get".
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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It still runs out of steam past 5K, but I'm guessing that is just the nature of this engine with this mileage. I haven't spun it past 5500 or so at this point. I don't want to blow it up the first week I have it lol.

I paid a bit closer attention to the speed/tach this morning - 85 indicated (I'm figuring 80 actual) was right at 2750 best I can tell. 75 indicated (70 actual?) was almost 2500. Does that still sound like 373s? I'll try to find a GPS app today and get some real numbers. I don't trust the speedo at all.

A stock pushrod SN95 5.0 GT typically put down 190-195rwhp at ~4400rpm so it was normal for it to run out of steam by 5000rpm. It responds well to N/A bolt ons but you need heads/cam/intake manifold to make 300+rwhp.
What size tires do you have? It'll help me calculate what rear axle ratio you have.
 

tjm73

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If you remove the speedo cable from the transmission you will most likely find a white gear on the end of the cable. White is 23T. if it's not white, it may be red. Red is 21T if I recall correctly. The next step down. Whatever it is, the 23T is as close as you can get without resorting to speedo reduction boxes which bring more accuracy but also more expense. A 23T gear is like $20 bucks or so. Speedo correction boxes are $125+ online.

If you pull it out you will most likely find it looking all chewed up.

Is the car still rolling on 245/45R17's? I ran 255/45R17's on my '98 and it was almost dead nut's on the money. I thought the tires looked better too. But that a preference thing.

https://lmr.com/products/Mustang-Speedometer-Gear-Calculator
 

joe_momma

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It's the stock 17s - 245/45/17.

It may just need a new speedo gear, as mentioned. Aren't they notorious for getting chewed up?

Also, the high-RPM miss is back, but it's above 5k. I'm thinking it's a fuel issue. I have the new fuel filter coming today, I'll put it in tomorrow along with plugs/wires.

A couple other items: airbag light is on. Upon startup, it flashes slow for a few seconds, then goes solid.

Does anyone know if FORSCAN will read codes on these? I have FORSCAN for messing with my truck, it would be handy if it worked on these.

I've reached out to my tint guy, to see about getting the tint replaced next week. It's old and is peeling/bubbling. I can't stand bad tint.
 

tjm73

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It may just need a new speedo gear, as mentioned. Aren't they notorious for getting chewed up?

Yes. Ford actually does not have a 23T gear. It's a Chrysler gear from what I remember. Based on my own past experience I would buy one and expect to change it. If it's not bad now, you will need it some day. They're like $12-15 bucks.
 

Juice

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It's the stock 17s - 245/45/17.

It may just need a new speedo gear, as mentioned. Aren't they notorious for getting chewed up?

Also, the high-RPM miss is back, but it's above 5k. I'm thinking it's a fuel issue. I have the new fuel filter coming today, I'll put it in tomorrow along with plugs/wires.

A couple other items: airbag light is on. Upon startup, it flashes slow for a few seconds, then goes solid.

Does anyone know if FORSCAN will read codes on these? I have FORSCAN for messing with my truck, it would be handy if it worked on these.

I've reached out to my tint guy, to see about getting the tint replaced next week. It's old and is peeling/bubbling. I can't stand bad tint.

No, Forscan will not read codes of the Airbag system, I don't even think the Ford Star tool (I think it was called) would help as it only displayed the same number as counting the flashes.
Count the flashes and google it. Most common issue with those was the clock spring. I have a clock spring from my 91 I replaced and it wasn't the problem. If its the same part number, you can have it for shipping cost.

What TJM said on the speedo gear. I had a 23 in mine at one point and it was chewed up, but still worked fine. I suggest you pull the speedo cable and pull the inner piece out and coat it with some grease. May help with the bouncing needle.
 

joe_momma

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Seems like the '94 GT is still OBD-I, which won't play nice with FORSCAN.

I'll count the flashes this weekend when I'm doing the tune-up. I drove the truck today, it was lonely.
 

tjm73

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Do you care about the airbag? More specifically do you care if it would go off or not in an an accident? You could unhook it in the steering wheel and then remove the bulb from the socket to "silence" the light.
 

joe_momma

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I hope I never have to find out lol. It's pretty low on the priority list at the moment, in all honesty. I can overlook it for the time being - it's just one of those things that will eventually bug me to no end and I'll have to do something about it.

Priorities at present:
- track down the high-RPM miss
- interior smell
- get the radio sorted out
- tint
- exhaust

I have parts coming today/tomorrow for the tune-up as well as an interior "bomb". I've also got some items coming to help with the stereo. I know the sub amp is disconnected at the battery, and I'm hoping it also powers the front door speakers, as they are non-functioning. I can't see behind the grills well enough to determine if there are speakers there or not.

I'm thinking I want to go with Borla ProXS mufflers - from the clips I've heard they sound pretty good. Although I love the sound of Flowmasters - they are icons in the 5.0 world, I just can't handle that drone.
 
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tjm73

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Iif your interior bomb doesn't fix the smell, pull both front seats. Mix up some carpet cleaning soap. Grab a good stiff bristle brush and scrub all the carpet. Get it sopping soaking wet. Use a wet dry vac to suck out as much moisture as you can. Open both windows and put the biggest fans you have so they are blowing into the interior to finish drying it out. This will take a full two-three days.
 

tjm73

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1994 Mustangs with the T5 don't use a speed sensor. Ford used gears on the manual cars through '98.

The electronics only tell the ECU the vehicle speed. The speedometer was still mechanical at that point.
 

golkhl

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Another thing you can try for the stank interior, buy a couple boxes of arm and hammer fridge and freezer baking soda. It will help.
F60406E1-9774-4777-8ADD-AAB6AE5927BA.jpeg
 

RED09GT

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How is the condition of the distributor cap and rotor? If the fuel filter and plugs and wires don't help, that would be the next thing to replace.
Check your base timing as well.
 

golkhl

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1994 Mustangs with the T5 don't use a speed sensor. Ford used gears on the manual cars through '98.

The electronics only tell the ECU the vehicle speed. The speedometer was still mechanical at that point.

My 94 Cobra has a speed sensor, from the factory, as it plugs into the factory wiring harness? I thought the speed sensor sent a signal to the pcm, and the gears were only for the speedo/odometer?
 

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