What have you done to your mustang today?

[Gabe]

Since you live relatively close to me, what shop are you using? I’m considering some work, and my usual guy doesn’t do differential or gearbox work.

Ford tech I used to work with when I was a Service Advisor at a local dealership here in NC. He was their transmission tech and shop foreman. Been working on cars 40+ years. Works at a different dealership now and I've been out of the business for a while, but we kept in touch and he lives less than 2 miles from me, so it's working out awesome. He has a lift at his home shop so he can do anything there.

 

[Blue03Cobra]

Front LCAs. At 124,000 miles, the ball joints were shot and the two rubber bushings were showing their age. As with the rest of the suspension components I've done, the theme is stock-ish ride/handling, but with upgraded parts, from OEM. These are Moog, from RockAuto:

MOOG​	RK80726	Control Arm	$ 84.79​
MOOG​	RK80727	Control Arm	$ 84.79​

Not a complete pain in the ass, but without a lift, this would have been brutal.






With this (and since 112K miles) I've done:
Outer tie rod ends
Front wheel hubs/bearings
Front LCAs
Front Struts (KYB)
Front stabilizer end links
Front stabilizer bar bushings
Rear LCAs
Rear shocks (KYB)

What a difference. I got the car, for a song, because it rode like a horse-drawn carriage, popping and creaking over every bump and driveway entrance. Now, the front's complete and the thing rides and steers like new.

Rear UCA and rear swaybar bushings are next.

 

[ghunt81]

First outing of the year today! Got it out and drove it to work. I LOVE these S650 performance pack wheels!
So now that I have hubcentric spacers, it's super smooth at 70-75 mph, but I still have that damn steering wheel shimmy around 60. Not even sure what's causing it now

Yes the car is dirty, I haven't had a chance to wash it yet.

 

[JC SSP]

Those rims and that color combo looks outrageous! Wow

 

[Blue03Cobra]

So now that I have hubcentric spacers, it's super smooth at 70-75 mph, but I still have that damn steering wheel shimmy around 60. Not even sure what's causing it now

The reason I did the LCAs was just that. Started.getting bad, during braking....and also worse at 60. Front wheel hubs/bearings got most of it. LCAs (specifically the ball joints) did the rest. Smooth as buttah, now.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

First outing of the year today! Got it out and drove it to work. I LOVE these S650 performance pack wheels!
So now that I have hubcentric spacers, it's super smooth at 70-75 mph, but I still have that damn steering wheel shimmy around 60. Not even sure what's causing it now
View attachment 115207
Yes the car is dirty, I haven't had a chance to wash it yet.

Do you still have the brake rotor retainers installed? If so those rims may not have the pockets to clear them causing the vibration.

 

[ghunt81]

Do you still have the brake rotor retainers installed? If so those rims may not have the pockets to clear them causing the vibration.

Man this car is 21 years old...those things are long, long gone

 

[ghunt81]

The reason I did the LCAs was just that. Started.getting bad, during braking....and also worse at 60. Front wheel hubs/bearings got most of it. LCAs (specifically the ball joints) did the rest. Smooth as buttah, now.

I did control arms around 70k-ish, because they told me the ball joints were bad at inspection time. So they have around 40k on them now but they were no name replacements, and that job sucked.

I dunno, it's weird. Bad shimmy from 60-65 and then it smooths out, and I haven't really noticed it at any other speed.

 

[Gabe]

I did control arms around 70k-ish, because they told me the ball joints were bad at inspection time. So they have around 40k on them now but they were no name replacements, and that job sucked.

I dunno, it's weird. Bad shimmy from 60-65 and then it smooths out, and I haven't really noticed it at any other speed.

That sounds like tire balance is off.

 

[08TorchRedShelbyGT500]

I did a little (Refresh)addition of some minor engine items. I purchased a NOS Grill Emblem (for future needs), a driver 's-side J&L oil separator, and a New Ford Performance 60mm stock-replacement throttle body & Factory PCV valve. Basically, I am stripping or adding to all the noticeable (tampered with) items that a previous owner had no clue about what he was doing, and farmed out his maintenance to a 3rd grade flunky. Thank goodness, it's only minor stuff, but boy, do I scratch my head at people who own these cars and how they care for these vehicles. It's a joke. Anyway, it's all bolted up and ready for action. The car is about 99.4% corrected. I now understand why buying a new car is so much easier. It's not been botched or mickymoused by a previous clueless owner. This is my first used car in 27 years. But ranting aside, I truly love this car, and that is why I am making the effort to make it right.

The toys to install.



New Throttle Body & drivers and passenger side J&L oil separators & PCV valve. The driver's side oil Separator may be overkill, but it's an easy bolt-in, and I cleaned everything downstream, so why not.


It's looking better by the day. 12,000 original miles.

 

[Gabe]

I did a little (Refresh)addition of some minor engine items. I purchased a NOS Grill Emblem (for future needs), a driver 's-side J&L oil separator, and a New Ford Performance 60mm stock-replacement throttle body & Factory PCV valve. Basically, I am stripping or adding to all the noticeable (tampered with) items that a previous owner had no clue about what he was doing, and farmed out his maintenance to a 3rd grade flunky. Thank goodness, it's only minor stuff, but boy, do I scratch my head at people who own these cars and how they care for these vehicles. It's a joke. Anyway, it's all bolted up and ready for action. The car is about 99.4% corrected. I now understand why buying a new car is so much easier. It's not been botched or mickymoused by a previous clueless owner. This is my first used car in 27 years. But ranting aside, I truly love this car, and that is why I am making the effort to make it right.

The toys to install.
View attachment 115232


New Throttle Body & drivers and passenger side J&L oil separators & PCV valve. The driver's side oil Separator may be overkill, but it's an easy bolt-in, and I cleaned everything downstream, so why not.
View attachment 115233

It's looking better by the day. 12,000 original miles.

View attachment 115234

The driver side catch can does nothing on these cars. Had one on my wife's '08 GT500 and after a few months there was nothing in there so I sold it.
The driver side is the air that goes into the crankcase from the air intake tube, so there's no oil in it.

 

[08TorchRedShelbyGT500]

The driver side catch can does nothing on these cars. Had one on my wife's '08 GT500 and after a few months there was nothing in there so I sold it.
The driver side is the air that goes into the crankcase from the air intake tube, so there's no oil in it.

Thanks for the info!. The previous owner(s) had a K&N oiled filter on the car, and when I replaced the throttle body, there was oil behind the blades and throughout the intact tube, so I cleaned everything up, replaced the air filter with an AEM dry filter, and decided to install that driver's oil separator to make sure I removed the issue. If there is nothing in it later(as many have mentioned), I will be happy, but I am covering all my bases before I pull that off. It won't hurt anything with it on.

 

[Gabe]

Thanks for the info!. The previous owner(s) had a K&N oiled filter on the car, and when I replaced the throttle body, there was oil behind the blades and throughout the intact tube, so I cleaned everything up, replaced the air filter with an AEM dry filter, and decided to install that driver's oil separator to make sure I removed the issue. If there is nothing in it later(as many have mentioned), I will be happy, but I am covering all my bases before I pull that off. It won't hurt anything with it on.

Nothing wrong with "better safe than sorry".
And no, it definitely won't hurt to have it.
Welcome to the platform. I love the '07-'09 GT500. Many times I thought about it and wish that I bought a used GT500 instead of a new GT when I bought mine. But I still love driving mine too, so it is what it is.

 

[08TorchRedShelbyGT500]

Welcome to the platform. I love the '07-'09 GT500. Many times I thought about it and wish that I bought a used GT500 instead of a new GT when I bought mine. But I still love driving mine too, so it is what it is.

I have always wanted the 07-09 GT500. It's the only body style that sends me back to the late '60s-early '70s. But when I was in the market at that time, the buying was going crazy on them, and they were getting $15-$25k over MSRP in many cases to buy one, so I decided on my Roush 427R as a compromise, which was cheaper and still fun. After I retired, I started looking for one of those 2008-2009 GT500's again, and Torch Red was the color I wanted. It took a while, but I found one with 12k miles, and I bought it. It's perfect for an old, retired guy. It will be my last musclecar I buy.

 

[GriffX]

Nothing wrong with "better safe than sorry".
And no, it definitely won't hurt to have it.

Vacuum is only behind the throttle body

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Nothing wrong with "better safe than sorry".
And no, it definitely won't hurt to have it.
Welcome to the platform. I love the '07-'09 GT500. Many times I thought about it and wish that I bought a used GT500 instead of a new GT when I bought mine. But I still love driving mine too, so it is what it is.

Gabe can you explain how oil gets in the intake tube on that side if no oil goes through it? I have one on my coyote and while it doesn't collect a ton of oil it does collect some.

 

[86GT351]

Some Fox Body Porn on my 86. Coming along.

 

[86GT351]

These are the new wheels I got from a customer. 17 x 4 in the front and 15 X 10 in the rear. Mickey Thompsons all around.

 

[2008_ScarlettGT]

I converted my Mustang from a V7 to a V8 today. Apparently I had a bad coil. What a difference and extra cylinder makes!

 

[08TorchRedShelbyGT500]

My 08 GT500 is nearing 20 years old. I have spent the last 5 months doing TLC and replacing/restoring odd and ends. Having only 12,000 miles on the car helps with wear and tear. The interior is very nice and factory, but with age, you can see the usual creasing/comfort wrinkles in the seats, especially the driver's seat (as usual). I have used Leather Honey and a couple of other detailers, but the creasing was obvious enough that I figured a dye, along with proper care, would help the seats last longer and look a little better. So after a bit of research, I decided on the Seat Doctors Charcoal Leather and Vinyl Dye. I was scared to death about just putting any dye on the seats, as once you do it, you'd better have it matched as best you can. Seat Doctors was easy, as they matched my VIN and interior color code. Shipping was fast. I applied the dye as directed, and it went very well. I put on about 3 thin even coats. The minute I started, I knew I had the right stuff as the dye didn't stick out like a sore thumb. It blended well from the start, so the worry went away right off the bat. Like many projects I do, I just started it without really thinking about before-and-after pics (sorry), but I can say this stuff for my car really helped, and it looks a lot better. It doesn't remove the creases, but certainly helps them blend in with the rest of the seat nicely and restores the original look to a degree. I am very happy with the product and the results.