What to look out for on a 1998 mustang GT

[87KJH]

As a young man, the greatest complaint from those who owned the Mustangs with the 302 with a manual transmission was the cost of frequently replacing the rear tires

 

[fast306stang]

As a young man, the greatest complaint from those who owned the Mustangs with the 302 with a manual transmission was the cost of frequently replacing the rear tires

Lol, this is an auto and not a 302

 

[Bamafan1973]

My son is looking at buying a 1998 Mustang GT. Car has 100k miles on a 4.6l and auto transmission. Car has always been adult owned and “looks” to be in great shape. I’m not a Ford guy, I’m pretty much exactly the opposite and would buy Hitlers VW beetle before a Ford. But he has worked and saved for it and I don’t want to stand in the way IF it’s not just a terrible mechanical purchase. Online reviews seem mostly positive and the car only made 225 Hp when new so I’m assuming they aren’t hard on rear ends or transmissions. Any pointers or gotcha would be great if you have any!

State Troopers mainly. :-)

 

[Cruisers460]

Almost fiorot,4.6 has a cooler hose that runs under the intake. Intake has to be pulled to replace it. Might want to find out if the original hose is still on the car.

 

[K79540]

The pony on the hood...

 

[Cadcom]

I have a little bluetooth OBDC transmitter that I plug in which transmits to my tablet where I run Torque (usually) to take a looksie.

Those little transmitters are cheap, like $10 or so. Torque Lite (feature limited) is free. Torque Pro (feature rich) is about $5 in your app store.

I’ve got a scanner and plan to check it out for sure.

 

[whitmo]

The torque boxes (where the 4 link rear end mounts) can crack if it has been driven hard. May need reinforcement.
Do a search on sn95 torque box damage for examples.

 

[Jblue]

Keep an eye out for a "ford" logo anywhere. Big red flag, could indicate some big repairs in the future.

 

[NWSharpshooter]

Keep an eye out for a "ford" logo anywhere. Big red flag, could indicate some big repairs in the future.

FOMOCO is what is on the modern day factory parts. Is it the same with the late 90s models?

 

[Cadcom]

Does the odometer work? They use a worm gear and are notorious for breaking. I had to get one for mine 20 years ago with that same mileage, it's not a hard repair assuming you can still get the part. I think I had a window switch go bad on mine, also a simple repair. No other issues with mine, reliable and good gas mileage with the 5 speed. Mine had a noisy throwout bearing but that won't apply to his.

They say it’s working. I’ll verify that.