Faults:
For about the first 50,000 miles of ownership it was super reliable.
The only thing I can remember major going is the fuel pump a couple of months after I bought it.
Soon after hitting 100,000 things began to wear out such as the radiator, front suspension, alternator, heater core, window motor, lock solenoid, various switches, clutch cable.
The Mustang specific problems I have had are my fuel injectors started leaking at 120,000 miles, the pins in the door hinges wearing out and it developed a small crack in the floor pan which I had promptly welded up.
As of right now the only things it needs is a new rack and pinion and shocks and struts.
Also in 1988 the 5.0 LX models came with the very cheap base seats. They look like they came out of a Tempo or Escort. They are not that uncomfortable, but after 13 years and almost 150,000 miles the driver's seat is beat. I am pretty much sitting on the floor and the seat back creaks.
General Comments:
In the late 80s the 5.0 Mustang was one of the fastest cars on the road. With the exception of the Buick Grand National you would have to spend close to 3x as much to match the power of a 5.0 Mustang. People have to remember it is a cheap, light car with a V8 engine.
Yeah the body has some creaks and people complain about the brakes. The car is a little over powered for the suspension and brakes (easily fixed through the aftermarket) but if you don't drive like an idiot it is not a problem. The car was designed in the late 70s and I am sure they never dreamed it would end up with 225 hp and 300 lbs.-ft of torque ten years later.
I have been extremely happy with my Mustang. I consider it to be reliable and cheap and easy to fix when things do go wrong. For being a "muscle car" it is very good on gas. I have been able to get 29 mpg cruising at 80 mph. City driving it gets down to about 16 mpg. Having 2.73s might have something to do with that. Also there is a lot of aftermarket support for the 87-93 Mustangs. I don't think you will ever have a problem getting parts for these cars.
13th May 2006, 01:51
I have never worked on a car. I read a book, took this car apart, it came apart very easily, and went together just as easily. Changed gaskets and headers, had the heads machined, put it back together, and had it timed, ran like new! It's the fastest car I have ever owned.
My dad revved it up to 7,000 RPM for about 10 seconds when he was spraying cleaner in the throttle body, and I thought it was a goner for sure! I guess it took the beating and was not burning a drop of oil.
It tends to spin around when you give it gas around a corner on a rainy day! The rearend is so light the tires don't stick to the road at all. I put sandbags in the back when I drove it on the snow and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I have never known how fast I was going once I get over 85 due to the spedometer. Even though I read these cars have a top speed of 144+. I gunned it down the interstate and probably went about 130 mph, with a compression leak.
This car is definetely worth the buy. I paid 1,000 us dollars for it and it was rusty as heck, but had 103k on it. The heads were also warped because it had overheated due to a bad waterpump at about 100k. If you see one of this with a 5.0 for sale under 1,000 bucks, pick it up!