1988 Ford Mustang LX Convertible from North America - Comments

Heater core leaked and required replacement at 130,000. Did it myself,

but it was a difficult job.

I replace the timing belt, water pump,

and serpentine belt every 100,000 miles.

Short occurred between electronic fuel control wiring and manifold. Factory shop manuals were required to trace it down.

Air conditioning and radiator fan control circuit board failed at 168,000 miles. That caused wiring melt down inside the car.

This car has never left me walking, or had to be towed.

It has used 1 quart of oil every 1500 miles since day one, but not increased in 200,000 miles. I have changed the oil every 3000 miles since new.

Front tires have always worn abnormally quickly. I usually get about 40,000 miles before replacement.

Cheap to operate. Mileage runs 35 highway, 30 combined, 25 city with air conditioning on.

4 cylinder engine with 5 speed is reasonably quick.

After getting through all of your rules on grammer, I feel a bit intimidated. However, this review is dead-on! I have a 1988 Ford Mustang (2.3 liter engine) with about 103,000 miles and that is behaving very similiarly to the one described in the article (Overheating due to cooling fan not operating, heater core failure). I want to ask some questions such as: Where to get repair manuals and schematics, etc. I am not sure if this is the forum for questions, but I just wanted to say thanks for posting the article - At least now I know that I am not alone!

I just bought a 1988 Mustang 2.3L convertible with 150k miles on it. So far I have only driven it about 200 miles and look forward to getting it registered in the spring to use as a second car. I am trying to keep from putting too many miles on my 2008 Bullitt! I am really psyched about getting this old Mustang back on the road. Previous owners took decent care of this car and I am looking forward to tuning this into my hobby car and returning it to its former glory. Of course it only has half an engine but it is fun to drive... gotta love the Mustang in all its forms.