[My89Lx]

I need even more information. Thanks to everybody that has been answering my questions thus far. I am not for sure what rear end is in my mustang. could you tell me how many bolts are in the 7.5 rearend versus the 8.8 rearend? It's a 1989 2.3l ford mustang lx. I am not sure if they only had a certain rearend for that year or anything. I just really need to know that before I get a new gear or anything. Thanks.

[BIG G]

the 2.3 has the 7.5 rear end. a 8.8 will bolt right in , but i dont think you need one. big G

[My89Lx]

Is it harder to get a new gear for a 7.5? and are they more expensive? I would like a little bit better take off (because the take off in this mustang is slower than both the ford aspire and mazda 323 I have driven. Of course those were front wheel drive, so i guess the actual transmission instead of transaxle and a true drive shaft might make that difference. But I still think a gear would help. I know it probably sounds dumb putting a bigger gear in a 2.3, but I am looking for any help I can get.

[turboeeyore]

my 1990 2.3l had factory 3.73's and my 85 t-bird had a posi 7.5 with 3.55's. any mustang 5.0 before 85 had a 7.5 posi so the parts should be out there. check the door code for the axle and there is a listing that sould tell you what rear gear you have now. the poor excelleration is probally not the rear end, it's the 88 hp 2.3. lol!!

[My89Lx]

Haha I know the hp is low. But you would think that a tuned computer by sleeper inc., a custom cold air intake, and the ported exhaust and intake would help a little bit.
What is the best thing to do for a little extra take off? I mean, now it can cost a little bit. Still on a pretty tight budget, but give me an idea of how much it will cost so that I can start figuring things out. If you can.

[turboeeyore]

get rid of the cat's and put in a magnaflow hi flow cat and muffler, make sure the cold air kit exits the engine compartment, so it sucks in fresh cold air, just not too low that puddles can splash up into it. the upper and lower intake is ported/gutted? you can modify a 5.0 throttle body to bolt on, just remember th throttle cable won't just pop on, you may need to cut you're old throttle body lever off and weld it to the new throttle body, also make sure the upper is gutted enough to match the opening of the throttle body, or it will make the air coming in drag and perform worse.

[My89Lx]

What isa decent exhaust to put on the 2.3 mustang that will help it sound pretty good while giving it a little better performance. But I also need it to be at a decent price.