[SEA~CADET]

Ok i have a 2008 v6 mustang coupe. Winters coming fast here (southeast WI). I have no other vehicle, I could store it and work something out with my old lady. Or i could brave it and try and drive it through the winter. If so what should i do besides weight the rear end. Second as of a last week when i shift to third it grinds. This happens as I'm putting it into third before I even let the clutch out. This only seems to happen when its pretty cold and it only happens the first time i go to 3rd time when the car has sat for a while. After that it doesnt happen again until it sits. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[stlwagon]

Sand bags are a great idea. As for the transmission, you might have some success if you switch fluids to something like Amsoil or Royal Purple. If that doesn't solve it, you might have a syncro issue.

[strathmustang]

i agree...sandbags are a great idea...
but also some winter tires would help alot...

[SEA~CADET]

you are talking about transmission fluid, sorry Im a mechanical noob. All ive done mechanical is install the dual exhaust. And it was a bolt on

[pmr2000]

Are you sure you are just not shifting all the way up into 3rd? Bit of a long reach forward if you are used to driving other sticks. I grind 3rd occasionally myself when I get a little lazy, have not fully got used to the car.

Second Royal Purple, switched to it in the summer, if nothing else helps the cold shifting especially in the winter.

[SEA~CADET]

Im sure its all the way in gear. But is grinding before i let the clutch out so it shouldn't matter. Yeah Ive been using Royal purple engine oil since I bought the car its good stuff. So i have no problem using it in the transmission (if that's what you are referring to).

[edwardsaddict99]

I live in minnesota, and I was debating whether I wanted to drive it in winter or buy an old beater car and garage the stang. I decided to buy a 94 Taurus, and only drive the stang when the roads are clear and there is no chance of snow. When the snow starts flying, the mustang goes in the garage and out comes the taurus. It works out nicely...

If you can't get a winter car, I would recommend at least throwing in some sandbags and probably slapping on some decent snow tires...

[kgoody]

I live in northern New York and we've already gotten our fair share of snow here in the short time that the flakes have been flying this year. I have a set of bridgestone blizzaks on my '06 Pony V6 and about 200 pounds of sand bags in the trunk. So far, I haven't run into any problems and it is actually really easy to drive. I have an automatic as well, so the manual tranny might be easier to feather on when the snow gets a little deeper during those nice blizzards. I would recommend keeping your pony bundled up in the garage if you get more than 4-5 inches on the roads though... things tend to get a little hairy after that.

Also, if you adore your rims as much as I do my summer ponys, I would recommend downgrading to 16" wheels for the Blizzaks - not a whole lot of room left in the wheel wells on a stock 'stang for the bigger tires.

[SEA~CADET]

I have the crappiest wheels you can get with it so im not too worried

[SEA~CADET]

didnt want to make a new thread...so was wondering where is best to get a gt takeoff bumper... new takeoff charges like 200 for shipping maybe thats normal idk maybe ill just make a trip and pick it up.

[oldpanzer]

Definitely get some snow tires if you are going to do winter driving up north. All season radials have a different rubber compound and less open tread so they don't bite as well. Of course it will not solve the problem of someone else losing traction/control and running nto you.

I bought some used wheels (they look like new) from Ebay and some Blizzaks from Tirerack. This is my first winter with my Mustang and I don't expect to have any problems. To my surprise I found that Costco will mount a tire for you even if you don't buy them there. Only $10 a tire which was about three times cheaper than I have found other tire stores would do this type of work locally.

[48prerunner]

If its a 2008 Id take it to the dealer before i'd switch fluids I read somewhere where the t-5s dont like royal purple something with seals or such? Plus the stock t-5 not that great to start with replace the one in my street rod with a tremac after it pucked out on me on the interstate. Id say take the stang off the road for winter and buy some cheap beater 4x4 or piece of junk beater. SALT eats cars ate the driveshaft in half on my ranger.

[BullMeister]

For winter driving there's several things you can do. I drive mountain passes in Western Colorado during the winter and this is what works for me...

* If you have a CAI and tune, drop the tune to the lowest octane tune you have to get rid of some torque. You don't want a lot of power breaking your rear end loose on the ice.

* Buy the cheapest studded tires you can get and put them on all 4 wheels, not just the back end like some folks do. You want tires with the worst wear rating you can get for winter and that's usually the cheapest too. Lower wear rating means softer tires, which grab better on the roads. Putting studded tires on the back helps you get going but you need them on all 4 wheels to help you steer and stop. Hankook makes a good, cheap one that grabs good on snowpacked roads.

* Put kitty litter in the gallon jugs in the trunk. Works as good as sand for traction and it doesn't leak and make a mess in the trunk.

* Keep a full tank of gas in the car when possible when you get home at the end of the day. The fuller the tank, the less water condensation you'll get in the tank overnight during the winter. You also don't want to fill up at the gas stations first thing in the morning because their storage tanks have the same problem. Besides, who wants to stand around on a cold morning putting gas in the car? Brrrrr...

* Use the cheap AMCO windshield wiper blades and not the made for winter ones that have that rubber cloth wrapped around the wipers. Those blades made for winter cost 4 times as much and are actually worse and the snow and ice will build up thick on them in a short amount of time.

* If you haven't already done it, replace your headlight bulbs with some silverstar headlight bulbs. When the weather's bad, the snow and slush builds up on the headlight lenses and you'll need as much light getting through as you can get or else you'll have to stop once or twice an hour and wipe off the lenses.

*Don't know if you drive lonely stretches of road but a snowsuit, blankets and a change of dry clothes in the trunk are a good thing too.

* If you drive in places where you lose cell phone service a lot (like mountain passes and valleys) get a $40 handheld cb radio in case you need to get ahold of a trucker for help if you have problems. Sure beats standing outside the car in a blizzard trying to flag someone down.

[07ponypackage]

what bull meister said is very important, and i know sandbags are a regular but it becomes a problem when thers a sub box in the back, i use 2 80 poung tractor weights, sounds hick eh? but their small and i just put them in a wooden box ( only to keep the sharp steel edges away from stuff in the trunk ) that and snow suit or lined coveralls work well especiall if you have a break down, coveralls for doin the work and they keep you warm

snow tires make the biggest difference, 4 inches of wet snow in northern alberta right now, and my car stays on the road nice its doin better then most FWD cars

[amustangrocks]

bull meister, those are great ideas. as far as common problems go, we allready had the e brake cables froze on one car, and i saw on a thread where someone had problems with the side window drop down feature when everything is iced up. what do we have to look forward to there??? anyone have hat problem yet? or is it a problem? anything else that will or might happen on these stangs???