my 89 GT will not stay running after put in gear. it idles hard and when you rev the engine it makes a lot of air noise as if it is pulling in a lot of air from the intake. after i get it running, i put it in gear and it stalls. i have to keep mashing the gas to keep it running or it will stall. i changed the following
Ignition Module (tested bad at autoparts store)
Distributor Cap
Rotor
Plug Wires
Plugs
Ignition coil
Ignition relay
fuel pump
Engine Computer
re checked timing with gun
the other thing is, when it was running prior to this problem the tranny would shift too quick. it would go 1st, then 2nd fine, but right after it goes to 2nd it quickly shifts to 3rd then 4th and i lose power. its an automatic AOD. its in to high a gear for the speed im going which isnt very fast at all. and the downshift would almost stall the car completely. can the torque converter do this? the only thing i can think of thats wrong is either that or the tranny itself. please help. also can a bad alternator do this. it seams my battery isnt getting charged enough as well as the battery gauge in the dash the needle goes to 0 for a little than slowly goes back to normal, then down to 0 and back and forth even when driving. it charges the battery enough that when it stalls i can get a few good cranks out of it to restart but if the car doesnt resart within the first few tries it goes dead and ill need a jump which it take with no problem. i dont know. im about to bring it in and trust the shop mechanics.
Youve got more than one problem thats all. Check the alternator wiring and your battery cables for voltage. They should get 12 volts. GhostDog is right though it sounds like unless you have a major fault in you EFI system somewhere, youve got a GIGANTIC vacuum leak. Check your engine for a hissing noise, somewhere like the upper to lower manifold, head to block, and head to lower meeting points. those would be the biggest leakers of all, since they draw so much vacuum. Also check your vacuum lines, you may have a few disconnected. Is it blowing black smoke? If it is check all of your MAP sensor connections, me, and another guy had this problem and it turned out to be just one vacuum line to the map sensor coming unhooked. Mine was the far left one which is not visible unless you remove the big AC line that runs over the corner of your upper intake. Good Luck.
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Cardinal Red '88 GT 5 speed, Cobra Upper/Lower, Dynomax complete Super-Turbo cat-back system, Turbo Coupe Rear 10" discs, 3:73 gears, SN95 Master Cylinder, Summit Racing adjustable proportioning valve, Spec Stage II kevlar clutch, steeda adjustable cable/quadrant, 73mm front calipers, P.A. Performance 130 amp alternator, 99 Contour Electric Dual Fans, Battery relocated, rebuilt 91 T-5, Mass Air conversion
the problem started with the car constantly overheating but i fixed that when i found the thermostat was installed backwards. but while i was driving i felt a bump like feel, then i lost power when i accellerated. ever since then it got progressively worse and now it wont stay running in gear. i also have a 1989 ford econoline van 8 cylinder. will any parts from that interchange with my 89 GT? i crossed part numbers on partsamerica.com and they have a lot of simular parts for the tranny and such. how do i know if they are interchangeable?
well I have no compression in the #1 Cylinder and lots of compression in the #5. i am guessing blown head gasket since it over heated a couple times pretty badly to. the thing is, the problem started out as a littile jitter in the engine then imediate loss of power on accelleration and seamed like it was in too high a gear for the speed i was at. butit would start to stall every once in a while, then slowly got worse and now it wont start at all. sounds like it wants to but seams to be huffing for air. what do you guys think? think this will fix it? let me know. take care.
pulled the heads, both gaskets blown. they were blown between #1 and #2 and also #'s 6, 7, & 8 were too. so farr the heads look intact not warpped. also the pistons and cylinders are good. looks like i was lucky this time. would this make the car shift incorrectly? that is what the problem started out as. i hope i don't have any tranny problems now.
89 5.0 stang wont stay running after put in gear 
