Mustang newbie looking for help with new "toy"!

obsidiantalon · 06-12-2008

Hey all,

I've been cruising around this forum for quite some time and finally plucked up the nerve to write a post! Everyone seems quite helpful and friendly, but I really feel ignorant in comparison to your vast stores of knowledge!

I just bought a 2001 V6 manual 5-speed Mustang with roughly 90,000 miles on it. It seems pretty stock, but I'm sure it's had maintenance since it drives/handles beautifully! There are a few noises that I'm unfamiliar with, and as such I'll be getting it up to my mechanic for a once-over as soon as I possibly can. I've got a few questions that I'd like to ask, and wasn't entirely certain where to post them, so I apologize if this isn't the correct place.

When I crank the car, I'm hearing a soft "ticking" sound from the outside while it's idling. With my (very) limited knowledge of "under-the-hood" stuff, words like "belt" and "timing" come to mind, but I can't quite piece them together into anything intelligible, is this anything serious?

I've got the Mach 460 sound system and it seemed to be a very nice stock system until the CD player decided to stop working randomly. It makes a staccato ticking sound whenever I press any of the CD function buttons. Won't cycle through, play, or even eject CDs...Any way to fix this myself? (I also have an amp/sub I'd like to put in with the stock head unit if it's repairable, but from what I've read on here that isn't going to be easy..?=))

Onto the fun stuff!! I have a small income now, as I just graduated from highschool, but I was looking into putting a new exhaust system, and a cold air intake on the car to start out with. Nothing flashy, just hoping to add a few MPG and HP.

Was looking at these items:
Exhaust: Pypes 409 Stainless Steel Street-Pro Catback w/ Polished 304 Tips for Factory Mid-Pipe (96-04 V6) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!
CAI:
Mustang V6 Cold Air Intake Kit at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

Any opinions? Ideas as to how much horsepower/miles-per-gallon I stand to gain from these mods alone?

And last but certainly not least, if anyone has any suggestions as to modifications I could make to increase both horsepower and gas efficiency, but not spend a ton of money (I'm sure that's a very cliche request..Sorry!) I'm 100% open to suggestions!!

Thanks in advance for your patience and your help!!!

~David

**white angel** · 06-12-2008

Enjoy the site!!

Be sure to post some pictures into your gallery soon!!

heavy metal · 06-12-2008

Welcome to the site,enjoy!!!!the factory radios are bad about that,just get you a new aftermarket one....

obsidiantalon · 06-12-2008

Hehe, I assumed that would be the case...How do I remove the stock head unit? I know Wal-Mart carries the little tools used to remove most Ford head units, as my previous vehicle was a Ford and the tools worked just fine...However I went to pick up a set yesterday and "Mustang" was not listed as one of the vehicles they would work for.. O.o

Thanks again!
~David

Guties · 06-12-2008

if you have a circuit city near you they do free installation on all radios over 99 bucks... you might have to pay a lil for the wire harnesses and if it needs a spacer then that too.

1mach1 · 06-12-2008

Nice ride. Welcome!!!

obsidiantalon · 06-13-2008

Thanks for the welcome!!

Definitely gonna upgrade the head unit, but that can wait for now, as the exhaust and intake take priority in my mind. Any opinions on the pieces I listed? Or suggestions?

Still open to ideas as to other mods as well!

And another question arose on my way home, how difficult/expensive would it be to add fog lights? =)

Thanks again!
~David

wolf39us · 06-13-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guties

if you have a circuit city near you they do free installation on all radios over 99 bucks... you might have to pay a lil for the wire harnesses and if it needs a spacer then that too.

Please for the love of god do NOT let Circuit City or Best Buy or Walmart touch your car...DO NOT...I repeat DO NOT let these places touch your car

you WILL be sorry

get a audio shop to do the work...the mach 460 is a ***** and isn't easy to mess with...I suggest ripping out the whole system...new 4 ch amp, new sub, new speakers

you should be ok with the tweeters on the doors tho

Guties · 06-13-2008

iv had multiple radios in multiple cars switched out by circuit city and iv never had a problem but then again i never had any of these mach systems so i couldnt tell you how those work... i dunno

schultz9008 · 06-14-2008

i am in the same predicimate you are in. i just bought a 2001 v6 5speed manual also. go figure haha. but i dont know what to do either. i have been looking on here for a while and people say to first get an exhaust then get 3.73 gearing and a t-loc(i have no ideah what a t-loc is and dont know what it does. then get a cold air intake. all of this is from what i heard. if i were you i would go with a K & N cold air intake and the exhaust i would like to get is a catback exhaust with flowmaster ends. im also going to get a peice to make it a dual exhaust to give me a lil more horsepower. but like you i just graduated high school and i bought my car as a graduation gift to myself haha. there is a bunch of stuff i want to do but my budget is a lil low. i am a pizza boy for now and i dont have alot of money to spend on my car. but when i get money it all goes to my baby. i dont really know if i helped you out or not but if anyone else could help me out also that would be great. i want someone to explain to me what the gearing is and how it works. i would also like to know how much it would cost to install. i found 3.73 gears for bout 200 dollars but i dont know how much it would cost. just please help me out. and i hope you dont care that im butting into your thread. thanks alot

ronnybej · 06-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by schultz9008

i am in the same predicimate you are in. i just bought a 2001 v6 5speed manual also. go figure haha. but i dont know what to do either. i have been looking on here for a while and people say to first get an exhaust then get 3.73 gearing and a t-loc(i have no ideah what a t-loc is and dont know what it does. then get a cold air intake. all of this is from what i heard. if i were you i would go with a K & N cold air intake and the exhaust i would like to get is a catback exhaust with flowmaster ends. im also going to get a peice to make it a dual exhaust to give me a lil more horsepower. but like you i just graduated high school and i bought my car as a graduation gift to myself haha. there is a bunch of stuff i want to do but my budget is a lil low. i am a pizza boy for now and i dont have alot of money to spend on my car. but when i get money it all goes to my baby. i dont really know if i helped you out or not but if anyone else could help me out also that would be great. i want someone to explain to me what the gearing is and how it works. i would also like to know how much it would cost to install. i found 3.73 gears for bout 200 dollars but i dont know how much it would cost. just please help me out. and i hope you dont care that im butting into your thread. thanks alot

a t-loc is a Traction Lock. unlike GT's, V6 mustangs only spin one tire so with a t-loc, both tires will spin and give you better speed off the line. gears cost about $200 (depends the brand) and getting them installed cost around another $200 (depends where you live). if you were to get a t-loc, then it would be smart to purchase them together and get them installed together because they are installed in the same area. you would save money on installation that way. if you were to get these installed, getting a tuner would be smart since your speedometer woud be off because of the new gears. and as for the K&N CAI, its kind of a waste of money considering how CAI all pretty much do the same thing and give you only about 5-8 hp. getting one from ebay for $70 is just as good. a true dual exhaust is a good idea. its about an increase of 15-18 hp.

schultz9008 · 06-14-2008

thank you for explaining that to me in words that i can actually understand. every other time that i would have someone explain that to me they would use big words or something and i would be totally lost. now i understand.

obsidiantalon · 06-14-2008

Thanks so much for the information!!

What is a "True dual" exhaust, as opposed to the one I supplied a link to?

And since I'm not yet up to the t-loc/gears would the CAI still be a good idea?

Thanks!
~David

guitarist9008 · 06-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by obsidiantalon

Thanks so much for the information!!

What is a "True dual" exhaust, as opposed to the one I supplied a link to?

And since I'm not yet up to the t-loc/gears would the CAI still be a good idea?

Thanks!
~David

True duals don't use a cross over. You don't really need a cross over anyways. They help the V8's firing order flow smoother, when two cylinders fire off almost simutanesly, but you don't have that problem in your V6.

ronnybej · 06-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by obsidiantalon

Thanks so much for the information!!

What is a "True dual" exhaust, as opposed to the one I supplied a link to?

And since I'm not yet up to the t-loc/gears would the CAI still be a good idea?

Thanks!
~David

CAI is a nice mod. I have one from Mustang Parts & Performance - American Muscle and got it for $80. It gives your pony a bit more of a growl and gives you better throttle response and mpg. i enjoy mine. dont overpay for a CAI jus for a brand name.