[apematt]

Hey all. Brand new here, i just registered today. I know, i know, should have posted intros in the intorduction forum, but i have some questions for everyone. First off, i have a 1994 mustang, v6 3.8l-completley bone stock. And, it has some damage. Apparently, the passenger side was backed into by something, and is pretty damaged. As in i have to replace the door as well as the quarter panel. My first question is will any door from 94-98 replace mine, as long as it is power, or did the wiring change between some of those years. 2nd question-what are some good, cheap, possibly do it yourself mods that a NON-MECHANIC could do? keep in mind that the most mechanical experience i have is replacing my rotors and calipers. Beyond that, not too much motor experience. Also, how expensive/hard would it be to convert my exhaust to a dual exhaust?
thanks in advance.

[Schreiber]

Originally Posted by apematt

Hey all. Brand new here, i just registered today. I know, i know, should have posted intros in the intorduction forum, but i have some questions for everyone. First off, i have a 1994 mustang, v6 3.8l-completley bone stock. And, it has some damage. Apparently, the passenger side was backed into by something, and is pretty damaged. As in i have to replace the door as well as the quarter panel. My first question is will any door from 94-98 replace mine, as long as it is power, or did the wiring change between some of those years. 2nd question-what are some good, cheap, possibly do it yourself mods that a NON-MECHANIC could do? keep in mind that the most mechanical experience i have is replacing my rotors and calipers. Beyond that, not too much motor experience. Also, how expensive/hard would it be to convert my exhaust to a dual exhaust?
thanks in advance.

Hey and welcome to our board, alot of people on here know alot more than me but i will tell you what I can..

Im pretty sure that the doors are all teh same, i had a friend who had a white 98 Sixer who wreckd it and im sure that the doors are the same because it looks identical to my 95 GT. Im pretty sure the wiring is the same too, As far as some starters start off by using a new lifetime KN filter, new spark plugs, DO NOT USE BOSCH... use autolite or motorcraft, change your oil to synthetic but once you do that do not go back to normal, stay with synthetic... Spark plugs are not hard to change if you have never done that b4 but i recommend you have somone help you or watch you while your doing it, change your cap and rotor on teh distributor. As far as dual exhaust goes i think your gonna need to get that done at an exhaust shop... tell them what you want and get some headers and 2 flowmaster mufflers... if i were you, my friend has a 00 Sixer and all he did was take the whole muffler off by unbolting it from the collection pipe it sounds loud... very loud at idle it somewhat sounds like a v8 but in the higher rpms likes 3 grand and up you can tell its a sixer.... but your engine is different from his, still a 3.8 but you can do this... also get something like a SCT tuner if you can find one for your year.... and get the 117MPH speed limiter off because without it all your gonna be able to do is 117.

is it a auto or manual?

[apematt]

Thanks for the info. it is an automatic. How expensive are air filters? And what would be the best thing to do to a 100,000+ milage motor? should i have it rebuilt? should i replace the whole thing? or should i just replace things like fuel lines and things such as that?

[Schreiber]

Uh, air filters are relatively inexpensive.... i spent about 40 bucks on mine i have like the life time warranty one, i havent really noticed any difference even tho the old one was dirty.... but youll never have to change it again.

as far as your motor goes, i have 150,000 miles on mine and it still runs strong, there is an old saying that goes if its not broke don't fix it. My car does not leak oil nor does it burn it.

now i don't know what condition your motor is in, but something must be bothering you if your asking about getting it rebuilt, so what is wrong with it..

all you have to do is change your oil every 3,000 miles and your car can run till about 300,000 ive heard some ppl tell me that they've seen 5.0s run till 350K.... be sure you use synthetic tho, its more expensive about 5 dollars a quart, but its worth it.

be careful tho 3.8s are notorious for blowing head gaskets from what i've heard...

id be worried about the tranny tho, ive heard the AODE are not as strong as the manuals.... and if you abuse your car its not going to help it.

[white angel]

YOur in the correct forum for your questions! But please do post an introduction for yourself and Mustang!! Welcome!

[apematt]

Thanks all for your replies. There isnt anything wrong with my engine, but next oil change, i will be switching to synthetic. My engine says like 127k or something, but i was wondering about getting it rebuilt, just to maybe start fresh.

[shinerstang]

Originally Posted by Schreiber

Hey and welcome to our board, alot of people on here know alot more than me but i will tell you what I can..

Im pretty sure that the doors are all teh same, i had a friend who had a white 98 Sixer who wreckd it and im sure that the doors are the same because it looks identical to my 95 GT. Im pretty sure the wiring is the same too, As far as some starters start off by using a new lifetime KN filter, new spark plugs, DO NOT USE BOSCH... use autolite or motorcraft, change your oil to synthetic but once you do that do not go back to normal, stay with synthetic... Spark plugs are not hard to change if you have never done that b4 but i recommend you have somone help you or watch you while your doing it, change your cap and rotor on teh distributor. As far as dual exhaust goes i think your gonna need to get that done at an exhaust shop... tell them what you want and get some headers and 2 flowmaster mufflers... if i were you, my friend has a 00 Sixer and all he did was take the whole muffler off by unbolting it from the collection pipe it sounds loud... very loud at idle it somewhat sounds like a v8 but in the higher rpms likes 3 grand and up you can tell its a sixer.... but your engine is different from his, still a 3.8 but you can do this... also get something like a SCT tuner if you can find one for your year.... and get the 117MPH speed limiter off because without it all your gonna be able to do is 117.

is it a auto or manual?

Dude.......

His car has a coil pack not a distributor, headers do not add power and your buddy is a butthead for removing his exhaust, tuners can be found easily, and 117 is enough at any dragstrip(not street) considering you couldn't break 75mph in the 1/8 with your car.......

I miss you MW........ Where is your 'tude when we need it over here?

[guitarist9008]

[quote=shinerstang;812754]Dude.......

His car has a coil pack not a distributor, headers do not add power and your buddy is a butthead for removing his exhaust,quote]

Haha. You could get yourself set up with a dual set up for about the same cost as the ticket if you get busted for not having a muffler.

[Dave Mustang]

Originally Posted by shinerstang

I miss you MW........ Where is your 'tude when we need it over here?

Seriously, the misinformation is so rampant here. I'm sure just like the rest of us, mark is just tired of correcting the same questions day after day.

[Schreiber]

Originally Posted by shinerstang

Dude.......

His car has a coil pack not a distributor, headers do not add power and your buddy is a butthead for removing his exhaust, tuners can be found easily, and 117 is enough at any dragstrip(not street) considering you couldn't break 75mph in the 1/8 with your car.......

I miss you MW........ Where is your 'tude when we need it over here?

Im sorry i don't know too much about the v6 models because I don't have one...

I actually never seen a tuner for a 94, and as far as what my friend did, umm oh well thats your opinon. and why don't you stay on topic about the persons question....

[Dave Mustang]

Originally Posted by Schreiber

Im sorry i don't know too much about the v6 models because I don't have one...

I actually never seen a tuner for a 94, and as far as what my friend did, umm oh well thats your opinon. and why don't you stay on topic about the persons question....

Hey smart guy, all that same stuff applies to my v8. Just because it works on a 5.0, doesn't mean it applies to all of ford's engine designs. Also, no muffler is supreme rice.

[shinerstang]

Originally Posted by Schreiber

Im sorry i don't know too much about the v6 models because I don't have one...

I actually never seen a tuner for a 94, and as far as what my friend did, umm oh well thats your opinon. and why don't you stay on topic about the persons question....

I was trying to stay on topic, but you were also giving him the wrong information, which is more hurtful and will make him feel like an idiot when he goes to actually buy the parts. The cost of a distributor cap and rotor is far cheaper than a coilpack. You also have the guy asking for headers and flowmasters. There's another 700+dollars out the door when it is not needed. A simple true dual exhaust runs around $400.00 tops at a local shop.

We have not even touched the surface of his performance/upkeep mods yet. You can also purchase a CAI system for your car for around $60.00 or just go the K&N route for $45.00. We need to make sure your car is up to par first with some preventative maintenence. That would mean plugs, wires, throttle body cleaning, MAH sensor cleaning, a quart of dexron tranny fluid in a full tank of gas to clean your injectors, etc. These will all help you prolong the life of your car.......

[shinerstang]

Oh yeah, the door is a direct swap from a 94-98. If you have power windows, make sure you stay with it. Changing over from power/crank or crank/power is sometimes a pain. You have to remove your inner fenderwell to get to the door hinges, or take it off at the pins and buy some new ones to pop in there.......

[kscoyote]

coil pack and wires are fine on all 3.8Ls since 1994 up to around 350 hp. Nothing to worry about.

but if you planning on building the engine, you'd be better off getting a compression test before investing too much.

[kscoyote]

Originally Posted by shinerstang

Dude.......

His car has a coil pack not a distributor, headers do not add power and your buddy is a butthead for removing his exhaust, tuners can be found easily, and 117 is enough at any dragstrip(not street) considering you couldn't break 75mph in the 1/8 with your car.......

I miss you MW........ Where is your 'tude when we need it over here?

At least 4 tuners Diablosport, SCT, SuperChips, and Sniper.