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Extreme power lag over 3k rpm?

751 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  GN_Mike
Okay, so I’ll start by staying that I bought this bolt-on 2011 gt back in April, and a couple months ago the ac compressor went out (not the worst thing in the world since I live in Seattle). Around that same time I started to have random power loss above 3k rpm. We ended up simply cutting the belt to the ac and let it be dormant, however the power problem continued and got worse, when it had the loss of power it also sounded like the engine was muffled. I took it into ford to have diagnostics run, and it came back that it had a simple misfire and that I needed to change sparks and boots. Did that, same issue. After some forum reading I took it in to have ford change the oil....all the sudden she ran like a rockstar again. Problem is, the dipstick always reads overfilled...a mil or two over the dot. Basically ever since that fixed the issue, every time I start to feel her lag I’ll add half a quart. The thing is, I don’t want to over fill, but I also don’t know why that would fix the issue if it was caused by something else. On a cold start there’s no blue smoke, no sign of oil burning but I’m going through about a quart every 3-4 weeks. I will also mention she just hit 80,000 miles, and I do drive her hard daily. I bought her with a handful of mods, boss mani, airraid intake, bbk throttle, Borla exhaust, and a diablo tune however it did not come with the tuner. Is anyone else having anything similar happen? Anyone know of a good alternative dipstick that will read more accurate? Could it be something else?
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Assuming the engine hasn't been swapped out, I'd start by doing my own oil change. I'd drain the oil and put on a new filter. Buy your oil in quart containers. Pour in 4 quarts and check the level on the dip stick (it should read 1 quart low before starting the engine). Start and idle the engine for a few minutes. Let the oil drain back and recheck the stick. The stick should read a little below the add 1 quart mark. Now you can add the final quart and check to see where the full level is on the stick. If the engine/dipstick/pan are stock, you'll know what your oil level is. If the final oil level is above the full mark, you can re-mark your dipstick with a file (or try to find a dipstick that matches your engine).

Even at 80k and a heavy foot on the throttle you shouldn't use/lose that much oil. Try cruising at 60 or so and back off on the throttle. If you have tired valve stem seals, you'll get a puff of smoke out the exhaust that will be visible in your mirrors.
hmmm very odd situation for sure, but that comes with modded cars. I really wonder if this has anything to do with a tuning issue and without the tuner that is hard to answer. The oil change correcting the issue really makes it hard, but I would still start with the tune.
...Pour in 4 quarts and check the level on the dip stick (it should read 1 quart low before starting the engine). Start and idle the engine for a few minutes. Let the oil drain back and recheck the stick. The stick should read a little below the add 1 quart mark. Now you can add the final quart and check to see where the full level is on the stick...


We are talking about a 5.0 here, right? Those have an 8 quart oil fill, not 5. So, he should start by pouring 7 quarts of oil after the drain and filter change, correct?




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. . . . We ended up simply cutting the belt to the ac and let it be dormant, however the power problem continued and got worse, . . .

I had to do a double-take on this . . . I am pretty sure my 4.6 has only one belt that runs everything, not sure if the 5.0 has two? If it has only one, and you actually cut it, that would cause a lot of problems . . . I guess either it has two, or you actually put on a shorter belt bypass the A/C?
I had to do a double-take on this . . . I am pretty sure my 4.6 has only one belt that runs everything, not sure if the 5.0 has two? If it has only one, and you actually cut it, that would cause a lot of problems . . . I guess either it has two, or you actually put on a shorter belt bypass the A/C?
This was my wonder as well as I want to say the 5.0's only have 1 belt, but since I don't currently have one I wasn't able to go look, but it is my thought that all Mustangs are 1 belt right? Well all NA Mustangs anyway... hmmmm

All things normal this sounds like a tuning issue as I stated above, but if it is a belt related issue then it makes sense as it sounds like limp mode is being described. I would think check engine light would be on if it is one belt and not on... Right?
On the 2011/12 5.0’s, there are two belts. One turns only the A/C compressor, and the other turns everything else. Cutting the A/C belt doesn’t disable anything except the A/C.



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