Hunting 2.3Ts in Junkyards (what to look for?)

[conor]

So, pending the forthcoming sale of my other car, I'll be hitting the local junkyards soon for a 2.3T. The one I was at last Saturday had a 5-spd turbocoupe (just in, I guess. the car was pretty clean).

I know a general list of things to look for in a motor as far as problems (shaft play in the turbo, oil leaking in bad places, etc.) but is there anything specific with the 2.3T that I should keep an eye out for? The motor will probably get rebuilt either way, but it's always nice to know what's wrong...

Thanks!

 

[Lx89Stang05]

http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/fastest4d/faq.html

What years were the XR-7 (turbo) made?
84-86
What years were the Turbo Coupes made?
83-88
What years were the Svo made?
84-86
What years were the Merkur XR4TI (turbo) made?
85-89
What years were the Mustang GT (2.3turbo) made?
83-84 Gt in convertable and hatch only
79-81 The GT's were a carb. Turbo
What years were the Capri RS Turbo made?
83-84
79-82 Capri's were a carb. Turbo

 

[SpectralSamurai]

What should one keep an eye out for when eyeing JY transmissions (manual)? What can you check without having to disassemble the tranny to inspect it? Are there any particular 2.3 models or years of models which had stronger transmissions than other years?

 

[G-90]

What I would look at first is color of oil on dipstick.
Dirty oil means someone cheaped out and didn't change it regularly, wich could mean worn rings and bearings, and turbo in this case.
Secondly, see if you can get a compression test, most J/Y do this before they sell an engine anyway.
You are looking for fairly close figures in all cyl's.
Also you could do a leakdown test of cyl's.

 

[Asha'man]

What should one keep an eye out for when eyeing JY transmissions (manual)? What can you check without having to disassemble the tranny to inspect it? Are there any particular 2.3 models or years of models which had stronger transmissions than other years?

Just move it in and out of gear, mostly....check for wear on the clutch pedal pad. Mileage, general car condition and the type of wreck are all things to look at as well. I got my T5 from an '88 Turbocoupe with 144K miles on it. It was hit in the right fender and the passenger's head went halfway through the windshield....the star pattern had hair caught in it. But that way I knew the car ran when it got to the JY. You can look for '87+ 2.3 Mustangs and '86+ (I think) Turbocoupes for a tranny. Good luck.

Ash

 

[mr_woodster]

Tranny tip:
wrecked car = Good
late model (91-93) stangs = best usualy (less likely to have syncro wear)


turbo motor:

87-88 with computer etc if you get teh whole setup (ecu/vam/IC/motor)
86.5 is good(T3 turbo instead of the 87-88 IhI), brown tops..

if you are planning a full rebuild then there isnt much to worry about, you just want a car that hasnt had to hard of a life (or ending there of) , just need the pistons/crank/rods to be in decent shape.

Make sure the crank spins a complete 360* without to much trouble, check turbo for shaft play etc etc... just the basics, its gonna be used, stuff is gonna need to be replaced generally , especially if it iat the junkyard~

 

[conor]

Well, the two JY cars I'll be looking at are an '86 Mercury Cougar and an unknown-year Thunderbird TC (black, recessed headlights, chrome trim everywhere, etc.). The t-bird was a 5spd though, and I don't know about the Cougar yet.

There was no intercooler on the t-bird, so I guess it's not an '87/'88 car.

Now, the car that this thing is going into is a '74 Pinto/Mustang. I know the engine should bolt up with no fuss, but what about the differential and driveshaft from a T-bird or Cougar? The diff. seems to be of some concern (research indicates that the stock diff. is a p.o.s.), so I don't really want to swap the new engine in, boost for a bit and then blow up the diff.

What about a diff. from a 5.0? The T-5 transmission from one will work, so will the shaft and diff. from one also work?

Thanks a lot, gents. You guys are a huge help.

 

[mr_woodster]

if your swaping into a fox chassis you can put a 5.0 ..aka the 8.8 rear end , stinger has a swap how-to on his webpage tech articles. Getting your motor in with a 5speed will be enough work for one day, the 7.5 rear end should be good for awhile, remember though the 2.3t will make good torque, it makes it differntly than a 5.0....not off the line torque per-say, so it doesnt stress the rear diff as much, im going to be running a pretty nicely moded 2.3t with a 7.5, when/if it breaks ill let you know

 

[Asha'man]

BTW, the T5 from a 5.0 won't directly fit, and the gear ratios are different. You know that, right?

Ash

 

[conor]

Well, the car I'm looking at is already a 5-spd, so I'm not going to go out of my way to get a 5-spd from a different car. I suppose I was mistaken about the 5.0 T-5 though.

The whole thing is going into what is apparantly a '74 Pinto/Mustang chassis. The Fox chassis didn't come into production until 1979 though, right?

 

[Asha'man]

Right.

Ash

 

[rvracers]

The 74 Pinto had a shorter/longer (I forget but it is off by about 3 inches) driveshaft than the newer 5 speed cars. The mounts for the tranny are completly different as is the rear crossmember. The splines are different on the tailshaft between the two trannys as is the input shaft. The factory Pinto 8 inch (and that is the heavy duty station wagon version) rear end is very weak and if you put in the mustang rear you have to convert to the leaf spring setup. The shifter holes in the tunnel will be off by just enough that you will have to cut some of the floorpan. I also think that you will have to use Pinto motor mounts also. Radiators are not the same between Fox and Pinto so the mounting of a larger radiator as well as the hose routing will have to change also. Nice thing though, the Pinto had only a few wires in the engine compartment so removing the harness is a snap. Good Luck!