Just bought a new CLEAN 2001 silver Mustang GT and have a few general ?'s

[The_Grayt_1]

Hello everyone,

I just bought a super clean 01 GT and I have always wanted a nice clean one for a toy car. The car has 78k miles on it and was always garaged and never modded or abused. It was never wrecked or painted either. All services were done by the dealer and I? have records to prove it. It is a 5 speed and it has a few very light mods such as Bassani X pipe with hi flow cats, Magnaflow catback, Eibach springs, 3.73 gears and a SCT tuner. Those mods were not even added until 5k miles ago either so this is an unmolested one for sure and it shows. There is no body damage or dings at all and just a few normal rock chips up front. The car drives great and I absolutely love it so far. I paid $7500 for it because of how clean it was which is well within KBB range.

Now a few questions for the experts. Are there any chronic problems with this model Mustang that I should worry about or look for? I also heard that the later production 01 GT's had a different trans and looking thru my paperwork it shows it is a Tremmec 5 speed. Is that good? What other differences does the later 01 GT's have? Mine was produced in late August of 01. Should I add any mods? It even has factory air intake...

Here are a few pics, let me know what you think


http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt107/thegrayt1/IMAG0499.jpg

http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt107/thegrayt1/IMAG0496.jpg

http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt107/thegrayt1/IMAG0498.jpg

 

[AZmustang98]

Welcome! Well I was kind of confused when you stated that it was unmodded, then went on to state it has exhaust, gears, springs, and a tune. LOL. Looks like a sweet car for sure, one chronic problem I see on that car is....the wheels

 

[The_Grayt_1]

Welcome! Well I was kind of confused when you stated that it was unmodded, then went on to state it has exhaust, gears, springs, and a tune. LOL. Looks like a sweet car for sure, one chronic problem I see on that car is....the wheels

Yea, I am not a fan of the wheels either, I am looking for some black or chrome deep dish Bullit rims to swap it out with.

How is the overall reliability and longevity of these cars? What is average MPG with similar combos?

 

[txredgt]

First mod for you should be a short throw shifter. With those mods it may already have one and if not, but if it doesn't then that should be the first addition. I prefer the MGW since that is all I have owned however I know plenty of people swear by Steeda and even the Ebay ones.

AZmustang98 I think the wheels look ok just a bit small.. There are some CCW (or true forged can't remember which) that look similar and look teh sex on our cars.

 

[AZmustang98]

It depends on the reliablility, you can easily see 200,000 miles out of a 4.6 if you take good care of it and don't rip on it everyday. MPGs I would put around 16-19 in the city and 24-27 MPG on the freeway. With your gears, those numbers will vary.

 

[AZmustang98]

AZmustang98 I think the wheels look ok just a bit small.. There are some CCW (or true forged can't remember which) that look similar and look teh sex on our cars.

They do need to be larger, but they also need to be a little deepdish too. They aren't bad wheels, but the first impression I got was not very good lol

 

[fiveohwblow]

Looks gorgeous! Am I also seeing a shaved antennae? Hard to tell on tapatalk/mobile....

 

[Kornnut]

Ditch the wheels. Not a bad price for the car. I would make sure the car is up on it's maintenance first. Brakes, fuel filter, oil change, and such. Only real problem with these cars is the 3650 tranny can suck, and poping plugs out the heads.

 

[jdb3rd]

That would be a fair price for the car around here. I've always owned fox bodies until I added a 99 GT for DD duties a few months ago. So far so good and with theonly mods being exhaust, CAI, and springs I'm getting 22-23 mpg with it although it's an auto and with a 5-speed I would expect better.

 

[The_Grayt_1]

Ditch the wheels. Not a bad price for the car. I would make sure the car is up on it's maintenance first. Brakes, fuel filter, oil change, and such. Only real problem with these cars is the 3650 tranny can suck, and poping plugs out the heads.

Why does these transmissions suck? What happens to them? I was reading about them being a little notchy. Are the previous T45's any better? Any major engine problems after they get over 100k? I do not beat on my car and baby it for the most part, but will get into it when the mood is right.

 

[40oz]

They don't "suck" just some people experienced some isues with grinding going into 2nd on really cold mornings. Apparently there was a TSB to address the issue in such cases.

Any time a model is this popular, there are going to be people who exaggerate the significance of any possible issue.

The intake should be mentioned. It's plastic, which is fine, but there should be an alluminum crossover tube in front. If not, you have the "old-style," which is the same excpet forthe lack of the aluminum tube. The old-style can crack and leak coolant, so replacing with the new style is always recommended. But it's DIY at your leisure unless there is a leak.

And when you change plugs, get them from the dealer, and make sure you are getting the newest replacement part. There had been issues with the original spec plug for the 99+ cars not having enough threads in the head, so if the plug was loose it could pop out, often damaging threads in the process. As long as you use an approved replacement plug and don't forget to thread them all the way snug, you're fine.

 

[The_Grayt_1]

They don't "suck" just some people experienced some isues with grinding going into 2nd on really cold mornings. Apparently there was a TSB to address the issue in such cases.

Any time a model is this popular, there are going to be people who exaggerate the significance of any possible issue.

The intake should be mentioned. It's plastic, which is fine, but there should be an alluminum crossover tube in front. If not, you have the "old-style," which is the same excpet forthe lack of the aluminum tube. The old-style can crack and leak coolant, so replacing with the new style is always recommended. But it's DIY at your leisure unless there is a leak.

And when you change plugs, get them from the dealer, and make sure you are getting the newest replacement part. There had been issues with the original spec plug for the 99+ cars not having enough threads in the head, so if the plug was loose it could pop out, often damaging threads in the process. As long as you use an approved replacement plug and don't forget to thread them all the way snug, you're fine.

I saw in the service records the plugs were changed about 10k ago, coolant looks great, oil is fresh.

What were the biggest changes in later 91 models from the earlier 01 models? Mine was built in mid August of 01, so I should have the 3650 trans and the new intake right? Any other differences?

 

[TeufelGt]

6 bolt crank vs 8 bolt crank. Cams set up, engine builder, heads, pulley system..minor things and I am speakinh generally. Transmissions are both rated the same in power capacity. Im sure im missing a few things.

 

[The_Grayt_1]

6 bolt crank vs 8 bolt crank. Cams set up, engine builder, heads, pulley system..minor things and I am speakinh generally. Transmissions are both rated the same in power capacity. Im sure im missing a few things.

Do you know what month of production in 01 Ford made the changes?