1987 GT Mustang Basic Tuning Help

[93gtmustang]

Well I bought my second Mustang the other day, a 87 GT. My 93 GT is pretty well set, and I'm trying to get this one running pretty decent.

My 93 is mass air.

This 87 is speed density, which I'm not too familiar with. It really needs some work.

Where should I start and what should I do to get this car running good in it's current state without spending a ton of money.

Also the motor was replaced. Where do I look for a vin# on the motor to find out what it came out of?

Any links would be great too

Thanks for all the help



87 GT(Converted to a LX) Speed Density, AOD, Explorer Intake, Headers

 

[93gtmustang]

This car came with a full dual exhaust all the way back, no h-pipe. Will this effect the way it runs?
There's also a crappy intake that uses the stock plastic tube an aluminum 90 elbow that puts the conical in the fender wall. Not really a job that was done well. I just have the conical in the engine bay for now so the stock intake tube isn't kinked like before with the 90 elbow. I'm not keeping it that way. What intakes are good for this model or is finding a stock air box with a K&N a better choice.
Also it's pretty certain that the balancer is shot, it has spun off of the 0 tdc setting.
I made a new mark for a reference point and have it at roughly 10 advanced. I'm getting what I think is detonation at WOT when it's in drive. No detonation when reving in park. Could this have something to do with the rubber on the balancer being worn out and changing the timing location?

Thanks

 

[aar0s]

Ive got a cobra intake and 65mm tb on my SD car and am fairly happy with the way it runs. of course it could be better but at this point I dont really care to switch to mass air. Some guys have had luck with h/c/i on their SD cars but only a few cams will work with it. Ive heard guys useing the explorer intake with good results.
As far as the VIN goes, i think that it should be stamped on the lower intake and on the block, im not really sure where on the block though. id make sure that the stamp on the block is the same as on the intake. someone may have just switched intakes.

 

[Mustang5L5]

There is no complete VIN stamping on the engine at all.

However, i have heard the last digits of the VIN are stamped under the headers on the block. It's really only visible with the engine out. It's not complete and i have not had it confirmed.


Run the codes first. There is no check engine light on speed density cars so you won't know what's stored.

You might gain some exhaust scavenging with a crossover pipe in the exhaust. I tend to shy away from custom welded exhausts. Had a friend get an exhaust done up front headers back. 6 months later be blew the tranny. When he went to drop it, he found the entire exhaust was welded as 1 peice from headers back. He had to sawzall it off


Any intake will work fine. I have a Cobra intake and 65mm TB on my '88 and it runs just like stock.

 

[93gtmustang]

I sold my old motor from my 93 to a friend.
He said he found that it was from a 91 Mustang from the (vin# ?) on the motor.
I'll ask him where the heck he got that number?!
This motor also has some wierd looking headers. They seem small in diameter and kind of long tube type.
I'll take a picture of them.
The welded exhaust was done pretty well, but I know what your saying about a welded exhaust if you have to drop it out to do any work. I wish they had put an H or X pipe on it.

So far I've done the following:
Fuel stablizer & injector cleaner added to 9 gallons of 93 octane
Fuel Filter
Checked timing (Balancer needs replacement)

Next things to do
Check fuel pressure
Change balancer
Check codes
Check if plugs are the right ones and right gap

Thanks for all the help!!
I'll keep you updated on how things are coming along.

 

[93gtmustang]

I checked the Fuel Pressure. It's at 40 psi vacuum off.
Set the TPS to .96, it was at .77.
It's running a little better each time something more is done, but it's still pretty rough.
Next is a new balancer and check the codes.
Does Advanced Auto (which is close by) or Auto Zone (farther away) rent balancer removal and installation tools? I actually should just by one , $65.00 from Jegs.
Does the radiator have to come out?
I'd still like to find out what this motor came out of for a starting point.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Why replace the balancer? Unless the rubber looks like it's starting to fall out, i would leave it in place for now.


#1 thing to do is check the codes since these SD cars do not have a check engine light, so you would not know if anything is stored

 

[jrichker]

Dump the codes and see what the computer says is wrong…Codes may be present in the computer even if the Check Engine light isn’t on.

Here's the link to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great. You watch the flashing test lamp or Check Engine Light and count the flashes.

See Troublcodes.net Trouble Codes OBD & OBD2 Trouble Codes and Technical info & Tool Store. By BAT Auto Technical

If your car is an 86-88 stang, you'll have to use the test lamp or voltmeter method. There is no functional check engine light on the 86-88's except possibly the Cali Mass Air cars.

The STI has a gray connector shell and a white/red wire. It comes from the same bundle of wires as the self test connector.

89 through 95 cars have a working Check Engine light. Watch it instead of using a test lamp.

The STI has a gray connector shell and a white/red wire. It comes from the same bundle of wires as the self test connector.

There is a single dark brown connector with a black/orange wire. It is the 12 volt power to the under the hood light. Do not jumper it to the computer test connector. If you do, you will damage the computer.

What to expect:
You should get a code 11 (two single flashes in succession). This says that the computer's internal workings are OK, and that the wiring to put the computer into diagnostic mode is good. No code 11 and you have some wiring problems.

Codes have different answers if the engine is running from the answers that it has when the engine isn't running. It helps a lot to know if you had the engine running when you ran the test.

Trouble codes are either 2 digit or 3 digit, there are no cars that use both 2 digit codes and 3 digit codes.

Alternate methods:
For those who are intimidated by all the wires & connections, see Actron® for what a typical hand scanner looks like. Normal retail price is about $30 or so at AutoZone or Wal-Mart.

Or for a nicer scanner see EQUUS DIGITAL FORD CODE READER (3145) – It has a 3 digit LCD display so that you don’t have to count flashes or beeps.. Cost is $30.