Rear Tail Light, ect......

bizkit1976

New Member
May 1, 2011
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Hello All,

Well I am finally in possession of my "new" '66 Mustang. I have taken her out on the road a few times and now have some questions.

First, I have a tail light that is out. I am a little embarrassed to have to ask here, but here it goes. I bought new bulbs but I looked at the bulb and it is fine. I even moved it over to the left side to verify. I took a voltage reading and the right (working) side reads just over 12V and the left (non working) side is reading just under 12V. Is this the problem? I took the piece that is spliced in and connects to the back of the light housing off to see if I need to replace that. The weird thing is that I cannot get a good reading on the backside of the light. I did notice that one of the two contact pins in the bulb housing is loose. Are these easily replaced? I did not see how to remove just the center and the housing appears to be riveted in. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Second, I have a "weird" clunck sound that comes from the drivers side front suspension area whenever I go over a bump or get on it a little. I almost sounds like something may be loose. I know its a broad descriptions but are there any simple things I could look over?

Thanks,
Bizkit
 
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Those connections that plug into the tail light bucket can be junk. I have to wiggle mine untill it works somtimes. Yours may be fine.... but try putting everything back together and rotating/ pulling in/out slightly on the tail light bucket plug. worked for me. start simple first.
 
Thanks for the response. When I saw that they just slide on, I did just that. That is when I noticed that one of the connections of the housing was loose. When I would put the boot on and wiggle it, the bottom pin would slide out some. I pushed it back in, but still no luck. That is when I started looking at that. Do you know if I can just buy a replacement center piece or is that housing come all together? I would rather not have to pop rivets and re-rivet if I don't have to. Do you know anything about the voltage requirements? Do the rear lights need 12V? If so, what are my options there?

Again, sorry for so many questions. I just reallly thought that this would be an easy fix, and it is starting to frustrate me already! :)
 
The entire tail light housing is not that expensive at npdlink.com and Mustangs Unlimited. The only thing you'll need to replace is the reflector/bulb housing/wires. Take a look at these sites I listed and determine if your time trying to rig something to work is worth more than a new part. :)
 
Alright, got the tail light fixed. I can only assume the boot assembly must have be just loose enough. I trimmed and restripped it and wired it in, and it is now working like a champ.

That clunking sound I'm hearin in the front left suspension area is now next. I also noticed it happens if I brake fast. So pretty much anytime that area is stressed, I get that sound. It's not that big of deal to me, unless it is a safety concern. Any ideas or good links to check your suspension? I am suspecting I may need to do some work in that area. I also notice that my rear end seems to drop down when ever I give her gas. Is this normal?

Thanks again,
Bizkit
 
bizkit,
Front end parts in general order of common replacement:
>Shock Absorbers
>Tie Rod Ends-Jack up left wheel and wiggle the wheel side to side watching for any slop, then let it down and do the same for the right side.
>idler Arm-Check for slop/movement while right wheel is up
>Inner & Outer Wheel Bearings properly packed with grease and properly tightened/pre loaded.
>Upper & Lower Shock Mounting points
>Upper Ball Joints
>Upper Control Arm Shafts and Bushings
>Strut Rod Bushings
>Spring Perches/Bushings on the top up the Upper Control Arms
>Lower Ball Joints
>Lower Control Arm Bushings
>Cracks in shock/spring towers
That's pretty much everything in the front end. Any slop[/looseness in any of these parts can cause what you describe. Do you have drum or disc brakes in the front? If disc, the calipers can "clunk if the hardware is faulty and the pads can clunk if not properly secured to the calipers.
HTH,
Gene
 
I agree with Gene, pretty much any moving part up there can make that noise. Better have it looked at by someone who knows what they are looking at. If it is a tie-rod end, and it breaks while you are at speed, you will crash.
 
Check to make sure your coil spring is properly seated on both ends (on the bottom side of the shock tower and on the top of the upper A arm). I believe it is normal for these old cars to squat the rear end under acceleration, thats the least of your worries.
 
@Gene, thanks for the great run down. I will try a few of those this weekend. Something I noticed yesterday; I put new rims/tires on and after I finished the right side (the side that clunks) I noticed that is was sitting up higher than the left. I bounced my weight on it to see if it would settle, and it did. It also makes that clunking sound when ever I bounce it up and down. Is this a clue to anything? If I cant see anything obvious this weekend, I may just take it in and let someone look at and maybe just tell me what is wrong? :)