What To Look For In A 96 Mustang Gt 4.6 Wile I Have The Motor Out

nvxwax

New Member
Jun 23, 2013
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Ok so im pulling the motor in my 96 Gt because of a pain in the butt motor mount bolt that will not budge, While i have the motor and trans pulled is there anything i should look to replace?

The car seemed to run fine before i put it in the garage (8 months ago, I got a new jeep as a DD), The only problem it had was if it sat for about a month before starting it would have a miss that would go away after you ran it up the road a little, It overheated a long time ago when the fan burn but as soon as i seen the gauge ramp up i pulled over, I'm guessing the miss could be valve seals, causing one plug to foul up, i noticed the first plug on the passenger side looked a little oily on the last plug change.

For now my list includes just valve seals. and intake manifold (I have the old plastic coolant runner that is leaking)

I did the same thing with a 88 GT i used to own and it turned into a full rebuild car and motor lol, i dont plan on doing the same with this car lol, might do a little wile i have it partially apart lol
 
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What is a PI swap? Most of my mustang brain power is from Fox mustangs, This SN95 mustang used to be a work car to just beat around in, now it looks like it will be a restore project of some sort lol
 
I would second the timing chain guides. They tend to wear over time, and likely need replaced. I did the guides on my GT at 175k. The valve seals are a good idea as well, but it'll keep running fine... it'll just leave a puff of smoke occasionally.

Your 4.6L is a NPI- or non performance improvement, so your looking at 215hp stock, and a head/cam/intake combo that limits airflow. The 99-04 GT (and other vehicles too) got a PI 4.6, so an improved intake/cam/head, which resulted in 260hp from the factory. You could swap on just the intake and cams and see 30-35hp for little work. You could also swap on the PI heads for another small gain, but significant work. It should be noted that the PI swap will bump your compression ratio above that of a PI engine as well. Most can still get away with regular or mid grade gas of they aren't too aggressive with the timing.

LOTS and LOTS of info out there on the swaps, so prepare to do some searching if you plan to go this route.
 
Cool, Ill look into the PI parts, The car has all new prothane bushings and Mac lowered springs in the front, i had them left from another project, I replaced the front fenders years ago with fiberglass, it kinda looked jacked up in the front until i put in the springs lol.

I have been thinking i will pull the motor and replace the things stated above and see how it runs, If its strong i think i will do a total restore of the outside and inside, like i said this used to be a work car so it needs some help lol

what are you guys using to get alignment on the front when using 1.5" drop springs? The local shop said there is not enough adjustment on the top of the strut to get it in spec, i used some camber bolts for now but would rather have a more permanent solution.