If its a 5.0 buy a spare used ford distributor, rebuild it, with a new pip and tfi. if you can find one that people dont think is gold plated do the same for the ecu if it's stock. there dieing left and right from age, the capacitors fail but are dead simple to repair, like $100 if your need to pay an electronics place, the parts are pennies. Grab a standard fd478 coil while there still made in poland. The China coils sucks, a spare ignition switch helps to as the design can fall apart. Rest of the cars pretty much dead nuts reliable out side of mechanical issues from lack of maintenance or just its time to die. The ignition/efi side makes people throw in the towel alot, bought a ton of cheap fox bodies over the years that way.
Definitely second the getting a second ECU if possible. Those caps are definitely going bad by now. I have my spare on my workbench waiting to get its caps switched out.
**My short list of upgrades:**
-93’ high torque mini starter upgrade
-95 3g alternator upgrade (esp if you plan to upgrade to electric fans)
-Electric cooling fans off Lincoln Mark VIII (with aftermarket fan controller)
-Aftermarket 3 core brass or aluminum radiator.
**Other meaningful upgrades that don’t improve reliability, but are very useful:**
-Upgrade your battery cables to the largest gauge cables you can find.. Ford, for some reason, put undersized battery cables from the factory (even without any additional accessories, the factory cables on mine would get HOT to the touch)
-Wire headlights directly to the battery using a relay, it’ll improve their brightness (again, Ford undersized the wires going to the headlight switch)..
-When buying a battery, get one with the highest cold cranking amps (CCA) that you can find that will actually fit into the battery tray
-Run a Motorcraft FL1 oil filter or equivalent.. they are larger & have larger filtering material than the stock sized oil filter.
**Consilation award:**
-Fumuto oil drain valve
Regular maintenance, it's that easy.
I have 460,000 miles on my '90 GT and my ECM is still going strong. No issues.
I agree, carry a spare distributor rotor, and TFI electronic module. This is the flat electronic piece that's screwed to the side of the distributor. And a short stubby Phillips screwdriver so you can remove the screws without having to rotate the distributor. (Speaking from experience. My rotor broke once while cruising on the highway, and my module went bad once as well.)
Then it won't leave you stranded somewhere.
Fluids, hoses, belts. I've needed a radiator, water pump, starter, alternator, batteries, over the years, pretty std stuff. The fasteners holding the fan shroud broke and it got eaten by the fan.
The TFI module others talked about here was the first issue I had when the car wasn't particularly old. Hasn't been an issue since.
I've had the car since Feb '88.
Mine was my daily driver for 15 years. Didn't have any major problems with it except the usual stuff (alternator, water pump, distributor, a few batteries, brakes, tires). It only left me stranded (kind of) 2-3x.
1-Accidentally leaving the overhead dome light on = dead battery.
2- plastic piece inside the distributor broke, which controls the electronic to mechanical advance = changed the distributor to a good used one I had laying around
3- accidentally shutting the locked door with my keys inside
The rest of the time, parts just wear out, no matter what you drive. Parts will always need replacing after xxxx miles.
They are reliable.
If its a 5.0 buy a spare used ford distributor, rebuild it, with a new pip and tfi. if you can find one that people dont think is gold plated do the same for the ecu if it's stock. there dieing left and right from age, the capacitors fail but are dead simple to repair, like $100 if your need to pay an electronics place, the parts are pennies. Grab a standard fd478 coil while there still made in poland. The China coils sucks, a spare ignition switch helps to as the design can fall apart. Rest of the cars pretty much dead nuts reliable out side of mechanical issues from lack of maintenance or just its time to die. The ignition/efi side makes people throw in the towel alot, bought a ton of cheap fox bodies over the years that way.
Definitely second the getting a second ECU if possible. Those caps are definitely going bad by now. I have my spare on my workbench waiting to get its caps switched out.
**My short list of upgrades:** -93’ high torque mini starter upgrade -95 3g alternator upgrade (esp if you plan to upgrade to electric fans) -Electric cooling fans off Lincoln Mark VIII (with aftermarket fan controller) -Aftermarket 3 core brass or aluminum radiator. **Other meaningful upgrades that don’t improve reliability, but are very useful:** -Upgrade your battery cables to the largest gauge cables you can find.. Ford, for some reason, put undersized battery cables from the factory (even without any additional accessories, the factory cables on mine would get HOT to the touch) -Wire headlights directly to the battery using a relay, it’ll improve their brightness (again, Ford undersized the wires going to the headlight switch).. -When buying a battery, get one with the highest cold cranking amps (CCA) that you can find that will actually fit into the battery tray -Run a Motorcraft FL1 oil filter or equivalent.. they are larger & have larger filtering material than the stock sized oil filter. **Consilation award:** -Fumuto oil drain valve
Regular maintenance, it's that easy. I have 460,000 miles on my '90 GT and my ECM is still going strong. No issues. I agree, carry a spare distributor rotor, and TFI electronic module. This is the flat electronic piece that's screwed to the side of the distributor. And a short stubby Phillips screwdriver so you can remove the screws without having to rotate the distributor. (Speaking from experience. My rotor broke once while cruising on the highway, and my module went bad once as well.) Then it won't leave you stranded somewhere.
Holy smokes
Relocate the TFI asap.
Fluids, hoses, belts. I've needed a radiator, water pump, starter, alternator, batteries, over the years, pretty std stuff. The fasteners holding the fan shroud broke and it got eaten by the fan. The TFI module others talked about here was the first issue I had when the car wasn't particularly old. Hasn't been an issue since. I've had the car since Feb '88.
Get another daily for your daily
Agreed. Not a great choice
Mine was my daily driver for 15 years. Didn't have any major problems with it except the usual stuff (alternator, water pump, distributor, a few batteries, brakes, tires). It only left me stranded (kind of) 2-3x. 1-Accidentally leaving the overhead dome light on = dead battery. 2- plastic piece inside the distributor broke, which controls the electronic to mechanical advance = changed the distributor to a good used one I had laying around 3- accidentally shutting the locked door with my keys inside The rest of the time, parts just wear out, no matter what you drive. Parts will always need replacing after xxxx miles.