I wish I had done it sooner; because of the covid hangover, I waited about an extra year before ordering.

Most problems solved by 2020 mid year model.

 

Welcome to the forum!

I can't think of anything I wish i knew first. Life is too short to drive something you don't like.

 

Geez....at 17 you're just starting! At 17 I had a '64 Ford Galaxy Convertible 4 spd 390ci! I have had many performance vehicles over the years. You gotta' dip your toe into the pool sometime! I'm 71 now...Love our Mustang Ecoboost Premium Convertible...but wait...I loved my Hemi Cuda, Mustang 428SCJ, TransAm 6.6, and.....on an on. Enjoy kid!

 

Just keep in mind the insurance. It will probably be triple whatever you're paying now, and if you get one or two speeding tickets in the course of the next few years, you can triple that again.

What kind of Jeep Cherokee do you have now?

 

I have a 2014 jeep cherokee limited! in the stressful process of selling it, but that's just how it goes

 

Hope it all works out for you, and you land a mustang.

Welcome to the forum also and we would love pics of your stang when you get it.

BD

 

Check if the headgasket has been replaced/needs replacing. Ecoboom is a real thing!

 

They're great cars, but unless you are buying brand new, I recommend purchasing a 2021 to 2023 Ecoboost Mustang. The motor will come factory with the 2nd generation connecting rods and a better designed block.

 

Lol, I’m in the process of debating of selling my Mustang and getting a grand Cherokee. As I get older harder to get in and out of plus we do a lot of beach trips. I drove my daughter’s 2016 grand Cherokee should drive a lot smoother.
Love driving around town with the convertible top down just those three or 400 mile trips get a little cramped with two dogs and a wife

 

Speaking of SUV friend mom got an explorer that has a twin turbo V-6 rated at 400hp. She is 80 I think.
She said it has a lot of power and he said “ mom you have 400 hp my grandsport vette only has 450”

 

Welcome to the forum!
I searched several states before I purchased my coupe. I would encourage you to test drive as many as you can. As for myself I don’t plan on not owning a mustang. 🐎

Im excited to buy another one in a few years. Good luck and hope you get one.

 

I wish I'd known about the piss-poor head design.

 

If I had known about that I may have got a GT.

 

Setting aside the lousy head design... The EB is very easy to work on. There is a lot of room under the hood. Change out the intercooler day one. Get an air oil separator. These are not "mods" these are life preservers. After that, have fun. Keep the shiny side up. It's a little heavy but it handles pretty good. As Colin Chapman actually said (see my recent post to get the reference) "Light weight is its own reward" so consider trimming pounds rather than adding power. Welcome to the forum, we are here to help.

 

I knew a little about the Ford Ecoboost before I purchased my Mustang. My daily driver is a 2014 Ecoboost Fusion with the single scroll turbo and 2.0 motor. And still running strong, 12 years later with close to 100 thousand miles.
In 2015, when Ford went to the dual scroll turbocharger, they added steam slits to the 2.3
block, I assume for increased cooling. They did the same thing in 2017, when they released the TS 2.0 motor, for the Ford Fusion.
Ford didn't invent the steam slits, I've seen them in other motors, built by other manufacturers.
To my knowledge, all Ecoboost motors built by Ford, now uses a steam port, instead of the steam slits.

 

This site.......

 

I would have bought a GT. At 70k miles 2017 Premium EB headgasket gave up. So I put in a new EB engine. Not having to deal with that would have been nice. Otherwise stick with newer than 2020, or a GT.

 

Why did you put in a new engine instead of a new head gasket

 

GTs have their own set of engine issues as well.

BD

 

So this might be a naive question, but what about replacing one's head gasket with a better one (or even the OEM since it's new), and maybe new bolts BEFORE Cylinder 3 goes belly up?.

 

Well, that's what I did (with ARP studs instead of bolts), but you have to catch the issue early, never let it over heat and don't drive on it long with the gasket leaking so the cylinder walls are still clean.

 

I'd be tempted to go underneath and change out the connecting rods to 2nd generation connecting rods, if I pulled the head. And then reassemble with ARP hardware. Plus you can also do a little head work, or at least clean off the carbon...

PS: An important aspect to this upgrade, is to use a replacement head gasket for your exact engine block, if you have steam slits, use the gasket for a block with steam slits.

 

While we have our cars apart... lets upgrade the crankcase pressure ventilation with a custom and/or aftermarket PCV system!

 

Don't forget to remove the balancer!

 

I wish I knew how much fun it was going to be and how much $$ I was going to spend on it!! Love that little money pit!!

 

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Ford could learn from Hyundai about how to treat customers when there is a known issue with the product they sell. A friend's daughter has a 2012 Hyundai Sonata that would not start last Friday so I went over to see what the issue was and try to help fix it. When turning the key to start position it would not click or do anything at all. Tested starter, battery, relays and everything we could think of but no luck. My friend just out of curiosity checked the oil level and it was barely showing on the dipstick, so he added 3 quarts to bring it up to the 1 quart low mark on dipstick. When I turned the key to start it cranked and fired right up. we were both amazed since it does not have any oil level sensor in the engine only a simple pressure switch for an idiot light. That puzzled us both, so he called the local Hyundai dealer to ask if they have seen that issue before and they stated they had a Sonata that came in the day before that was doing the same thing and was low on oil, they added oil and it started right up also.

But that is not what I am getting at, when my friend was on the phone with the dealer, he gave them the VIN and was told that the car was included in a recall for oil usage and improperly sized/installed main bearing resulting in engine failure/seizures. Her car has 250K miles on it and he was told that Hyundai will replace the engine when it fails for any reason for the life of the car regardless of time or mileage. Now that is what treating your car owners properly is all about.
We both were totally shocked when they told us that info. If you own a Hyundai or Kia with the 2.4L 4 cylinder engine you may want to call your local dealer and have them run your VIN, you might get a nice surprise.

BD

 

Is this the same Hyundai (Kia) that can allow their cars to be started and stolen with a USB cable?

 

Ok so you need a screwdriver and a USB cable or a pair of pliers to turn the flat piece left when you pop the switch off.

BD