Mustang Repair Basics

Car hobbiest all truly understand and appreciate the joys of working on their cars. Appreciate might now always be the word that comes to mind, but a sense of completion when the job done is always present.

You're doing your own mechanical work for a number of reasons:

1. It's your past time
2. Your foreign car doesn't have a dealer or mechanic local
3. You're saving cash

There are other reasons, but most people fall into one of these three. No matter what your skill level, you need a repair manual. Haynes makes a good repair manual, and that's what I use. They're straight, and to the point, getting you where you need to be, repairing your car, quickly.

All of this is a bit of common sense, so there's no need to dwell here. There's a Haynes manual for just about every make and model, but I'm concerned with working on my Mustang, so that's what I'm talking about in this article. There's a lot on info on the Mustang, but nothing replaces your Haynes mustang manual. You're not going to get anything done without one. Haynes Mustang Manuals can be got cheaply.

After you've gotten a manual, you're going to need some additional tools:

1. 2 or 4 jack stands
2. Socket set
3. jack
4. Good work gloves
5. Haynes Mustang Manual
6. Work Light

If this is all you buy, you can do most of the common tasks on your car. Most repair work can be done simply with a socket set, but you'll need the jack and jack stands if you're going to be getting under the car. Here are a few more tools that you may want to pick up, depending on what you're planning on doing:

1. Breaker bar
2. Creeper Seat
3. Hex wrench set
4. Star wrench set
5. circuit tester light
6. Multimeter
7. Shop crane
8. Torque wrench

The above would be used in more complex work, so if you're just doing routine maintenance, don't worry about them. If you're going to be doing work such as replacing heads, transmission, engine accessories, electrical, etc. you may want to get a couple of these things.

I'll give you a quick run down of the items in the first list and what to look for when buying.

Socket Set - I use both metric and standard. You want to have a good range of socket sizes, just in case you run in to any situations where a normal set isn't enough. If you're going to be performing all the maintenance on your vehicle from now on, you may want to consider getting a large package set. Somewhere around 200 pieces or more is what you need to aim for.

Jack Stands - If you can find jack stands with either a solid piece on the bottom, get them. Thin jack stand legs can dig into your asphault dirve. As for weight requirements, if you're working on your Mustang, you're not going to need anything too extreme. Good deals can be found on jack stands that can hold around 2 tons, and they're perfect for what you're doing.

Hydraulic Jack - I prefer jacks that have pump action, bottle jacks are just too tedious. Something that holds around 1 - 2 tons is plenty. If you can get one that jacks up quickly, go for it - don't make yourself work too hard!

Good Working Gloves - you can find gloves specifically made for mechanics. They are required. I put it in the first list because they're cheap. I find that it isn't the things that you're planning on doing with your hands that bother me, but the things that I never plan on hurting, like cramming them in tight spaces, that really beat my hands up. It's a judgement call, and you're not a sissy for keeping your body from damage.

Haynes Mustang Manual - You know what it is. Get it.

Work Light - I like getting the shop lights that come two on a stand. If you've ever been to any hardware store, you know what I'm talking about. Just make sure that they're bright and that you can set them and leave them.

Having those basic tools prepared for when you work on your Mustang is going to save you a lot of headaches. It sucks getting greasy and then having to stop to run to the store for the right size socket.

As for working area and workflow - try to get somewhere where you can store all your equipment close by.  If you have a garage, you're all set.  If you're in an apartment or the like, it's a little more difficult.  Keep everything neat, whenever possible.  I know it sounds stupid but keeping your tools ordered while you work makes work faster, even if you do have to stop and put things back in their proper place.  Don't worry about getting your Haynes manual dirty.  It's going to get greasy, you can't avoid it.  It's a sign that you're a true mechanic.

Clean your tools.  Don't let them stay dirty.  You'll regret that, it'll shorten their life span.

As for the torque wrench mentioned before, I need to address that.  You'll find torque specs in the Haynes manual, to torque down bolts to those specs you have to have the proper equipment.  Now, I follow this because I have the proper equipment, but I know a lot of people who don't use one and say that it's not necessary for the shadetree mechanic.  I'm not saying this is true, but if you're truly just doing very routine maintenance, like changing the oil, etc.  You can probably get away without a torque wrench.  If you're doing serious work, such as rebuilding the engine, replacing the transmission, etc.  Get a torque wrench.  You don't want any of your critical engine parts flying off at 60Mph, that would be a mistake.