Off to a rough start with 2016 GT

[CobaltFilly]

Well, this sucks. The aftermarket wheel well liner doesn't fit worth a darn. I'm not sure even a lengthy session with a heat gun would get this thing into the proper shape. At least the other pieces fit fine.

I've never tried Rock Auto's return policy but I have bought a whole bunch of stuff there over the years. Hopefully we'll get this sorted out. I knew I should have just ponied up for the OEM version from the dealership.

If I lived closer, I would donate mine. Been following your thread for a long while and can't believe the heartache you have been through. Good on you for sticking with it to help a beautiful 2015-2017 S550 live on.

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[Canuckican]

If I lived closer, I would donate mine. Been following your thread for a long while and can't believe the heartache you have been through. Good on you for sticking with it to help a beautiful 2015-2017 S550 live on.

Thank you! But on the positive side for the past month, at least I have a spare, functioning key fob and nine new speakers that sound as lousy as the day they left the Ford assembly line now.

 

[Cobra Jet]

As for the headlight assemblies and even the fog lights (if needed), don’t source them new from Ford Dealers - you’re going to lay at least $800-$1k for a new headlight assembly from Ford….

Source out factory headlight, foglight and tail assemblies on this forum classifieds or even eBay. You can gets front headlight assemblies for like $150-$300 each depending on year, condition, and who’s selling them. Tails you can usually find for $200-$300 a pair, again depending on year, condition and who’s selling.

As for the fender liners - this applies across all years of Mustangs; usually the aftermarket repops don’t fit because they cannot replicate the liner to exact specs as the Ford contracted part…. The original parts are usually protected by. patents, copyrights and other laws that the aftermarket cannot replicate to a “T”…. So the aftermarket cuts corners or does very minimal design element changes to stay out of court….

Again you can source original Ford parts used from a variety of sources again such as here from folks parting cars or converting S550’s into race cars and don’t need those parts, eBay, and also check out LKQ which is a large parts source for used, take off and overstock of original equipment vehicle parts. You can also reach out to The Parts Farm who also has a large selection of used Mustang parts. I’d you’re looking for new, LMR has an excellent selection of new Ford parts too.

If you insist on genuine brand new Ford parts, hit up @LevittownFordParts on here who is great with helping the community here.

 

[Canuckican]

As for the headlight assemblies and even the fog lights (if needed), don’t source them new from Ford Dealers - you’re going to lay at least $800-$1k for a new headlight assembly from Ford….

Source out factory headlight, foglight and tail assemblies on this forum classifieds or even eBay. You can gets front headlight assemblies for like $150-$300 each depending on year, condition, and who’s selling them. Tails you can usually find for $200-$300 a pair, again depending on year, condition and who’s selling.

As for the fender liners - this applies across all years of Mustangs; usually the aftermarket repops don’t fit because they cannot replicate the liner to exact specs as the Ford contracted part…. The original parts are usually protected by. patents, copyrights and other laws that the aftermarket cannot replicate to a “T”…. So the aftermarket cuts corners or does very minimal design element changes to stay out of court….

Again you can source original Ford parts used from a variety of sources again such as here from folks parting cars or converting S550’s into race cars and don’t need those parts, eBay, and also check out LKQ which is a large parts source for used, take off and overstock of original equipment vehicle parts. You can also reach out to The Parts Farm who also has a large selection of used Mustang parts. I’d you’re looking for new, LMR has an excellent selection of new Ford parts too.

If you insist on genuine brand new Ford parts, hit up @LevittownFordParts on here who is great with helping the community here.

The genuine Ford fender liner I ordered over the weekend from a local Ford dealership arrived there this morning and I picked it up at lunchtime. I was planning on installing it after work today but it's in the 90s and humid so maybe not.

I long ago stopped trying to save a few bucks by buying lower quality tools because it always ended up costing me more in long run when the cheaper tool would break or not work properly and I'd end up getting the better quality one after that. Now I just skip the first step.

I need to remember this for replacement parts too... sometimes OEM is the right way to go.

I've been keeping an eye on ebay for headlights and guys are still asking $350 per light despite them having 2 or 3 broken mounting tabs. Thankfully the taillights are good and the fights and turn signals are aftermarket but I think they are working fine. Famous final words for $100 Alex.

At this point, I really do see the light at the end of the tunnel for making this car right, and this time it's not a freight train or a bullet train! ;)

 

[Canuckican]

I decided to just ignore the heat for a bit and install the Ford wheel well liner. It went is as easy as you please. No fuss at all.

I now have the front end put back together with everything replaced that needed to be replaced. Except the headlights. Until I come up with a permanent solution, I am at least going to polish the lenses on the ones I have so they don't look so awful.

I do believe it's time to put down the tools and just drive again for awhile!

And get back to the dozen other projects that seem to accumulate. Apparently I told my wife we (meaning me) are going to build a new arbor and trellis for the front of the house. And the master bedroom needs paint. And the garage and workshop is a mess. And a bunch of stuff needs to go to the recycler and the dump.

Anyway, onward and upward.

 

[Strokerswild]

Apparently I told my wife we (meaning me) are going to build a new arbor and trellis for the front of the house.

Comforting to know that I'm not the only one that experiences the we = me equation.

 

[Adamone92]

As for the headlight assemblies and even the fog lights (if needed), don’t source them new from Ford Dealers - you’re going to lay at least $800-$1k for a new headlight assembly from Ford….

Source out factory headlight, foglight and tail assemblies on this forum classifieds or even eBay. You can gets front headlight assemblies for like $150-$300 each depending on year, condition, and who’s selling them. Tails you can usually find for $200-$300 a pair, again depending on year, condition and who’s selling.

As for the fender liners - this applies across all years of Mustangs; usually the aftermarket repops don’t fit because they cannot replicate the liner to exact specs as the Ford contracted part…. The original parts are usually protected by. patents, copyrights and other laws that the aftermarket cannot replicate to a “T”…. So the aftermarket cuts corners or does very minimal design element changes to stay out of court….

Again you can source original Ford parts used from a variety of sources again such as here from folks parting cars or converting S550’s into race cars and don’t need those parts, eBay, and also check out LKQ which is a large parts source for used, take off and overstock of original equipment vehicle parts. You can also reach out to The Parts Farm who also has a large selection of used Mustang parts. I’d you’re looking for new, LMR has an excellent selection of new Ford parts too.

If you insist on genuine brand new Ford parts, hit up @LevittownFordParts on here who is great with helping the community here.

local (or not so local) junkyards might have some wrecked s550s with working headlights too. might be worth a shot for cheaper options.

 

[Markmarkmr]

This thread gave me such anxiety. I didn't read every post but I'm glad it seems to be on the up. So many pitfalls in the used market. I would personally never buy a used car that had even a hint of modifications. Whenever I hear of someone buying a modified car I think, "Are there NO unmolested versions?!" I know some models are more likely to be modified than others, but even a SINGLE modification is a huge indicator of how/who it was owned... every single modification on a used car is a red flag IMO. Stock or nothing.

 

[Canuckican]

This thread gave me such anxiety. I didn't read every post but I'm glad it seems to be on the up. So many pitfalls in the used market. I would personally never buy a used car that had even a hint of modifications. Whenever I hear of someone buying a modified car I think, "Are there NO unmolested versions?!" I know some models are more likely to be modified than others, but even a SINGLE modification is a huge indicator of how/who it was owned... every single modification on a used car is a red flag IMO. Stock or nothing.

It's definitely been a process I could not have nearly completed without the help of so many people on this board. Even some vendors went above and beyond to help me dig myself out of the hole I put myself in. I rarely beat myself now up over my initial mistakes I made but it's very close to the surface.

I think my fix-it list still just has the replacing the broken headlights, replacing the tires before winter with a good matched set of all-season tires (probably the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus) and also replacing the cracked driver side mirror. I also had my first encounter with a totally out-of-control road rager last weekend so I still need to install the front/rear dashcam. It's been way too hot/humid here lately for me to tackle that. And the pistol mount on the transmission tunnel.

I have noticed a few other odds and ends too but I think they're just typical of an 8-9 year old car. e.g. the brakes bother me, the vented fronts squeal like a stuck pig until they warm up a bit and the rears are drilled/slotted. Just something else about this car that makes me shrug my shoulders.

I'm looking forward to replacing the rear tires. I'm going to roast the hides off the ones on it now just like I did with the yellow 2016 GT I used to own.

 

[Canuckican]

It's been quite a nice break to be able to enjoy my red-headed problem child with no check engine lights or other stuff not working right in general. Although I did notice today that the new Track Pack Style Rear Spoiler I bought from American Muscle in June is showing some bubbling in the paint.

I bought a pair of replacement headlights off eBay a few days ago to replace the cracked ones on the Mustang now, and they should arrive next week. Hopefully they work out okay.

One thing I am on now is the window tint. Here in Wisconsin, the tint must allow at least 50 percent of the light to penetrate the side windows and 35 percent for the rear window. Apparently this is called Visible Light Transmission, or VLT for short. In Florida (where this car originated), the tint must allow at least 28 percent of the light to penetrate the side windows and 15 percent for the rear window. The tint on my Mustang is quite dark so I had a hunch it was not quite legal. I stopped at a highly-rated local tint place today and asked them if they could measure the VLT on my Mustang. They did so and their meter showed it has a VLT of 6 percent on both the side windows and rear window. Just a bit lower than the minimum it appears. They quoted me $150 to remove the existing tint and about $300-$350 to install new tint. They also warned me that while they are very experienced and have all the right tools, they can't guarantee they can remove the rear tint without damaging the rear window defrost grid. Maybe next year.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

Do you need defrost on the rear in Fla.?

 

[Canuckican]

Do you need defrost on the rear in Fla.?

The car is now with me in northern Wisconsin. I do drive it during the winter but only when the sun is out and the roads are dry.

 

[Canuckican]

Last week I ended up rolling the dice on a new set of inexpensive eBay headlight assemblies to replace the trashed headlight assemblies that were on the car when I received it. They arrived this morning and looked okay to me so I decided to install them. I'm sure they're not as superb a quality as the $1000 per side OEM ones but I can live with that.

 

[Canuckican]

While these eBay headlight assemblies look good, they do a sub-par job actually generating a decent light pattern with brand new Philips D3S 4300K bulbs. The passenger side light pattern has a bright vertical stripe about 1/4 the way across the pattern and both the driver and passenger sides have a dull, washed out beam that does a poor job lighting the road.

I may have to revert to OEM ones, if I can find a decently priced passenger side one. I don't feel comfortable using these eBay specials at night out where I live in the boonies.

 

[Sevensixteen]

While these eBay headlight assemblies look good, they do a sub-par job actually generating a decent light pattern with brand new Philips D3S 4300K bulbs. The passenger side light pattern has a bright vertical stripe about 1/4 the way across the pattern and both the driver and passenger sides have a dull, washed out beam that does a poor job lighting the road.

I may have to revert to OEM ones, if I can find a decently priced passenger side one. I don't feel comfortable using these eBay specials at night out where I live in the boonies.

I’d give parts farm a look, I’ve ordered interior parts from them & I wasn’t disappointed

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