Off to a rough start with 2016 GT

[slime_bullet]

Can you paste the relevant part of the service manual that says with plugs in. Cranking compression has always been plugs out throttle wide open.

You are correct and I stand corrected. Was 2 years ago when i did it.

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[Canuckican]

I'd still file a complaint with both States AG. It is a crime to sell cars without emissions equipment. I'd also contact the BBB stating no emissions equipment and how the car was misrepresented. Maybe copy the EPA.

Reading the complaints on the BBB site they need to be stopped.

I have been working my way through the list. I posted on their Facebook page and was not surprisingly quickly blocked and my posts deleted. Followed by them quickly calling me and chastising me for complaining publicly saying it would not help get it resolved. That's when they were going to talk to the owners about helping get it resolved and they never got back to me after that. Shocking, eh?

So I resumed my information / PSA campaign.

I posted a lengthy review on Yelp but unfortunately I only had room for about 1/2 the issues. I at least included a few pictures of the errant CAI bouncing around on top of the valves. I am sure they will say I put it in there myself. Uh, yeah.

I will be doing BBB as well as the government agency sites BBB posters have already submitted complaints too about "Mint" Auto Sales.

I am under no illusion any of this will change their behavior but I do hope it will help stop the next wide-eyed goober like me from making the same mistakes as me.

 

[Canuckican]

I got everything buttoned back up on the current engine last night and got then did the prep work for the 91 octane Lund tune. Fun times getting the HP Tuner to connect and stay connected, ended up having to use desktop app to update firmware. Then was able to capture the vehicle info and non-running data log and get that uploaded to TDN for Lund. I should have the tune in a day or two and then I am going to try firing this bundle of joy up. I know it's wounded but I'd at least like to hear it having some life in it.

I've been trying to think of a name for this heap. Right now I am thinking Oliver, as per the Top Gear episode in Botswana and particularly where Hammond nearly sinks Oliver and the method by which the water was then drained from the car.

 

[Canuckican]

I installed the 91 octane Lund tune today and the car started. It has not done this since the first day I had it. I know the engine itself has physical damage but still, at least this is something positive.

I was a bit apprehensive about following the Lund directions for generating the log afterwards, especially the part about one 2nd or 3rd gear WOT run from 2500 to 7200 RPM. Then I thought more about the engine and the grief it is causing me and thought "sucks to be you" and let it rip.

I can tell by performance and sound that the engine is not feeling well but at least I am pretty sure the rest of the car is okay. I sent the log to Lund and they said the tune looks good. There are pending codes P0420 and P0430 I'm told are due to the long tube headers and high flow cats and that this will end up turning on the check engine light. Having that check engine light on all the time because of this will annoy me because I know I am always going to worry it is being caused by something else and will check the codes. Or ignore the check engine light and have something blow up because of my bad assumptions. My engineer brain never shuts up. Very irritating.

Even though I know the engine is going to be torn apart, the thought of it sitting through the winter with gasoline-fouled oil in its belly did not sit well with me. So he now has some fresh oil and a new filter. I started out with a clean drain pan and did not find any pieces of anything come out. There may not be any, or they are trapped in a gooey sludge at the bottom of the oil pan, or stuck in the oil pickup tube, or clogging the oil galleys, or...

 

[HKusp]

Get you a set of these de-foulers and if you do it correctly and the codes are because of the rear O2's not sensing the cats, these will get rid of those codes. Even after you put the new engine in, if you go catless, you will want these.

O2 Simulator Mini Cat Cel Fix stainless steel Rear O2 sensor simulator.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

It started off as a decent deal. Now, not so much.

I never said anything about forgiving. ;) I hope many awful things befall them.

They are spouting "as-is" as a get out of jail free card. I am stuck with no great options. Pay $10K to lawyers and probably still end up right where I am now but with the added joy of dealing with lawyers for the next few years? My apologies to any lawyers on here. There are some good ones in your field too.

I think I am at the point now where I may just need to eat this as the price of my mistake in how poorly I handled this transaction. Definitely pissed off about it too. I'll tolerate a lot of shit but being bullied and otherwise pushed around is not on that list. I learned that playing hockey from a very young age. And I am warning as many people as possible about what happened and with whom it happened. This is not nearly as satisfying as something medieval but it's not worth going to prison over. My wife and Mom were always concerned that "Falling Down" was my Dad's and my favorite movie.

Did you take video of it being unloaded? I bet the transport company has a nice writeup on it. Lawyer up and get the driver as witness number 1. He knew when he loaded it that it was junk.
BBB etc. to get the ball rolling. This dealer probably bounced around a bunch of times due to ripping off many people I bet. At the very least I would post every piece of comms and pics in a nice, easy to find place. Google should pop up on these thieves as soon as used car scammers is typed up. I feel so bad that you have to deal with this and hope you are rewarded one way or another.
Trolling the shit out of them and specifically the sales weasel would be my life's mission.
T-mobile ripped me off for $490 a few years ago and paid back $90 on a gift card. I am parking outside the store with signage on my truck very soon if they keep disconnecting my repeated calls. Getting screwed is no fun whether it is $20 or $20k.

 

[Johnny Rockit]

I flew across the country to look at a car a few years back and the trip was worth every penny. This car was junk and might have been worth $1,900 to the right person but not the $19k the thief wanted. Unless someone reputable could do a thorough inspection to verify then I will always go myself or pass on it. YMMV.

 

[Canuckican]

It looks like the SYNC on this Mustang hasn't been updated in ages so I figured I'd do something "easy". It usually takes about 30 minutes to update SYNC on my F150 and my daughter's Fusion. So far, the Mustang has been at it for an hour and 10 minutes. I don't know if it's really that slow or if it is stuck. I hate just letting it sit there idling for that long, but at least it is idling.

After about 40 minutes of idling, the new vapor canister check valve started loudly clicking like a meth-fueled woodpecker so I temporarily unplugged the electrical connector to it. Hope that didn't somehow freak out the SYNC install.

A new car cover arrived yesterday so it's quite nearly time to put this away for the winter. Mint Auto Sales has still not made the call they were going to make 3 days ago. I am not waiting by the phone.

 

[Canuckican]

It looks like the SYNC on this Mustang hasn't been updated in ages so I figured I'd do something "easy". It usually takes about 30 minutes to update SYNC on my F150 and my daughter's Fusion. So far, the Mustang has been at it for an hour and 10 minutes. I don't know if it's really that slow or if it is stuck. I hate just letting it sit there idling for that long, but at least it is idling.

After about 40 minutes of idling, the new vapor canister check valve started loudly clicking like a meth-fueled woodpecker so I temporarily unplugged the electrical connector to it. Hope that didn't somehow freak out the SYNC install.

A new car cover arrived yesterday so it's quite nearly time to put this away for the winter. Mint Auto Sales has still not made the call they were going to make 3 days ago. I am not waiting by the phone.

Well, the update ran for 1 hour and 25 minutes, then this. I was only updating SYNC, this car does not have navigation. I created the file via the SYNC page on the Ford owner site. Oh well, I'll retry later. Maybe try CyanLabs this time, although in theory it should be the same file. I'll also get a different thumb drive ready too, just in case.

This car is going to make me work for every millimeter of progress I make towards making it what it already should be.

 

[Canuckican]

Last weekend I was in a local shop and talk turned to Mustangs. He happened to have an older one he was working on and it's quiet an impressive build. I told him I just bought another one and spared him the details other than to say I was having problems with it and thought it may need a new engine. He said he knows a guy that may be able to help me out, or at least offer some unbiased insight. He asked for my contact info so I gave it to him. I got a call yesterday from "the guy" who said if I can get it to his shop, he'll take a look at it. He said if the engine is junk, it won't take long to know. So I left the car with him. The outside of his small shop is not much to look at but inside was meticulous. A lot like my garage. Cough.

He called me back and said that while the tops of the pistons are not as pretty as he'd like to see, he doesn't think there is any damage to the bottom end. He thinks it is the heads and/or head gasket. He asked me if the engine was ever run with any boost and I said I did not know for sure but I had my suspicions it had. That's what he thinks too. He also thinks the CAI nozzle may have done damage to more than one cylinder's valves but he had a hard time seeing everything with his scope.

I may go ahead and have him pull the heads so I know for sure instead of me endlessly theorizing and guessing. The temperatures are only supposed to get into the 30s in this part of Wisconsin in a few days and it said we may get a bit of snow Saturday night. Not ready for that!

Is there anything you folks think I should ask him about his head gasket/heads only theory?

 

[cuckoo4watches]

Last weekend I was in a local shop and talk turned to Mustangs. He happened to have an older one he was working on and it's quiet an impressive build. I told him I just bought another one and spared him the details other than to say I was having problems with it and thought it may need a new engine. He said he knows a guy that may be able to help me out, or at least offer some unbiased insight. He asked for my contact info so I gave it to him. I got a call yesterday from "the guy" who said if I can get it to his shop, he'll take a look at it. He said if the engine is junk, it won't take long to know. So I left the car with him. The outside of his small shop is not much to look at but inside was meticulous. A lot like my garage. Cough.

He called me back and said that while the tops of the pistons are not as pretty as he'd like to see, he doesn't think there is any damage to the bottom end. He thinks it is the heads and/or head gasket. He asked me if the engine was ever run with any boost and I said I did not know for sure but I had my suspicions it had. That's what he thinks too. He also thinks the CAI nozzle may have done damage to more than one cylinder's valves but he had a hard time seeing everything with his scope.

I may go ahead and have him pull the heads so I know for sure instead of me endlessly theorizing and guessing. The temperatures are only supposed to get into the 30s in this part of Wisconsin in a few days and it said we may get a bit of snow Saturday night. Not ready for that!

Is there anything you folks think I should ask him about his head gasket/heads only theory?

Finally… something seems to be working in your favor, at least as far as someone local you can talk to and help you with getting things in order.

I cant comment on engine internals because I dont know anything about them so wont even try.

I would still follow thru with contacting and filing with BBB, both State’s Attorney Generals offices and the FTC!

Let them do the free work for you and who knows, maybe you will end up with recourse and compensation

It really is a shame you couldnt already be out cruising your new GT as soon as it got off the truck.
THAT is the way it should have turned out, not this debacle that shady dealer has put you thru.

While you are keeping your shit together far better than I would have, I would definitely not let things go and allow that POS dealer to continue doing business that way; you can bet your ass they have screwed over more than just you and will keep doing so until mandated to do otherwise either via lawsuits, fines or simply shut down.

Have a great weekend!

Looking forward to hear of more progress

 

[NGOT8R]

It would seem to me that with the documented mileage (that hasn’t even increased since your purchase), coupled with the vehicle sales advertisement, photos documenting what you’ve found, repair estimates/receipts, and other money spent out of pocket to get the car running would probably be sufficient enough for an attorney to force the dealership to reimburse you for the cost of making the car roadworthy. The dealer was clearly acknowledging culpability here by telling you that making posts about it was not the way to get things resolved.

 

[luca1290]

Is there anything you folks think I should ask him about his head gasket/heads only theory?

Once he pulls the head it's out of your domain. Unless he's pulling the head out, taking a look, and putting it back together for free (which I don't think it's happening).

Previously you talked about wanting to rebuild it yourself, and make a full, thorough rebuild. Or, you can have someone else do it. Both are fine, just choose carefully and be in peace with that decision.

What I will do? I don't know him and he's making a lot of assumptions. I'll keep the car in my garage so I have all winter to rebuild the engine. Costs less, more thorough job and more fun.

 

[Tucker80]

I just sincerely hope the OP has vetted "the guy" that called him after a random encounter with a mustang guy more than the he did the lot that he purchased the car from. This whole experience has already cost a ton. I would make damn sure before I involve another party and part with more cash that he's capable of completing the repairs. Honestly just the fact that he called and doesn't already have enough business to keep him busy would be another red flag to me.

 

[Canuckican]

I just sincerely hope the OP has vetted "the guy" that called him after a random encounter with a mustang guy more than the he did the lot that he purchased the car from. This whole experience has already cost a ton. I would make damn sure before I involve another party and part with more cash that he's capable of completing the repairs. Honestly just the fact that he called and doesn't already have enough business to keep him busy would be another red flag to me.

That's a nice burn, and well-deserved.

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