Public squeaking
IT JUST HAPPENED ,outof the blue. One day the ’Stang was performing sweetly, the next it had developed an irritating noise from the front suspension. Not just an occasional chirp, but a relentless squawk induced by even the tiniest road ripple.
Googling revealed that this is a common phenomenon with early Mustangs; so common that it is known as ‘the Mustang squeak’. But it can originate from one or more of several places in the suspension and identifying the source is very difficult, even if you enlist someone to bounce the front end up and down while you stick your head under the car.
The noise was coming from the driver’s side, so I jacked the car up and whipped off the front wheel. Pumping the lower ball-joint full of grease made no difference, and my money is now on the upper wishbone pivots – built with no means of lubrication – or the spring perches. The latter are miniature platforms that pivot on top of the lower wishbones to support the springs. With no lubrication points, they rely on the elasticity of rubber bushings.
Thanks to the Mustang’s fantastic parts support, you can now buy wishbones with grease nipples built in, and spring perches that pivot on roller bearings. The latter are relatively expensive but will last forever and are said to have other benefits for the ride and steering feel, because the entire weight of the car’s front end bears on these perches and the standard items have innate ‘stiction’ under load.
Otherwise, the only problem I’ve had in 2000 miles of sunny springtime motoring is that, as bought, the engine was running too cold. There are three temperature options for a Mustang thermostat – 160, 180 or 195ºC – and the one fitted turned out to be a 160, presumably to help it cope with summers in Los Angeles, where it lived for almost 50 years.
I’m blessed with a choice of two major US car parts warehouses within 30 minutes’ drive of the Octane office, so obtaining a replacement ’stat was an easy lunchtime jaunt. Experimenting with a 195 made the V8 run too warm but, like Goldilocks’ porridge, a 180 was just right and the car is now averaging just over 21mpg, which I think is pretty good for a 289 V8. I was amused to see that the thermostat housing gasket fits all Ford V8s from 1948 to 1989 – you gotta love Henry’s parts rationalisation!