2005 Mustang GT…Yay or Nay?

[TheYankeeMarshal]

Thinking of buying a 2005 Mustang GT for my son to replace his 2012 Camaro LS. We both had Camaros but I traded mine in and now he wants a Mustang and to move up to a V8. The Mustang seems to be in awesome shape in and out and has only 46k miles on it. The only mods are headers, full stainless x-pipe exhaust, and custom wheels. Runs like new but needs a new IMRC valve. What do you Mustang guys think of this model year. Anything to look out for other than the normal stuff. Pulled a Zilocar and carfax report and everything looks good.

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[AZ_Ryan]

I had an '08 GT. Loved it at the time, but the '05-'09 cars were really basic and the 4.6 3v isn't very fast by today's standards.

Beware that the '05-'07 cars were notorious for the spark plugs breaking off in the heads during removal due to a bad head design. Ford revised the heads in '08 or '09 to fix the problem. That alone steers many people away.

If I were going to get an S197 generation (2005-2014), I'd definitely get a '11 plus model as they had the gen 1 coyotes and make much better power. Not to mention the styling and interiors were slightly improved.

 

[TheYankeeMarshal]

I had an '08 GT. Loved it at the time, but the '05-'09 cars were really basic and the 4.6 3v isn't very fast by today's standards.

Beware that the '05-'07 cars were notorious for the spark plugs breaking off in the heads during removal due to a bad head design. Ford revised the heads in '08 or '09 to fix the problem. That alone steers many people away.

If I were going to get an S197 generation (2005-2014), I'd definitely get a '11 plus model as they had the gen 1 coyotes and make much better power. Not to mention the styling and interiors were slightly improved.

It’s for my son, I don’t want high performance. I want him to live long enough to give me grandkids. Then he can get something more powerful.

 

[Q6543]

Nope… 2V and 3V are an abomination.

sbf or coyote… no in between.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Wow, that looks CLEAN!

I had an 06 GT.

Make sure both airbag recalls are done!
Transmissions are known to go at 60,000 miles…maybe.
Don’t change spark plugs. Like Ryan said, they are known to break.
Inspect BCM in passenger footwell for possible corrosion.

If it has the 1000watt Shaker system, immediately pull the Heavy brick Sub out of the trunk, it makes the car handle horribly. It makes the tail want to kick out at every turn. Pulling the sub makes a big difference.

All that said, I had mine for 17 years and only had to replace an alternator. The car was solid as a rock.

There’s nothing wrong with the 3V…it’s a solid engine and sounds great!

If he wants a little more hp, get a CAI and an SCT tuner, it really woke my car up.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Nope… 2V and 3V are an abomination.

sbf or coyote… no in between.

He doesn’t want his son to go from a v6 to a 486 hp v8.

There is nothing wrong with the 3V.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

I had an '08 GT. Loved it at the time, but the '05-'09 cars were really basic and the 4.6 3v isn't very fast by today's standards.

Beware that the '05-'07 cars were notorious for the spark plugs breaking off in the heads during removal due to a bad head design. Ford revised the heads in '08 or '09 to fix the problem. That alone steers many people away.

If I were going to get an S197 generation (2005-2014), I'd definitely get a '11 plus model as they had the gen 1 coyotes and make much better power. Not to mention the styling and interiors were slightly improved.

it was a perfect storm, bad head design allowed carbon build-up seizing the threads, and Ford used two piece spark plugs and they were notorious for breaking at the seam. Replacing with a better plug design fixes the problem. Many were smart and replaced their plugs early on before they were hard to remove with Champion one piece plugs.

 

[Frogdog1]

I had an '07 GT, 4.6, 3V, and had zero issues with it. The 3V was used in pick ups at the time too so lots of them were made and used with no problems. At the time, it was rated as one of the top 10 V8's made. It "only" had 300 hp but, at the time, that was respectable and it was a spunky car. I never had spark plug issues. Only gorillas has the spark plug issue and they have no business working on cars anyway. A car that clean was likely taken care of mechanically as well. Check that out.

 

[Neggytive]

Having owned a super low mileage one for a few years earlier this decade...

1) the body control module is subject to SERIOUS damage from water intrusion if the cowl drains get blocked, Make sure all the electrical stuff works, including the power mirrors and the drains are clear

2) The Mach 1000 stereo is nice, lacks bluetooth and other modern comforts, the CD players don't work with age and nobody fixed them. I replaced mine with a nice double DIN radio with android auto using a METRA install kit and wiring harness. Look on the audio forums for the resistor you have to use in the powered subwoofer power trigger or you get a very un nerving pop when you turn in on and off

3) the 4.6 is not a power motor, the block is strong, the crank is strong, the connecting rods not so much, at 435 HP they will be on the ragged edge of reliability.

4) I have seen a lot of alternators from that era fail, if it does go with a OEM replacement, no rebuilds. Ford's computer controlled charging system does not play well with remanufactured alternators.

5) check the braided wire on the starter from the solonoid to the starter body, a real weak point on Fords especially in areas where road salt is used. When that wire fails you ar stuck and FUBAR'd

6) 20 year old car, 20 year old rubber and plastics.

7) Make sure the air bag recall was done

It isn't a fast car, but I found mine to be a nice driver car, especially once I got the new radio in it.

As to the spark plugs, in my experience it was the 5.4 and not the 4.6 that had the problem, the 5.4 was also notorious for bad cam phasors, oiling issues, etc etc etc. I see very few 4.6's in my shop but I have a parking lot full of vehicles with junk 5.4's

I liked mine and frankly I sometimes wonder if giving up my 14000 mile 07 ragtop to get the 2024 was a good decision.

Oh I forgot to mention drive the car, get it up to operating temp, especially the rear end and the drive it in a tight circle, like in steering wheel at full lock. Listen to the rear end for tire chirps. I found the limited slip in mine got finicky when hot but the addition of a couple of bottles of "whale snot", aka Motorcraft XL3 limited slip additive made the clutch packs happier and the noise went away. If you have inhaled the fumes from that stuff you'll know why we call it whale snot.

If he is looking for a car to go fast in, the 4.6 is not the car, he'll have to move up to the 2011 era Mustang with the 5.0 in it

Overall my opinion of the 2005/6/7 cars is good.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

He doesn’t want his son to go from a v6 to a 486 hp v8.

There is nothing wrong with the 3V.

Except the Mustang V6's from 2011-2014 make the same HP as the 4.6 3V.

 

[steveo1960]

Having owned a super low mileage one for a few years earlier this decade...

1) the body control module is subject to SERIOUS damage from water intrusion if the cowl drains get blocked, Make sure all the electrical stuff works, including the power mirrors and the drains are clear

2) The Mach 1000 stereo is nice, lacks bluetooth and other modern comforts, the CD players don't work with age and nobody fixed them. I replaced mine with a nice double DIN radio with android auto using a METRA install kit and wiring harness. Look on the audio forums for the resistor you have to use in the powered subwoofer power trigger or you get a very un nerving pop when you turn in on and off

3) the 4.6 is not a power motor, the block is strong, the crank is strong, the connecting rods not so much, at 435 HP they will be on the ragged edge of reliability.

4) I have seen a lot of alternators from that era fail, if it does go with a OEM replacement, no rebuilds. Ford's computer controlled charging system does not play well with remanufactured alternators.

5) check the braided wire on the starter from the solonoid to the starter body, a real weak point on Fords especially in areas where road salt is used. When that wire fails you ar stuck and FUBAR'd

6) 20 year old car, 20 year old rubber and plastics.

7) Make sure the air bag recall was done

It isn't a fast car, but I found mine to be a nice driver car, especially once I got the new radio in it.

As to the spark plugs, in my experience it was the 5.4 and not the 4.6 that had the problem, the 5.4 was also notorious for bad cam phasors, oiling issues, etc etc etc. I see very few 4.6's in my shop but I have a parking lot full of vehicles with junk 5.4's

I liked mine and frankly I sometimes wonder if giving up my 14000 mile 07 ragtop to get the 2024 was a good decision.

Oh I forgot to mention drive the car, get it up to operating temp, especially the rear end and the drive it in a tight circle, like in steering wheel at full lock. Listen to the rear end for tire chirps. I found the limited slip in mine got finicky when hot but the addition of a couple of bottles of "whale snot", aka Motorcraft XL3 limited slip additive made the clutch packs happier and the noise went away. If you have inhaled the fumes from that stuff you'll know why we call it whale snot.

If he is looking for a car to go fast in, the 4.6 is not the car, he'll have to move up to the 2011 era Mustang with the 5.0 in it

Overall my opinion of the 2005/6/7 cars is good.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[TheYankeeMarshal]

Except the Mustang V6's from 2011-2014 make the same HP as the 4.6 3V.

His current V6 Camaro has 323hp so it beat the 2005 Mustang by 23hp...but the Mustang does have over 40lbs more torque. Also, the Mustang is far easier to modify or just work on. The Camaro engine is a beotch.

 

[Neggytive]

heck even the current eco boost has more HP and torque than the 4.6 of the 2005 era

But the eco boost motors are absolute garbage time bombs where the 4.6 and even the V6's that ended up in the cars at one point were reliable

 

[AZ_Ryan]

His current V6 Camaro has 323hp so it beat the 2005 Mustang by 23hp...but the Mustang does have over 40lbs more torque. Also, the Mustang is far easier to modify or just work on. The Camaro engine is a beotch.

That's cool. I think we're just pointing out the 4.6 short comings since you asked for opinions.

 

[erocker]

They're good cars. Probably the best build quality out of any other generation of Mustang and I've worked on all of them. Don't know the price but if it's a good deal comparatively, it's a yay from me.

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