AirForcePonycar

Ok, I have an '06 GT that I picked up two years ago w/33,000 miles. Since then, I've put 37,000 miles on it (it's my daily driver), bringing the total to 70,000 miles. I haven't had any major problems with it thus far, just brake change, battery change, tires of course, and some minor suspension issues. I keep up with maintenance, regular oil change, clean the air filter, fuel system cleaner, etc, etc. Now, I should have the car paid off by August/September, and the idea of driving a car coming up on 100K miles doesn't thrill me, so I have been flirting with the idea of trading it in and getting a 2011. But I'm curious as to how far and how hard the S197's engine, and transmission, can be pushed. I mean what good is a drivetrain that'll last 250K miles but only if you obey the speed limit? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Imatk

This is a "how long is a piece of string" question.

No one can tell you how long a motor will last really... it's just a guess.

I know there are members on here that have over 100k on their cars and are still driving them.

My guess... as long as you keep up with maintenance and don't beat on the car a lot it will last well over 200k, but if you race it a lot and drive it hard a lot then maybe less.

I've got 225k miles on my '91 Mustang, completely different engine I know but it's still going strong albeit with a small oil leak

slidejob

I have 180K and there is another fellow with over 200K on this forum.

Mine looks & drives like new & I run it hard!!

oldlugs

The 4.6 modular is a very good engine. I read that some police departments retire their Crown Vic's at 100K, then taxi companies buy 'em and typically run 'em another 100K+. If you change oil regularly, and don't constantly rev the p!ss out of it, the engine should last a long time. The Tremec is, in my opinion, a piece of doodie. I wouldn't expect one to be good for more than 100K, and that's if you get a decent one... The one in my Bullitt shifts OK, but just barely. 2nd and 3rd are way too notchy and clunky; like I'd imagine a 1950's truck would shift. My 10 year old Toyota Tacoma has a MUCH more refined gearbox!

IndyDale

Yes, You can have fun with these cars. You can stretch the ponies legs. I have 201,000 miles on my 2007 GT. It will run tripple digit speeds, autocross on some weekends, never passes up the chance of 2 lane twisties as opposed to highways and still is a good daily driver. Yes it has had some issues, Alternator, rollers on the cam followers and a nagging issue with the high speed fan wiring at the power distribution box. But I will say it has been one of the best and the most fun car I have ever had the pleasure of putting over 150,000 miles on.

ford4v429

I would expect with a fair bit of redline shifting, cam followers/phasers on mine will be likely first major thing- so far so good, keep up on oil changes and whatnot, everyone seems to say the 4.6 will last a long time.
I hear lower balljoints go simply from age- had pics of mine at 2 years old with LOTS of surface cracks on the rubber boots- expect valvestems werent the only junk rubber Ford bought from china- expect most are similar, expect most will fail from age/contamination wear.
hear semi-often of rearend failures...again with barking second/third at the track(with wider tires too) that could become a issue on mine...
the 5 speeds i think simply need upgraded...mines fair but the 2nd synchro aint good. sooner or later will go thru it, see if better parts are available- hopefully it hods together till then...if it breaks, then probably a takeoff tranny...

far as everything else on the cars, think theyre decent...alternators prior to 08 or so, and water leaks from plugged cowl drains under the cabin air filter causing shorts seem to read of quite a few occurances, but thats about it.

rust will eventually be a issue on salt belt cars- i had a thread called 'might want to look under your car' from when i took my week old 06 apart to seal it up...the inner rocker flap that juts out just in front of the rear tires are 2/3 of the time unsealed due to sloppy work on the line...gaps in this filthy area let dirt get between inner rockers and floor- i predicted(still do) this will be the first demise of many salt belt cars...the 'shelf' behind the headlights and fender/bumper junction are next-get a flashlight and look under your air cleaner snorkel at the fender edge...dirt sits there, if its salty, eventually its gonna rust. but a core support/fender are easy compared to inner rockers...

when new (before it ever got dirty underneath) I put about a gallon of rollon bedliner under mine(fenderwells/behind wheel areas only- bottomside just stock paint as its easier to keep a eye on), and injected paint into all the vertical pinchwelds to seal the little gaps- only left the drains open...if the fenders are off, the upper 'frame horns' for lack of better words that connect to the core support have a fairly big opening right above the headlights- will act like a scoop for road mist, blows right into the unibody structure...I made little 'reverse scoops' and covered mine- it can still breathe, but road crap cant blow into the hollow section behind the strut mounts...door bottom hems got filled inside with bedliner, tapered to the drains...a lot of cars have little plastic clips in the lower door drains- they serve no purpose I can think of except to clog faster...removing heard zero wind noise difference, left them out of 4 of the 6 doors here i found them in

Onelildude

If this means anything. I had a 2000 Crown Vic with 250k on her and she still ran pretty good for the mileage she had. I took a 1800 mile trip from LA to UT and she ran awesome

SINBUSTER007

what is the issue with 100k mileage?? it seems everyone has a problem with a car getting over 6 figures on it like its wheels will fall off the day it turns 100. 20 years ago you would drive the car till the wheels fell off it no matter what the mileage was. nowadays, the markets and advertising rule the people. "we have to have the new shiny thing setting in the window" to be satisfied. yes if you look at my sig, i have newer cars. but i dont trade in a car every 2 or 3 years. when i find something i like i keep it. if i want a "new shiny model" ill save the money and buy it.
society has told you that 100k is the limit, then dump the car....i say if that was the case then you would have NO classic cars for you to look at at car shows. time to hold on to your valuables...

Ministang

100k miles on a modern car today doesn't mean what it did 25-30 years ago. Heck, my 2nd Mustang was a 1989 5.0 LX that I bought from the original owner with 100k miles on it. She had changed tires once and brakes once, and aside from oil changes, that was it. For the 50k miles and three years I had it, I changed the fuel pump, shocks, mufflers, valve cover gaskets, power mirror switch, front brakes, tires, and the EGR valve. I sold it to a friend of mine who drove it for another 35k miles, and when he sold it with 185k miles on it, it still was on the original clutch, and he had to do very little to it. Most S197's will be able to make it to 200k miles without too many issues if properly cared for.

ford4v429

my mom had just over 300 on her tbird('85?) it had the 3.8, lots of fuel injection issues- common with earlier setups, a set of head gaskets, but no tranny issues- she sold it to a friend, last I heard they put a timing chain in at like 360k- think that was the first one, but dont sound possible...
far as I know she never had to do balljoints or ujoints...think the rubber bushings were replaced a couple times though. she drove ohio-colorado a lot, so mostly very easy miles, but still- think that was the highest mile car ever in our family.
my grandpa's 85 f150 had well over 300 on it when he sold it- but it had the 300 I6 which tended to outlast every vehicle ford put them in I do believe the 4.6 is almost as durable from what ive read...

Cavero

But isn't that sort of mentality the thing that made classic cars so rare and valuable in the first place? (besides mechanical reliability, of course). And it's that rarity, amongst the character of the individual car, that makes it a classic. You see an old Datsun 240Z, or a VW Sirocco and think "wow" because they're unusual now. If we all kept them around, we'd see them every day and the classic cars would just be another old beige Camry.

I'm not advocating that mentality you're talking about, but it does help the rest of us who do want to keep our cars for the long haul. One day I hope to be grounding my kids when they try to steal my 06 GT. By that point it'll be my sunday car, not my daily driver

-----------
AFPonyCar, I think you should hold onto it. I guarantee you it will be cheaper to fix it over the next 5 years than it would be to buy another problem free car and pay it off over the same period.

houtex

This. This is how I'm going with Awesome. Picked her up in June '08 with 19800 miles, and she's about to turn 70k. She will never leave me without a serious amount of trauma to her rendering her completely unable to continue.

Nobody better hit me, or they will be restoring her back exactly. I won't take another, unless it's obvious she's gone. And I'll be fixing her issues rather than get a new one.

I love her.

/y'all know what I mean.

AirForcePonycar

Now that's what I'm talking about! From what y'all have been saying the 4.6 seems to be pretty tough, which is comforting to know. I don't regularly race my car, but its nice to know that it won't necessarily crap out on me if I decide to abuse it a little passed the 100k+ miles marker. Thanks ya'll.

AirForcePonycar

And that's exactly it, this is my first mustang and I love it! I want to be driving it in 30 years, and have the same affect of those who drive the classics around now. I just wanted to make sure it was reliable enough for me to put another 50k, 100k+ on it. And I think you're spot on with the cost of repairs versus cost of a new one. I spoke with the dealer the other day, and with the trade-in they wanted 450/month for 60 months! =0 No thank you! I think I'll enjoy life without a car payment for a while.