Late-S197 Mustang GT Still a Good Buy, With Caveats
Looking for a stock or modified S197 Mustang GT? Check out these weak spots first.
YouTuber Jacob Doty is quite familiar with Mustangs. With a family now on their fourth, he’s been able to see first hand the strong and weak points of the S197 series Mustang GTs. So how good of a used car do they make now that they have anywhere from four to eight years of use under them?
Obviously any modified car comes with its own risks, but this is of particular concern of early 5.0 engines. Cylinder 8 may have a failure due to a tune that pushes the engine beyond its tolerances. Since the 5.0 Coyote motor was new in the 2011 Mustang GT, some tuners might not have factored in all parameters. As Doty says “this Gen 1 engine is the engine they were basically using to learn.” If it has a tune ask about it and dig a little further than normal to ensure the engine is running well.
If your build is going beyond N/A, you’ll want to think of the later Gen 2 Coyote motors in the 2013 and 2014 Mustang GT models. Doty states, “2013-2014 cars received an eight horsepower bump over the previous two years, but really the main thing was the improvements to the oil system, which I believe helped fix the cylinder 8 issue.”
Cylinder 8 is the biggest issue, but otherwise the Coyote doesn’t seem to have any other issues. Some may have a loud tick at idle, but it is usually not a problem.
Doty then goes a bit further down the driveline; “a common problem is the MT-82 transmission.” Apparently the issue here comes from the people who drive Mustangs, rather than Mustangs themselves. “You have to be deliberate with your shifts otherwise you’ll get grinding,” Doty says. If the car has trouble shifting, don’t worry. He says, “some folks will have second-to-third gear lockout. It’s actually because of the pressure plate flexing and not a transmission issue.” Not a big deal, then, but at this point, you may as well either replace or upgrade the clutch on your S197 Mustang GT.
Some cars are naturally a victim of their own climate, so paint and clear coat peeling aren’t unexpected. But other than that, things you’d regularly look for in terms of wear items are all that you need to be concerned about. Just keep in mind what Doty says; “people who buy these cars usually buy them to drive them. ”
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