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Posted: 4/30/2026 1:36:58 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Redman556][Edited]
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How reliable is the 3.7l V6 in the Mustangs from 2016-2017 era? I currently drive a 1995 Mustang GT convertible, and I've owned anywhere from one to five of them at a time from 1987 on. I need a new car, but I don't have the buying power ( due to health, disability ). I can't get out and race anymore. I'm just driving about 200 miles a month back and forth to town. My ex wife has a 2022 Eco Boost 2.3 premium, which is nice, but they cost way more than the 6 cylinder. I'm asking here, if the engine, an automatic transmission etc, is reliable in that car. I might be able to get a GT, but really, I don't need it, and the extra money would mean getting an older car. Thanks for any advice you can give. I'll be 60 on my birthday in a few months, so, that's part of it too. Nobody wants an old guy in bad health, on blood pressure and nerve meds flying down the highway. lol |
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Thanks guys. I'm not losing anything to my 95GT Vert 5spd. I have a few very basic mods, about 40hp worth, but it's heavy. Factory those sixes have 300hp and 280+ lb/ft of torque. The 95 GT factory spec is close, 225hp @3200rpm, 325lb/ft of torque. Throw in the weight of the GT vert, and the performance is close. |
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Originally Posted By Redman556: I'll be 60 on my birthday in a few months, so, that's part of it too. Nobody wants an old guy in bad health, on blood pressure and nerve meds flying down the highway. lol You had me until this.  Over 60, on BP meds, severe arthritis and spinal stenosis and all ganked up. But yet……  But back to your question, they’re fine if taken care of. You’ve just got to find one that was maintenanced regularly. |
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: You had me until this. Over 60, on BP meds, severe arthritis and spinal stenosis and all ganked up. But yet…… https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/3470/ZLVCys.jpg But back to your question, they’re fine if taken care of. You’ve just got to find one that was maintenanced regularly. Beautiful car. Hey, I've got bad arthritis too, and a bad back lol. If you're from SC originally, we probably ran in some of the same circles in the 80s and 90s. I am almost exactly halfway between Charlotte and Columbia. Been here all my life. I seem to remember you saying you were in a rock band same as I was in those days too. |
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My woman's got a 2014' mkx 3.7l dohc 305hp, iirc it's the same ford/lincoln cyclone engine. It's got the variable cam timing (vct) & internal water pump. Fairly solid daily driver motor, her's got some miles in it. if water pump or vct (sensors, gears & chain)fails got to pull top & front off engine to replace. which if either/or fails you might as well replace both and harmonic balancer since it's same to open. If do it yourself with good oem parts be approx $2k +/-, a decent shop be approx $5k +/-. |
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Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: My woman's got a 2014' mkx 3.7l dohc 305hp, iirc it's the same ford/lincoln cyclone engine. It's got the variable cam timing (vct) & internal water pump. Fairly solid daily driver motor, her's got some miles in it. if water pump or vct (sensors, gears & chain)fails got to pull top & front off engine to replace. which if either/or fails you might as well replace both and harmonic balancer since it's same to open. If do it yourself with good oem parts be approx $2k +/-, a decent shop be approx $5k +/-. Thanks. That sounds good. |
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My 2012 S197 Mustang has the 300 hp 3.6L Cyclone V6. It's got 73,000 miles on the clock and zero issues. They make a supercharger kit for it. |
"According to Argonne National Laboratory, it takes 100 pounds of battery in an EV to go a distance achieved by only one pound of gasoline in an ICE vehicle"
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Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: My woman's got a 2014' mkx 3.7l dohc 305hp, iirc it's the same ford/lincoln cyclone engine. It's got the variable cam timing (vct) & internal water pump. Fairly solid daily driver motor, her's got some miles in it. if water pump or vct (sensors, gears & chain)fails got to pull top & front off engine to replace. which if either/or fails you might as well replace both and harmonic balancer since it's same to open. If do it yourself with good oem parts be approx $2k +/-, a decent shop be approx $5k +/-. FWD version (yours) is not the same as the RWD version WRT to the WP service. MUCH easier to do in the RWD Mustang. OP, there is a weep hole on the side of the block that is supposed to give you early warning of the WP failure. Have any car you're looking at put on a lift and inspect that weep hole to be sure it is not clogged or already leaking. |
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Originally Posted By Redman556: Thanks. That sounds good. Originally Posted By Redman556: Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: My woman's got a 2014' mkx 3.7l dohc 305hp, iirc it's the same ford/lincoln cyclone engine. It's got the variable cam timing (vct) & internal water pump. Fairly solid daily driver motor, her's got some miles in it. if water pump or vct (sensors, gears & chain)fails got to pull top & front off engine to replace. which if either/or fails you might as well replace both and harmonic balancer since it's same to open. If do it yourself with good oem parts be approx $2k +/-, a decent shop be approx $5k +/-. Thanks. That sounds good. Have had pretty good luck with it, we've put a lot of mileage on it since I bought it (interior is near new clean, body has hail damage, so got it fairly cheap). Previous owner maintained it really well, got all the maintence invoices with it in the glove box. |
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Originally Posted By VVinci: FWD version (yours) is not the same as the RWD version WRT to the WP service. MUCH easier to do in the RWD Mustang. OP, there is a weep hole on the side of the block that is supposed to give you early warning of the WP failure. Have any car you're looking at put on a lift and inspect that weep hole to be sure it is not clogged or already leaking. I'm hoping I never have to do it. My 95 GT is still on the original pump, and it doesn't make noise ( bearings ) or anything. I've probably got 10 years left, looking at the rest of the males in my biological family. They've all died late 50s-mid 60s. If I wasn't adopted, I'd probably need at least three more cars. lol They, grandparent's and his brothers, all lived to be well over 100, and they drove to Hot Springs Arkansas every year until they were in their late 90s. lol |
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Originally Posted By VVinci: FWD version (yours) is not the same as the RWD version WRT to the WP service. MUCH easier to do in the RWD Mustang. OP, there is a weep hole on the side of the block that is supposed to give you early warning of the WP failure. Have any car you're looking at put on a lift and inspect that weep hole to be sure it is not clogged or already leaking. Originally Posted By VVinci: Originally Posted By Ndenway1twicetimes: My woman's got a 2014' mkx 3.7l dohc 305hp, iirc it's the same ford/lincoln cyclone engine. It's got the variable cam timing (vct) & internal water pump. Fairly solid daily driver motor, her's got some miles in it. if water pump or vct (sensors, gears & chain)fails got to pull top & front off engine to replace. which if either/or fails you might as well replace both and harmonic balancer since it's same to open. If do it yourself with good oem parts be approx $2k +/-, a decent shop be approx $5k +/-. FWD version (yours) is not the same as the RWD version WRT to the WP service. MUCH easier to do in the RWD Mustang. OP, there is a weep hole on the side of the block that is supposed to give you early warning of the WP failure. Have any car you're looking at put on a lift and inspect that weep hole to be sure it is not clogged or already leaking. Yes, I know the fwd & rwd set ups are a bit different, and are tuned different. But iircc ford/lincoln 3.7l cyclone engine family got same blocks, pistons, heads & lot of simular internal parts set ups, just tuned differently for each different model it's in, iirc it's in the f150s & edge also. Like you recommended to OP, get a pre-check from a known/trusted mechanic before buying. |
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Originally Posted By Redman556: I'm hoping I never have to do it. My 95 GT is still on the original pump, and it doesn't make noise ( bearings ) or anything. I've probably got 10 years left, looking at the rest of the males in my biological family. They've all died late 50s-mid 60s. If I wasn't adopted, I'd probably need at least three more cars. lol They, grandparent's and his brothers, all lived to be well over 100, and they drove to Hot Springs Arkansas every year until they were in their late 90s. lol Originally Posted By Redman556: Originally Posted By VVinci: FWD version (yours) is not the same as the RWD version WRT to the WP service. MUCH easier to do in the RWD Mustang. OP, there is a weep hole on the side of the block that is supposed to give you early warning of the WP failure. Have any car you're looking at put on a lift and inspect that weep hole to be sure it is not clogged or already leaking. I'm hoping I never have to do it. My 95 GT is still on the original pump, and it doesn't make noise ( bearings ) or anything. I've probably got 10 years left, looking at the rest of the males in my biological family. They've all died late 50s-mid 60s. If I wasn't adopted, I'd probably need at least three more cars. lol They, grandparent's and his brothers, all lived to be well over 100, and they drove to Hot Springs Arkansas every year until they were in their late 90s. lol Great thing about your 95' is it's got a 302 and a lot less complicated electronics than current vehicles. I had 5 fox bodies from 79' to 99', had several mid 80s lincolns too. |
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Originally Posted By Redman556: Beautiful car. Hey, I've got bad arthritis too, and a bad back lol. If you're from SC originally, we probably ran in some of the same circles in the 80s and 90s. I am almost exactly halfway between Charlotte and Columbia. Been here all my life. I seem to remember you saying you were in a rock band same as I was in those days too. Been in SC almost all my life. No band though. Must have been someone else. Hell, I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. The Lord spoke to me once, I was singing in church. He told me to shut up. I lived in the low country until 1990. Moved to Columbia. I’m now outside of Lugoff/Elgin on Lake Wateree in our retirement home. |
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Been in SC almost all my life. No band though. Must have been someone else. Hell, I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. The Lord spoke to me once, I was singing in church. He told me to shut up. I lived in the low country until 1990. Moved to Columbia. I’m now outside of Lugoff/Elgin on Lake Wateree in our retirement home. Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Originally Posted By Redman556: Beautiful car. Hey, I've got bad arthritis too, and a bad back lol. If you're from SC originally, we probably ran in some of the same circles in the 80s and 90s. I am almost exactly halfway between Charlotte and Columbia. Been here all my life. I seem to remember you saying you were in a rock band same as I was in those days too. Been in SC almost all my life. No band though. Must have been someone else. Hell, I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. The Lord spoke to me once, I was singing in church. He told me to shut up. I lived in the low country until 1990. Moved to Columbia. I’m now outside of Lugoff/Elgin on Lake Wateree in our retirement home. lol. Great line. I never said I sang in a band. All my buckets are filled with holes. Can't carry a tune in one. I was either a synth player, a bassist, or a guitar player, depending on what was needed. |
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Be 62 shortly. Getting sick of the Hemi Charger so started looking at Mustangs. First car way back in the early 80's was a 1970 Mach 1. Owned a couple 11-14 V-6's and they are great reliable cars. Found a 2012 GT for 11k and jumped on it. All I can say is get the 5.0l. Sure the 6'er is OK but you only live once. Get the big boy and enjoy driving again. Especially when people are asking 14-18k for a V-6 car. 11k for the GT was a no brainer. |
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Originally Posted By Chipper44mag: Be 62 shortly. Getting sick of the Hemi Charger so started looking at Mustangs. First car way back in the early 80's was a 1970 Mach 1. Owned a couple 11-14 V-6's and they are great reliable cars. Found a 2012 GT for 11k and jumped on it. All I can say is get the 5.0l. Sure the 6'er is OK but you only live once. Get the big boy and enjoy driving again. Especially when people are asking 14-18k for a V-6 car. 11k for the GT was a no brainer. I'm finding the better equipped V6 cars about $2,000 cheaper than the lower end 2.3 4 cyl turbo, and $4,000- $8,000 cheaper than base V8 cars. That's not including the higher end cars same year and same condition. |
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Originally Posted By Chipper44mag: Be 62 shortly. Getting sick of the Hemi Charger so started looking at Mustangs. First car way back in the early 80's was a 1970 Mach 1. Owned a couple 11-14 V-6's and they are great reliable cars. Found a 2012 GT for 11k and jumped on it. All I can say is get the 5.0l. Sure the 6'er is OK but you only live once. Get the big boy and enjoy driving again. Especially when people are asking 14-18k for a V-6 car. 11k for the GT was a no brainer. I love the S197s. Best styled Mustang since first gen. Just make sure you pull or clean your fresh air box drain boots on both sides or you'll get a wet surprise next time it rains a lot. It happened to me. You can just pull them out from the bottom and leave them out if you don't want to mess with the cowl. The first time I parked on a hill after a heavy rain I had two gallons of water pour into the floorboard from the vents. This prevents that from happening. Apparently the previous owner of my '12 Mustang parked under trees a lot and it clogged the drains, which are of a slit design and any solid matter that enters the air box through the cowl fresh air grille will clog them.  2005-2009 Mustang S197 Cowl Drain Plug Fix |