BuckeyeSVT

Normally well before that age the IMRC usually dies and the secondaries fail to open which means no power on the highway. I was once passed by a stock Honda Civic when my secondaries were dead. I fixed that fast...lol. IMRC is the box on the front valve cover that connects by a cable to the lower intake manifold. It's not too hard to change, and easy to diagnose. They normally quit when the engine heats up and you can test by revving the engine up to 4,000 RPM. It should move the lever on the lower intake manifold if working correctly. If not, it's failed. That's the easiest thing that kills power - Then we move onto exhaust restrictions like converters failed and such. -Dominic

to FCO! Lurk or join, glad to see you join! -Dominic

It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to replace a failed differential. Does the car make any noise when in gear and the clutch is let out? Does the speedometer go up when in first gear and the throttle is applied lightly? Unfortunately most of the parts for these cars are discontinued and I don't see a listing for the differential available from Ford. Lots of parts are available for the automatics, but most of the parts for the manuals are gone. Perhaps sourcing a used transmission may be easier? -Dominic

The weak point in these transmissions is the differential. If it goes, the transmission will feel like it will go in gear - But the car will not move. Sometimes you can put it in gear and the speedometer will show wheel speed as you are sitting still. The other issue is the pin in the shifter housing. Normally there is no snapping noise, and the shifter goes numb and loose between gears. -Dominic

There is nothing really out there aside from custom tuning which runs $600-$800 and the gains are not impressive. Most people drop the 2.5L and install a 3.0L for more performance potential. However you are pretty late to that scene as the engines that are used for that transfer are already pretty much dried up. -Dominic

Sounds like an electrical problem. Speed sensor on the transmission can fray the wires at the transmission end and cause the anti theft system to act up and car not to start. Fast idle is a function of coolant temperature. As the engine coolant gets warmer, the startup idle gets lower and lower. Leaving it sit for an hour is allowing the coolant to return to ambient temperature causing the faster idle you are seeking. -Dominic

Honestly, with the daily traffic here what it is... I'm not sure it's your best bet. I welcome you to make a post in the General Forum with the For Sale ad... But Facebook Marketplace seems to be the go to these days. -Dom

to FCO! Clean examples are hard to come by, keep it nice... Love a clean black SVT! -Dom

If it's a GL 2.0L, they normally leak around the thermostat housing. Very common issue. I would check for signs of leakage around the thermostat housing and the cylinder head. -Dominic

to FCO!

Normally, the airbag system will output a code through the airbag light by pulsing it. Quick and long pulses can be read for a code number. -Dominic

On the 2.0L's there are 2 coolant sensors. One for the PCM (Engine controller ) and one for the gauge inside. The sender for the computer is normally on top of the thermostat housing. The temperature gauge sender is normally below the housing with a rectangular plug. -Dominic

Using the service manual without the special service tools or training working on a system that contains low grade explosive charges in the frontal airbags is not a good idea. The airbag system works on resistance, the sensors and the airbags all work on resistance. Any tampering with the wires or connectors could cause other issues - Safety issues. The airbag system is pretty simple, but it's not something for the common DIY'er. You can choose to ignore this information - But it needs to be said to prevent something catastrophic in the future. -Dominic

to FCO! NE Ohio here as well - If you need anything just ask. -Dom

Normally a scan tool can do the diagnosing. There is no other method I would suggest to check the airbag system. It is self checking every key on cycle, so if the problem is fixed - the light will go out. -Dominic