Motor barely turns over, any ideas?

Asked by spmarrow Jul 22, 2007 at 01:57 PM about the 1965 Ford Mustang

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 65 Mustang and I'm putting in an 87 302 motor. I'm having trouble getting this motor to start. I have the firing order set to the 87 Mustang and have removed a few plugs to rule out a compression issue. The starter, solenoid and battery are all brand new as well yet the motor barely turns over when the key is turned. I've also removed the coil wire to rule out a timing issue.  I tried using my old starter first and it seemed to crank it over ok but died shortly there after.  Now the new one barely turns the motor over like the old one did right before it died on me.  Any ideas anyone???  Help!

2 Answers
83,745

littlehorn answered 16 years ago

How is your ground connection for the battery? This is the long black wire that runs all the way down to the frame. Also, do you have the firing order set-up right? Is your '87 motor a Mustang motor (5.0L High Output) or from another '87 5.0L (standard). The firing order is different from the HO and the standard engines. Another thought is that you have some head gasket or hydro-locking issues with the new engine.

1 people found this helpful.
Mark helpful
1,075

Tom answered 10 years ago

If your black battery ground is going to frame, make sure you have one going from frame to engine block, because just going to frame is hard to get electrical trough motor mount's.

Mark helpful

Your Answer:

Related Questions

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

1965 Ford Mustang

Write a car review

Review another car

Shortcuts

Search Ford Mustang Questions

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    3,140
  • #2
    Bob Beaman
    Reputation
    2,680
  • #3
    rst429
    Reputation
    2,590
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Dodge Charger
740 Great Deals out of 29,818 listings starting at $1,900
Used Chevrolet Corvette
725 Great Deals out of 12,191 listings starting at $3,200

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Ford Mustang For Sale
36 Great Deals out of 11,917 listings starting at $27,091
2023 Ford Mustang For Sale
33 Great Deals out of 558 listings starting at $23,000
2022 Ford Mustang For Sale
53 Great Deals out of 901 listings starting at $20,751
2021 Ford Mustang For Sale
95 Great Deals out of 1,191 listings starting at $15,526
2020 Ford Mustang For Sale
66 Great Deals out of 999 listings starting at $13,995

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.