Hey Scotty, I’m a huge fan of your channel and what you do. I was wondering what you thought of a 2015 Mustang GT, 50k miles, manual, and from a private seller. I’ve seen your videos about changing the transmission fluid but should I change it now since the car already has 50k miles on it? And how do I make sure it lasts a long time if I plan to add modifications such as an intake, intercooler, tune, intake manifold , etc?
If you haven't bought it yet, DON'T. Those MT-82 transmissions are garbage and the horror stories are all over the internet. If you can, walk away.
Now, if you have already bought it, have it checked out by a mechanic as soon as possible. They will likely tell you you need a drain and fill, which I would highly recommend at that age and mileage. I would also recommend you look at doing your trans fluid drain and fills every 3 year/40k miles, whichever comes first. The weakest point on that car is the transmission, but you don't want to push your oil changes either as all Coyotes like to eat oil, especially the '18+. Being a 2015, make sure you are not running any further than 5k miles/1 year between changes and use full synthetic oil. Brand doesn't matter, but pick one and stick to it for best results.
If you plan on modifying it, all bets are off. They are highly strung motors from the factory, hence the high RPM redline. You start adding stress to it, you can pop it easy. If you want to modify it, have it professionally done and professionally tuned. DO NOT, under any circumstances, start messing with the cams/etc. unless you know exactly what you are doing. The cams are cheap grade and can actually fracture if you try to remove them incorrectly. The motor is pretty complicated when it comes to tuning and a good dyno tune will be absolutely pivotal to make it run safe. Don't just buy an SCT or DiabloSport tuner and load a canned performance tune. You need a professional dyno tune from a reputable shop that is used to working on Coyote V8 motors.
My best advise is to be proactive on maintenance and if you are driving it hard, be married to your oil dipstick and oil pressure. Check them religiously before and after any hard driving.
If you want to know what happens if you don't, well, here you go:
Still have it inspected my a mechanic....
Right out of the owners manual under scheduled maintenance under normal operation.
Other maintenance items 3
Every 20000 mi (32,000 km) Replace cabin air filter.
Every 30000 mi (48,000 km) Replace engine air filter.
At 100000 mi (160,000 km) Change engine coolant. 4
Every 100000 mi (160,000 km) Replace spark plugs. Inspect accessory drive belt(s). 5
Every 150000 mi (240,000 km) Change automatic transmission fluid and filter. Change manual transmission fluid. Replace accessory drive belt(s). Change rear axle fluid.
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Avoid the manual transmission found in that Mustang at all costs. It is the Getrag MT-82 which has had issues and even Scotty warned about it. See post by Mod_Man here:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/90980/
Also those are prone to AC issues which can be a $3,000 job.
If it were me, I would stay away from that generation Mustang (which started in model year 2015 to present).
