alright, I'm a new guy to this forum too, but this ain't my first rodeo, and the 5.0 is probably the engine I've spent the most time around.
First off, you're going to want to read. And read ALOT. There's a ton of books out there, and tons of free things like
http://www.mustangandfords.com/ which has a TON of old articles and such from all the pertinent Mustang magazines. I started out with magazines at about 12 years old, learned the "market trends" and the "trendy stuff" and then when I was 17 I felt ready to dive into my first car. We ended up going with a 1969 El Camino. Chevy at the time (late 90s) was way cheaper to work on than Ford, and parts were in easy supply. Good news: Your Mustang has even easier supply of aftermarket parts and NOS than I ever saw for my Elky back then.
As the others have said, take a look around, read up on tons of things. And please, don't go looking for handouts of "hey, my clutch is dumping and I have no clue"
whereas a thread with something like "so, I've checked the linkages, replaced the clutch pads, and checked the fly out, and it's STILL dumping" goes a LONG way. I'm not much older than you, but I was pre all this EPIC forum stuff. The amount of info available is huge, and it's not too hard to go looking for it, and trying things out.
Worst case scenario, if your gut says "maybe I should ask" ASK!!
It's saved me a couple times. But always try to be as educated as you can before asking. One, it makes it easier for people that don't have access to your car to try and get a better picture, and two, it shows you truly care in a way, because you're already trying things on your own.
you'll fall flat on your face. Believe me, it'll happen, and it'll happen again and again. I can build engines in my sleep now, and yet, start making me troubleshoot electronics and yeah... lots of my friends Sam, Jack, or Johnny come out to visit during the course of those nights
most importantly, you're here. you've found a place dedicated to your car. That is PRICELESS. And it shows already that "extra step" I talked about earlier.
Also, you need any help, dose of realities (I've been 220mph, 9sec 1/4, drove 1:42 in a kit car around LagunaSeca, and had a daily driver 11 second El Camino) I'm here. Just PM me with anything you need and we can go from there. I'm just a hobby greasemonkey though, decided the job ain't it for me... well, it's a long story, but to put it plainly I'm NOT a mechanic, but I've been around the block. I'm just excited to see kids caring about the wicked cars of my days like I was all over the General Lee and Bandit when I was your age.
last words of advice, I promise
"when in doubt, take it off the car, look at it, try to figure out what it is in the Haynes manual, and put it back on the car." - best advice I ever got.
and "rock on!" :headbang:
