00-02 vs 03-04 pistons interchange

[SVT1994]

looking to order pistons for an 03 GT but keep coming across listings for 00-02 only. is there any difference in 2v pistons in edge body mustangs? the one im working on is a vin code 'X' and has an 8 bolt crank, if that makes a difference in internals (which i dont think it does)....

 

[RiskyRick]

Alright, first thing's first- if you have an 03 GT with an 8-bolt crankshaft, the motor has either been replaced or rebuilt already at some point in the life of the car. 99-01 Windsor motors were 8-bolt and late 01-04 Romeo motors were 6-bolt.

IIRC, the 99-01 Windsor motors had floating pin and the late 01-04 romeo motors had pressed pin rods.

A Mustang 2v with an 8-bolt crank should be a floating pin Windsor motor unless only the crank was replaced, so you'll want to make sure that the pistons that you buy have the grooves for the little clips that hold in the pins.

This may be the 00-02 listing? Regardless, there should be no other major differences besides those grooves, although these are very imortant if you have floating pin rods.

 

[KLeech]

+1 hes right.

and not all late 01 cars got the romeos.. Im a Feb of 01 car with a windsor and a T45 transmission still.

 

[SVT1994]

just pulled it apart to find a 6 bolt crank (was almost sure it was 8 when we put the clutch in) so everything looks correct for '03... and yeah, it has the clips in the pistons for the pins