I recently had some work done on my 2000 mustang GT's coolant system. Everything was fixed except for the radiator fan warning light. I was told that the sensor on the reservoir tank was bad but unfortunately Ford doesn't offer to sell just the sensor, you have to but the whole tank and sensor.  The gentleman that worked on my car said it would be ok to drive the car with the warning light on, I just needed to keep an eye on the coolant level and temperature gauge. I was wondering if it would be ok to go to a mustang salvage yard and see if I could buy a sensor from them and if I could what years could I use or would only one from a 2000 work. Also when I picked up the car , it was making a terrible scratching sound coming from the  brakes, especially at low speeds. I know a car will sometimes do this after sitting for awhile, but after driving for several miles, the noise persisted. I'm not very experienced at working on vehicles but was wondering if doing a complete brake job would be possible for an amateur. I've heard that some repair manuals can guide you thru the process. I live on a fixed income so every penny has to count. The car is a 5 speed with a little over 104,000 miles, it has a salvage title and had been repossessed twice before I bought it from the bank. Any help would greatly be appreciated as well as any suggestions on how to cheaply make my poor car perform a little better. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME !!!  CHRIS 

Its possible that the sensor is bad, kind of hard to imagine it is bad after only 8 yrs, but definitely possible.  Do you have coolant in the resevoir?  Are you loosing coolant from your resevoir and having to top it off every now and then?  What work was done and how long was it "sitting" for.  How were your brakes before you brought it in for repairs? 

If it is the sensor, then visit your local junkyard and find a match.

As for your brakes, just remove your wheels and check the thickness of your pads on both sides of the rotor.  You probably just need to replace your pads, only.  This is very easy and you can do it w/no problems.  Get a 'C' clamp/s and place it on your caliper piston/s after you remove your pads (tighten the clamp/s down just enough to push the piston/s back in) and you should not have to bleed them - which saves time.  Always change ALL wheel pads and not just one.  They wear evenly and a new set on one wheel with worn sets on the others is NOT a good idea.

Check you brake fluid and if it is nasty looking, then go ahead and blead them starting w/pass rear, then driver rear, then pass front, then driver front (bleed until there are no visible bubbles and continuous flow of fluid).  ALWAYS add fluid to your resevoir after each bleeding!  Do not let it go dry or you will have more air in your lines than started.  A bleeder kit is cheap and easy to use - it should come w/basic instructions.  Do you have a service manual?  If not, then get one.  You'll save yourself a bunch of money with it.

After you change your pads, make sure to top off the fluid and pump your brakes several times with KOEO until you pedal feels normal.

Hope this helps and enjoy your ride!

The C clamps will work for the front brake calipers but on the rear you will need a caliper tool. You can get a loaner from Auto Zone if you do not want to buy one.

Let me start by thanking those who responded to my problem and to say I'm sorry for taking so long to do so. Yes I was having to add coolant after driving the car for 2-3 days. The mechanic replaced radiator cap and thermostat, he said that when car was driven and the temperature reached  a certain temp, there was a stress crack in the radiator cap and it would start leaking, he said that the car wasn't getting hot but just to be safe he replaced the thermostat. I should have phrased my original inquiry about my car in a 2 part question. My brake problem had nothing to do with my coolant problem, except for the fact , that the car set for about a week and a half at the mechanic's garage, but I'm not complaining about his service because he just charged me for the parts, knowing that I'm on a fixed income.  

How about using lubricant to take care of the noise problem? I also consider replacing the radiator cap as it seems that it started leaking when the temperature had a stress crack.