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03/04 Cobra common problems

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t-man2

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I just bought a black 03 Cobra with 26,450 miles on it and it's completely stock (i already ordered Flowmaster and Xpipe though...lol)

What are some common problems that occur on these cars as time goes on??? i just wanna know what to expect.

i do know that the IRS components wear out and must be replaced after higher mileages are reached but somebody tell me what all other problems happen please
 
#3 ·
welcome, and congrats on the purchase man :) .. i'm crossing my fingers that a couple years down the road I can get my hands on a black termi.. if not, then just any color will do :lol

what part of georgia are you from?
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
i'm in the middle of nowhere between paulding and polk county but i dont plan on drivin the cobra too much...i have a 4cylinder gas saver that i take everywhere lol...(not a civic..haha)

i had a 96 GT last year but i needed more power :]
 
#5 ·
t-man2 said:
i'm in the middle of nowhere between paulding and polk county but i dont plan on drivin the cobra too much...i have a 4cylinder gas saver that i take everywhere lol...(not a civic..haha)

i had a 96 GT last year but i needed more power :]
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i hear ya man, gas is getting higher and higher
 
#6 ·
HMUSN said:
head tick.


welcome to the forums.
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The tick. sunds like a car desease. LOL . The tick isnt really a "down the road issue" It is straight off the factory line issue. My car is one of the first 1500 03's off the line and I was lucky not to have the issue (I def had it checked because I am anal about my car). They say if you had the tick you would definitely know it because it is loud when engine is hot. I was also told it isnt really an issue but the tick is more annoying than anything.

I say the altenator will be replaced first. I am on my 3rd at 70,000 miles.
Car is hard on brakes. obviously.:D

I think breaks and altenators are all I can report. Congrats on the termi
 
#7 ·
Another problem was actually a ford recall. The gas pedal could potentially, because of the screw in pedal covers, get caught in the car's carpet. The repair is a recall repair at not cost and they snip out a piece of the carpet and place a metal plate behind the pedal.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
oh yeah i did hear about the gas pedal thing so ok i'll keep an eye for that and the head tick and the IRS stuff i heard about...it dont do all that right now but i haven't had the car too awefully long....and i'll watch the alternator/brake/etc. stuff

i appreciate all the input...any more then just keep lettin me know
thanks
 
#11 ·
t-man2 said:
heck yeah premium is freakin $3.99 today on the way to my commute to douglasville and regular is $3.60 or something...i can't take it anymore lol
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That's it? Come to California, regular (87) is $3.90, and premium (91) is $4.14.
 
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#13 ·
The tick can show up later, but hopefully you got one of the good ones. The sticking gas pedal bit me in the azz. That and a combination of an on the edge fuel system. It wasn't kind to my pistons. Alternators have definately been a problem on them and there doesn't seem to be any better replacements than the factory one. I wouldn't do any back to back high speed runs either. Piston to Wall clearance is tight and to much heat from the high speed pulls can prove catastrophic.
 
#14 ·
welcome to the forum.

if u havent noticed already, these cobras have really bad wheel-hop. and im assuming that u have stock rear suspension too.

when u feel the wheel hop, make SURE u let off the throttle and dont try to power through it. it can break ****. and try to keep from losing traction in the rain while going straight. mine seems to hop the worst when the roads are wet.

if u do any street racing, try to stick to mostly roll races. launching in these cars with stock rear suspensions and street tires suck. if u do any races from a dead stop, your best bet will probably be to slip the clutch.
 
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#15 ·
The LDC cooling mod will prevent the head tick. If you don't have head tick then I would strongly suggest you do one of the 2 cooling mods out. The LDC is probably the best and easiest and will give the heads a hell of alot better cooling. Plus if you have the blue mark on your head then its already been fixed and shouldn't even be a problem. Check for that and if it doesn't then do the cooling mod.
 
#17 ·
wheel hop is so minimal in my car and I have stock suspension and almost 500 to the rear wheels. I guess I am king of feathering. Once you really know your car, wheel hop can be eliminated almost completely. AND LISTEN TO WILL, you can do serious damage if you don't let off the hop. Sorry I missed that one.

And yes the tick can appear later but you have to run the hell out of that car to increase the problem and run it hot.

Also your 7th and 8th spark plug will become oil coated. This is normal in those engines as well and can be fixed as well so dont freak out when you change your plugs. I ran 70,000 miles with original plugs...I was lucky.
 
#19 · (Edited)
THE TICK-This is a question that has been tossed around more than a mixed salad. The popular rumor is that the blue stripe means that the head was replaced by the dealer (or at the factory) to fix the tick issue. First, some facts. The tick issue can occur on any 2003 or 2004 Cobra, and also Mach 1s. The latest head, and the one that fixed the tick issue, wasn't released until 01/2005. Second, the blue stripe has appeared on 2003 and 2004 Cobras/Mach 1s from the factory. It has appeared on both the driver side and passenger side heads. So it has no correlation to the fix issue that we're are definitely aware of. However, since some 2004 Cobras have reported to have 9 spark plug threads (only head that is known to have 9 threads is the latest head), it is possible that the head part number is the latest head. This hasn't been proven yet.

As far as what the blue stripe means, JB from SVTPerformance.com belongs to a local Cobra club and they toured the factory a couple of years ago. This was the explanation given at the factory. "Assembly plants use just-in-time inventory, meaning parts are not stored up but are delivered daily. The paint markers provide a visual confirmation of when particular batches have been purged from the line. They show up on other Ford engines besides the '03/'04 Cobra. The bottom-line is that the blue stripe doesn't mean a head has been replaced by a dealer".

Here is great site for Cobra info- Terminator FAQs
 
#20 ·
Only thing I have heard about the blue mark is that is was a post recall head. It's not 100% that the 04's won't tick either but if you do the cooling mod there is a very decereased chance of head tick. The ones I have seen with after the recall had a huge blue mark on the head. Maybe it doesn't mean anything but that is just all I have ever seen or heard about it.
 
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