2003 cobra- quick question before purchase

[ras50gt]

Looking at buying an 03 cobra soon. Went and checked one out this past weekend and everything looked good, just had two questions for cobra owners.

First- Looked in the trunk, to the left one of the plastic clips was broken off and the lining was loose. I looked behind it and saw some type of box, looked electrical with wires coming from it. What is this?


Second- I test drove the cobra a few miles. Came back to the parking lot we met at. Let the car sit for several minutes while I looked over the rest of the car. I was standing at the drivers side front corner with the hood open and asked the owner to start the engine. When he started it, I saw white smoke coming from the engine bay passenger side near the firewall area. It lasted for maybe 15 seconds or so. Also some smoke came from behind the front passenger tire so would assume it was from the same thing. The owner had no idea what is was either. We looked around, couldnt see anything visible. Tried turning the car on and off again, the smoke never came back. Any ideas? What side is the a/c drain on?


Any help would be great, im making a decision soon. Thank you!

 

[EvilBlack]

Looking at buying an 03 cobra soon. Went and checked one out this past weekend and everything looked good, just had two questions for cobra owners.

First- Looked in the trunk, to the left one of the plastic clips was broken off and the lining was loose. I looked behind it and saw some type of box, looked electrical with wires coming from it. What is this?


Second- I test drove the cobra a few miles. Came back to the parking lot we met at. Let the car sit for several minutes while I looked over the rest of the car. I was standing at the drivers side front corner with the hood open and asked the owner to start the engine. When he started it, I saw white smoke coming from the engine bay passenger side near the firewall area. It lasted for maybe 15 seconds or so. Also some smoke came from behind the front passenger tire so would assume it was from the same thing. The owner had no idea what is was either. We looked around, couldnt see anything visible. Tried turning the car on and off again, the smoke never came back. Any ideas? What side is the a/c drain on?


Any help would be great, im making a decision soon. Thank you!

1. Most likely a Kenne Bell Boost a Pump. BAP for short. Almost all of these cars that are modded up have that mod. What mods does the car have?

2. Not a fan of smoke, no matter the color. Did it have any specific smell? How hard did you drive the car.

If you can list the mods, miles and any pertinent info.

 

[ras50gt]

Car is mostly stock. It has shorty headers, x pipe with cats and catback. Slightly smaller supercharger pulley on stock eaton and a canton resevoir. Hid headlight kit, owner says spec clutch, hr springs, slotted rotors all four corners. Car has just under 40k miles on her.

I never push someones car when test driving, so when I drove I took it easy. I got on it a little just to feel the power and response, etc. I mainly was getting a feel of everything, checking the clutch and shifting thru the gears, down shifting, etc. I let the owner drive back to the parking lot, on the freeway he got on it kind of hard. He pushed it maybe to 5.5/6k rpm in third or fourth gear.

Smoke didn't really have a smell that I remember.

And yea, smoke scares me esp considering this is a big purchase.

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

1. The fuel pump driver module(FPDM) is on the drivers side inner quarter panel in the trunk. The KB boost-a-pump would be located near here also if your car had one.
On the rear panel the tail lights bolt to, on the left side is the fuel pump inertia switch.

2.(smoke)Many 4 valve Fords this age will puff a little smoke on start up, usually just the first one. And usually out the exhaust.
If there are any cracked or broken vacuum or PCV lines at the back of the intake they may puff a little.
A bad EGR feed line might puff.
Steam from an A/C condensation drip will come from the passenger side.

The smoke is a mystery to me.

 

[timspony]

This is what a BAP looks like....I'd get a 2nd opinion on the car!!

 

[utfan98]

Probably a FPDM

Smoke seems to be coming from the same bank, agree may be the same thing going on. Don't know what it could be.

 

[Jomo1994z71]

I wouldn't buy a car that has smoke spurtin from it...

 

[ras50gt]

Looking online, I think its safe to say that the unit in the trunk is the fuel pump driver module. I prob should have looked at it more closely to see if there was anything else connected to it like a BAP. Clearly one of the previous owners was going back in that area.


As for the smoke, that is the only thing holding me back from buying the car tmrw. I guess I will have to check everything out again and see if I notice any leaks, maybe figure out a way to get it on a rack. I know I cant completely trust the seller, but he said hes looking into it also. He says he has never seen this before and has never used the a/c, so maybe it could be the a/c draining.

 

[Canuck03SVT]

Plenty of Terminators out there so I would pass on this one.

 

[cobracide]

Plenty of Terminators out there so I would pass on this one.

No Sh*t - mystery wreck.

 

[ras50gt]

It def is bothering me esp when you guys say stay away. I mean if its just the a/c drain then thats no biggy. In CA there is not a lot of cobras for sale, most of them have over 60k miles and or are fully modded out but not always the mods Id like to have. This one im looking at is the right color, right mileage, right price, right amount of mods and everything I would do to the car anyways until the mod bug comes around. It is actually my second time around having a chance at this exact car, the first time I couldn't get financing in time. Everything seemed perfect till that smoke showed up...

 

[Sweet '96 Cobra]

It could be one of the hoses that connects to the heater core leaking down on your shorty header? I know I had this happen to me before, something to check out..

 

[CobraBob]

The smoke would bother me. If the owner had the A/C on prior to you looking at it then it is possible it is condensation dripping on the exhaust. I would definitely want that checked further before deciding to buy it. Personally I'd walk away and find another one. This one is also fairly modified but if that is okay with you then it isn't a problem. Many prefer a mostly stock or all stock Terminator.

 

[black 10th vert]

The smoke would bother me. If the owner had the A/C on prior to you looking at it then it is possible it is condensation dripping on the exhaust. I would definitely want that checked further before deciding to buy it. Personally I'd walk away and find another one. This one is also fairly modified but if that is okay with you then it isn't a problem. Many prefer a mostly stock or all stock Terminator.

I agree, but that is like finding the Holy Grail these days!;-) As you know, Bob, just because it looks to be stock, doesn't always mean that it has never been modded. A lot of people choose to de-mod these cars when selling to not take as much of a hit in the market, since you usually lose most of your investment with mods. I know you are aware of this, but I'm saying for the op's benefit.;-)

 

[CobraBob]

Yes, that is true to an extent, but stock/near stock Terminators continue to show up for sale. A lot of original owners kept them stock/near stock (believe it or not, LOL) and now that the car is aging are putting them up for sale. The key is verifying that they indeed have always been stock/near stock. I just wouldn't call them the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail to me would be a stock Cobra with less than 15K miles on it. JMO though.

 

[hiimdrummer03]

Ras50GT whats your zipcode?
What are you looking to spend?
Color?Vert or Coupe?

Cobrabob there must be a holy grail near me.
16k mile,basically bone stock Silver Metallic 10th Anniv Coupe

 

[Sonic605hp]

Smoke=find another vehicle.

 

[ras50gt]

Ras50GT whats your zipcode?
What are you looking to spend?
Color?Vert or Coupe?

Cobrabob there must be a holy grail near me.
16k mile,basically bone stock Silver Metallic 10th Anniv Coupe

My zip is 95126, San Jose.
Coupes only
Color choices in order: silver, sonic blue, gray, black
Looking at 17k area, but depends on the car, ext/int, mods, location, etc

 

[hiimdrummer03]

My zip is 95126, San Jose.
Coupes only
Color choices in order: silver, sonic blue, gray, black
Looking at 17k area, but depends on the car, ext/int, mods, location, etc

What is your ceiling?

 

[hiimdrummer03]

This is the only two within 280 miles of you that is your color requirements.

04 SVT Mustang Cobra Trade
03 custom mustang Cobra svt

There is 2 very clean Oxford Whites near you.

A few you may look at depending on max budget.
Heres a couple to consider if you dont mind a drive.Depending on how long you wanna drive or how long it takes.

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