My "new" toy.

[Goose17]

Saw this on the 93 forum. Great addition to the stable. We now have 2 cars in common, 00 and 04. Have an 89 vert too, but it's a saleen vs a GT. Guess we have similar tastes.

Congrats on the car and garage.

That's very cool!

The 00R arrived with old gas in it and I got the Service Engine Soon with code P0300 Random Misfire. I need to drain the tank, put some fresh gas and a new filter in it, and clear the code. Problem is then it needs to get driven quite a bit for the sensors to all be ready to pass inspection.

Anyone know of a way to clear the code and not have to drive it so much to get the sensors ready again?

 

[Robert M]

That's very cool!

The 00R arrived with old gas in it and I got the Service Engine Soon with code P0300 Random Misfire. I need to drain the tank, put some fresh gas and a new filter in it, and clear the code. Problem is then it needs to get driven quite a bit for the sensors to all be ready to pass inspection.

Anyone know of a way to clear the code and not have to drive it so much to get the sensors ready again?

When I bought my 2000 Cobra R in 2003 it had less than 20 original miles with the fuel that had been put in it in 2000. The fuel stank and the car ran like crap. I put some new fuel in it and drove it gingerly around my neighborhood and it began to clean up within a short period of time. I never had an ECM code.

Now that we are talking about fuel and R-Models (1995 and 2000)......

Has the fuel cell bladder been replaced in your car? I forgot to warn you about that............if not, put away some $$$ for the bladder replacement. Some people get more years and some less, but it is a continuous thing with the fuel cells and last I heard, it is a $2000 or more repair, it was $1600 for me with my 95R 8 years ago. That is one reason why I sold my 1995 and 2000 R-Models..........

The first sign is walking out into the garage and smell raw fuel.............strong smell. At first the lawn mower comes to mind, and once you investigate you realize the raw fuel smell is not by the lawn mower, then you search further and find a slow drip and a puddle of fuel at the right front of the fuel cell, at the weep hole, then you know the bladder is bad and the fix it to pull the fuel cell and replace the bladder (as long as it is available) for an oem install of that type. The uncontained liquid fuel in the garage, that is bad, but the evaporated fuel that is just waiting for a spark, that is the real bad stuff. Be aware.....

If you search back in this Cobra R forum, I started a thread called "The dreaded drip", and I think I also added "tick, tick, tick" in the title because all of the fuel cells are on a clock from the first fuel to be installed in a new bladder to the start of the dreaded drip.............Here was my first sign, after the raw fuel smell..........

^^^This 95R had approx. 600 original miles on it and was approx. 11 years old when the drip started.



R

 

[1995COBRA-R]

Nice new addition.

The fuel call will fail sooner or later.

BTW, Robert had great timing and sold all three of his three Cobra-R cars at the height of the market a few years ago. He is in the "Buy Low and sell High" Crowd. ;-)

 

[flattrack53]

Robert, your old 2000 R just turned 4,000 miles last week!

 

[Robert M]

Nice new addition.

The fuel call will fail sooner or later.

BTW, Robert had great timing and sold all three of his three Cobra-R cars at the height of the market a few years ago. He is in the "Buy Low and sell High" Crowd. ;-)

My 93R did exceptionally well, my 00R did alright, my 95R did not do as well.

The fuel cell bladder replacement cost was not known to me when I bought my cars, I don't even remember it being an issue to be discussed, but then some started to mention fuel leaking and then mine happened.

The 1995 and 2000 Cobra R's are definitely cool cars to own and the fuel cell bladder replacement cost is just part of the ownership, but it is a cost that is above and beyond what a non-fuel cell car would cost to maintain and is also something unexpected if you are not aware of fuel cell maintenance. So for someone looking at buying or a new owner, it is something to be aware of and plan accordingly. Once it starts leaking, the tank has to be pulled and drained or it will continue to drip and not get any better until it is dealt with.

I still keep the thought in the back of my mind that I may by another 2000 Cobra R........maybe one day?





R

 

[Robert M]

Robert, your old 2000 R just turned 4,000 miles last week!
View attachment 72928

I see the stickers are still on the windows?.........:beer:

Plastic with lime colored inspector stickers still on the seats?

Has #21 required a fuel cell bladder replacement yet?


R

 

[Robert M]

Anyone remember this picture?

R

 

[flattrack53]

I see the stickers are still on the windows?.........:beer:

Plastic with lime colored inspector stickers still on the seats?

Has #21 required a fuel cell bladder replacement yet?R

I left all of the stickers on the windows and still have the clear plastic on the door sills. The plastic seat covers I pulled off but they are still in perfect shape and i have them hanging in my bedroom closet. It still has the original bladder in the car. I already have my $2,000 ready The only modifications I've done to the car are;

1.) Widened another set of OEM wheels to 18x10.5 for the rear
2.) Bassani cat-back
3.) Bruces intake and MAF so I could get rid of the factory popping noise

I have no other plans to do any other modifications on this car other than to enjoy my little cruises. I built a Coyote swapped 93 coupe to tinker around on the street/track.

 

[DAVESVT2000]

Anyone remember this picture?

R

Ah yes Joe J. Doing his impersonation of the flaming stig.

 

[Goose17]

Thanks Robert. I did read all of your old threads and know about the fuel cell issue. Mine isn't leaking yet. I will definitely keep an eye out for it.

I've got to find a good way to get ~ 10 gallons of bad gas out of the car. I'll probably try through the filler neck first and then at the filter if that doesn't work. I guess last resort would be to pull the fuel cell.

 

[tomshep]

First, CONGRATS on joining the R club!

The car is the wrong color for your stable, but I digress....on my 95R I can ground a pin in the engine compartment on a plug and turn the ignition on and the pump will run. I disconnect the line into the fuel filter and my tank is empty in just a couple of minutes. I don't know if there is a similar way to empty yours or not.

Tom

 

[Goose17]

First, CONGRATS on joining the R club!

The car is the wrong color for your stable, but I digress....on my 95R I can ground a pin in the engine compartment on a plug and turn the ignition on and the pump will run. I disconnect the line into the fuel filter and my tank is empty in just a couple of minutes. I don't know if there is a similar way to empty yours or not.

Tom

Thanks for that tid-bit Tom. I'll look into that.

As for the "wrong color," I have another red Mustang not pictured (if that helps) that will be in that garage with them. Yes, I do like the blues, but the red 00R is just plain sexy!

 

[Robert M]

Ah yes Joe J. Doing his impersonation of the flaming stig.

..........or doing cart wheels because his car was well insured. I remember when this happened and I also remember the repair process pictures.



R

 

[Robert M]

Thanks Robert. I did read all of your old threads and know about the fuel cell issue. Mine isn't leaking yet. I will definitely keep an eye out for it.

I've got to find a good way to get ~ 10 gallons of bad gas out of the car. I'll probably try through the filler neck first and then at the filter if that doesn't work. I guess last resort would be to pull the fuel cell.

I did not have that much fuel in mine, in fact it may have only been what they put in it at the factory? so when I added new fuel, it was getting to the injectors rather quickly. It was amazing the feel of that 2000 Cobra R when it began to "wake up" with good fuel..........

Maybe there is a place to do as Tom said, and use the tank pump to get the old fuel out? maybe at the fuel filter connection? There should be and that would be nice!!



R

 

[Robert M]

Thanks for that tid-bit Tom. I'll look into that.

As for the "wrong color," I have another red Mustang not pictured (if that helps) that will be in that garage with them. Yes, I do like the blues, but the red 00R is just plain sexy!

Yes, "Performance Red"..............




R

 

[Goose17]

One of five sold in Canada:

 

[paulyboy928]

great looking garage you have! congrats on the new ride. she's a beaut!

 

[Goose17]

Playing with my iPad and iMovie, I made a little movie of some of the paperwork that came with my 00R. Included is the original window sticker in English and French, the original purchase agreement, all of the race-stickers that SVT sent with the car to highlight the specialized equipment on the R, the "infamous" black binder that's chock-full of goodies and the Cobra R owner's supplement.

The movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH3CcsCtT1o

 

[Goose17]

Finally got all of the old gas out of the car tonight. I did 3 different attempts at getting out the gas. After reading-up on the subject on the Internet, I found quite a bit of general info on getting out the gas. There was nothing specific to the Cobra R. The R has a 21 gallon rubber bladder inside a metal tank collectively call a "fuel cell."

Here is what I did:

First attack was using a small vinyl tube to navigate through the anti-siphon filler neck. I connected this to a squeeze primer ball and put the other end in a gas can. I've used this to get gas out of my boat and it works well when used with large tubing. Once you get it flowing, gravity will do the rest over time. Since I don't have a lift (yet) and the fact that the fuel cell is so low, there was no gravity-feeding. I had to continually pump. This process took a long time, but I got almost 5 gallons out this way.

Exhibit "A"

After that well went dry and the gas gauge still indicated quite a bit of gas onboard (incidentally, the 00R's were known for inaccurate gas gauges), I switched to a vent tube hole. There is a tube that appears to be a vent tube that enters the cell above the filler tube, I removed this and inserted a larger vinyl tube and once again pumped more gas. This got me another gallon or so.

Exhibit "B"

Let it be known that once I get a lift, the bottom-side of this car will be as spotless as the topside!

After "well-B" stopped producing, I switched strategies once again. I read and watched videos about jumping the fuel pump relay and pumping out the gas. Few problems with this... 1. With limited manuals on this car (no shop manual or detailed owner's manual), I wasn't exactly sure which relay was for the fuel pump. 2. Not sure I wanted to experiment jumping the relay with no solid info on which connectors to jump. 3. You run the risk of burning up the pump if it's running and no fuel is going through it for cooling/lubrication.

I read and watched videos about tapping into the fuel rail through the Schrader valve (think bike tire inflation valve). When you cycle the key to "on," the fuel pump runs for a second or two and pressurized the rail. With tapping into the rail, you can pump gas into a tank. This is exactly what I did. It would have been easier to jump the relay and allow the pump to continuously run, but I didn't have that luxury. I also considered trying to start the car (not sure it would run) to allow the pump to continually pump the gas out, but decided against it. I simply cycled the key in and out of "on" which kept pumping the gas out. This turned out to be the fastest way to get all of the gas out. I sat in the car and watched the vinyl tube jump as it pressurized each time. The first time it didn't jump, the tank was empty and my mission was complete. Best of all, no gas was spilled in the engine bay. All told, I got a little over 12 gallons out. Fresh 93 goes in tomorrow.

On to exhibit "C"

Tool to remove the core:

 

[HISSMAN]

My in-laws live in Frisco. The next time I visit I'm going to have to come see your collection.