The bad heads are on the driver's side. I heard his engine ticking the first time we met. Of course I know the difference between bad halfshafts and an exhaust leak also. 
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Let us play, "Name that internal failure!"
- Thread starter coleman
- Start date
so, next year when I *do* develop the tick ... will Ford replace my head cuz it's a known defect!?!
... the answer better be YES. :mj:
... the answer better be YES. :mj:
Colemans car has been known for exhuast leaks. He has had some problems with that system he put on. I never heard a head tick from his car and according to PM from him last week, he claims never to have had a tick either.
... DSF, I'm no expert & by that last post ... i'm wondering :??:
I would write it down as a cooling issue caused by the faulty head design which created a thermal/detenation issue that led to the piston rings failing resulting in the piston breakup that led to the valve damage. ;-)
:beer:
I wish i could warranty this whole deal. But simply, we cant. There is not a dealership in this country that would. There is just to much done to this vehicle. If we tried, we all know Ford will send someone to look at vehicle, remember Kenne Bell??
I am working the best I can with him to get him the best deal we can. We have already done alot of free labor to help him out as well as get the job(of course).
We cant just write up what we want to about the waranty items and expect Ford to pay for them.
I was wondering the same thing.
FYI there is a 2003 cobra head on ebay for 250. It says it needs a rebuild. Just a heads up.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33617&item=2442417405
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33617&item=2442417405
Jason,
I realize you cannot warranty it. Hence the ;-) in the first message.
However, something went wrong and he needs to know the exact cause. He also needs an answer on why the shortblock should be replaced. His concerns are valid and after getting my car back from DSF I am very concerned for him at this time with any advice he may be receiving. You have a very good dealership and some excellent customer service but some things I have witnessed lately do not add up.
his shortblock does not necessarily need to be replaced. We could bore the block, put all new pistons, replace a couple rods, turn the crank, etc..etc..etc.. For a little more we can build him a 5.1 stroker with ALL forged internals. I dont know what things you feel dont add up.
Sounds like to me that they are very helpful. Most of the dealerships would never go as far as they have in providing info like he has for us. Further more, the deal about the tick issue becomes non existant as soon as one voids a warrenty via power adding mods. At that point Ford and the dearlership no longer have any obligation to repair said parts due to the increased strain, and or wear that could be caused by the power adding mod. Now as crappy as it sounds, and as much as people have had problems with warrenties in the past over silly ass-ine bs such as red deposits on spark plugs, I do believe that Ford has every right to draw a line as to how much or what type of mods are acceptable and warrenty friendly, as opposed to not. What I see hear so much are people that expect Ford to continue the warrenty on their cars even after they have done extensive mods, and that is rediculous. However what I also find rediculous is that Ford has deveolped a trend of not servicing vehicles properly or completely shirking their duties of basic maintenence on these vehicles, because they are aware of the ever present problems that keep arising. In this case I feel as though DSF has done a very thourough job in aiding coleman, and I more than agree that having a head replaced on his car due to the tick TSB should fall on his shoulders, since after all he has done major extensive mods. Some may not agree, but I feel as though they have been very good to him....good enough that I would be willing to make the trek from Atlanta all the way down to Texas just to do business.
Coleman, let them bore your block and replace all of your internals with better components. A 5.1 stroker, shm cams, new forged pistons, along with a balance blue print, and a port and polish would make that thing rip. If not all of th e above, go for the Balance and Blue print as it makes a world of differnece in engine longevity, and performance. Good luck with this, and don't worry I have this sneeking suspision that when this is all over your car will be what we all drool over. My suggestion is to go all out and do what you want to do that engine now while it is out, that way you won't have any problems down the road.
Coleman, let them bore your block and replace all of your internals with better components. A 5.1 stroker, shm cams, new forged pistons, along with a balance blue print, and a port and polish would make that thing rip. If not all of th e above, go for the Balance and Blue print as it makes a world of differnece in engine longevity, and performance. Good luck with this, and don't worry I have this sneeking suspision that when this is all over your car will be what we all drool over. My suggestion is to go all out and do what you want to do that engine now while it is out, that way you won't have any problems down the road.
Whitten, I see some wisdom in your words, but in regards to the tick TSB maybe you or I aren't up to speed on the problem.
as far as i understand it, there IS a problem with the casting of the head. but ford is trying to be penny-wise & pound-foolish by not replacing all heads unless the car does develop an audible tick that can be verified.
yes, i put my car under more stress but i think ford should be more than willing to replace our heads NOW while there is less cost to them -- if at all.
they are bean counters & expect that most with the bad head won't develop the problem until either after the warranty expires OR they know that most cobra owners do eventually void their warranty themselves & i'm sure that was taken into consideration along with all other TSBs: vibration, TOB-problems, etc.....
as far as i understand it, there IS a problem with the casting of the head. but ford is trying to be penny-wise & pound-foolish by not replacing all heads unless the car does develop an audible tick that can be verified.
yes, i put my car under more stress but i think ford should be more than willing to replace our heads NOW while there is less cost to them -- if at all.
they are bean counters & expect that most with the bad head won't develop the problem until either after the warranty expires OR they know that most cobra owners do eventually void their warranty themselves & i'm sure that was taken into consideration along with all other TSBs: vibration, TOB-problems, etc.....
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I think it is complete BS that they put a part on your car that is screwed up from the factory and they won't fix it because you've modded your car.
The part is screwed up regaurdless of wether you mod or not. Modding shouldn't give them a reason not to fix it. :fm:
The part is screwed up regaurdless of wether you mod or not. Modding shouldn't give them a reason not to fix it. :fm:
both racerat & I wanted to simply swap heads out with Ford, but corporate won't even let the dealerships meet us half way... :mj:
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I agree that they should have never put a bad part on the car from the get go, but the way I look at it is don't give them a reason to void your warranty. It really makes me pissed for ya'll that the quality control at ford has gone to pot, and that they are allowing customer service to be poor aswell. My point was that while there may be a problem that was Fords to begin with, buy modding the vehicle you have effectively given Ford the right to not have to service the vehicle. I hate this treading on eggshells bs with Ford as it seems so petty and Bs, but if you know that there will be a possibility that they will void your warranty and not allow you to fix a looming problem, my opinion is that you should wait to do the mods until the issues have been resolved and you are ready to accept that what ever happens to the vehicle is you responsibilty soley.
Not meaning to piss anyone off, I am mearly making observations on this certain issue of the Cobras and Ford's warrenty woes. I wish you all the best of luck and know that I am on your side on this issue, and I think that the dealers are for the most part. The issue here is that Ford is trying and effectively "voiding all warranties that are leagally possible." Good luck ya'll and I hope that one day I can be a memeber of the Terminator crew, until then i will have to drive my big ole truck and live viacariously through ya'll.
Not meaning to piss anyone off, I am mearly making observations on this certain issue of the Cobras and Ford's warrenty woes. I wish you all the best of luck and know that I am on your side on this issue, and I think that the dealers are for the most part. The issue here is that Ford is trying and effectively "voiding all warranties that are leagally possible." Good luck ya'll and I hope that one day I can be a memeber of the Terminator crew, until then i will have to drive my big ole truck and live viacariously through ya'll.
Coleman,
I hope all works out well for you. Sounds like it's going to be expensive, but a better motor will result.
I'm appreciative that you & DSF are "web-casting" this interactive problem remediation. It has been a learning experience.
IMO the quote above is accurate, and unfortunately, is a short-term approach to business strategy. The quote below is one of many regarding Ford's current difficulties:
"Last week, S&P analyst Scott Sprinzen said he was considering lowering Ford's corporate bond rating to BBB-, only one step higher than junk, or below-investment-grade status. It's been nearly a year since Sprinzen lowered Ford's rating to BBB and set out several targets for the automaker to meet in 2003, including break-even results in its automotive business.
During a conference call on Tuesday, Sprinzen said Ford's continuing losses in its European unit and the reliance on cost-cutting to boost profits this year meant the rating still could be cut, even though automotive operations likely will break even and the company raised its earnings estimate for 2003."
there is not a casting problem in the head itself, the problem lies in the valve guides. I will post the actual TSB bulletin if possible. A TSB is simple a bulletin informing dealerships that a problem MAY exist in some vehicles and IF the problem is there and the vehicle IS UNDER WARRANTY, then the fix may be done under warranty. If it was a recall, then it would be a different deal. Ford is also very specific about tsb warranty items where it has to be 1)a verified concern, 2) work performed at dealership. We have the head tick on our own vehicle, but because of what we have done to the vehicle, we CANNOT warranty it. Coleman can contest to our vehicle still having the head tick. We are just waiting it out to see what happens, whether it comes apart or we pull heads to redo. But we( the dealership) cannot just warranty a head because some vehicles may get the tick, when most will not. It sucks it is this way, believe me if I could warranty the head for Coleman on this deal to help him out, i would. Honestly, I went to Tim and tried to see if there was anyway to push it through and he made it clear that we just couldn't, as much as even he would like to.
To add to DSF's post, that there is nothing performance wise wrong with these head's. They are just noisy. I agree that if you owned a 35k car it should not make this noise. Also when any part is warrantied it can be called back and inspected. If Ford doesn't find anything wrong with it it's charged back to the dealer.
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