New to Me '96 Cobra Vortech Occasional Stall and Other Small Things

[spilly]

Hey everybody. I'm relatively new to the site but have been lurking for awhile and recently purchased a modded '96 Cobra from a member here. This is an occasional driver/fun day car for me.

Link to the add with full details

Basic overview of the mods:

• MMR 900 4.6 built shortblock
• Ported and polished stock heads
• Vortech V1 SI trim polished supercharger AND liquid after cooler setup
• SCT tuned by JCP in Maryland
• All supporting mods: upgraded fuel pump, injectors, intake, powerpipe, ignition etc
• Full exhaust: MAC headers, h-pipe with cats, and flow master cat-back
• 11in Centerforce clutch and short shifter

I had it checked and inspected by a speed shop local to me before purchase and everything seemed fine with a few minor things to pass inspection.

Car drives great but after driving for a few days there are a few things I could use some feedback on:

• It will occasionally stall while sitting at a stop light. Is there something I could check mechanically or would an adjustment to the tune be needed?
• Slight steering wheel vibration between 45-55 mpg and goes away after that. Tires were newly installed and balanced by previous owner before the sale but front right rim is curbed. Any recommendations of other areas I should focus on?
• Wobble when pressing the brakes at lower speeds. Brakes passed inspection but don't think they check to ensure the disks have no warp. Should I just have them resurfaced?

Not new to modded cars (BMW 335 and Suby WRX) but my past cars were newer, modded by me, and daily drivers. I've wanted a Mustang since I was a little kid. This is my first "older" and highly modded car. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[MOTOWN M]

I would install a new IAC , install new U joints , and have the drive shaft balanced , and install new brake pads and rotors.

 

[FoxFour]

^What he said, plus check for vacuum leaks. One time my car was stalling out fairly frequent, turned out my cam cover was leaking pretty good, replaced gasket, problem went away.

 

[spilly]

Thanks for the feedback.

I've decided to try installing a new Ford Racing Alum Drive-shaft. Car has 460rwhp and 4.10 gears so I've read some other posts where replacing with the alum drive-shaft has smoothed out the drive train vibrations. New u-joints (as mine seem to be making some noise) plus the benefit of the lighter drive-shaft that is already balanced.

As for the stalling, I checked the IAC and the previous owner must have replaced it because it was really clean with no carbon buildup. I had some CEL's show up after purchase (shocker I know) and the codes are related to rich fuel mixture. I'm going to take it to a reputable mustang tuner and have it re-tuned and dyno'd and ask them to look at the idle settings. Hoping this will yield some more HP and address the occasional stall issue.

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

You're getting MAF wash for the stalling issue is my guess.

 

[spilly]

You're getting MAF wash for the stalling issue is my guess.

Would you mind explaining a little info on what "MAF wash" is?

Thnx

 

[green99_svt]

It's Basically the bypass valve causing turbulant air at the Maf if they are placed to close together

 

[98 Saleen Cobra]

It's a issue with a aftercooler setup.. The bypass opens and since the inlet to the powerpipe is straight on it the air goes back down towards the maf instead of towards the blower.. You have to modifiy the powerpipe and put the inlet at a angle towards teh blower.

 

[spilly]

Just wanted to provide an update to this thread.

I went to visit JJ at Woodbine Motorsports and he provided some good advice to my CEL and occasional stalling issue. He recommended cleaning the dirty K&N filter and resetting my CEL by disconnecting my battery. So far so good...car runs much smoother and so far idles much better.

I have a new Ford alum drive-shaft going in this week which I hope eliminates my noise and vibration issues in my drive-train.