I took my 03 cobra to a dealer, hearing a pop from the back suspension and also smelling burnt clutch on full throttle. The car drives fine for normal driving, and clutch is ok for that. The car as 4900 miles. I got it back from the dealer as they had it all day. They drove it 30 miles and claim they did not hear any pop from the suspension and said the clutch is fine. I was not expecting to get a new clutch but thought they would at least find loose bolts back on the IRS, as they claimed they did not. Not sure if I should take it to another dealer or just not worry about it. I have been driving the car easy worried about clutch life.
No clutch replacement yet
- Thread starter pgordon
- Start date
I dont know.
For some reason my past cars would give me check engine lights or make clutch noises & the day that im ready to take that B*tch to the dealer she decides to act proper :shrug: WTF :bash:
She knows.
Well the Clunk noise should be fairly easy to duplicate if it does it all the time. For some strange reason i can go days with out it & it will come back....im just dealing with it.
As for the Clutch....smelling :nono: Are u riding on the clutch?
Some one said u can check if the clutch is slipping by putting the car in 3 or 4th gear & kinda floor it...u want to check the RPM to make sure it just doesnt climb with out u moving.
Good Luck.
For some reason my past cars would give me check engine lights or make clutch noises & the day that im ready to take that B*tch to the dealer she decides to act proper :shrug: WTF :bash:
She knows.
Well the Clunk noise should be fairly easy to duplicate if it does it all the time. For some strange reason i can go days with out it & it will come back....im just dealing with it.
As for the Clutch....smelling :nono: Are u riding on the clutch?
Some one said u can check if the clutch is slipping by putting the car in 3 or 4th gear & kinda floor it...u want to check the RPM to make sure it just doesnt climb with out u moving.
Good Luck.
Poisonous is right. thats a good way to check the clutch. At a stop, put the car in 3rd gear, and take off normal, if there is no bog like you would normally feel taking off in third vice first, then the clutch may be an issue. Right before I replaced my clutch I did this and could barely tell a difference between 1st and 3rd when taking off (not flooring it)!
Someone posted a TSB on the suspention clunk about a month ago.
Thanks for all of the info. I gave the dealer the TSB number but he did not even write it down. He said he had a suspension expert with 20 years experience test drive the car. I will try to find an incline where it happens everytime, and then drive with the tech in the car, to reproduce the problem. I will also try the 3rd gear clutch test. I have not felt the clutch slip, but after full throttle with 3 people in the car we smelled something burning, what we thought was probably the clutch.
pgordon,
I don't kknow how long you have had your car, but Ford will only warranty the clutch for 12 mos/12,000 miles, so be warned.
With the torque on these engines, you should be able to step on the gas in 4th at a low RPM and if the clutch is slipping, the motor will rev up but the car will only pick up speed gradually.
I don't know why the dealer should give you a hard time about the clutch considering the number of problems there have been with the stock clutches.
Dana
I don't kknow how long you have had your car, but Ford will only warranty the clutch for 12 mos/12,000 miles, so be warned.
With the torque on these engines, you should be able to step on the gas in 4th at a low RPM and if the clutch is slipping, the motor will rev up but the car will only pick up speed gradually.
I don't know why the dealer should give you a hard time about the clutch considering the number of problems there have been with the stock clutches.
Dana
Thanks for the info. I have had the car 6 months. I will try the 4th gear test. Just got back from the store (right across the street from where I live), sure enough making a right turn into a slight incline, the IRS pops again. Dealer drove it 30 miles and said they could not reproduce the problem and I drive it 2 tenths of a mile and it happens. Anyhow plan to get the tech guy to ride along while I drive, so they will at least acknowlegde there is a problem. Guess this is the first step, then hopefully they will try to retorque the bolts.
well i had the clunk also..only when turning into my driveway going right..drove me nuts looked at everything..then it seems right after i had the subframes welded in it went away?? i also had the clutch smell when the car was new..it now has 10,500 miles ..no more smell?..i called svt they said it was made of a soft material..so i guess when its new it smells ??? but i agree with the other fellows get in 3rd or 4th and floor it see what happens...
Not true
Not true, Dana. I was told that the 36K warranty was more of a sevice contract than a warranty. They replaced my clutch plate/TOB/pressure plate last week with 16K on the car. The delivery date from mine was 06/28/02. I might depend on the dealer, but I must admit that I was suprised that they replaced it under warranty. The Ford techs can apparently tell when abuse is the cause. They replaced my clutch assembly with the new and improved SVT assembly. It has a new part number that I can't recall. If anyone needs it, it's on my receipt.
Not true, Dana. I was told that the 36K warranty was more of a sevice contract than a warranty. They replaced my clutch plate/TOB/pressure plate last week with 16K on the car. The delivery date from mine was 06/28/02. I might depend on the dealer, but I must admit that I was suprised that they replaced it under warranty. The Ford techs can apparently tell when abuse is the cause. They replaced my clutch assembly with the new and improved SVT assembly. It has a new part number that I can't recall. If anyone needs it, it's on my receipt.
SStupid,
The warranty statement was made on Ford's typical warranty policy. They consider some things to be normal wear items. Brakes or brake linings are also in that catagory. Possibly, if the clutch was defective and not just worn out, they could replace it under warranty, as a courtesy to the owner, and also considering all the problems they have been having with this assembly.
Why did they replace yours?
Was it actually defective or just worn out?
A slipping clutch would, in my opinion, be normal wear, but one that is chattering would be defective.
A lot of this is probably up to the dealer and obviously, you have a good relationship with yours.
Had you made a complaint about yours prior to the 12mos/12,000 mile limit? That also may have had a bearing (no pun intended) on it.
Anyway, that is good news for you.
See, there are some good dealers out there!
Dana
The warranty statement was made on Ford's typical warranty policy. They consider some things to be normal wear items. Brakes or brake linings are also in that catagory. Possibly, if the clutch was defective and not just worn out, they could replace it under warranty, as a courtesy to the owner, and also considering all the problems they have been having with this assembly.
Why did they replace yours?
Was it actually defective or just worn out?
A slipping clutch would, in my opinion, be normal wear, but one that is chattering would be defective.
A lot of this is probably up to the dealer and obviously, you have a good relationship with yours.
Had you made a complaint about yours prior to the 12mos/12,000 mile limit? That also may have had a bearing (no pun intended) on it.
Anyway, that is good news for you.
See, there are some good dealers out there!
Dana
PGordon...I have that same problem with the clutch! I took it to the dealer, they said it was fine. I still dont beleive them. I tried the 3rd and 4th gear test, and it was fine. But when I take the car up to high RPM's (like when getting onto the freeway really fast) I can smell the clutch! It worries me because no one seems to know what it is.
Reply
I took my car in for a loose shifter knob/loose side-vents/rear-end thunk/hard to get into first gear. I never thought the clutch was the cause for the "hard to get into first gear" thing. They called me 2 hours after I took it in and told me they were replacing my driver's side head and the whole clutch package. I didn't have any chattering, though. I never asked him why they replaced it under warranty. I figure that if a dealer is replacing a clutch for you under warranty, you don't ask too many questions.
My car has not been to the dealer until the 16000 mile mark, so I guess I just have a good dealer.
SVT must realize that there is a clutch problem, because they have a new and improved clutch part number.
I took my car in for a loose shifter knob/loose side-vents/rear-end thunk/hard to get into first gear. I never thought the clutch was the cause for the "hard to get into first gear" thing. They called me 2 hours after I took it in and told me they were replacing my driver's side head and the whole clutch package. I didn't have any chattering, though. I never asked him why they replaced it under warranty. I figure that if a dealer is replacing a clutch for you under warranty, you don't ask too many questions.
My car has not been to the dealer until the 16000 mile mark, so I guess I just have a good dealer.
SVT must realize that there is a clutch problem, because they have a new and improved clutch part number.
Pgordon: I have had good service at Team Ford. BTW just tip them when you are happy and they will take care of you in every way.
performed the 4th gear test and did not notice any slip. I could not let the rpms get real high though, ran out of straight road. Still a bit concerned on clutch burning smell with high rpms as mike79 mentioned. Possibly it will go away as the car gets a bit older. May try the subframe connector route if not possible to get the irs pop fixed.
My car has 2000 miles on it, and its about three months old. Still get that smell. Does anyone else have any ideas as to why some Cobras do this?
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