P.S. Hey Fred - did you also feel a vibration in the clutch pedal as you pushed it in and out? I'm wondering if this could at all be related. Seems to get worse if you push the car hard.
Thanks,
Eric
Thanks,
Eric
Yes or no: my '03 Cobra has bad vibration at > 80 mph
- Thread starter Jim S
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This is my first Cobra. Jumped from a 93 Jeep Wrangler, and used to have a '69 Boss so the vibe would have to pretty violent for me to EVEN notice!! Seriously though, after more than 800 miles and a sticking driver window (day 2 and only once), I cannot say enough good things about the vehicle...after driving an 01 Viper and 02 Z06 I'll stick with the OVAL.......Dad put in 32 years at FORD and I would never get him to visit if I didn't have a COBRA in the garage!!
No such problem here. 500 miles on 03 vert.
Thanks for the replies guys. This would be my first muscle car or American V8. The Porsche is great but I'm a bit frustrated that for less than half the price I can have a car that is quicker and cheaper to mod and maintain. I doesn't have the interior fit and finish and panache but that isn't critical to me anymore.
What pleased you about the Cobra more than the Z06?
4 seats and at least 10 grand less... not to mention vert is not an option on the ZO6
Cheers,
Pete
Cheers,
Pete
Black2001Cobra,
Eric,
Sorry, I don’t remember Justin’s last name, but I’m sure Jim does (I believe they’re personal friends). Give him a shout. Also as far as the clutch goes, if I remember correctly, I did feel the vibe in the clutch as well. There’s probably a hundred things that could cause a vibe in a clutch pedal, but in my case, which I’m sure is going to be your case, the drive shaft was also out if index to the output shaft of the trans causing a vibration up to the trans. This fact, by the way, created a somewhat of a difference of opinion between the shop foreman, who insisted this was a wheel balance problem from the start, and myself. This was after the new drive shaft was installed, and the foreman was now bent on blaming the wheel balance. Of course, this led to them taking the wheels off and, of course, the careless mechanic knocking the impact wrench into one of the spokes on my left rear wheel, leaving a nice scratch…..all because the foreman thought the vibe was coming from the wheels. I couldn’t believe these guys didn’t know about the drive shaft indexing, new shaft or not. Anyway, thanks to a great bunch of guys like Joe Lynch and transman, just to name a few, on the BON, I learned about the fix, and found that sounding halfway intelligent when I got to speak to the rep, definatley put us on the same page.
Fred
Eric,
Sorry, I don’t remember Justin’s last name, but I’m sure Jim does (I believe they’re personal friends). Give him a shout. Also as far as the clutch goes, if I remember correctly, I did feel the vibe in the clutch as well. There’s probably a hundred things that could cause a vibe in a clutch pedal, but in my case, which I’m sure is going to be your case, the drive shaft was also out if index to the output shaft of the trans causing a vibration up to the trans. This fact, by the way, created a somewhat of a difference of opinion between the shop foreman, who insisted this was a wheel balance problem from the start, and myself. This was after the new drive shaft was installed, and the foreman was now bent on blaming the wheel balance. Of course, this led to them taking the wheels off and, of course, the careless mechanic knocking the impact wrench into one of the spokes on my left rear wheel, leaving a nice scratch…..all because the foreman thought the vibe was coming from the wheels. I couldn’t believe these guys didn’t know about the drive shaft indexing, new shaft or not. Anyway, thanks to a great bunch of guys like Joe Lynch and transman, just to name a few, on the BON, I learned about the fix, and found that sounding halfway intelligent when I got to speak to the rep, definatley put us on the same page.
Fred
Hey T3,
Do you feel the air box/K & N mod was worth it? I think I would like to try it, but I’m hearing that, although the volume of air intake is (obviously) increased, you wind up pulling hot engine compartment air, resulting in a loss of power. What do you think.
Fred
Do you feel the air box/K & N mod was worth it? I think I would like to try it, but I’m hearing that, although the volume of air intake is (obviously) increased, you wind up pulling hot engine compartment air, resulting in a loss of power. What do you think.
Fred
Update on my situation...
Well, today marks the 31st day my car has sat at the dealership. As I've mentioned in previous post, the dealership claims they've tried everything possible (indexing, balancing, and replacement of ds). At this point, they've basically given up. That said, a Regional Ford Rep is supposed to analyze the car sometime this morning. Regardless of his conclusion, Ford will supposedly make a final decision regarding the next steps. At this point, I can enforce my rights under the CA Lemon Law, or utilize Ford's Dispute Settlement Board. Either way, I'm hoping Ford will be reasonable and take care of my concerns.
- Derik
Well, today marks the 31st day my car has sat at the dealership. As I've mentioned in previous post, the dealership claims they've tried everything possible (indexing, balancing, and replacement of ds). At this point, they've basically given up. That said, a Regional Ford Rep is supposed to analyze the car sometime this morning. Regardless of his conclusion, Ford will supposedly make a final decision regarding the next steps. At this point, I can enforce my rights under the CA Lemon Law, or utilize Ford's Dispute Settlement Board. Either way, I'm hoping Ford will be reasonable and take care of my concerns.
- Derik
Real sorry to hear this. I hope everything works out to you satisfaction. Although, I'm sure it'll be tough to get the bad taste out of your mouth.
I'm waiting until they figure out what they're doing about this problem before I take mine in. The vibration is there, it's just not *real* bad.
-Weasel
I'm waiting until they figure out what they're doing about this problem before I take mine in. The vibration is there, it's just not *real* bad.
-Weasel
Re: Update on my situation...
Sorry to hear that. Mine's only been at the dealer 3 days now. On a positive note my service rep called and they duplicated the problem and have completely ruled out the driveshaft and rear end. They're hoping it'll be something as easy as the clutch. If that doesn't fix it I may be getting a new transmission. We'll see.
Sorry to hear that. Mine's only been at the dealer 3 days now. On a positive note my service rep called and they duplicated the problem and have completely ruled out the driveshaft and rear end. They're hoping it'll be something as easy as the clutch. If that doesn't fix it I may be getting a new transmission. We'll see.
I've had #332 up to 100 with no vibrations and about 1700 miles on the ticker. My heart goes out to those who have to live through this. I don't understand how the harmonics of one vehicle are perfect while a copy of the same vehicle can't go over 80 mph. A guy I work with has started complaining about this vibration in his 03 convertable. His car was delivered a week(?) or so after my coupe and I have no high speed problems at all. Restraining myself from driving at high speeds is becoming a problem, though.
What did Ford/SVT miss when they engineered this new model? Think they should have put a bit more work into it before hyping it up?
For clarification, the afrementioned co-worker complained the vibration felt to be coming from the right rear wheel I think.
What did Ford/SVT miss when they engineered this new model? Think they should have put a bit more work into it before hyping it up?
For clarification, the afrementioned co-worker complained the vibration felt to be coming from the right rear wheel I think.
Just to throw my two cents in. I took my car to the dealer on 7/23 about the vibration problem. The usual stuff... comes in around 80 and gets worse. Shakes mirrors, blah, blah, blah. Naturally I tell them about the news groups and other peoples problems. Tell them to index the DS first, if that helps then balance. Everything that everyone in the group has recommended. I can only assume that they did. At any rate, they decided that a new DS was the solution. So I drive my $40k svt escort for a couple of days while I wait around this part to come in. Get the call today that the new DS didn't fix the problem and that they are seeking help from Ford on what to do next. I gave them the name of Bill Franco and told them to find this guy. He's supposed to be the guru for the job. Hopefully they don't just blow me off and decide they know what's best and that the customer can't possibly know what they're talking about. I'll let you all know how this turns out. (BTW, dealership is Galpin in L.A.)
Stalker,
Hang in there. If you really want to keep your car, call SVT, or through the dealer’s regional service rep, demand to get in contact with Bill Franco. You’re right, he’s the guru…. Ford’s vibration and driveline analysis #1 guy. The dealer may not care, but someone at FOMCO will, as it sounds like it’s fast approaching a matter of dollars and cents. Fords options: 1) Fly Bill out to fix your car for, maybe a few grand or
2) Buy it back (at whatever internal cost they affix) and get stuck with a new car having a branded title.
Really, word has it that there isn’t a vibe out there that Bill can’t fix. Keep us posted.
Good Luck
Hang in there. If you really want to keep your car, call SVT, or through the dealer’s regional service rep, demand to get in contact with Bill Franco. You’re right, he’s the guru…. Ford’s vibration and driveline analysis #1 guy. The dealer may not care, but someone at FOMCO will, as it sounds like it’s fast approaching a matter of dollars and cents. Fords options: 1) Fly Bill out to fix your car for, maybe a few grand or
2) Buy it back (at whatever internal cost they affix) and get stuck with a new car having a branded title.
Really, word has it that there isn’t a vibe out there that Bill can’t fix. Keep us posted.
Good Luck
Y'all might got mud in ya tiars...?
Low on power and Vibtation too!
Regarding the vibration issue, I am now not sure if it is the driveshaft or the rear end.?
I posted this on stangnet.
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1594282#post1594282
I
Regarding the low power, as best as can be timed with a stopwatch, 0-60 times are in the 6-second range. On July 23, 02 , after a heavy rainstorm on a wet road on a hot humid night, my car was not capable of breaking the tires loose on wet pavement until the RPM exceeded 4000 RPM from a low speed full throttle 1’st gear roll on! On dry pavement, traction control is not necessary and I do not have to worry about chewing up rear tires or attracting undue attention.
I went to New England Dragway to collect acceleration data when the car had 830 miles on the odometer. Track was very busy, but I managed to run 3 times. Best track times are 13.54 Sec with a 2.21 0-60 ft time. Trap speed was 104.99 MPH second run and 105.9 third run. Barometric pressure was 30.26”Hg, Air temp was 56 F. Relative humidity was 42%. I hit all shifts well and this car was performing stronger that night than it ever had due to the ideal air conditions. On hot summer days, the car is one very lazy dog.
A fellow with a stock 03 Convertible with 1100 total miles ran 13.4 @ 108 MPH with a 2.5 sec 60 ft time and a missed bad 3-4 shift. (He hit brakes!) I was 0.1 second and 1 mph ahead of him at the 1/8 mile, yet he takes me by 3 mph, even with a bad shift!!!??. His car displayed the kind of horsepower that is representative of an 03Cobra.
Regarding the vibration issue, I am now not sure if it is the driveshaft or the rear end.?
I posted this on stangnet.
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1594282#post1594282
I
Regarding the low power, as best as can be timed with a stopwatch, 0-60 times are in the 6-second range. On July 23, 02 , after a heavy rainstorm on a wet road on a hot humid night, my car was not capable of breaking the tires loose on wet pavement until the RPM exceeded 4000 RPM from a low speed full throttle 1’st gear roll on! On dry pavement, traction control is not necessary and I do not have to worry about chewing up rear tires or attracting undue attention.
I went to New England Dragway to collect acceleration data when the car had 830 miles on the odometer. Track was very busy, but I managed to run 3 times. Best track times are 13.54 Sec with a 2.21 0-60 ft time. Trap speed was 104.99 MPH second run and 105.9 third run. Barometric pressure was 30.26”Hg, Air temp was 56 F. Relative humidity was 42%. I hit all shifts well and this car was performing stronger that night than it ever had due to the ideal air conditions. On hot summer days, the car is one very lazy dog.
A fellow with a stock 03 Convertible with 1100 total miles ran 13.4 @ 108 MPH with a 2.5 sec 60 ft time and a missed bad 3-4 shift. (He hit brakes!) I was 0.1 second and 1 mph ahead of him at the 1/8 mile, yet he takes me by 3 mph, even with a bad shift!!!??. His car displayed the kind of horsepower that is representative of an 03Cobra.
how do I get in touch with Bill Franco? I called the service manager and he advised me to call 8003923673 which I did.
I ended up talking to a guy that didn't want to help me. He said he was going to have the dealer check the tires balance and "that should fix it". I know it's not going to fix it.
I called SVT and they told me to have the service department call the "tips line" and see if there have been any other recient complaints.
I don't care what has to be done, but I want it done. I love this car and I want it, but I do not want my car vibrating at high speeds. I told the guy at 8003923673 to get Bill out here to resolve the damn problem. He said "I don't know if I can do that" I told him they have 3 attempts before I file lemon law paperwork. I hope these guys take me seriously. I lemon'd my last mustang and will not hesitate to do it again. I told him if I end up doing it again, I will not buy another Ford Product.
Lets see what happens.
I ended up talking to a guy that didn't want to help me. He said he was going to have the dealer check the tires balance and "that should fix it". I know it's not going to fix it.
I called SVT and they told me to have the service department call the "tips line" and see if there have been any other recient complaints.
I don't care what has to be done, but I want it done. I love this car and I want it, but I do not want my car vibrating at high speeds. I told the guy at 8003923673 to get Bill out here to resolve the damn problem. He said "I don't know if I can do that" I told him they have 3 attempts before I file lemon law paperwork. I hope these guys take me seriously. I lemon'd my last mustang and will not hesitate to do it again. I told him if I end up doing it again, I will not buy another Ford Product.
Lets see what happens.
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