Rear End Pop/Tink poll

[flyn high again]

I want to find out how many of our cars have one or both of these problems. 03DOHC worried me with his comments on his friend having 4+ sets of half shafts installed. Our warranties run out eventually.

This is not the drivetrain clunk. This is a popping/clicking sound from the rear end when you start out. Especially after using reverse and then first. It can pop once or two or three times when it happens.

I don't have the turning on an incline pop but it sounds pretty self explanatory.

 

[hj16]

No noises at all here Cliff.

 

[03DOHC]

Naw, he races the heck out of his car. He goes once a week to the track so his gets more of a workout than ususal. He probably has 300 passes on his car if not more.

Mine makes a tink tink noise when starting out in first.

Mine used to pop while turning right into driveways, but hasn't since I did the TSB on my car.

 

[flyn high again]

Thanks, guys. I'm trying to get an idea if this is widespread or happens to just a few of us. So far out of the dozen or so '03s that meet around Chicago three of us that I know of have or had this problem. Me, Chicago Mike and Nytebyte.

 

[CHeRNoBYL]

I picked up my new 10th Anniv. coupe yesterday afternoon and I have the AC thud and popping noises as I pull into my driveway. My car is a very late production car and I had hoped it would be free of these minor issues, but apparently not.

Anyhow, I'm happy with my purchase. It truly is a badass car. I probably have one of the last Cobra's to roll off the line. My door jamb sticker shows a build date of 7/03. The car arrived at the dealership on 8/22 and I purchased it on 8/25. I bought it before they even had a chance to prep it. It was just sitting on the back lot waiting to be cleaned up and I felt sorry for it and took it home with me. :-D

 

[silvercoffin]

info

I have a friend who now works the tecj lines in MI. He's not on the SVT Tech lines but looked into it and said there is a TSB but that the cause of the sound doesn't effect anything and is not the sign of inpending doom...rear failure etc etc.. Its just anotehr annnoying Ford SOund effect....He confirmed what many people here have said...something about retorquing something in the rear...i forget now..

I have decided no NJ Ford dealer is ever touching my car again..so im going to get a louder exhaust so I cant hear the pop!

I have had the sound since 1000 miles..maybe sooner and I just didnt notice. I have since put 40+ 1/4 mile runs on my car and have had no problems.

 

[BigBeez03]

Chernobyle - I have a 10thAnnie as well, door sticker says 6/03, and my car makes a little popping sound when pulling in or backing out of my driveway (car is turning and on an incline). This is the only time my car makes this noise. I figured it's because the awkward angle + incline puts rear-end on a bind. On top of that my 02GT did the exact same thing! I'm not worried about it, car runs great and it's under warranty

 

[davidmax]

With the F series ATI Procharger and loud exhaust just cant tell.Can here me coming at 1/3 throttle 1 block+ away,Dave Smilovic

 

[NyteByte]

Just for the record:

I had the TSB done for this popping noise. It's the one where they re-torque the bolts.

It didn't do squat.

From what I understand, there may be two different types of popping noises that the rear can make.

One is the half shafts slipping, or some kind of problem with some of the parts on the rear.

The other I'm not too sure about.

 

[DOHC03]

Ford did the TSB for my rear end popping noise. That took care of the noise, that was a few weeks ago and it hasn't returned yet.

 

[ChicagoMike]

Ford's hotline says to replace the rear axels, wheel hubs and joint assemblies. The TSB pop is for the loose roll bar or something to that extent that just requires a re-torque.

The pop I had results in loss of power more and more over time because the rear end is not holding up to spec. Flyin High Again has the SAME pop that I had, which only occurs when starting out in first and reverse. When the tech took the rear end of my car apart, he said that it was torn up badly, that the popping sound was the parts SLIPPING and then catching. This was with 1200 miels on the car, no drag racing or burn outs.

Mike

 

[ChicagoMike]

Incline pop: TSB for the rear suspension bar. In my case, I also had a rear pop when going up an incline. It was ONE single pop. It turned out to be a mis-aligned STOCK exhaust that would hit up against the car's suspension when going up the incline.

Rear tink/pop when first starting out in first or reverse: You should be able to recreate it over and over again in first - reverse- first - reverse at low speeds. If you have this pop, you should have the tech take the rear apart if it's not the incline problem. This pop is NOT good and it seems there are quite a few Cobras effected, even new builds such as mine. It will sound like "pop pop pop" or "tink tink tink" anywhere from 1-3 times. Mine got so bad, I was starting to hear it when connecting with 2nd and 3rd gear (rear end slipping).

Mike

 

[BLK_03]

Mine has had the rear end tink since day one. I have 7,000 miles now. Have had it in once and they thought it was the rear driveshaft flange bolts. They tightened them to spec. As soon as I picked up the car it still made the noise.

My dealership seems oblivious to the recurring problems these cars have had (TOB, tick, vibe, etc.). Present them with a somewhat rare problem (the "tink") and they are gonna be clueless.

Chicago Mike: Is there anywhere I can direct them that says to replace the axles, hubs, and joint assemblies?The LAST thing I want is the dealership trying to diagnose something in that rear end. It would be much easier if I could just do their homework for them.:thumbsup:

 

[ChicagoMike]

It's not documented as a TSB or recall (just like my brake lines bent up from the factory, identical to another 2003 Cobra owner who just bought theirs).

The best thing you could do is maybe take it to another SVT dealership where the tech may take the rear apart and have a look and see it's ripped up. Then they call the Ford hotline and Ford tells them what parts to replace per what they found.

Since my repairs, I have not had the rear tinking anymore. That sucks that this is so widespread. It's good to know I'm not cursed!

Mike

 

[BLK_03]

What exactly gets "torn up"? Maybe I can focus their attention to that area.

 

[ChicagoMike]

I think they mentioned "spine" where the hubs connect to the axels in the rear

 

[BLK_03]

Thanks Mike,

"spline"? perhaps? Anyway, gives me a point to start. Now just gotta solve the internal debate as to whether or not driving a focus is worth getting this fixed.

 

[flyn high again]

Look at the amount of people with this problem. This is looking like something that Ford should address. It's more than a few cars that have this problem. Chicago Mike had some serious repairs done to fix his.

If it's just a sound, no big deal. If, however, the rear end/halfshafts are chewing themselves up, it's something that NEEDS to be fixed. I'm starting to think that this problem is a lot more serious than I realized. :nonono:

 

[Black306]

I had the popping noise while going up an incline. Just did the TSB on it and now the noise is gone. I have a feeling it was the upper control arm bolts. Those were the only ones that actually moved as I torqued them down.

 

[harry gilbert]

Re: info

Originally posted by silvercoffin
I have a friend who now works the tecj lines in MI. He's not on the SVT Tech lines but looked into it and said there is a TSB but that the cause of the sound doesn't effect anything and is not the sign of inpending doom...rear failure etc etc.. Its just anotehr annnoying Ford SOund effect.... (snip)

Reminds me of what IBM people have long been saying about problems with their computer hardware and software: "It's not a bug, it's a feature".