New 03 Cobra Owner with Questions

ERod123

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Just bought an 03 Cobra. All I got for documentation was a dyno sheet (~480whp). I was told it has a 297 Scat stroker (~3k miles on rebuild), with a comp cam, 80lb injectors, long tube headers (no cats), JLT intake and MAF, not sure on pulley size but was told it made around 12 lbs of boost. Might have some gears in the back as the speedo is off.

Only issues right now is that its running pretty rich, and the ABS light is on. But I want to fix the rich issue and it definitely needs to be more quiet. So I have a couple of questions:

-What mufflers can I install on the end to make it the most quiet? (I want to put cats back on to help make it more quiet too)
-The car came with smaller injectors, not sure what size, but if I swap the current 80lbs for something smaller, will it require a tune? (maybe this will help with the rich afr?)
-Anyone with experience on Scat strokers know the ideal oil viscosity to use? (I live in Phx, AZ so temp ranges from 25F to 115F, so I was thinking 5w-40)
-Is it normal for the transmission to become a little more noisy after some driving?
-Recommended shop that can tune my car for drivability? (I dont have all the specs for the engine, so Im not sure if that would pose a tuning difficulty, but it makes enough power as is, just want it to be more tame)
 

asbenjamin101

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Just bought an 03 Cobra. All I got for documentation was a dyno sheet (~480whp). I was told it has a 297 Scat stroker (~3k miles on rebuild), with a comp cam, 80lb injectors, long tube headers (no cats), JLT intake and MAF, not sure on pulley size but was told it made around 12 lbs of boost. Might have some gears in the back as the speedo is off.

Only issues right now is that its running pretty rich, and the ABS light is on. But I want to fix the rich issue and it definitely needs to be more quiet. So I have a couple of questions:

-What mufflers can I install on the end to make it the most quiet? (I want to put cats back on to help make it more quiet too)
-The car came with smaller injectors, not sure what size, but if I swap the current 80lbs for something smaller, will it require a tune? (maybe this will help with the rich afr?)
-Anyone with experience on Scat strokers know the ideal oil viscosity to use? (I live in Phx, AZ so temp ranges from 25F to 115F, so I was thinking 5w-40)
-Is it normal for the transmission to become a little more noisy after some driving?
-Recommended shop that can tune my car for drivability? (I dont have all the specs for the engine, so Im not sure if that would pose a tuning difficulty, but it makes enough power as is, just want it to be more tame)
Well before doing anything. The richness can be identified by a good tuner. It can be a shifty tune or stuck injectors who knows so I would reach out to a tuner and ask to have them look into the tune and see if they can strap it down to see if there something wrong with that.
Second check trans fluid and see if thats low but no way should the teans make noise while increasing speed

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
 

texas_snake

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For the ABS light, have a look at the recent thread on this. It should have the details you need.

How did you determine it is running rich? Was that on the dyno sheet?

On oil weight, I would not go quite that thick unless you know how your engine tolerances were setup when built. But the challenge is the cam bores which are very thin along with the cam lash adjusters (very small hole). Not ideal for thicker oil. The engine was stock 5w-20 as the only recommended choice. Many use 5w-30 (I have). But heavier might be for the more experienced based on very specific decisions. There is a very good write up on oil by jimmysidecarr at the top of this forum.
Manufactures don't seem to change oil by temperature much anymore perhaps due to synthetics (but still can be a consideration).
 

Slow 99

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1. I recommend a bassani or other brand catted x pipe, only down side is that it could get a little pricey with cats. For mufflers I would recommend magnapack mufflers (part number: 10416) cause they sound the best for the money and you can just cut and weld them in place no problem. That setup will definitely quiet it down but will give it good sound as well.

2. I would not swap injectors ESPECIALLY without a tune, that could be detrimental to your motor. I would take it to a reputable tuner in your area (do your homework) and they can tune it from there and it should fix the richness as well.

3. Personally I would go with stock oil recommendation for your engine or 30w oil at the very max. I am not familiar with that stoker kit but stoker kits just add x amount of liters to your engine (usually .4 liters) to pick up low end power so you should be fine with stock oil just make sure you add enough.

4. Transmissions can be a little noisy with a newer polyurethane transmission mount but just to be safe, put the car up on jack stands and look under the car at the transmission and see if you can spot any big leaks on the bottom of it cause it might be low on fluid and if you run it out of fluid, that's a new t56 and 3k less in your bank account.

5. If you do your homework on a good tuner in your area, I have confidence that they can tune your car on known and unknown mods you have and make it a blast to drive as well.

6. The abs light issue could be a simple issue, I accidentally drove with my e-brake slightly up for 2 miles and it bunt out one of my rear wheel speed sensors and that caused my car to throw an abs light. Could be that or just another sensor went out or something like that. I don't mess with brake stuff cause one time I messed around with mine and without testing them, I went to school the next morning and when I had to brake kinda hard the pedal just went to the floor cause I messed up and forgot to bleed the brakes the night before. So I would just take it to a mechanic shop and let them figure it out.

Let us know if you have anymore questions about something else cause that's really what the forum is here for... so ask away :)
 

TerminatoRS

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I'd think you'd want a chambered muffler versus Magnapacks since you're trying to mellow her out. Magnapacks are a straight through resonator-type which tend to be pretty loud on their own. Switching to a catted x would certainly help, but I feel like those long tubes up front would basically override any dampening the cats provide. But I suppose we're talking exhaust which really comes down to personal preference.

Agree with everyone else about having a tuner look at the rich AFR. Any idea which MAF you've got? It goes hand in hand with the injectors so you can't simply swap them out for the smaller ones without tweaking the tune.

In my experience, the trans can be noisy and notchy when it's cold, but smooths out and quiets down once it warms up. As thelonebean, suggested, the mounts could be transferring more NVH. Wouldn't be too surprising if the motor and trans mounts were upgraded during the engine build. Regardless, double checking the fluid wouldn't be a bad place to start.

Somewhere in the back of my brain I recall a way to determine the gears in the rear. I want to say the old "trick" was to go a certain speed (55mph maybe?) in your 1:1 gear - which I believe is 4th for a T56 - and see where your RPMs are. Example: 3550rpm = 3.55s's, 4100rpm = 4.10s Sorry...I'm clearly a little hazy on this one so hopefully someone will chime in.
 

Slow 99

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I just remembered this but one reason that could be why your car is running rich is if you bought the car from lower altitude and brought it to a higher altitude location (where you live). That messes with the calibration of your maf and throws off the tune that the previous owner put on the car. It would be in your best interest to get it tuned before beating on it but a tad rich is way better than a tad lean so you should be fine for the moment.
 

CobraBob

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What specific noise are you hearing from the transmission? Check the transmission fluid level.
 

ERod123

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I can definitely smell the rich afr, and it has P0172, P0175, P0420, P0430 obd codes for bank 1/2 rich, and no cats. There's 2 tuners I want to get in contact and will ask about the injector size. It has an SCT BA2600 MAF with a JLT intake.

I think I will just go with Mobil 1 or Royal Purple 5w-30 for oil. I need to look at the oil pan to see if it's aftermarket because the cap has "8 Quarts" handwritten on it.

As for the trans, it's just a stage 3 clutch but I dont think it's built. Theres slight gear whine sometimes, but not very pronounced or too concerning. I come from previously driving a Camry and a Jaguar, so the extra noise a Mustang makes might just get some getting used to.

I will take a look underneath the car this weekend and do an in-depth inspection.

Here's the dynosheet. AFR seemed to be 12.5 to 11.25 from 3200rpm to 6200rpm.
202011182311591000[2].jpg
View attachment 1673157
 

CobraBob

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If you're getting some gear whine entering the cabin, try one of my shifter gasket kits. It's designed to reduce noise that typically passes through the shifter base/handle into the cabin.
Mustang Shifter Gasket Kits
 

Slow 99

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I can definitely smell the rich afr, and it has P0172, P0175, P0420, P0430 obd codes for bank 1/2 rich, and no cats. There's 2 tuners I want to get in contact and will ask about the injector size. It has an SCT BA2600 MAF with a JLT intake.

I think I will just go with Mobil 1 or Royal Purple 5w-30 for oil. I need to look at the oil pan to see if it's aftermarket because the cap has "8 Quarts" handwritten on it.

As for the trans, it's just a stage 3 clutch but I dont think it's built. Theres slight gear whine sometimes, but not very pronounced or too concerning. I come from previously driving a Camry and a Jaguar, so the extra noise a Mustang makes might just get some getting used to.

I will take a look underneath the car this weekend and do an in-depth inspection.

Here's the dynosheet. AFR seemed to be 12.5 to 11.25 from 3200rpm to 6200rpm.
View attachment 1673158
View attachment 1673157
Definitely check the oil pan yourself and make sure what size it is. It would be common for a built/stroker motor to have a higher capacity oil pan. a/f ratio seems actually perfect for a supercharged setup. Ideally at idle it should be around 14.9 (except cold starts which should be 11.5 or so) but 11.25 is perfectly normal for wide open throttle and high rpm. you should be low 11's for your ratio, but what you're smelling is just a car without cats. It is going to be smelly and you can smell the fuel. It is perfectly normal. as for the codes, it does sound weird that you have those codes being that the a/f looks great. just to be safe though you can go to your tuner
 

Slow 99

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Oil pan is the OEM one. Not aftermarket. I am unsure whether to go with 7 or 8 liters for oil.
I would buy 10 Quarts of your oil of your choice and while filling it up, just constantly monitor the level on the dipstick after you add about 5 quarts. The stroker kit basically increases the stroke of each piston and not the oil capacity, so it could still be stock size and the previous owner just got a random oil cap off of ebay or something. just be careful cause you don't want to over fill it
 

01yellercobra

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6. The abs light issue could be a simple issue, I accidentally drove with my e-brake slightly up for 2 miles and it bunt out one of my rear wheel speed sensors and that caused my car to throw an abs light. Could be that or just another sensor went out or something like that. I don't mess with brake stuff cause one time I messed around with mine and without testing them, I went to school the next morning and when I had to brake kinda hard the pedal just went to the floor cause I messed up and forgot to bleed the brakes the night before. So I would just take it to a mechanic shop and let them figure it out.

Your e-brake had nothing to do with the sensor. The rear sensors are mounted to the center section. The e-brake is at the outside hub. Unless you're running a solid axle. More than likely it was just coincidence.

I just remembered this but one reason that could be why your car is running rich is if you bought the car from lower altitude and brought it to a higher altitude location (where you live). That messes with the calibration of your maf and throws off the tune that the previous owner put on the car. It would be in your best interest to get it tuned before beating on it but a tad rich is way better than a tad lean so you should be fine for the moment.

A properly running car won't need a retune for part throttle at different altitudes. That's the reason for the oxygen sensors and MAF sensor. A well tuned speed density car is the same way. Under WOT it's a different story as the ECU isn't using the O2 sensors.

I can definitely smell the rich afr, and it has P0172, P0175, P0420, P0430 obd codes for bank 1/2 rich, and no cats. There's 2 tuners I want to get in contact and will ask about the injector size. It has an SCT BA2600 MAF with a JLT intake.

I think I will just go with Mobil 1 or Royal Purple 5w-30 for oil. I need to look at the oil pan to see if it's aftermarket because the cap has "8 Quarts" handwritten on it.

As for the trans, it's just a stage 3 clutch but I dont think it's built. Theres slight gear whine sometimes, but not very pronounced or too concerning. I come from previously driving a Camry and a Jaguar, so the extra noise a Mustang makes might just get some getting used to.

I will take a look underneath the car this weekend and do an in-depth inspection.

Here's the dynosheet. AFR seemed to be 12.5 to 11.25 from 3200rpm to 6200rpm.

As mentioned all you're smelling is the exhaust from the lack of cats. Put some cats and it'll go away. I would start with a catted pipe then see how you like it. Cats will make a noticable difference in volume.

It's very rare for both banks to act up at the same time. I would look over the harness. Things tend to get pinched and broken when engines and transmissions are removed/installed. Either way I would get in contact with a good tuner to at least look over some datalogs. For peace of mind.

Oil pan is the OEM one. Not aftermarket. I am unsure whether to go with 7 or 8 liters for oil.

For a stock pan I would stick with 7 quarts. I ran 7 with a 323 stroker and it did fine.
 

ERod123

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I ended up putting around 7qts of oil in.

Driving the car around some more, and it started making this chirping sound near the transmission area. If I'm in gear or in neutral, the sound is still there, except for when I press the clutch in, then it goes away.

I found that it can be either the Throw-Out Bearing or the clutch fork pivot stud. I tried putting some grease on the pivot stud, but the sound came back after some driving. Im not sure it is the throw out bearing however, as it looks new and there is already some pressure that the TOB is applying to the pressure plate (since there is no space between the TOB and the pressure plate diaphragm). I did notice the back of the clutch fork is hitting a bolt on the transmission, which Im not sure is normal (I'll see if the fork has been dislocated, and needs a slight adjustment):
20201126_000223.jpg
20201125_155008.jpg
 

efnfast

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these cars like to eat TOBs, especially if they arn't the Ford Racing ones. If it goes away when you clutch in it's mostly likely TOB based on your description.
 

Fastback

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I ended up putting around 7qts of oil in.

Driving the car around some more, and it started making this chirping sound near the transmission area. If I'm in gear or in neutral, the sound is still there, except for when I press the clutch in, then it goes away.

I found that it can be either the Throw-Out Bearing or the clutch fork pivot stud. I tried putting some grease on the pivot stud, but the sound came back after some driving. Im not sure it is the throw out bearing however, as it looks new and there is already some pressure that the TOB is applying to the pressure plate (since there is no space between the TOB and the pressure plate diaphragm). I did notice the back of the clutch fork is hitting a bolt on the transmission, which Im not sure is normal (I'll see if the fork has been dislocated, and needs a slight adjustment):View attachment 1674457 View attachment 1674458
I was able to adjust the clutch cable with mine. It would make a little noise, adjusted the cable and its all good now. I have a adjustable quadrant.
 

ERod123

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I was able to adjust the clutch cable with mine. It would make a little noise, adjusted the cable and its all good now. I have a adjustable quadrant.

Yeah, looks like my car came with a Steeda clutch quadrant (double hook), with the clutch cable currently on the 2nd hook, making it the most loose. It also has the firewall adjust, which I backed out the knob, and the chirp went away. However, the clutch now feels like it only starts grabing towards the end of the clutch travel, leaving about 60% of the clutch travel with no use.

That being said, I would need the clutch cable to be more loose? If that's the case then I need to get the firewall adjustment knob all the way backed out.

What setup do y'all have?

ClutchQuadrant.jpg
 

Fastback

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Yeah, looks like my car came with a Steeda clutch quadrant (double hook), with the clutch cable currently on the 2nd hook, making it the most loose. It also has the firewall adjust, which I backed out the knob, and the chirp went away. However, the clutch now feels like it only starts grabing towards the end of the clutch travel, leaving about 60% of the clutch travel with no use.

That being said, I would need the clutch cable to be more loose? If that's the case then I need to get the firewall adjustment knob all the way backed out.

What setup do y'all have?

View attachment 1674603
I have the Fiore firewall adjuster, put it in 07'. Had a squeak going next to the jersey barriers by the freeway. Could hear it echo, adjusted until it went away. My pedal grabs at 20% released from the floor. Been this way since 2007. Clutch holds fine, no chirp, and no clutch smell.
 

ERod123

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I have the Fiore firewall adjuster, put it in 07'. Had a squeak going next to the jersey barriers by the freeway. Could hear it echo, adjusted until it went away. My pedal grabs at 20% released from the floor. Been this way since 2007. Clutch holds fine, no chirp, and no clutch smell.

How did you get it to grab at that point? You just adjusted the firewall knob?

I put the cable on the 1st hook to make it tighter, and decided to switch it back to the 2nd because of how much resting pressure there'd be on the pressure plate. I adjusted the firewall knob on mine and dont really hear any chirping, but its still grabbing towards the end and dont favor it that way.

Is a longer clutch cable typically needed when using an aftermarket clutch?
 

Fastback

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How did you get it to grab at that point? You just adjusted the firewall knob?

I put the cable on the 1st hook to make it tighter, and decided to switch it back to the 2nd because of how much resting pressure there'd be on the pressure plate. I adjusted the firewall knob on mine and dont really hear any chirping, but its still grabbing towards the end and dont favor it that way.

Is a longer clutch cable typically needed when using an aftermarket clutch?
I guess what I mean, is that it starts to grab at 1/4 release and is all in by 1/2 of the pedal release.

I made all the adjustments with the firewall adjuster. I did this in 2006. Normally OEM is the best route for the cable. Seems to last the longest. If you get one lube it before you put it on the car. Normally the factory cable has proven to work with many different set ups. I have a 2005 Centerforce dual friction set up. Old, but for my power level it works.
 

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