01 Cobra, newbie questions

[BigRigTech]

My name is Stu - I'm a truck and transport mechanic, I bought an 01 Coupe yesterday...It was sold new in Florida and brought into Canada about a year ago...107,000 miles....Runs and drives like a new car....One run to the rev limiter in 2nd gear and I was hooked....:rockon:I have a 63 Mercury Meteor that I built into a restomod, but after 12 years I'm tired of it so I put it for sale and talked my wife into letting me by this until it sells.:bowdown:...I'm a dyed in the wool, hopeless, blue blooded Ford man. This is my 1st Mustang though.

I haven't had a chance to go over this thing from top to bottom yet - that's happening today. The car has a brand new Flowmaster exhaust, x-pipe, no cats but no check engine light on...Is there a way to cheat the 02 sensors???? I was going to hook up my scanner today to see what they are reading. Technically I need Cat's for inspection but I'm going to call a buddy who inspects all our vehicles to see if he will re-sticker it with a new MVI without the cats....Worst case I will buy two small high flow cats and put them in the pipe for decoration.;-)....It also has a cold air intake, I'm not sure what it is so I want to look at it closer today.

The clutch is stiff and very high to engage, it has the stock cable setup...What is the preferred brand for an adjustable quadrant? I want to put long tube headers on this winter, who has the best fit and how hard is it to install long tubes on these DOHC engines? Is a hoist needed?

 

[TBCobra]

Congrats on the Cobra.

As for the CEL, you can buy MIL Eliminators which plug into your oxygen sensors and trick your computer into thinking everything is fine with your cats.

You can turn your CEL off with a hand held tuner but it will most likely come back on.

When i had my GT the CEL was on and before i went to have it inspected i unplugged my battery for about 15 min and it went off. I took it and got it inspected and it passed.

I bought a pair of MIL Eliminators for my Cobra and they didnt work. I have read about them not working sometimes and i guess i just got a bad pair.

And just a tip. Our cars love to burn oil so i strongly advise you to check your oil very frequently, like once a week since you just bought it. If not, you might end up like me and have to have the engine rebuilt.

Hope this helps.

 

[BigRigTech]

Thanks for the oil tip, being a mechanic I check stuff like that a lot, I'm big on maintenance as a cost saving way of doing things...Does synthetic oil help with the oil consumption? I'll get a chance to get a closer look at the car this afternoon so I will report back with what I find.

 

[Jamie R.]

Congrats on the purchase. Looks like the cai is a upr piece or homemade.

Jamie R.
'01 Silver Cobra on the Cover of MM&FF's August '07 Issue

 

[BigRigTech]

I'm going to take the thing off to see if there is a brand on it....I don't like the look of the filter so I was thinking about the BBK cold air intake unless there is a better option? Anyone here that can chime in on the long tube headers?

 

[01yellercobra]

Also make sure you run 7 quarts of oil. It's one of those subjects that's been covered many times in here. The synthetic doesn't help with the consumption. Although a few guys have had good luck with German spec Castrol. I'm no help on long tubes. I put mid lengths on mine when I swapped out the motor. From what I can tell, you'll want to drop the k member to do them.

 

[BigRigTech]

Dually noted on the oil, it looks like it needs an oil change anyways so I will get the stuff this week. Are the ignition key's "chipped".....I have 3 remotes but only one key and the guy at Crappy tire said it was a dealer only key.

 

[Lightning&Mach1]

I have SLP longtubes on my 99 and also on our Mach 1. Both are 1 3/4 primary tubes, fitment was great and cermanic coated. Id have to say the quality of the SLP's are right up there with kooks. As for installing them we never took the kmember out, just jacked up on the side of the engine we were working on.

Also for the cai, just a heads up I got a black JLT RAI for sale from our Mach 1.

 

[BigRigTech]

I have SLP longtubes on my 99 and also on our Mach 1. Both are 1 3/4 primary tubes, fitment was great and cermanic coated. Id have to say the quality of the SLP's are right up there with kooks. As for installing them we never took the kmember out, just jacked up on the side of the engine we were working on.

Also for the cai, just a heads up I got a black JLT RAI for sale from our Mach 1.

Did you do it on a hoist? How did you jack it up? How much for the CAI???

Had a quick peek at the cobra underneath.....Other than one dent in the floor pan it’s mint, rust free....One tiny oil leak at the oil filter housing and one small power steering leak to fix....The pass side muffler is a little low and scuffing the floor going into the garage so I guess a load of gravel is a must this week to fix up the driveway. All the 02 sensors are in the pipes, but there are no cat’s and no CEL on so they fooled it some how.

 

[Bad99SVT]

The JLT intake is the way to go in my opinion...it doesent get hot like the bbk since the jlt isnt metal and looks good as well.

 

[BigRigTech]

I had a look at the JLT site, the new price isn't crazy....About $100 cheaper than the BBK unit....I also looked at the SLP headers....Not cheap.....LOL.....I see your DD is a Ranger 4 banger...I have an 06 B2300 4 banger, great little truck for a DD, cheap on gas and trouble free with 180,000KM on mine.

 

[Black*Death]

Only a matter of time until the Forced Induction Bug bites and you are looking at S/C's for the car.

I have a 99 but wish I had those 01 seats. I think the 01 is my favorite of the New Edge Cobras.

 

[BigRigTech]

No SC's for this cat, after watching one buddy build a 94 GT with a blower setup and hearing the horror story's of another buddy's 98 GT with a 99 cobra engine and Vortech making 14psi - I will pass.....Just too much money for me....Big mortage, 2.5yr old twins and a 5yr old and the usual bills...Headers, interior and a few others is enough...I'm mellowing out in my old age I guess, I will be 35 next month.:-D I just want to cruise in style.

 

[Lightning&Mach1]

For the JLT RAI I'd take $120 plus shipping. Dont how it would go for shipping to canada. With the longtubes, yes SLP is pricey, but your paying for quality. BBK or MAC are also good alternatives.

 

[BigRigTech]

My postal code is B3T2C8 if that helps?.....New question....I took the fork shield off and found a centerforce clutch inside....The pedal is rock hard and engages really high....There is a lot of preload on the release bearing....It's a stock cable with a 3 position quadrant under the dash...It's hooked to the position closest to the driver....I tried moving it to the center position to move the engagement closer to the floor but I run out of threaded adjustment on the other end...It engages much closer to the floor but if I put the trans in nuetral and let the clutch up it can be a bitch to get in gear when you push the clutch down the next time....Not dis-engaging enough I guess.....I take it I need an firewall cable adjuster to fine tune this and get the clutch to take up much closer to the carpet???

 

[01yellercobra]

If there's an adjustment nut on the end of the cable then it's not the stock cable. The stock cable isn't adjustable. I would recommend getting a stock cable and firewall adjuster if that's the case.

 

[BigRigTech]

See that's what I thought, I thought the stock cable wasn't threaded...A firewall adjuster with this cable would give me lots of adjustment.

 

[01yellercobra]

The adjustable cables are known to stretch. That's why most of us recommend staying with a stocker.

 

[BigRigTech]

I have a stock cable here from a 94 GT we junked that was smashed up. Any preference on the firewall adjuster brand?

 

[01yellercobra]

I've used Steeda, UPR, and Maximum Motorsports. They all worked fine for me.