Any real differences between 96, 97, and 98 cobra's??

[Shifter]

I know that it sounds crazy.....but I've seen simple things listed differently...like exhaust for 96-97 cobra then a different part # for 98.

Is there any measurable difference? If so what?


I'm in the process of finding the right cobra and doing my homework;-)

 

[blk96SVT]

The 98's supposedly have a better computer than the 96-7's do. They just changed the exhaust hangers in 98. No clock pod in 98, different rims also in 98. A cup holder was right behind the shifter also. No strut tower brace in 98 either.

 

[Shifter]

13.20's @ 105...looks pretty good for mild bolt on's........

 

[ALLNTRL]

The lower intake is different on the 98's and flows more CFM stock over a 96-97 lower. Also the 98's had a more aggressive tune than the 96-97 cars. Hope that helps. :beer:

 

[Cantoodler]

i believe the 96 cobras had a different cooling system that was quite inefficent but svt replaced them if the original owner wanted too. other than that wheels and the gearbox are different in the 98 model. the gearbox in the 96 and 97 was made by borg werner and pretty unreliable but the 98s was made by tremec

 

[Doug]

the 97s look better *sarcasim off*

the only major difference is what 97 svt cbra and blk96svt have stated. Also, each year had an extra color specific to only that year. 96 had mystic, 97 had pac green, and 98 (had two) had yellow and bright atlantic blue.

 

[BlackCobra96]

You'll get a list of differences over the years, but as far as REAL differences, they're all pretty much the same.

 

[White98SVT]

Originally posted by 97 svt cbra
98s was made by tremec

Half of the 98's were Tremec and half were Borg Warner....how do I know? My crap Borg Warner crapped out at 30k miles:bash:

 

[Doug]

the tremec t45s were still t45s and they still sucked.

 

[Cantoodler]

t45s do suck a lot. i want a t56 but i dont have that kind of money. maybe some day...

 

[grandestang]

Remember me ranting about not being able to hit second gear at high revs in my "triax breakin Period" post? Well I did a ton of research including calling alot of reputable transmission shops, and it turns out that on Borg Warner T-45s 2nd gear syncros were never right, even on a new ones. It causes the 1-2 shift at very high rpms to be very difficult if not impossible to hit if you shift it quickly. This is a problem that goes back to the late 80s and early 90s with the T5.... its was ignored (probably ingnored for so long with the 5.0s b/c they were not as high revvers as the 4.6 DOHCS and the problem was not as intrusive). In fact if you took your car to Ford and asked them to fix it, they would say that no problem occured during "normal driving" so they would not give you a fix. Now when Tremec bought Borg Warner many of the problems on the T-45 began to vanish inculding the bad 2nd gear syncros. Unfortunately it looks like I got an early 98 and have the Borg Warner as I have this 1-2 shift problem.

Now my question to you guys is, was there ever a thread brought up on this problem? It seems like it is a very well known problem among the transmission shops about the Borg Warner T-45s. How many of you guys (pre-Tremec) have a problem with say a full throttle 6200 rpm 1-2 shift? I just can't believe that this hasn't been brought up as everyone I talked to knew right away what the deal was.

Paul

 

[Blk98Cobra]

I have that same problem, but my car is a 2nd run 98 if I'm not mistaken, everything is dated from april or so of 98, hell I dunno but I'm sure as hell tired of the 1-2 grind occasionally. Another thing I'm tired of is my door panel squeaking and my dash panel where the ac, radio, and vents are, it squeaks now too

 

[stang99]

98's did not have the IMRC plates that the 96-97 did.

 

[Cantoodler]

i know mine has trouble at the strip if you dont pull hard enough. you have to remember to give it a nice tug at high revs.

 

[96cobra96]

Mine does that too, at high rpm. It sucks, and is embarrasing when it grinds into 2nd

 

[slo-l]

The 98's do have the IMRC's but they are a different material than 96-97's

 

[HISSMAN]

My 98 was born in October of 97. Or at least my engine was. Does the build date on the side of the block coencide with the date that the vehicle was completed?? My tranny says Borge Warner on the side of it, but short of being on my 3rd Trow out bearing, everything shift pretty good (knock on wood). It is kinda notchy when the tranny is cold, but as it heats up everything is smoothe. I have no problems going from 1st to 2nd at any RPM, and the triax all but eliminated going into 3rd. Reverse is tough to get into sometimes, but is fixed my going into 5th first and then back to reverse. Mybe I just got lucky. I do know that my Throw out bearing issued are due to poor clearancing and design of the transmission, but hopefully this was fixed with my firewall adjuster and new quadrant. I haven't had any TOB problems since thier install.

 

[Blk98Cobra]

see my motor was built in october of 97 also, but all the stickers on the car say april 98, crazy stuff:shrugs:

 

[HISSMAN]

Someone needsto find this out. Does the 98 cobras with the Tremec trannys have tremec on the side of them or borge warner?? I guess that it could be possible that tremec used the left over BW housings, with tremec internals.

 

[98SVTCobraStang]

Yea well My tansmissions clicks sometimes after i put it in gear and say roll a foot Is that normal? Mostly in reverse but sometimes in first. My friemd has an 87 GT and he says its typical of stangs. Is he right?