HELP!!! COBRA ACTING FUNNY

[DRIVINGLESSON]

I was on my way to work this morning and downshifted to third to pass someone. The first thing I noticed was the pull wasn't as strong as usual. The exhaust sounded muffled or restricted, kinda like when you forget to turn the traction control off. The super charger whine wavers instead of the steady scream... Any thoughts ???

What are the symptons of clogged cats???
Does anyone know what the factory bypass valve is set at???

 

[broke7]

bad gas???

belt slip???

plugs??

 

[DRIVINGLESSON]

gas - I don't think that is the issue, It was fine yesterday...
plugs - there is no sign of a miss.
stock pulley

 

[coleman]

dude, i have no idea other that what you mentioned & possible belt slippage -- check for dust under the cover.
plugged cats or boost dump malfunctioning.
hard to tell & i'm no expert anyway :lol1:

do you have a good dealership in your area?

 

[DRIVINGLESSON]

hey coleman, what ever happend with your engine??? The dealerships suck around here

 

[coleman]

block should have arrived yesterday ... still awaiting it's arrival.
but that isn't really the dealerships fault anyway. i think they are in the dark just like me

anyway, the block is due any day & then DSF will start the build :thumbsup:
i have high expectations but still have a few minor concerns: MAF, H/E, boost, tune, fuel system, injectors ...

let us know what you find out about your car! i hope it's easily rectified.

 

[cobra101]

sounds like clogged/bad cats to me, but I don't know much

reset computer and see, just as a troubleshooting goof

 

[slam]

My car had clogged cats from the factory. The most obvious thing I saw was my boost guage was pegged at 10 (no telling what it really was w/ the stock guage).

I've also heard some people's cats will glow from getting so hot.

HTH
Jason

 

[05 Roush]

Originally posted by DRIVINGLESSON
plugs - there is no sign of a miss.

I had a similar problem with power. Is your boost only hitting 6-7 PSI max? Could be a fouled plug or Coil Pack.

 

[ur bittn]

I know that mine loses power with th AC on, it also cuts the supercharger when you punch it with the AC on.

 

[OCCOBRA]

My cats where clogged when i bought it new and ford fixed it. If you see a lot of blue and deep red stains on the cats it's time for new ones. Not an uncommon problem.

 

[DRIVINGLESSON]

I took the car in last night and had both a fun and good expierence. I went on a test drive with the mechanic and he felt and heard the symptons on the first pull. We returned to the dealership where he then re-flashed the computer, and ran a full fuel system test. The test computer is really cool, we even left it hooked up and ran tests while driving it. We drove the car hard and checked fuel pressure as well as the air fuel ratio during hard acceleration runs; no problems. On our second run, we noticed my boost was around 12 psi. (unpullied car). All the sudden the car just took off and when I looked at the boost it was back at it's normal lower level. At that point we were unable to reproduce the problem. My main concerns were put to rest about a possible lean condition caused by a fuel system problem. I am betting clogged cats. To me that would explain the higher boost levels.
I should also report that the pcm re-flash raised my idle and is supposed to fix the hard starting in cold weather. This morning my car started right up and had a smooth idle.

 

[Swervedriver]

Originally posted by OCCOBRA
My cats where clogged when i bought it new and ford fixed it. If you see a lot of blue and deep red stains on the cats it's time for new ones. Not an uncommon problem.

I noticed my cats are turning colors like you describe, but the power seems to be alright and the boost is right where it's supposed to be. Sometimes after driving it hard I can smell the cats so I'm sure it's just a matter of time.