I'm back after an absense from this fourm, and in need of some advice. I've got an '03 cobra convertable with 3200 miles on it. Not a lot of driving (or forum time) due to other things going on. Hopefully that will change now.
Anyway, I had a vibration from day one. All speeds, worse when the car had sat for a while. I thought tires most likely. Finally took it into the dealer a few months ago. They found one tire slightly out of balance. They also did a "test" (never told me what it was) SVT recomended and said I had "the vibe", so they replaced the drive shaft and rear end.
I got it back, and things were much improved. Initially the only thing I noticed was I still had a slight vibe between 55-60. Slower, or faster, smooth as silk. Well, last weekend I finally had a chance for extended high speed running on good roads. At 80MPH there is a vibration, and by 90MPH the rear-view is so blurry you can't see a thing in it. 0-55, or 60-80 smooth, 55-60 a vibration (seat of pants, a bit in the steering wheel) with no noise, above 80 a vibration with a noise. The noise is most similar to when you step on the gas doing 30mph in 6th gear, you know that short of low hum/vibration. The vibrations happen in 4th 5th and 6th, and with the clutch in, so I'm pretty sure it's a drive line thing.
So, I'm pondering what to do. The dealer I went to last time did not impress me. I think the work was good, but the scheduling and communication from the service advisor were beyond bad, and they jerked me around on the loaner issue. I have experience with only one other dealer (who I won't go to because of bad work) in the area. Since I've had the vibe fix, I'm wondering if I should have my local (non-ford) shop road-force balance the tires and/or replace the tires, as I think they may still be the problem. However I think I do need to get it back in for a dealer to look at to be sure there isn't a drive shaft / other issue. I just don't want to deal with the "can't test it over 55" and other issues.
I know many people have delt with this problem. Any recomendations on what to do next, or which dealer in the DC area is going to actually be helpful (I'm thinking of trying Sheehy, since they sponsor the local SVTOA, but I don't know anything about them) I'm all ears. Having been away from the forum for the last year+ I need a refresher and a summary on the thinking since I last was reading about the topic.
Thanks much.
Anyway, I had a vibration from day one. All speeds, worse when the car had sat for a while. I thought tires most likely. Finally took it into the dealer a few months ago. They found one tire slightly out of balance. They also did a "test" (never told me what it was) SVT recomended and said I had "the vibe", so they replaced the drive shaft and rear end.
I got it back, and things were much improved. Initially the only thing I noticed was I still had a slight vibe between 55-60. Slower, or faster, smooth as silk. Well, last weekend I finally had a chance for extended high speed running on good roads. At 80MPH there is a vibration, and by 90MPH the rear-view is so blurry you can't see a thing in it. 0-55, or 60-80 smooth, 55-60 a vibration (seat of pants, a bit in the steering wheel) with no noise, above 80 a vibration with a noise. The noise is most similar to when you step on the gas doing 30mph in 6th gear, you know that short of low hum/vibration. The vibrations happen in 4th 5th and 6th, and with the clutch in, so I'm pretty sure it's a drive line thing.
So, I'm pondering what to do. The dealer I went to last time did not impress me. I think the work was good, but the scheduling and communication from the service advisor were beyond bad, and they jerked me around on the loaner issue. I have experience with only one other dealer (who I won't go to because of bad work) in the area. Since I've had the vibe fix, I'm wondering if I should have my local (non-ford) shop road-force balance the tires and/or replace the tires, as I think they may still be the problem. However I think I do need to get it back in for a dealer to look at to be sure there isn't a drive shaft / other issue. I just don't want to deal with the "can't test it over 55" and other issues.
I know many people have delt with this problem. Any recomendations on what to do next, or which dealer in the DC area is going to actually be helpful (I'm thinking of trying Sheehy, since they sponsor the local SVTOA, but I don't know anything about them) I'm all ears. Having been away from the forum for the last year+ I need a refresher and a summary on the thinking since I last was reading about the topic.
Thanks much.
