Who likes a fun mystery to solve?
So I recently purchased this 12k mile, 1 owner, bone stock 03 Cobra from TN a few weeks ago. Overall the car is great, original owner drove it daily for a few years, then became ill, it got parked, the owner passed away, then his son held onto it in his collection for some time before recently selling it. In the last 16 years, its only been driven 2k miles! But it runs absolutely perfect, no leaks, zero issues, no noises... except for one damn squeak.
I'm at a loss, so wanted to see if anyone here had any ideas based on the conditions of when it is making a noise... or where I should look next (video below)
- Noise happens only AFTER the car is warmed up. It does not happen in the first 1-3 min of driving (so every time I get in and start driving I'm thinking its gone!)
- This tells me its something that gets hot, expands, and slightly touching something else metal?
- Noise happens ONLY when in motion, and kind of continuous but more prominent when car moves up and down over rougher road
- ZERO noise at a stop, at idle, at any RPM - engine idles and runs perfectly fine with zero noises
- Clutch in or out does not affect it
- In gear or neutral does not affect it
- Engine RPM does not affect it
- Not an interior panel from what I can tell
- Sounds like it is coming from by the firewall area
- ZERO horizontal or vertical play in front wheels (ball joint or tie rods have some cracking on the boots but no play)
- Cannot replicate it when parked - bouncing the car up and down on the front shocks is silent
The car was not a garage queen; from what I could tell the first few years the original owner did not have it garaged; it needed a little bit of cleanup underneath, but nothing major. So some of the rubber seals and bushings are a bit worn and cracking. But, the 'warmed up' point tells me it is not suspension related...
Thanks in advance!
So I recently purchased this 12k mile, 1 owner, bone stock 03 Cobra from TN a few weeks ago. Overall the car is great, original owner drove it daily for a few years, then became ill, it got parked, the owner passed away, then his son held onto it in his collection for some time before recently selling it. In the last 16 years, its only been driven 2k miles! But it runs absolutely perfect, no leaks, zero issues, no noises... except for one damn squeak.
I'm at a loss, so wanted to see if anyone here had any ideas based on the conditions of when it is making a noise... or where I should look next (video below)
- Noise happens only AFTER the car is warmed up. It does not happen in the first 1-3 min of driving (so every time I get in and start driving I'm thinking its gone!)
- This tells me its something that gets hot, expands, and slightly touching something else metal?
- Noise happens ONLY when in motion, and kind of continuous but more prominent when car moves up and down over rougher road
- ZERO noise at a stop, at idle, at any RPM - engine idles and runs perfectly fine with zero noises
- Clutch in or out does not affect it
- In gear or neutral does not affect it
- Engine RPM does not affect it
- Not an interior panel from what I can tell
- Sounds like it is coming from by the firewall area
- ZERO horizontal or vertical play in front wheels (ball joint or tie rods have some cracking on the boots but no play)
- Cannot replicate it when parked - bouncing the car up and down on the front shocks is silent
The car was not a garage queen; from what I could tell the first few years the original owner did not have it garaged; it needed a little bit of cleanup underneath, but nothing major. So some of the rubber seals and bushings are a bit worn and cracking. But, the 'warmed up' point tells me it is not suspension related...
Thanks in advance!
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