I bought my 01 cobra last spring with about 130,000 on it, just regular bolt-ons etc.. car has always ran awesome ever since I've owned it and its in excellent condition inside and out.. Shortly after owning it I started to notice that little ticking sound that seems to be what most people talk about.. I have Googled it and read up on it and peoples thoughts etc.. ultimately just kind of passed it off as not much to worry about. Any way I've put probly 2 or 3,000 miles on the car and after getting on it pretty hard a couple times I noticed the next morning the ticking was a little louder.. I figured "maybe" / "hopefully" it was just an exhaust manifold leak getting worse after high rpms... Everything was fine the next few rides until about 2 weeks ago I went for a drive and did a little 2nd gear pull and all of a sudden right about 5,200 or so it just totally cut out and did a big "brrrruuuggghh"!! I don't think I've ever experienced a "fuel" / "ignition" cut-out before haha.. I tried once or twice more on my short trip home and it was the exact same thing... By the time I am about to pull on my street I can hear that same ticking noise but much much louder as I limped it home... no dash lights at all.. I parked it that day and have been mostly afraid to start it / drive it again.. Until just 2 days ago I finally drove it (carefully) to a very reputable mechanic the next town over where the owner and his mechanic both believed it to be in the head / lifter noise vs rod knock or anything.. it does definitely sound like it is coming from the drivers side head but it is "very loud"!.. he sent me to his machine shop guy up the road where they do alot of work on the terminators and what not.. The guy was awesome and he showed us on a pair of customers cobra heads he actually had in his shop that day about all the work they usually do to bring a 100,000+ mile cobra head back to New / better than new.. and it equates to about $4,000 @ 1 guy 8 hours a day for about a week to complete both heads... long story short, what are my options here? I feel like I don't really need to go all out on having the heads completely reworked at $4,000.. I'm leaning more towards finding some good "used" heads either on here or Ebay etc...? Has anyone here bought used heads before and had good luck with them (or bad)? And also why can't I just have my heads fixed with whatever parts are broken? Lifters? Whatever it happens to be.. do I have to pull the motor out either way to work on the heads? The machine shop owner said its much easier to pull the whole engine right out from the bottom.. Sorry for such a long post but I just wanted to get as much information / details in as possible in one shot... Thank you guys.
Started as a slight ticking sound... now VERY loud!!
- Thread starter SvTJ89
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Has anyone done some of the simple tests like a compression test? That is where I would start.
I'm not sure I would even spend $4000 on heads if I was racing and trying to make 1,000 hp.
It could be as simple as a bad lash adjuster (the proper name for a "lifter" in an overhead cam engine). If that is what it turns out to be, I would change all of them, just for the peace of mind, but you could only change the bad one.
A decent mechanic should be able to pretty quickly tell if it is a rod bearing or not.
There are a reasonable number of used 4V heads around that will fit you car, such as off a Navigator (certain years) that can usually be had for a decent price.
If you have a lift, one of the easiest ways to get the engine out is by dropping the engine with the k-member. It can be done without a lift, but you need to be able to jack the car up pretty high. It can also be pulled out through the top in a conventional manner.
You really need to have someone determine what the problem is, then it would be easier to give you some advice as to how to proceed.
I'm not sure I would even spend $4000 on heads if I was racing and trying to make 1,000 hp.
It could be as simple as a bad lash adjuster (the proper name for a "lifter" in an overhead cam engine). If that is what it turns out to be, I would change all of them, just for the peace of mind, but you could only change the bad one.
A decent mechanic should be able to pretty quickly tell if it is a rod bearing or not.
There are a reasonable number of used 4V heads around that will fit you car, such as off a Navigator (certain years) that can usually be had for a decent price.
If you have a lift, one of the easiest ways to get the engine out is by dropping the engine with the k-member. It can be done without a lift, but you need to be able to jack the car up pretty high. It can also be pulled out through the top in a conventional manner.
You really need to have someone determine what the problem is, then it would be easier to give you some advice as to how to proceed.
Ya I agree... I'm pretty sure that number was for the whole job tho (garage remove engine, send over to machine shop, back to garage to put it all back together and back in the car etc...) but still..
Ya, with out actually getting into yet, everybody seemed to be pretty sure its a bad lash adjuster but everybody admitted that it was just kinda scary loud tho...
Would a "bad" lash adjuster be something you could physically see / notice by just taking the valve cover off at home? Or is it not going to look or act any different from that view..? Just wondering if I can get any answers before I make an appointment with mechanic and help me make a decision on what route to go with this car... Thanks a bunch
What does the oil look like? Have you drained it and cut the filter open?
No I have not yet.. I've been wanting to dig into it a bit but here in New England its been raining like crazy day after day and unfortunately I don't have a garage..
But what would I be looking for and why? I mean obviously metal / shavings but basically just to rule out that it might be a rod bearing or something?
My money on rod bearing. Don’t buy anything until you know what it is. Engine needs to come out, disassembled and rebuilt. $$$$
You're looking for glitter, because ...VVVVVVVVVVV
That's my assumption too. Seen it many times in Cobra engines.
"Good used heads" often need a rebuild as well.
Where in MA are you? What machine shop?
Where in MA are you? What machine shop?
I'm in Central Mass.. Worcester County near Leominster / Fitchburg..
The amount of work and everything else, gaskets and what not. I 100% agree I would never just bolt on a used head. Big gamble to save a little to find out they have issues too.
Poke around with a stethoscope. That helped me identify a lash adjuster on the passenger side of .my ‘99
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