Terminator regular maintenance

[the Terminator]

Hey guys, just bought a terminator. It's my first F/I motor, and to be honest it's my first car with serious horsepower. So I guess my first concern is keeping my car in tip-top shape so she lasts. It's my daily driver (probably won't drive it on rainy days) and YES I have a "backup" truck to use in case the termi is off the road for repair.

So, with that said, my mods are: Intake, x-pipe, catback, pulley and a dyno tune. These were done to the car already when I bought it.

What is involved with maintaining these cars? Obviously I'm not talking about oil changes, spark plug changes, etc. but rather the things we need to specific to the motors that we have (ex: supercharger oil changes, tuning). What do you guys do as part of your Cobra maintenance protocol and how often do you perform them? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[08mojo]

Aside from regular oil changes, you will need to:

change the spark plugs more often than you are used to
changed the supercharger oil, I do it every 3rd or 4th engine oil change

I'm sure there is more that I am missing, but check out the Terminator FAQs and other stickies at the top of this forum...

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Certain items fail with age, mileage and in some cases lack of maintenance.

Radiators, heater cores, intercoolers and heat exchangers can leak if the antifreeze gets old and acidic.

Electric cooling fans
I/C pumps
Fuel rail pressure sensors
belt idler and tensioners
Even coils will fail as they get older

The above items are becoming more and more common.

Non modded superchargers I believe need an oil change @ 100,000, modded ones sooner.

 

[itzl0l]

You will find yourself changing tires more often as well

 

[mike.b]

You will find yourself changing tires more often as well

lol, very true

 

[SpectorV]

suck out and change the supercharger fluid regularly (every year if you want but as said if its stock with no pulley it wont need it that much, I did it at 50k before pullied)

when pullied every year.

Keep an eye on the intercooler pump, there is no warning when it stops

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

suck out and change the supercharger fluid regularly (every year if you want but as said if its stock with no pulley it wont need it that much, I did it at 50k before pullied)

when pullied every year.

Keep an eye on the intercooler pump, there is no warning when it stops

LOL! Actually coolant and steam blowing out the passenger side hood vent after 2 or 3 boosted pulls is warning.

It's just not a very good early warning.:-D

 

[langod]

Hey guys, just bought a terminator. It's my first F/I motor, and to be honest it's my first car with serious horsepower. So I guess my first concern is keeping my car in tip-top shape so she lasts. It's my daily driver (probably won't drive it on rainy days) and YES I have a "backup" truck to use in case the termi is off the road for repair.

So, with that said, my mods are: Intake, x-pipe, catback, pulley and a dyno tune. These were done to the car already when I bought it.

What is involved with maintaining these cars? Obviously I'm not talking about oil changes, spark plug changes, etc. but rather the things we need to specific to the motors that we have (ex: supercharger oil changes, tuning). What do you guys do as part of your Cobra maintenance protocol and how often do you perform them? Thanks in advance for your help.

Congrats! You'll have a blast. Unless you really go to town with mods, these cars really don't need much more maintenance than any other enthusiast car.

Noticed you're from NH -- what area? Maybe see you around this season. Also, check out the "Taste of Home/New England" section here and take a look at Smokinstangs.com -- a good general Mustang forum with a strong Mass/NH membership..

 

[testorossa1989]

From season to season or whenever your under your car, Tighten up your pumpkin bolts. They sometimes get loose with wheel hop. Helps prevent a seal leak

Whenever you have a weekend away from the wife or gf try to take a look under your hood and underbody and just browse around. Youll find alot of small fixes that will help you down the road.

 

[CobraBob]

Certain items fail with age, mileage and in some cases lack of maintenance.

Radiators, heater cores, intercoolers and heat exchangers can leak if the antifreeze gets old and acidic.

Electric cooling fans
I/C pumps
Fuel rail pressure sensors
belt idler and tensioners
Even coils will fail as they get older

The above items are becoming more and more common.

Non modded superchargers I believe need an oil change @ 100,000, modded ones sooner.

Yeh, Jimmy, the normal change is done at 100K miles. There is no set interval for the change with a modded (smaller pulley) supercharger. But there is no harm in changing the oil more often than not, so 50,000 or 30,000 or even 10,000 miles isn't a bad thing. It's just the labor and oil to do it.
Those over-spinning the blowers (smaller pullies) should change the oil at shorter intervals.

Here are some instructions on changing the blower oil.

 

[P49Y-CY]

Yeh, Jimmy, the normal change is done at 100K miles. There is no set interval for the change with a modded (smaller pulley) supercharger. But there is no harm in changing the oil more often than not, so 50,000 or 30,000 or even 10,000 miles isn't a bad thing. It's just the labor and oil to do it.
Those over-spinning the blowers (smaller pullies) should change the oil at shorter intervals.

Here are some instructions on changing the blower oil.

thanks guys - i think i am gonna do this! :beer:

 

[the Terminator]

Thanks guys for all the advice/links. Time to degrease/clean my engine tomorrow, change the motor and supercharger oil, possibly a coolant flush and give her a good ole bath.

 

[JustaGT]

Another thing it may be worth your time to take the car and strap it to a dyno just make sure the tune and AFR is good since you bought it modded. Never hurts to know what ya got exactly and dyno time is kinda fun anyways.

 

[05satinGT]

I'm surprised the "termi" police haven't shown up yet lol

 

[the Terminator]

Noticed you're from NH -- what area?

I'm from Southern NH near the Mass border, but I'm always in the Epping area.

 

[PMac18]

LOL! Actually coolant and steam blowing out the passenger side hood vent after 2 or 3 boosted pulls is warning.

It's just not a very good early warning.:-D

You said that coolant blowing out of the hood vent is a warning that the intercooler pump is going out? This actually just happened to me and I'm trying to figure out what I need to do next. Will I need to replace the intercooler pump? There is also very little coolant left in my intercooler tank as well as my coolant box is coated in rust. If you could check out this thread and help me out! Please and thank you!

http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...coolant-help&p=14376487&posted=1#post14376487

 

[03cobra#694]

Please ask before reviving a old thread.