I bought a cobra...97

[golfpro]

Hi guys, I just jumped over from the import scene and I'm quite happy about it. My uncle bought a new 02 GT and I love the way it felt. For the last year I've wanted a V8 five speed mustang. The search was on. I cannot afford a new one, (my wife has the $500.00 payment) so I went on a search. I really wanted a 99 and up model GT with less than 60,000 miles for under 20k... Know where to be found. Months went on untill three days ago I drove past a neighboring car lot and saw a white (my favorite car color) mustang cobra.. My hopes got up, I called them up and they brought the car to my lot, i drove the cobra for the first time. I fell in love. To make a long story short. I finagled them to give the car for $14,000, the vehicle had 68,000 miles and appeared to be in great shape... Now if you could possibly answer some questions I would really appreciate it...
What should I look for? One of my techincians told me my motor mounts are shot. I hear slight lifter noise. I get a clunk that seems to be coming from the rear end. Engine seems to run a tad over 1/2 way... what precations should I take to keep the car in great shape? WHat oil would you recommend...
I'm very sorry this is so long but I'm so exited and hope I can find people who feel the same way I do about this great work..
thanks for listening

[cobrabitn]

I always like enthusiastic Cobra owners. Like you I liked my 99 so much, I went and bought a second Cobra, now on to the questions.......

Oil recommendations: Mobil 1 synthetic

Clunking noise in rear: drive the car slow and try to isolate the sound. Probably a sway bar, very common.

Motor mounts shot: doubt it???

Temp gauge: you'll need to check the accuracy with a thermometer

Lifter noise: Hmm? need to isolate the sound and see if it is coming from the front cover, chain slap maybe??

Congratulations!
:thumbsup:

[28 Fangs]

congratulations on your recent snake purchase.i also was big on the import scene(only cuz i couldn't afford a stang)and i finally lucked out in 98.anyway,about the noise under your car,i had heard this question before and it turned out to be the flywheel.(i think they have some kind of self adjuster in their).your temp should run somewhere in between if your car isn't modified(i had that very same question).your best and safest bet would be to have an expert take a look into it.i know that it can be a little expensive,but you"ll be more at ease once your sure.besides,you already got your car of choice,that's the hard part, and maintenance on your cobra is not the time to get cheap..congratulations and enjoy the ride.:rotf:

[tgentry]

Congrats on the purchase, and welcome to the family!

The clunk in the rear may be a broken sway bar as Tony suggested. If it is, that's easy to spot. Another possibility is loose control arm bolts. I had an intermittant clunk on acceleration and finally tracked it down to a bolt or two that had worked a little loose.

Noise from the engine you'll have to isolate. A good trick is to use a very long screw driver as a stethoscope. Put the tip against a suspected area, and place your ear against the handle. If you find the right spot you'll know it.

My engine with forged pistons suffers a little piston slap, but a louder exhaust helped fix it. :thumbsup:

[98RSNK]

Congrats, you have a great car with tons of possibilities.

I agree with what's been said so far except, I had broken motor
mounts on my 98 when Sean Hyland put my long tubes on.
Might be worth checking it out. As of April anyway there were no
urethane bushings for our model for motor mounts, you'll have to use factory rubber.