"Silent Recall" on 2003 Cobra Heads?

[jjraiser]

Hey All, I saw on BlueOvalNews.com that there is an internal Ford memo talking about bad cylinder heads on the 2003 Cobra. It refers owners to a Pat Hoye (313) 248-8336. I spoke with him today. He flat out denied any such memo or problem. He also bashed BlueOvalNews pretty badly calling them trash. He wasn't very friendly to me (not disrespectful either, though), nor about BlueOvalNews.

Anyway, I saw one guy on this bulletin board had a blown engine. I wonder if the two are related. I did not believe Pat and think Ford would do anything to cover up a problem since the 1999 Cobra fiasco.

The problem is described as possibly bad heads based on an "unusual" noise coming from the left head. It suggests possible problems with the valve guides. The posting on BlueOvalNews was pretty detailed and it sounds far fetched that it would be all made up; as Pat Hoye would like us to believe.

Here's the article link: www.blueovalnews.com/2003/powertrain/4.6l.cobracylhead.072903.htm

Keep you ears open on this as I find Ford rather suspect on the issue. :doubt:

[grumpynlovinit]

Someone forwarded that info to me yesterday, but I still wonder just exactly what an 'unusual noise' is. I can hear my engine running, should I be concerned??? :)

[97whitevert]

'unusual noise' that isn't the slight 'whistle' sound i hear, is it??;) :D

[SVTANIMAL03]

hey guys ive hyst heard about the recall on the 03, sad to here. What exactly am i listening for in the engine. what kind of noise should i be trying to detect. thanks

[03RedCobra]

That's quite interesting that there is a recall with the heads on the Cobra. If you read my post about a month ago, it tells about my problem with a blown engine with my 03 Cobra. Well, it turns out the most likely culprit was a blown Head Gasket. Quite interesting that there is recall with the heads. How long has this recall been in effect ?? I wonder if it stems directly from my blown engine. They sent inspectors from SVT to check out my engine. I wonder what they found. Final bill at the Ford dealer was $18,732 !! Thank god it was under warranty !!!

[Carl G]

I have a 03 that has a loud ticking noise which dealership claims is probably spun bearing that is causing oil pressure problems. They denied claim due to mods on car. I paln to fight because they cant tell me what caused the problem or where it really is. There first response was to decline without really ever finding the true problem. I had chip and pulley. This buy itself was not enough to cause this problem. If You guys out there have any advise how to go about this I could use. It looks like attorney time.

[Sonic Blue]

• Vehicle Warranty Issues
Steve DeAngelis (313-323-8897)
Ths is a ford exec. In the last issue of SVT fords warranty claims department head stated that the mod has to cause the problem which is also stated in the moss-magnuson warranty act.

[Carl G]

I would think in order to deny the claim that they would have to know what exactly cause the part failure. They cant even identify which part is the problem.

[Scream]

It seems like after my '03 is warm I can here a ticking noise but it isn't one side or the other. The car was build in January '03. Do the valvetrain on these motors tend to be loud on every body elses cars also. Thanks for the input.

[Flyn high again]

The noise is a ticking sound sort of like a bad lifter would make on pushrod engines. You can hear it if you listen from the driver's side front wheel well on affected cars. At one of our '03 Cobra meetings, Paul, a guy from St. Louis brought his car to be listened to by about a dozen of us. It definitely made more ticking noise and was pretty obvious when compared with the rest of the cars. All the cars have loud injectors, but Paul's car also had a deeper ticking on the driver's side only.

Ford has said that the heads were redesigned and that new heads came out in Nov. 2002. Unfortunately a few of the new heads seem to have the problem also.

The last I heard on www.svtperformance.com was that the silent recall was in effect and if your car had the driver's side head ticking, Ford would replace it.

[Mr. Ed]

I've heard of that "whistling noise". I warned Dave Stanfield at DragonRun III about his '99 making that noise.:eek: :bounce: :rotf: :D :banana: :flag:

[Black03]

The problem was found - left head - and Ford solved it. If your head has the blue paint then it is fine.

[Flyn high again]

Originally posted by Black03
The problem was found - left head - and Ford solved it. If your head has the blue paint then it is fine.

Maybe. There have been reports of some of the heads with blue paint ticking, also.

[Silver10th]

Other than a ticking noise, what could happen to the motor if you don't get it fixed?:doubt:

[OKC03Cobra]

This has been discussed at length at svtperformance.com. And, as a matter of fact, Ford has a TSB on it - TSB 03-11-04. There is a design flaw in the water jacket of the LH cylinder head that causes overheating and warping of the cylinder #7 valve guides and thus causes the "tick." I should know. Ford replaced my LH cylinder head free of charge.

[Silver10th]

Thanks OKC03Cobra. I don't know what would be 'unusual ticking'. I guess it wouldn't hurt to get it checked out to be on the safe side.

[akaeric]

It must of been another forum because I can't find the statement here but someone said if you have the color blue on your heads that means the recall has been done in other words if you have blue on your heads which I have on the inside toward the SC thats the new heads know I don't know if thats true or not. The injectors might make a firing tick them self. I'm going to research through all the forums I use to find this reply because I just found that my heads are blue inside toward the SC. I hope this is true because I don't want to have to take it back. ALl though as I think about it after the diablo tune I haven't heard yhe ticking. Thats one nice thing about the diablo Preditor I can put the stock settings back to factory with just a couple button and 2 minites.
.

[jjraiser]

I've read all the replies to my original thread. I went out an got a mechanic's stethiscope to listen for a noise. Without it, yes, you hear a whistle (the supercharger) and a tick (the fuel injectors). However, when you put the scope on the head and listen, you should hear a smooth "gliding" noise as the engine is running. If you had a mechanical ticking in there, you'd hear something to that effect. Make sure you listen to both heads; the mechanicals of each are the same and if there's a LH problem, you'll hear the difference from the RH.

As far as blue paint, this isn't the blue gasket sealant is it? Where is the blue paint on the fixed heads?

Thanks for the inputs!