04 Cobra Diff Cover Ripped Apart

[Miklowcic]

uhhh

Well if it was bone stock then it was pretty unusual and ford should fix it under warrenty...

ANything is possible but the only one I saw explode bone stock had real bad wheel hop and stayed on the gas and then BOOM... oiled down the entire track..

Bone stock? If thats the case your friend is being pretty foolish. Any car..any make can come with problems and while I certainly question and critisize ford quality, its just not a common occurence for a bonestock cobra to blow the rear.....unless the driver is seriouosly abusing the car and driving through wheel hop.

Maybe I was a bit too hard on ford. I have had my car since June 02 and have raced at the drag strip almost every weekend of the racing season since then....i have piles and piles of time slips and the worse that ever happened until today when I found out about my gears breaking, was an idler pulley going bad and the rear diff leaking ocne before... Thats not bad considering what I put the car through. I have a feeling if you put one of these all wheel drive turbo charged imps through the same thing and something will break.

Even with all my complaining about Ford, I love my mustang...its fast as hell, still has potential to go faster, and it looks awesome....

 

[ToplessStang]

its fast as hell, still has potential to go faster, and it looks awesome....

I can't argue with that statement.

 

[timeless2]

this just in...

This just happened to my friend's 2004. Mods are a FRPP pulley, off-road X.

He has about 20,500 miles on it. Dealer is covering the repairs. I was surprised to hear this happening.

 

[Uncle Meat]

This just happened to my friend's 2004. Mods are a FRPP pulley, off-road X.

He has about 20,500 miles on it. Dealer is covering the repairs. I was surprised to hear this happening.

FRPP makes pulleys for the Eaton now?

U.M.

 

[Dr. Wu 2000]

FRPP makes pulleys for the Eaton now?

U.M.

 

[timeless2]

FRPP makes pulleys for the Eaton now?

U.M.

I'm going on what my friend said. He had the pulley ordered from our local Ford dealer and installed by a tech there, so that is what he assumed. Perhaps it's way off-base.

Not sure what this is for.

 

[Uncle Meat]

I'm going on what my friend said. He had the pulley ordered from our local Ford dealer and installed by a tech there, so that is what he assumed. Perhaps it's way off-base.

Maybe he just ordered a stock "Lightning" pulley (2.93) and pressed it on? You can get an OEM Lightning pulley for about $75.

U.M.

 

[timeless2]

That is likely the case.

In any event, it's sad to see such a well-built, high power Stang suffer like this (rear blown).

 

[Uncle Meat]

In any event, it's sad to see such a well-built, high power Stang suffer like this (rear blown).

You're lookin' at it the wrong way man... think of it as proof that these cars have some serious torque!

U.M.

 

[zed]

Maybe he just ordered a stock "Lightning" pulley (2.93) and pressed it on? You can get an OEM Lightning pulley for about $75.

U.M.

I bought the pulley off ebay for $25 (nobody else bid) it is 2.78" and came in a Ford Perfomance bag.

But, what matters is this. I had no idea the power of these cars. I was doing around 120-130 and let off the gas when the thing broke, it didn't do it under acceleration, I was in 4th gear still when I let off and heard it snap. The dealer fixed it, the shafts, and the diff. ring as well as give me a loaner for the 2 days they worked on it, all under warranty.

When I give it gas or let off it makes a really hard knock no matter what gear I am in or how fast I am going (it didn't do it before.) The dealer says this is a normal "break-in" noise, should I believe them?

 

[Uncle Meat]

When I give it gas or let off it makes a really hard knock no matter what gear I am in or how fast I am going (it didn't do it before.) The dealer says this is a normal "break-in" noise, should I believe them?

No. 03/04 Cobra's do have an inherent "Clunk" when you abruptly get off the gas and back on it. This is caused by the slack in the drive line. It shouldn't be as noticeable as you describe though.

U.M.

 

[timeless2]

I bought the pulley off ebay for $25 (nobody else bid) it is 2.78" and came in a Ford Perfomance bag.

But, what matters is this. I had no idea the power of these cars. I was doing around 120-130 and let off the gas when the thing broke, it didn't do it under acceleration, I was in 4th gear still when I let off and heard it snap. The dealer fixed it, the shafts, and the diff. ring as well as give me a loaner for the 2 days they worked on it, all under warranty.

When I give it gas or let off it makes a really hard knock no matter what gear I am in or how fast I am going (it didn't do it before.) The dealer says this is a normal "break-in" noise, should I believe them?

Ha-ha, good to see you on, Zed. Sorry I misquoted you on the origins of the pulley. At least I knew Pat installed it.

No. 03/04 Cobra's do have an inherent "Clunk" when you abruptly get off the gas and back on it. This is caused by the slack in the drive line. It shouldn't be as noticeable as you describe though.

U.M.

The clunk is in more than the Cobra, unfortunately. GT's and sixers in this Fox4 lineup are afflicted as well. Mine has a tiny bit of it, but nothing like what Z is describing. Heck, I've still yet to experience the dreaded TR-3650 clash/grind/clunk that everyone pisses and moans about.

Zed, I'd take it back and see what they can do, because with new parts installed, the tolerances should be tighter than that and you shouldn't be feeling that much play. I think you said your warranty is throught 60K, right? At least that gives you more time, should something further occur.

 

[zed]

The "clunk" has always been there, annoying as can be described without profanity, but, this is something new, louder and more profane.
I will take it back tomorrow.

 

[timeless2]

The "clunk" has always been there, annoying as can be described without profanity, but, this is something new, louder and more profane.
I will take it back tomorrow.

Update:
Talked to Zed....the dealer had to re-shim the rear to remove the excessive clunk. Just FYI.

 

[TheDukeOfEarl]

One of the big reasons for rear cover failure is the diff bushings. The soft rubber is not good at all and should be replaced with delrin or alu. The rubber comes apart and allows the diff to move and slam around. You cant see the rubber failure in the rear until you pull it all out and look at it. Mine is now alu. front and rear, same as the subframe bushings. Rubber is Bad news.

Here is a great site with pictures for a lot of mods.

http://home.flash.net/~ivc1/cobra/bushdiff.html

 

[01TrueBlueCobra]

I would have had the dealer put a solid axle from a GT or mach 1 in the car. Its cheaper then the IRS so the dealers would do it.