2001 Cobra questions

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okay so the mechanic told us it needs a new motor, the dealership agreed to paying for the new motor which i couldnt believe! Where can you find motors online? We are worried about them trying to put a fake cobra engine in it. Or putting one with high miles in it. The dealership also had no idea that the check engine light had been unplugged they weren't happy about that at all. I guess the new engine will solve all of the problems, but i am not sure. Is it even possible to order a brand new 2001 cobra engine from Ford?:shrug:
 
okay so the mechanic told us it needs a new motor, the dealership agreed to paying for the new motor which i couldnt believe! Where can you find motors online? We are worried about them trying to put a fake cobra engine in it. Or putting one with high miles in it. The dealership also had no idea that the check engine light had been unplugged they weren't happy about that at all. I guess the new engine will solve all of the problems, but i am not sure. Is it even possible to order a brand new 2001 cobra engine from Ford?:shrug:

If Ford is ordering it I would say it will be a new Cobra motor, if the dealer you have dealt with I highly doubt they will pitch in the money for a new Cobra crate motor and you would be lucky to get a cobra motor out of a wrecked one even. The link below is for a Cobra longblock which has the main guts but you will still need parts and it should be ok depending on what was wrong with the original motor. If they give you the new cobra crate and pay for it you would be a fool not to take it I think, but they could mask it as something else. Take a tip from a fellow Stangnet member who bought a Cobra with a 4 valve engine but it wasn't a Cobra motor.

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/821435-anyone-seen-intake-manifold.html

1996-01 Mustang Cobra 4.6L 4V Ford Racing "Aluminiator" Long Block For Naturally Aspirated Applications at LRS - Same Day Shipping!
 
I was going to comment on the nitrous and the spark plugs, but that was addressed.

In my experience working in the automotive field I would never ever buy a performance car from an auction. In almost every case those cars have serious issues. They were sent to the auction for a reason. Anytime we would get a WRX or STI in on a trade and we saw it had issues, we told the used car manager and he would send it to auction. We did not want to be liable for a customer getting a problem car.
Most likely the guy traded that car in and rat****ed parts from that car and he knew it had issues being the MIL indicator was disconnected.

Atleast they are paying for a motor.
 
okay so the mechanic told us it needs a new motor, the dealership agreed to paying for the new motor which i couldnt believe! Where can you find motors online? We are worried about them trying to put a fake cobra engine in it. Or putting one with high miles in it. The dealership also had no idea that the check engine light had been unplugged they weren't happy about that at all. I guess the new engine will solve all of the problems, but i am not sure. Is it even possible to order a brand new 2001 cobra engine from Ford?:shrug:


1st - What was wrong with the motor ? Was there something mechanically broken or how did they come to that conclusion ? You want to make sure they are not just "throwing parts" at the problem and find out the "why" or the diagnosis.

If it needs a new motor (depending on what "broke"), an alternative would be having the same factory one, properly re-built by a local shop who is familiar with building 4v cobra engines (if this is even an option). That way, you get to retain some of the "original" engine with the car, if you are truly worried about "numbers matching" and all that stuff (which is sorta a moot point nowadays, but that's besides the point).


2nd - Ford will most likely replace the factory engine with a freshly assembled remanufactured engine (ask about the engine warranty). IIRC, it's been a couple of years since Ford had any leftover '01 or '00 4v Cobra engines available (not talking about the 2000 Cobra "R" engines btw, talking about regular 4v engines simply manufactured in the year 2000 or 2001 - that throws some people off).

It's hard to locate any "new" old 2001 cobra engines online nowadays, unless you find a private party/someone who purchased one a few years back and crated it in their barn or garage. A place here in MI called KarKraft was a pretty big retailer of "new" old engines (and other OEM Ford stuff). Not sure if they are still around (?) though. I remember they had a huge garage sale a little while back - maybe closed their doors? Google them.

Chances are better for locating a used (with mileage) Cobra engine from a wrecked car - which can be hit or miss, would be wise to inspect it prior to purchase/installing it.

If they are offering a limited warranty on the reman engine (via Ford), which they should, and the Ford dealership is handling the swap/installation, maybe it will turn out OK. Or maybe it won't. :shrug:

The problem is that you guys really won't know if replacing the engine will solve everything either (in case it winds up not being the source of the problem). Auction cars can definitely be risky because the previous owner can't be contacted for information on what was done to the car.

If it's still not too late to walk away from the purchase, you might want to consider doing so, as this car will probably have other gremlins waiting to sneak up on you down the road. I surely hope not though, but be prepared.

FWIW - As far as the engine builder plaque found on the passenger side engine valve cover, you can re-use the valve covers from the factory engine on the reman engine (or ask about swapping the build tag over perhaps, to try and keep it looking like the factory engine on the exterior of the engine, if that really bothers you guys).


G'luck.