First Mustang on Sat...Thrown rod on Tues!

[Farmertedd]

Hey StangNet community,


I bought a 2001 SVT Cobra convertible on Saturday and it purred like a kitten! Drove it about 250 miles over the weekend, and then to work Monday. On the way home I got on it at a stop light and wound first and second up to around 6000 rpm, but not to red line. I noticed the motor bog in fourth and then in fifth right after that. Then at the next stop light I heard the unmistakable sound of a rod knock. Limped it home the last mile and there it sits in my garage. I have had it for three days and now I want to set it on fire!!! Does anyone out there know why I would lose a rod after one burnout??

 

[LAVAgt2012]

Hey StangNet community,


I bought a 2001 SVT Cobra convertible on Saturday and it purred like a kitten! Drove it about 250 miles over the weekend, and then to work Monday. On the way home I got on it at a stop light and wound first and second up to around 6000 rpm, but not to red line. I noticed the motor bog in fourth and then in fifth right after that. Then at the next stop light I heard the unmistakable sound of a rod knock. Limped it home the last mile and there it sits in my garage. I have had it for three days and now I want to set it on fire!!! Does anyone out there know why I would lose a rod after one burnout??

Welcome, and sorry about your luck. The one bad thing about buying a car like that is you never know how the previous owner drove it, and if I knew I was trading in my cobra I would dog it for the last few weeks my guess is you inhereted someone else's problem that's why they traded it in

 

[MRaburn]

Did you change the oil after your purchase? Or check the oil level before you started driving it?

 

[MoshpitMad]

Or check the oil level before you started driving it?

My first thought.

 

[foxstang93notch]

Welcome to stangnet. That really sucks about your cobra, sounds like the previous owner beat on it. How many miles are on the car?

 

[puma1552]

Did you let the engine warm up?

 

[Farmertedd]

Thanks for the replies!!

I checked the oil first thing before I even test drove it...The p.o. had an Oil Changers print out for the car that was 5 days old. She had paper work for a factory long block from a few years back and the motor had about 30k on it. Car has 121,250 on the odometer but looked and drove like a champ. This is not my first car though...I am 44 years old and have had a few cars in my time...never a ford though!! I drove the car over the whole weekend and gave it a close look under the hood a few times before I got on it. And it was warmed up before I punched it. Something kept nagging me though. I had a felling that "LAVAgt2012" nailed it. I think that the P.O.'s husband beat the snot out of it after the new engine swap!...$#%$&?><?... So I get a raw deal for not doing my homework. Had I done my research I would have seen that the block and rods are made out old soda cans and the crank is basically dirt with enough metal in it to hold its shape.

The thing is I love this car. Rides like a friggin dream and had tons of power for a stock motor!!

I have been all over this site and a few others, plus I visited a custom hot-rod shop in my town, to find the best solution for my problem.

Here is my next question...I was planning on dropping a KB super-charger in it (well, before I researched the block). So, should I rebuild this motor with forged crank and rods, plus some new pistons??? Or just fix the rod, or bearing, or whatever, and sell the motor and buy an '03 motor and drop that in there?? What do you guys think???

And thanks again!!