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03/04 Cobras and reliability?


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I've heard something along those lines, like some of the pistons (maybe the 6 and 7 pistons) were suspect to essentially melting under higher boost (e.g., with a KB or Whipple supercharger).

 

Kurt (KBOND99) - remember, we were talking about this last summer?

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Here is the link to the thread over at SVTP concerning this very subject:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151418&highlight=teflon

 

Apparently extended high-speed runs are doing the damage. Heat is probably breaking down the teflon and causing it to wear off.

 

If someone will let me borrow their '03 I'll be happy to see if I can replicate it :D

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It's all in the tune. You have to run them a little rich up top if your going to do some 160 mph blasts. These superchargers produce a lot of heat. From what I've seen and read on the subject it doesn't look like the Teflon is melting. It looks more like over expansion of the piston in the bore due to extreme heat. I run mine a little rich up top and my car has seen more top speed runs than I would like to admit. All runs were done on a closed course. ;)
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Why was this coating used in the first place?? I'm curious as to any logical reason for it.

 

Is this used on other production forced induction pistons. I've heard of thermal coatings (on the piston face, such as Swain coatings), but this is not what this teflon coating is for.

 

Or did someone at Ford buy into a sales pitch fron DuPont, and are now paying the price??

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I read 10 pages, and my head is gonig to explode.

 

It appears people are arguing over 2 theories:

 

1) The 5w-20 Ford reccomends is too thin.

 

2) The sustained high speed runs are causing certain pistons to expand more than the block.

 

I'm inclined to believe it's a combination of the two.

 

It would also appear that most of the cars that have this issue are fairly heavily modded.

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Originally posted by The DropTop:

I read 10 pages, and my head is gonig to explode.

 

It appears people are arguing over 2 theories:

 

1) The 5w-20 Ford reccomends is too thin.

 

2) The sustained high speed runs are causing certain pistons to expand more than the block.

 

I'm inclined to believe it's a combination of the two.

 

It would also appear that most of the cars that have this issue are fairly heavily modded.

I read all of it too, but a lot of the problem cars were not heavily modded. A pulley change and intake/exhaust mods are pretty light IMO. A couple cars had KB's and such, but others were bone stock as well.

 

I am going to bet more towards the cooling issue than the oil issue. I wonder if the Lightnings and GT's (not the Mustangs) have the Teflon coatings, or if that is a Cobra-only thing.

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Originally posted by Nitrousbird:

[qI read all of it too, but a lot of the problem cars were not heavily modded. A pulley change and intake/exhaust mods are pretty light IMO. A couple cars had KB's and such, but others were bone stock as well.

 

I am going to bet more towards the cooling issue than the oil issue. I wonder if the Lightnings and GT's (not the Mustangs) have the Teflon coatings, or if that is a Cobra-only thing.

A pulley change isn't that light of a mod. With the Eaton you are creating a lot of heat by overspinning it. Almost all the cases related to Kenne Bell's frying a piston were tune related or a hose flew off creating a very lean condition. The funny part about this is that it's only happened to about 5 or 6 guys out of the 10,000+ modified Cobras running around and now it's a full blown epidemic. :rolleyes: You've got to love the internet.
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Originally posted by Eatonup:

... The funny part about this is that it's only happened to about 5 or 6 guys out of the 10,000+ modified Cobras running around and now it's a full blown epidemic. :rolleyes: You've got to love the internet.

+1 I always get a chuckle out of how desparate people are to trash the 03 Cobra.

 

(A bit off topic: Watch this turn into the DSM "crankwalk issue" of the Cobra world. By that I mean this: I used to run into kids when I had my Eclipse who knew absolutely no real facts about them but the first thing out of their mouths was "have any problems with crankwalk?" Same with the Cobra, the sheer number of comments I hear that reveal absolutely no real knowledge of the car is amazing. Way more than my DSM even)

 

[ 27. January 2005, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: Mowgli ]

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Originally posted by Nitrousbird:

Why was this coating used in the first place?? I'm curious as to any logical reason for it.

 

Is this used on other production forced induction pistons. I've heard of thermal coatings (on the piston face, such as Swain coatings), but this is not what this teflon coating is for.

 

Or did someone at Ford buy into a sales pitch fron DuPont, and are now paying the price??

Don't ask ford, they aren't ford production pistons. The 03/04 pistons and rods come from Manley.
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Originally posted by Mowgli:

+1 I always get a chuckle out of how desparate people are to trash the 03 Cobra.

 

No, dont get me wrong, I think the 03/04 Cobras are one of the most bad ass cars ever made. Just heard the piston deal, and wondered if it was a rumor or not.
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