SVT Blues Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 My stepson owns an 03 Cobra with 38000 miles. The other day his engine light came on...steady, not flashing. He took the car to a dealer who has taken the engine apart and has said that he has a broken piston ring in cyl. 6 and that he needs a new engine! They claim that to otherwise fix that cylinder would cost even more that a new engine at $8000. The car is well-maintained and even for a Cobra he doesn't push it hard nor has he added anything to the engine by way of modifications. None of this sounds reasonable in the least. Does anyone have any experience here or an informed comment? Does anyone feel that Ford should step up here and who he should contact to try and get that to happen? Thanks for any advice you can provide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbone Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 A broken piston ring is very easy to diagnose, no need to tear apart the motor, just do a leakdown compression test. Ford has no responsibility in this at this point, the responsibility is entirely yours, good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meelaan Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 That's what happens with a hand built motor. People get all excited about "my car's motor was hand built" oooh-la-la! Gimme a robot-built motor any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
69mark3 Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Is he the original owner? If he can showthat the car has been serviced properly Iwould think that that ford would stand behind there product. In 2000 I had a 97 t-bird with a 4.6 that I had bought used. The car had 46,000 miles on it when the engine went bad. Ihad had the car about 6 months. Ford replaced the engine for free even though it was out of warranty. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalu Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 (edited) My stepson owns an 03 Cobra with 38000 miles. The other day his engine light came on...steady, not flashing. Hetook the car to a dealer who has taken the engine apart and has said that he has a broken piston ring in cyl. 6 and that he needs a new engine! They claim that to otherwise fix that cylinder would cost even more that a new engine at $8000. The car is well-maintained and even for a Cobra he doesn't push it hard nor has he added anything to the engine by way of modifications. None of this sounds reasonable in the least. Does anyone have any experience here or an informed comment? Does anyone feel that Ford should step up here and who he should contact to try and get that to happen? Thanks for any advice you can provide. Redbone is right. Do a compression check, you can buy one at sears cheap. Check all cylinders by cranking over a few times. Don't forget to unplug the coils. It should hold pressure, if it steadilly drops off it's bad.Isn't that a premium fuel motor? 91+ octane. If he runs 89 or 87 octane you will get detonation which will break the rings over time, something to think about. Depending on how bad the cylinder is scored you may be able to re-ring it. Sounds like they may be taking you for a ride at $8k. You will have to remove the head to push piston out because the bore is smaller at the bottom, it's a big job, if it were me and it is a broken ring, I would re-ring all eight so as not to have to do it more than once. Since it's a Cobra (high performance) I doubt Ford is liable, warranty is up and car is 14 years old. My Dad has an 89 GT convertable with 42k, needs a water pump, NOT COVERED,Good luck....Need anymore help post it... Edited April 11, 2007 by kalu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbone Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Make sure that it's not just a blown head gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowgray03 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Make sure that it's not just a blown head gasket.These arent 5.0 blocks. They rarely blow head gaskets. I melted a few pistons and even one of my heads and the head gasket held strong. These engines have pretty tight tolerances and not the best engine cooling. Couple that with a partially clogged injector or something to give you a lean cylinder and its all over but the crying. You can get a bullet proof shortblock for a few grand, a hell of a lot cheaper and stronger than a replacement engine form ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99 KOBRA Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 That's what happens with a hand built motor. People get all excited about "my car's motor was hand built" oooh-la-la! Gimme a robot-built motor any day. SPARE ME!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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