Help!!!!!!!!!

[bbrence]

Hello again......here's an update to this message....assuming anyone cares.

I got my car back today. Runs like a Swiss watch!! The dealer replaced both catalytic converters [they were fried...honeycomb material literally melted], and all 8 spark plugs.

The car even idles smooth as glass, and starts instantly.....it was idling a slightly rough, and it took a few rev to start.

As stated below, the dealer gave me a hard time about the K&N FIPK.......but today, when I picked the car up....not a word was mentioned. I see by the work order that the air/fuel mixture was right on where it belonged.

I would love to hear anyone's conjecture on why the cats failed [at 3,800 miles]. I am beginning to think the plus were fouled....which caused unburned fuel to flood the cats. ????

Thanks for listening.
Barry



Hello all......in desperate need of advice. Here's the story of my 2004 SVT Cobra with 3,800 miles on the odo.

I hate to admit to this, but Thursday, I was in 2nd gear, in the process of passing a screaming Bimmer M3......missed the shift into 3rd......bounced off the rev limiter 4-5 times, when suddenly no power....missing badly. I immediately pulled it over and shut it off. Waited a few minutes and fired it up again.....still missing badly but, full oil pressure, no engine light, no noises indicating internal damage.

Ford roadside assistance sent out a flat-bed hauler for the trip to the nearest SVT dealer.

I put a K&N filter in the factory airbox at about 400 miles. Had just converted to a K&N FIPK at 3,600 miles. Most of the mileage has been short trips of 15 miles or less......about 30% of the mileage on freeways at 60-80mph, in 6th gear. NO other modifications....stock tune, etc.

The dealer did a quick diagnosis......said the Catalytic converters need to be replaced [rattling...blocked]. They gave me a hard time about the K&N. Mentioned the rev limiter issue but assumed it happened after the car began missing. Told me the K&N required different computer settings. They also blamed all the short trip mileage, etc. The car is now at the dealer awaiting the arrival of new cats from Ford.

I find it hard to believe the car could be running like a freight train one minute, and then missing badly the next, without some other problem being present. Wouldn't the cats degrade over time.....not instantly?

Can anyone advise me. What tests should the dealer do to insure the engine has not been damaged?

Thank you,
Barry Brence

[RF Cobra]

Rev limiter protected the engine. You can do damage if you are routinely bouncing off the rev limiter but what you described should not do any harm.

I bounced off the rev limiter in second a couple of weeks ago 4-6 times. I forgot how quick it revs in second if you floor it...

Parts in the cats could have been coming loose. Since you typically do short trips and are not normally turning those high rpms then yes, that could have caused the internal parts to break and clog up. This could cause a miss and could cause other problems as well.

It would take a lot more in modifications before you went beyond the computer's abilities. Ford uses adaptive programming and the K&N by itself is not going to overwhelm the computer. Ford states that if you do their full upgrade kit with the whipple, heads, etc. that the stock computer program can handle it without any tuning. So if they continue giving you problems on this then you might want to point that out to them.

Let them replace the cats under warranty. They will test the car once they replace them. If it still misses then they will do more work.

My advice, don't go looking for problems. If you start demanding they do additional tests then you will have to pay for the additional labor and tests they do. Everything so far should be under warranty. Don't let them try to say otherwise because of the K&N.

After you get the Cobra back drive it around a few minutes near the dealership and if you have any concerns then take it back and talk to them again.

Once you are done I'd recommend buying the new shifter from MGW which should eliminate missed shifts into 3rd. 3rd gear is very problematic on both upshifts and downshifts with the stock shifter.

Good luck!