I Need Help, Please!

[uvbnbit]

I was wondering if anyone out there can help me with a little problem I am having. I have a 2001 Cobra that is bone stock, all highway driven, and I have 27k miles on it. It seems that sitting at a stop light or stop sign when I initially take off I here kind of a tongue clicking sound in my driver rear tire, just for a second, and it goes away. The same thing goes for when I put the car into reverse I here the same sound just for one second, and it immediately goes away. I don't notice any sudden movements while starting out, and it is not coming fro the rearend. I have pinpointed to my driver side rear wheel. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I was also wondering if it the IRS has u-joints, and could that be a problem...
- Erik

[Mike Kievit]

I have the same noise from my right side. I've had for a long time, and I believe it to be the CV joint.
You are under warranty if it is stock. I mentioned to my dealer when I had the knuckle upgrade, but there was nothing wrong. That was 25,000 miles ago.

One thing to check is the axle nut. I wrote a little IRS torque spec sheet here a couple of weeks ago on this board. '99-'01 Cobra's)
It has the spec for the axle nut. Mine were loose 2 months ago when I changed my diff.

Just something to check.

Good luck,

Mike

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Are you sure your CV joints are okay? You might want to take it in and get Ford to look at it as it may be a failing CV joint on the left rear. You also might have a bad clutch pack on that side. Either one should be covered by warranty.

[Mike Kievit]

Good call Ken,

I forgot about the clutch pack in the diff. I had a similar noise in there when the car was new. I simply replaced the oil with some and added new friction modifier. That helped, but later realised that it was from the outer shaft.
Again, 25K later and still working. Car has 39K on it now.

[uvbnbit]

Since I put the s/c on I think I voided the warranty, and anyway if it is still under warranty Ford would find someway of saying that the s/c was the cause for it... I still haven't done anything to the suspension, though...

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Hey Mike...the rear end on mine has been torn apart so many times I should put a quick release on the pumpkin! ;) It is in the shop now getting a new differential cover. Somehow I managed to crack the thing.

The clutch packs have been rebuilt with an extra friction disk, and I have 2003 half shafts on her for their extra margin of safety for launching her. She makes a bit more noise going around a turn, but she locks up harder going in a straight line too, so it is worth it.

His noise sounds like it could be the CV joint or the clutch pack. Just as with yours, while it may work for quite a while before failing, I HATE uncontrolled failures! e.g. those that strand you on the side of the road. I would take it in and see if they would replace it while it was still under warranty.

[Ken 01-Cobra]

Originally posted by uvbnbit
Since I put the s/c on I think I voided the warranty, and anyway if it is still under warranty Ford would find someway of saying that the s/c was the cause for it... I still haven't done anything to the suspension, though...
You need to find yourself a "mod friendly" dealer. However, if you are running a s/c'ed engine on the stock rear end, they probably would have a case in saying the power is way more than the components were designed for! ;)