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99 Vortech Cobra Idle Issue/smoke

11K views 25 replies 3 participants last post by  partzman 
#1 ·
So I have this 99 cobra with a built bottom end and a vortech v1. Runs approx 13lbs and makes 520rwhp. My dad made the mistake of letting the hotel valet it. They must have revved the crap out of it because the car threw the CEL on and wouldn't idle. Code called for a FRPS so pulled it and it was indeed bad. When we replaced it the car runs now but wont hold an idle and is puffing grey/black smoke. Not heavy but definitely noticeable. The car will stall if left to its own devices. Now when datalogging with the SCT handheld everything seems fine. Fuel trim, MAF signal, AFR. Everything electrical sensor wise seems ok. What am I missing here? No engine noise or valvetrain rattle. I guess the only good thing is that the Hotel owned up to it and is paying for everything.
 
#2 ·
Who did you end up using to do your motor, Kyle? I know you had been looking at Michael at L&M. Whoever it was you ought to take it back to them, explain what happened and ask them to do the repairs. Take the bad news to the Hotel and put this thing behind you. Tinkering around replacing this and that will only leave you unhappy in the end. Go back to your engine builder get it done right.




Ed
 
#3 ·
Ed- This is actually a different car. My dad picked it up already built. Mine is an 03 Cobra stock longblock. This 99 cobra has an engine that was built back in 02 by a company called True Blue Performance. Literally no idea whats in the motor other than the h beam rods visible by a scope.
 
#4 ·
Also worth mentioning that the fuel system recently got changed up. Fore dual hat with gt pumps and a dual fpdm setup.
 
#7 ·
If it's the car I am thinking of (nice 6pt cage with some suspension mods), it may have belonged to Dave Stanfield who lived in the Raleigh area then moved a few times. I remember that car laid down 489rwhp and 419rwtq on a stock block for a LONG LONG time. I think after the original motor kicked the bucket, a stock mach 1 engine went in to replace it. I lost track of it after that, but it was an awesome car. The build/tuning back in the day was done by Randy Haywood out of True Blue (now he works at Carolina Dyno in Wilmington).

I know none of this is helpful, but cool none-the-less. Check for a leak between the blower and the throttle body. You'll feel air blowing out if it's leaking. I doubt it's that, but I have had it happen a few times on my old supercharged 97 cobra and it caused poor idle characteristics and black smoke.
 
#8 ·
hmm. This car has no cage. I know the car you are referring to and I dont believe this car is it. True Blue eventually morphed into Fastlane Motorsports later on down the line. Ray who used to work at fastlane remembered this car and knew of both cars making similar hp. This car has stock suspension other than the FTBR kit we just added last month.
 
#9 ·
Right on. The car I'm talking about probably has close to 200,000 miles on it by now. I know Ray, but I haven't talked to him in such a long time. Fastlane is definitely an awesome shop, but I personally have not used them. I always followed Randy around for my car stuff. He's always done me right, and really went above and beyond for me when True Blue was in its prime.
 
#10 ·
A lot of people in the 4 valve community remember that car and tell us a similar story. This one is a hoot being that it looks completely stock and really scoots when boost comes on. I think that the Vortech V1 thats on it is about tapped out though. Either going to change it to a newer vortech or switch over to a 76mm borgwarner. The idea is to call it quits around the 600whp mark. 520whp is already too much for a 245/45R17 anyways.
 
#11 ·
Well this car is officially dead. The motor dead seized on me at 70mph. Motor will turn over but something is extremely broken in the bottom end. Its a shame but 100k miles on a built motor and 500+ hp is not terrible. What is terrible is that Marriot Richmond decided to destroy it. Let that be a lesson to never let a valet come within 10 miles of your car. They will not take any responsibility and tell you to shove it.
 
#12 · (Edited)
This is what Small Claims Court is for and all about. Go to Amazon and get NOLO Press's book on small claims court. It is written for guys like us so we can present our own case. BTW that's what everyone has to do in Small Claims Court - no high dollar attorneys or attorneys of any type. Just you and the guy(s) who screwed you.

Ed
 
#13 ·
Thanks Ed. I definitely would like to see my dad get fair with the hotel. Right now I believe the Insurance Company is attempting to Subrogate. Unfortunately I doubt we will see the true value of the car paid out but such is life. I think another modular powered car is in his future probably a 13-14 GT500. I will probably scrounge some parts like the fuel system (Fore parts) and the exhaust for my car. With the world of 281ci engines making such High horsepower I think this motor did ok for being built in 2002.
 
#14 ·
Actually getting around to figuring out what went wrong in this car. Pulled the plugs on the passenger bank and cranked it back in september or so. Freed up and made awful noises. Now got it out to a shop to yank the motor out. He said it had "good compression" with a checker. Motor should be out and apart this week. Should be interesting to see what let go and what parts were in it as well. We have never known what parts were used in the build way back when. I do believe we are going to put some Gibtec pistons in and new wearable items( bearings, cloyes timing, etc) and see if we can resurrect this old beast. Ill update thread with carnage pics. When we get it apart.
 
#16 ·
Figured I would give an update to this poor car. We ended up taking it to a shop to pull the motor and it just sat with no work being done. Got tired of just waiting around and drug it home. We ended up selling it as a roller to a member of our local mustang club. He then ended up doing the sensible thing we should have done a year ago and dropped the oil to take a look. Welp the oil looked like it had been spray painted silver and had some nice chunks in it. lots of threaded pieces of metal. Id say that motor has turned its last rpm in anger. We are helping him throw together a new longblock and slap it in. Sad ending to this story but I figure for a Modular motor built in mid 2002 and having over 110k miles over 450whp isn't the worst thing in the world. Time to make more power for longer this time. Hopefully when we get the motor out we can get some carnage pics.
 
#17 ·
That is quite the service life with the factory engine. My OEM 97 shortblock lasted about a week (killed it in January 2002) at 435rwhp.
 
#18 ·
This car actually had a built motor put in around 2002. Its original motor from 99 blew up from stock usage according to the original owner. The built setup lasted over 100k miles at 450+ whp. All in all not terrible.
 
#20 ·
Buddy got the motor out and the number 1 connecting rod bearing is the culprit. It spun right round. Ill get some pics up later. Pickup screen did its job and stopped most of the big stuff but I think some metal got around everywhere in this poor motor.
 
#21 ·
I think these bearings are smoked. Pistons look good and the walls arent terrible but they aren't great either. Time to see whats salvageable and rebuild. Wood Shelf Household hardware Door Metal
Hand Hand tool Kitchen utensil Wood Gesture
 
#22 ·
Motor is torn down and waiting for a slot at the race shop. Do you guys think it is worth it to have the vortech rebuilt? It looks like the oil pump screen caught it all and the pulley spins clean. I don't want the Vortech to have some metal hanging out inside of it that will make its way back through the system though.
 
#23 ·
If you've never had one apart before Kyle so you know the rest of that story. What you might want to consider is having a Vortech shop take a look for you. Ask them if they can give you the 25¢ tour of the insides along with a suggested owner maintenance routine and recommended maintenance intervals. Some shop will and some won't (give the 25¢ tour) but I would expect all would minimally suggest a recommended user level maintenance schedule. The obvious other place to check for stuff like this is Vortech.


Ed
 
#24 ·
We ended up selling the car to a member of our local car club when we realized how serious the internal damage was. I have been trying to convince him to get the Vortech rebuild or looked at. Its a shame that this car met its end this way, but my dad ended up buying his first 03 cobra after selling this one.
 
#25 ·
Motor has been waiting its turn at the race shop. Looks like the piston gave the valve a love touch. Just enough to give it a slight impression. Means cylinder head for work for sure and also new pistons. I was never in favor of reusing the pistons anyway so good excuse. Just some downtime until Gibtecs arrive.
 
#26 ·
Finally the motor got its turn at the shop and surprise surprise the crank and rods are toast. Block appears salvageable but still a bummer. Let this be a reminder: dont ever valet a modified car you care about.
 
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