03/04 Engine Issues

[sawman70]

I was reading another thread and a guy said that the 03/04 suffer from a problem where the aluminum pistons in the motor swell larger than the cast cylinders and end up scraping into the walls and bogging the engine down. The engine just sits there he says, worse on pullied and KB cars.

Is this true.

I have had (3 times) where at higher RPM down shifts, I wait for the other guy to go, I floor it and it bogs like a SOB. It then takes off.

Now I would imagine that if the pistons raped the cylider walls that would be it for the motor i.e. the first time is the last time.

Anyone know anything about this.

I called my tuner about my issue, he said I need plugs or I have plugged cats.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[Uncle Meat]

The stock pistons do expand and contract at a different rate than the block because they are made of dissimilar metals. This is what causes piston slap at start up. During extended high speed high RPM driving the pistons swell more than the sleeves and this causes the Teflon coating on the pistons to wear off. That's why the cooling mod for the driver’s side head is so important for those who run their cars hard.

Whether this has anything to do with the problems you are experiencing I couldn't say...

U.M.

 

[sawman70]

I am far from an expert auto mechanic, but I am a field engineer for a machine manufacturer doing many repairs in the field.

Mechanically, if my pistions experienced enough swell to stop my engine, there would be no way the car would then immediately pull a 150mph run with no problems. I do not consider this the cause of my problem.

On another note, U.M., is ugrading both cooling systems an important way to protect these engines when they have been pullied????

Thanks man.

 

[Uncle Meat]

Mechanically, if my pistions experienced enough swell to stop my engine, there would be no way the car would then immediately pull a 150mph run with no problems. I do not consider this the cause of my problem.

You got that right!

On another note, U.M., is ugrading both cooling systems an important way to protect these engines when they have been pullied????

Oh yeah! Hell I'm not even pullied and I'm running the Apten cooling mod just for peace of mind. I don't think I've ever owned a car that runs as hot as these SC'ed Cobra's do. Lot of guys are turning to Evans for aftermarket cooling solutions. PM GLWBEAR for more info on that. He just installed all sorts of new cooling mods from Evans on his snake.

U.M.

 

[sawman70]

Many thanks!!

 

[04_snake]

I was reading another thread and a guy said that the 03/04 suffer from a problem where the aluminum pistons in the motor swell larger than the cast cylinders and end up scraping into the walls and bogging the engine down. The engine just sits there he says, worse on pullied and KB cars.

Is this true.

I have had (3 times) where at higher RPM down shifts, I wait for the other guy to go, I floor it and it bogs like a SOB. It then takes off.

Now I would imagine that if the pistons raped the cylider walls that would be it for the motor i.e. the first time is the last time.

Anyone know anything about this.

I called my tuner about my issue, he said I need plugs or I have plugged cats.
Any help is appreciated.

you got to work with your tuner on this, agree to change to the plugs he suggests and then make him dig further if it doesn't go away. I doubt if it is your cats, but it could be your tune is a little off.

 

[sawman70]

I believe it is a new problem so it may be the plugs.

Time will tell.