Considering 03-04 Cobra Calipers? Read This.

This is for anyone that is considering 10 Anniversary Cobra Calipers for their Mustang. I bought a pair of them and rotor’s from Tousley Ford in December. It was a nice day out yesterday so I decided I would put them on. I took out the stock pads and replaced them with EBC Green Stuff pads. I then proceeded to put the banjo bolt into the caliper, and to my dismay, it would not fit. So I looked closely at the threads. The brake hoses I got from Ford were fine thread. I also bought some steel braided lines and I noticed that the banjo bolts I got with that were fine thread too and the same length as the stock ones. The calipers however are a coarse thread. So I was thinking that I got the wrong hoses from Ford. I called Steve at Tousley to explain the situation to him and he said that Calipers that they sell do not come with brake hoses, so I got lucky I guess. Then I did some searching. It turns out in 03 and 04 Ford switched to the Coarse thread for their calipers and do not include the proper banjo bolts with their calipers, unless of course you buy a Cobra. The kit needed to make these calipers work is FMS M-2321-A. Summit was the only place I could find them at, and they only had one kit. Every FRPP dealer was out and on backorder via Ford. I was thinking about just taking them to Napa or Checker and going through their banjo bolts and lining them up and getting ones that fit, but in the end, I didn’t want to get the wrong ones that might have had a small difference I could not see and jeopardize my braking. The kit cost me 9 dollars, plus a 9 dollar handling fee. So if you are considering them, even if you have a Cobra…94-01 they will not work unless you buy this kit.

Yes, all 94-04 Cobra Calipers are the same. The design is the same. They might have changed manufacturers because I know PBR makes them now. The rotors are also the same, and I know for a fact that they changed manufacturers, as Brembo makes them now. 94-01 Cobra Calipers use fine thread banjo bolts and 03-04 Cobra, and I am pretty sure Mach 1 uses the Coarse thread. I wish Ford would send them with. They sent me the fine threaded ones and I almost did what you did, tear up my new calipers.

If they do not fit, I have brand new hoses never used for the fine pitch like you need. The only way you’ll know is to crack it open and see if it fits. Also, I am upgrading my rear brakes to the Cobra’s because I need them when I do my IRS. They are SN95 rear disc’s. I basically have a whole rear solid axle with all of the brakes that is coming out. So if you need it, I will have it in about 1/1/2 to 2 months.

I would not swap out the master cylinder until you actually do the rear disc brakes. Doing a MC is easy, so do the rears first and then the MC. Since the 93 cobra is designed for 4 wheel disc, it would be a bad idea in my opinion to match that up with drums. I myself would rather run the fronts with the stock MC than do the fronts and swap the MC and then do the rears at a later date. But that’s just me.