Looking forward to collaborating with my new community

[phil2001svt]

I had the fortune (or misfortune as has been thus far) of buying a purported low mileage 2001 Mustang Cobra from one of those big traveling classic car auctions. I did this on impulse (I know, lesson learned) as an "older gentleman" trying to feel younger. It didn't take long to realize someone has swapped the cluster - didn't show turnback but CARFAX shows only 1000 miles registered in 10 years prior to a "refurbishment" in 2022. It seems that the PCM only stores the actual register value from the cluster as that is all I read from my scanner. All of the major components show wear more consistent with >100-150K miles rather than the 14K indicated. I have spent the last several months getting the car driveable (new fuel pump, steering rack and shaft, lots of light bulbs, and repair of various missing/cut hoses and lighting wiring) but it is still nowhere near done. I looked into legal channels but guidance received from legal counsel was it will not be worth my hassle through fed anti-tampering laws and civil judgments typically have no leverage to actually get paid. So, I am trying hard to enjoy my purchase having 10-years owned an SN95 that was my "dream" new car purchase in 2001. I just don't want to invest too much money into a car where I have already paid ~10K more than it's worth (based on KBB value for 14K vs 150K miles).

I will be soon be posting my latest concern (consistent P0133 and P0153 errors on a stock setup with fairly new O2 sensors) to one of the specific forums and look forward to some collaboration with my peers.

Cheers!
Phil

 

[LILCBRA]

Welcome to !

Sorry you got conned, but if it's something worth it to you it can be somewhat overlooked once the mechanical problems are remedied. As I'm sure you're aware, as most of us are, that cars are horrible investments (unless you're a con man....) so what's done is done. Enjoy it for what it is and have some fun with it!

 

[phil2001svt]

Thanks! I did some more diggining on the interweb yesterday and decided to buy new upstream O2 sensors. Since my car is using a qt of oil every 800 to 1000 miles, the AI mechanic from Google tells me that it's likely early lifetime failure of my sensors. I don't know how old they are, nor do I know what brand (4 for $40 Amazon treasures?). I just know they are too shiny to be originals. I'm trying to keep my costs down so I can focus on the needed transmission rebuild expense. I will start a thread if my troubles continue.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[DadLife0724]

Can we at least get some pictures of this money trap?

 

[phil2001svt]

I'll have to take some. All I have is pics from the auction. They have been good to me - refunded my buyer's premium so I don't want to sully their name. I'm busy doing retired things right now.

 

[DadLife0724]

I'll have to take some. All I have is pics from the auction. They have been good to me - refunded my buyer's premium so I don't want to sully their name. I'm busy doing retired things right now.

Can't say I blame you there.

 

[General karthief]

In that situation that's the least a reputable auction should do, a quart of oil that often requires some investigation, compression test, is it valve seals or rings, or is it just leaking, if it's fouling the O2s, smoking and stuff that's a concern.
You up for an engine swap or rebuild?
If there is definitely proof of cluster change without DISCLAIMER that's a federal law I believe. Yeah good luck with that.

 

[phil2001svt]

I haven't done compression tests. It was initially smoking from pass side upon start-up which is a sign of the classic valve seal issue with these engines. I added some bars leak to the oil when I changed it and that smoke ended. Pass side o2 sensor was sooted up a bit. If I can get a few thousand miles out of a pair of Bosch sensors, that's cheaper than a major engine job. I'm not up for a swap. Auction offered me a free entry if I fixed it up and wanted to sell it. Jury's out on that for now.

 

[LILCBRA]

May not necessarily need an engine swap but sounds like it definitely needs new valve seals. I'm not sure how involved that is on a 4 valve, but it should be a lot less costly and labor intensive than an engine rebuild or swap. That may just save those sensors as well unless it has bigger problems....