While I've been with the mustang community for just under a year, I've yet to introduce myself on this forum, and figured I'd finally dip my toes in here. If you'd like you can refer to me as "Matt" instead of my username.
Back in May of 2024 I got my first mustang at the ripe age of 22. A 1998 Mustang Cobra with 95k miles on the clock. By no means is the car in great shape, but I still love it.
With that being said... I made a big mistake buying this specific car, but really I'm the only one to blame there. The car was heavily modified and I didn't do my due diligence before purchasing, I really let my emotions take over with this car, and it came back to bite me hard.
Regardless, I'm not giving up on this car, I'm sort of treating it like a rescue animal. I'm unsure of it's past and how it was treated, but I want to get this car back to the condition it deserves.
To start I'll list the (known) modifications, then I'll move onto the problems I'm having l.
MODS --
- C Head swap
- Cams of unknown specs (quite a heavy lope, even at 1000 rpm so I suspect the specs are more on the aggressive side)
- 99-01 JLT Ram Air Intake (done by me)
- BBK long tubes with matching o/r x pipe
- Flowmaster Outlaw Catback (dumps before rear axle)
- 4.10(?) rear gears
- ProMotion T45
- Aluminum Driveshaft from FRPP
- McLeod Street Extreme clutch, with matching clutch fork and adjustable pivot stud (not installed by me, but I did have them installed alongside a Ford TOB)
- Steeda clutch cable kit (quadrant, FWA, and cable, same situation as clutch)
- Maximum Motorsports catalog, minus the K member and front control arms
ISSUES --
- Very lazy idle return, will hold at 2000 rpm until I come to a complete stop. Even once I'm at a complete stop, it will hold that rpm for upwards of a few minutes, the issue seemed at it's worst in cold weather. On cold start it will also hold at 2000 rpm until coolant is fully up to temp. Another note is while the idle is steady for the most part, adding electrical load will cause the idle to start jumping.
No vacuum leaks, MAF functions as it should, and cleaning the IAC did nothing, TB blade is unobstructed and doesn't stick. Replacing the IAC with a new unit results in the car refusing to run, will start right up but will stall with no throttle input. I believe the idle set screw on the TB has been tampered with.
- Transmission grinds slightly when going into gear after coming up to temp. There is no consistency as to which gear it does this in, sometimes it only does it on the 1-2 shift, other times all gears except 4th grinds. The only constant is 4th gear never grinds into gear. New clutch, TOB, pilot bearing, cable assembly, changed trans fluid, issue still persists. Considering the mixed opinions on ProMotion I'm leaning towards the trans itself being the issue, but I'm not ruling out installer error.
- Vague and inconsistent steering. Car is all over the road unless the asphalt is perfectly smooth and mostly level. It's so bad sometimes it makes me worry other drivers will think I'm drunk. While stopped and at low speeds I hear lots of squeaking and clunks when turning the steering wheel, and turning the wheel while stopped also results in the idle jumping like crazy, bad enough to sometimes stall the car.
There are other issues, but I can't think of them right off hand. You guys will definitely be seeing more of me in the future lol. Thanks for having me!!
Back in May of 2024 I got my first mustang at the ripe age of 22. A 1998 Mustang Cobra with 95k miles on the clock. By no means is the car in great shape, but I still love it.
With that being said... I made a big mistake buying this specific car, but really I'm the only one to blame there. The car was heavily modified and I didn't do my due diligence before purchasing, I really let my emotions take over with this car, and it came back to bite me hard.
Regardless, I'm not giving up on this car, I'm sort of treating it like a rescue animal. I'm unsure of it's past and how it was treated, but I want to get this car back to the condition it deserves.
To start I'll list the (known) modifications, then I'll move onto the problems I'm having l.
MODS --
- C Head swap
- Cams of unknown specs (quite a heavy lope, even at 1000 rpm so I suspect the specs are more on the aggressive side)
- 99-01 JLT Ram Air Intake (done by me)
- BBK long tubes with matching o/r x pipe
- Flowmaster Outlaw Catback (dumps before rear axle)
- 4.10(?) rear gears
- ProMotion T45
- Aluminum Driveshaft from FRPP
- McLeod Street Extreme clutch, with matching clutch fork and adjustable pivot stud (not installed by me, but I did have them installed alongside a Ford TOB)
- Steeda clutch cable kit (quadrant, FWA, and cable, same situation as clutch)
- Maximum Motorsports catalog, minus the K member and front control arms
ISSUES --
- Very lazy idle return, will hold at 2000 rpm until I come to a complete stop. Even once I'm at a complete stop, it will hold that rpm for upwards of a few minutes, the issue seemed at it's worst in cold weather. On cold start it will also hold at 2000 rpm until coolant is fully up to temp. Another note is while the idle is steady for the most part, adding electrical load will cause the idle to start jumping.
No vacuum leaks, MAF functions as it should, and cleaning the IAC did nothing, TB blade is unobstructed and doesn't stick. Replacing the IAC with a new unit results in the car refusing to run, will start right up but will stall with no throttle input. I believe the idle set screw on the TB has been tampered with.
- Transmission grinds slightly when going into gear after coming up to temp. There is no consistency as to which gear it does this in, sometimes it only does it on the 1-2 shift, other times all gears except 4th grinds. The only constant is 4th gear never grinds into gear. New clutch, TOB, pilot bearing, cable assembly, changed trans fluid, issue still persists. Considering the mixed opinions on ProMotion I'm leaning towards the trans itself being the issue, but I'm not ruling out installer error.
- Vague and inconsistent steering. Car is all over the road unless the asphalt is perfectly smooth and mostly level. It's so bad sometimes it makes me worry other drivers will think I'm drunk. While stopped and at low speeds I hear lots of squeaking and clunks when turning the steering wheel, and turning the wheel while stopped also results in the idle jumping like crazy, bad enough to sometimes stall the car.
There are other issues, but I can't think of them right off hand. You guys will definitely be seeing more of me in the future lol. Thanks for having me!!