Vert owners, Do you have cowl shake????

[juiced_94gt]

Well my car has about 180k on it as of now, and it has a new power steering rack, 03 cobra steering shaft, steeda bumpsteer, tokico illuminas, MM C/C plates, and Eibach springs ( I did remove the factory X-brace though ) well it seems that i have terrible cowl shake...thats what i think it is since i have balanced the tires several times thinking that was it, also it has had several aligments done in the past year just to rule that out??? is this because it's a convertible??? what will make it stop?? or at least tone it down a bit, driving my car feels like in driving a worn out 60's car I need help!!!!! Im starting to loose interest in the 95 only because i cant get it to drive smooth, the 02 GT is so much better even though it's the same car minus the engine and body (which is what makes me mad )

 

[drakesdad]

WOW.......subscribing...I have a 95 vert with 177K....the engine and trans were replaced....when I bought it both front springs were broke at the bottom.....(something to look for)..I replaced them and when I drive on a smooth road it feels good but when I hit a bump it rattles and "thunks"...I bought the two struts and thinking about getting the spring and cc plates....ball joints and tie rods are good......I think..lol............

 

[HISSIN50]

Nice long SFC's will help a LOT.

 

[trav_19]

does your car still have the strut tower brace???
what about sub frames connectors???

 

[juiced_94gt]

Nice long SFC's will help a LOT.

I forgot to mention, i have full lenght subframe connectors

 

[juiced_94gt]

does your car still have the strut tower brace???
what about sub frames connectors???

yes for the strut tower brace ( MM one at that) and full lenght subframes also

 

[Therian]

going to throw it out there...

motor mounts?

 

[juiced_94gt]

motor mounts would cause what seems to be cowl shake??? I have never replaced those, do polyutherane mounts cause more vibration or does it tame it???

 

[billison]

does your car still have the strut tower brace???
what about sub frames connectors???

both a must to fix

 

[billison]

sorry, jumped the gun befor i read it all, maybe a new crossmember?

 

['66 coupe]

motor mounts would cause what seems to be cowl shake??? I have never replaced those, do polyutherane mounts cause more vibration or does it tame it???

Poly will make the shaking worse.

My car is definately shakier than my '01 coupe. But I only get a bad shake if I'm hitting RR tracks or something. I have sub-frames, but they're sitting bubblewrapped in my room(not doing much good). I drove a couple other convertibles before I bought mine, and they all felt the same. I just figure it's part of the sacrafice of having a nice car to cruise in.

 

[HISSIN50]

Motor mounts would not help cowl shake.

Perhaps a list of symptoms would help because I'm not sure that textbook cowl shake is the issue.

 

[Pokageek]

I am an expert on cowl shake. The mustangs are better than the maros hands down. I have zero cowl and have the 25# weight, subframes and NO strut tower brace..

#1 PUT the x-brace back on the car or enjoy shaky shake shakolitus.
#2 Make sure the 25# weight is still in th fender and if not get one at a junk yard and put it back in. I took mine out 3 times and put it back in 3 times after I realized that my car does start "cowling" when it is removed and not worth the weight savings.
#3 I dunno why but yes rr tracks nake you feel like you are driving a wooden car.

 

['66 coupe]

#1 PUT the x-brace back on the car or enjoy shaky shake shakolitus.

I'd do this even if I had a coupe. I think it's standard on Saleens as well.

 

[Stanger007]

when I drive on a smooth road it feels good but when I hit a bump it rattles and "thunks"

I had something similar - hitting a bump or a sudden stop (when nose of car dives).

My fix was to tighten the little crossbar that goes across the K-member - not the X-brace but a straight bar with a bolt at either end. It's around the oil pan vicinity in the dead center of the car.

The bar hadn't worked loose to be able to pull on it and feel slack but just enough to make some noise to let me know it was there when I hit a bump or braked.

Wes

 

[ProKiller]

I had something similar - hitting a bump or a sudden stop (when nose of car dives).

My fix was to tighten the little crossbar that goes across the K-member - not the X-brace but a straight bar with a bolt at either end. It's around the oil pan vicinity in the dead center of the car.

The bar hadn't worked loose to be able to pull on it and feel slack but just enough to make some noise to let me know it was there when I hit a bump or braked.

Wes

i thought that was the x-brace, now i'm confused.

 

[Stanger007]

i thought that was the x-brace, now i'm confused.

I'll try to grab a picture over lunch to show this bar I'm talking about.

The brace I'm talking about is just a straight piece of round tubing about 1ft long attached to the K-member by a bolt at either end.

Wes

 

[Pokageek]

That's the cross bar not the x brace. The x brace looks like an "x" lol.

 

[droptopford 5 0]

i have a 94 vert and after 105k it def shakes like a mother... but mainly around the top area where it meets the windshield... what exactly is cowl shake? im thinking there might be some things for me to look at and fix to make my car feel tighter since that is the one thing that probably bothers me the most about it... next stop full length sfc's

 

[1TallMF]

I dunno about cowl shake, but my convertible top shakes and shqueeks and rattles like a mofo over every bump. Are there any blots that can be tightened on the top frame somewhere? Sorry, not trying to jack the thread...