rowen210

Im about to buy a 98 cobra from an acquaintance. 48k miles. The deal is she said its knocking. The battery is dead so I cant crank it to see if its top or bottom end knock. I know its a big gamble but its only $4k. yall don’t have a lot of info to go on just like me but if you had to guess why a super low mileage car would be knocking or common knock related problems with 4v please enlighten me. I can rebuild a BMW motor blinded but im new to American cars.
PLEASE HELP WITH IDEAS

96t-bird

As you are aware. there are many reason to hear a engine knocking. it is not a common problem/issue with these engine. If the car was ran with no oil in the engine.is the first thing that comes to mind for me. especially since you stated the car has low mileage.I would try to get it running . to get more accurate info.

akdoggie

Why pay 4k for that car when it is only worth that amount in good running condition?

http://www.edmunds.com/ford/mustang-...e-results.html

I used a general area zip code, but it would be real close in value to you in Texas. $4000 for something you can't be sure of, seems like a waste of good money. You might want to look around. JMO

rowen210

she said she recently changed it to synthetic. i assume she put some 0w-20 in there and just heard the lifters clattering. i am very sure its not a rod knock... at least i hope

like i said, im not american car savvy but i blue booked it at 9k. i have seen 96 cobras with 120k on craigslist selling for 8500. i figured it would be a worth while investment. now i am kinda reconsidering. i thought these cars were very expensive

96t-bird

The car are expensive when new. And the car you are looking at might would get the 9k figure you are thinking about.But right now, you don't know if you need a new engine or that you will need to rebuild the one in the car. That would take all of the profit you might have gotten. by selling it later.

JC316

Lol, yeah right. 98 Cobra with 48k miles for $4000, you seriously need to do some real research instead of relying on a **** poor site like edmunds. Car is worth around 10K to the right buyer.

As for what causes them the knock, three things. Lash Adjusters, timing chain tensioners, spun bearing.

96t-bird

Thanks for the backup JC316. I am thinking spun bearing. Hence the low price.

rowen210

the seller knows nothing about cars. she got scared by a shop that quoted 5k for a new motor. hope its not bearings but worst case, i drop the motor, have the crank turned and get oversized bearings. presto changeo fixed.

rowen210

also i see used Mark VIII motors for +/- 1000. cheap fix

xx10Gt

he said its low miles. a 98 cobra would not go for only 4k granted its in good condition.