since the Mach 1 and the 03/04 cobra more or less have the same respectable heads, do the mach 1's have the notorious head tick the cobras get? I am looking at a mach 1 now and this is one of my concerns.

Help please

 

03's yes on the drivers side, but are very uncommon from what i can tell.

 

There have been a number of Machs with the head tic, you might want to checkout the multiple threads about it over on the M1R, I believe they fixed the issue for the 04 models as USMCrebel stated, however I have an 03 with just over 55k and have never had the tic (knock on wood).
The only issues I have ever had was the fuel pump at 6k miles and ford replaced it free of charge, and new brakes pads were needed last year.

 

my 03 just clicked 51k and never had the tick.

 

I got mine with 50k on it and it didn't do it. Now it has about 80k, and it started doing it around 65k. Seems like it has got worse too. I know about the head cooling mod, but will that make it quit? If not, how do you get it fixed?

 

Ohh no, and here I was thinking I was out of the danger zone with the tic, and now I am back in again........

As for the cooling mod, I think that might have help prevent the issue but I think the fix was replacing the head.

 

Dang, bet thats cheap.

 

The 03 & 04 Mach 1's can develop the head tick. The cooling mod can help prevent it, but it's not a done deal. Ford claimed to have fixed the heads for 04, but whatever fix they did, didn't work. You would have to get a set of the heads produced in 2005 - and it is not always the drivers side head that can develop the tick. Easy ways to avoid the tick without the cooling mod would be limiting any high speed runs, don't be riding in 5th gear & mashing the throttle from 80-120mph - anything that can lift the front end for extended periods of time and allow the coolant to pool and get too hot.

If you have the head tick, it will not go away - more often than not, the head tick is just an annoying sound. You might experience minor blow-bye, people who claim the head tick killed their motor, usually had an underlying bottom end problem to begin with.

 

would a head rebuild get rid of it?

 

Sure will, but without the coolant boss being modified to help the problem, it's possible for it to come back - but if you have the head off it'd be the perfect time to install the cooling mod.