This is the MCRParts.com archive. To get back to our main site, please follow this link: Ford MustangPerformance Issue(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)Posted by: MY-S281 Hey Folks, I am having an issue with my 2001 Saleen 4.6L SOHC. When getting on it out of 1st gear goinin to 2nd the car almost falls completely on its face if you know what I mean. Terrible bog when I stab the pedal coming out of 1st into second.. The car has been on 2 diagnotic computers and it has not thrown any codes at all.. I have tried a few things 1 at a time to see if i could discover the issue... I changed all the plugs to platinum performace plugs, still did the same thing., I changed every individual coil pack 1 at a time and its still there.. I have used Injection cleaner and even changed the fuel filter which was terribly nasty. The car was recently shipped from West Coast to East Coast / California to New Hampshire. Someone told me the fuel additives are differecnt and that might be adding to the issue and it might take a few fuel filter changes to get rid of the problems.. I have already run atleast 6 or 7 tank of premium fuel through it...The one thing I did notice it appears to be worse when the traction control is on... if I shut off the traction control it doenst appear to be as bad but is still there.. does this make any sense at all?? Has anyone else experienced a problem like this?? Its actually kind of embarrasssing at times when I have tried to jump on it and it falls flat on its face and sounds like an old GM rochester 4 barrel with a bad accelator pump.. Any and all commests will be appreciated... HELP!!! Posted by: Mustang5L5 check for a mechanical issue like a brake dragging. Jack each wheel up and see if it freely spins. Have a friend step on the brakes and release and see of you can free up the wheel and spin it again. Pull the ABS/TC fuse and see if that makes a difference. Have you run diagnostics on the ABS system? If your car is stock and n/a, you should be running 87 octane for best performance. The engine isn't high compressio n to require premium and unless you change the timing tables with a tune, you are just wasting cash on premium. Same goes with platnium plugs. Bosch plugs suck ass. Marketing gurus will tell you otherwise but it's simple physics. The best plugs are copper and silver plugs. SIlver is expensive and doesn't last very long, but it's the best conductor of electricity. Copper is #2 and is WAY cheaper so it's usually the best to do. I do not beleive they make silver plugs for the Mustang yet. Platnium is just a harder material and lasts longer. It was developed for caddy owners who like to drive 100K miles on one set of plugs. There really isn't any such thing as a "performance" platnium. The 4.6L Motor does come stock with them. I usually tell people stick with the stock replacement platniums or swap to copper motorcrafts for a little boost. Be aware with coppers, you will need to change more frequently than plats. Also, any way of checking fuel pressure...esp under load?? COuld be signs of a failing fuel pump?? Posted by: MY-S281 Thanks for the reply.. Had it up on jacks this wekeend to change the fuel filter and there doesn't appear that there is any drag in the braking system at all... A Saleen isnt considered stock is it ? it has the the computer flashed by Saleen, under pullies etc... also it has the convienient "Premium Fuel Ony" label.. so I have tried to follow that guidline.. The fuel pump is something I did notice that may have sounded a little weak , after changing hte filter I cycled it a few times to load up the lines, Wouldnt it be more of a constant issue if it was the fuel pump on its way out? Posted by: KrazyPony I had a friend that had a 2001 GT/Saleen at one time, and he thought it was something different as well, but in all reality it really was only a 2001 Mustang GT aswell, yeah it has diff. suspension, and maybe a pully or too. But it is setup almost identical to a normal 2001 GT and your paying more for the name and body kit that comes with it. He had problems when he traded in his Saleen being that he had thought it should be worth more than the average GT, and they didnt give him much more for it, so ended up selling it outright to a private party instead. Posted by: langod If it's worse withthe TC on, perhaps it's someting slipping in the Diff? Do what Mustang5L5 suggested and pull the fuse to shut off the Traction Control completely. See if it's any different. There are some wear parts in the differential that when worn enough can cause TC issues. Having a brain cramp though, and can't come up with the name..... Damn, I must be getting old. If it's got Premium recommended stickers, that that's what it should have. A factory GT doesn't require it, but Saleen must have played with the program. Posted by: MY-S281 Thanks Guys, i really appreciate all the info.. I do know that infact it is actually just a 2001 GT that went to the Saleen factory. they modify and change out the suspension, exhuast and some slight engine mods are done including flashing the computer so that's proably why it call for the premium.. I will try the TC fuse as suggested and see if there is a difference in the next day or so... It did seem better after changing the fuel filter but there is still something a little off but like I said there was so much crap in the filter it wasnt even funny but it was suggested to me by a freind the ideas about the differences in fuel between East and West coast that I may need to change the filter a couple of times, it has also been suggested that sometime transporting vehicles can create fuel system issues,, Well I guess 1 step at a time so after pretty much eliminating the ignition/spark part of the equation I went to fuel next and my next step would be mechanical if nothing helps in that regard.. Again I thank everyone for their input.. Its nice know fellow Stangers stick together... Posted by: Mustang5L5 AH if they are calling for premium then use it. The normal GT mustang engine uses 87, and i assumed Saleen didn't tinker with the fuel/timing curves on the N/A model. ' If saleen says premium..then use it and forget what i said earlier Posted by: Mustang5L5 If the fuel filter is loaded up with crap, then there may be something inside the fuel tank. I've seen foreign objects get in and block the pump. Change the fuel filter again and cut the old one open. If there is a lot of junk in there, consider dropping the tank. Posted by: bullitt5177 The reason you're getting a similar feeling with traction control on, is because with Ford TC, they shut down injectors in what they think of as a severe incident. So when you really hammer it with the TC on, that's normal. Now, with that said, I would definitely lean more towards fuel being the concern. Sounds kinda like a fuel pressure problem to me. Does it run rough at idle, or only WOT? I've also seen large vacuum leaks or clogged exhaust cause similar problems. It may just be cheaper to bring it to someone who knows what they're doing rather than wasting money replacing working parts. Posted by: MY-S281 Thanks for the info.. Makes sense. As I said earlier in my initial post the car isnt throwing any codes at all, have had it on 2 different computers to verify.. car actually idles great, no issues there..the only time I see experience any difference besides when I hammmer it is when I am crusing in gear @ about 2500-3000 rpm I feel a occasional slight miss/ hesiation/ breakdown momentarily if I dont continue to accelerate. Not sure if you understand what I mean. its more when I am at a constant rpm in 2 or 3rd gear, not so much in any other gear. I checked the vacuums lines and all seems good in that regard... to me after ruling out the spark, the fuel made most sense and I changed out the fule filter and it seemed much much better and over the past few days it seems to be creeping back so I am thinking that maybe the tank had some shi* in it and I have heard of such issues when cars have been transported from coast to coast.. I have a buddy who is a certifed mechanic helpng me out with the car, all i have to do is feed him and boooze him...lol... cant beat that.. Posted by: Aussie XAXB I wonder if some jealous person put something in the tank before it was shipped? Since you had a very dirty filter it's possible something may have got past it. Perhaps one or more of the fuel injectors is no longer perfect? Something else to check, maybe the fuel line at the back of the injectors. A looonnngg shot could be ignition timing. When you let off the gas to shift the ECM may be programmed to retard timing (I don't know if that is common with these cars, older Fords and dual diaphragm distributors to perform this while decelerating) and it just doesn't switch between retard and advance fast enough? But that wouldn't account for the steady speed miss you are experiencing. The dirty FI would be more consistent with that. Steve Posted by: Mustang5L5 I'd be seriously considering dropping the tank for a look at this point Posted by: MY-S281 I guess its possible someone could have put something in the tank but not banking on that...someone would have to be pretty much a dope to do that...but then again one never can be sure... MY hope is to change out the Fuel filter again this weekend. figure for the $10 it's worth seeing how much debris accumalated in the past week since it was last chaned changed.. I am inclined to belive it could be time to drop the tank if it looks anyhting like the one that was pulled last week.. I also had someone mention that a very small vacumm leak could give some of the same symtoms, I did check for major vacuum leaks but maybe I need to give it a much closer second look . Car idles fine , just seems to be under load when I have the issues. I really appreciate all the suggestions and input.. Hope to be able to return the favor sometime... Thanks again.. B. Posted by: bullitt5177 Start the car up and spray carb cleaner on the vacuum lines, connections, and intake manifold gaskets and listen for a change in idle. If the idle speeds up, there's your leak. Posted by: MY-S281 Thanks for the tip... hmmm just had a thought now that you mentioned the intake manifold.. I know and have read that the intake on the 4.6's have been problematic for a lot of people with leaking and cracking due to being all plastic and I have read that ford has a upgraded replacement with the aluminum crossover piece.. if I have a small break/ crack / leak is it possible ethat could have something to do with it. I do think I might have a small crack. I have already started searching for a replacement intake to do the swap out over the winter while the car is put up.... I will try the spaying of the vacuum lines etc as soon as I have a chance and will update the post... thanks again B. Posted by: BADASS03SVT what about when your on it ogin from 2 to 3rd? or 3rd to 4th? the cruising speed hesitation oculd be coil packs. I believe they tend to act up more when they get hot. Posted by: MY-S281 Dosent seem to having any issues other than getting on it from 1st to 2nd.. more so when the traction control is on.. I actually went through and changed every coil pack with a brand new one to see if that was it, I did the swaps on the road, one at a time, under normal driving temps etc.. Posted by: BADASS03SVT well, I would think something being wrong with the car engine wise (ie spark, fuel ect) it should do it in any gear at that rpm and or speed (its usually rpm related stuff). how many miles on the car? what kinda hp? what clutch? Posted by: MY-S281 The car actually has 108K, Not sure whats in it for a clutch, not the original, the clutch, was replaced at around 75-80K is what I was told.. I have only had the car about 6 weeks, car came from California..I have put on about 2500 miles since.. driving the hell out of it before I have to put it away for the winter...I'm not exactly sure of the HP but with the Saleen Factory mods I think its just about 300 HP.. I'm going to change the fuel filter again on Sunday, the one I pulled last week was the worst I have ever seen and there was so much debris in it Im surpised the car was running as well as it was... after that I am going to double check all the vacuum lines. Posted by: langod Quote:
Also -- did you pull a Carfax on it? Is it really a California car? I don't want to scare you or anything, but a lot of Katrina cars ended up all over the country being sold by unscrupulous dealers.... And flooding can cause weird electrical/computer and fuel problems.... Posted by: MY-S281 If I find the fuel filter is full of shyte again as bad as it was last week I probably will definetly have to consider dropping the tank... I did pull a car fax on it before I purchased it and the car has always been registered and in Cali. Was originally in Fremont and then Santa Clara before it ended up here on the East Coast. Ford Mustang Archive Home | General Tech | 5.0 Mustang Tech | 4.6 Mustang Tech | 3.8 Mustang Tech | 2.3 Mustang Tech | Classic Mustang Tech | Appearance and Sound | Virtual Body Shop | Initiation | The Lounge | The Showroom | Site Suggestions | Mustang Talk | 2005 Ford Mustang | Ford Lightning | Racers Bench | For Sale | Wanted To Buy | Northeast | SouthEast | Central | MidWest | West Coast | NEBOC
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