Tired 2003 Marauder. What to do?

M

mucschwartz

New member
Hey guys. Have an 03 Marauder, 170k, starting to make some noises. Sometimes sounds like lower end noises even. It's my favorite vehicle and I'm willing to put some time and money into it.

I'm not looking to do any intense modification (supercharger would be cool, but hunting down all the parts looks to be a pain) but I am a technician and I'm comfortable doing pretty much anything. Just looking to see if anyone's compiled a list of preferred parts to use if doing a full engine teardown, maybe build more power or reliability. Thanks
 
Most likely the sound you are hearing is from the timing chain guides.
I have 250k in my silver and have heard sounds for a long time.
Also your front end will make noises when turning or maybe stopping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mucschwartz said:
Hey guys. Have an 03 Marauder, 170k, starting to make some noises. Sometimes sounds like lower end noises even.
Click to expand...
If you suspect a lower end noise just cut the oil filter open & check for bearing material. Have seen several of these engines with spun rod bearings. Cheapest way to go if that is the case is find a good replacement engine. You won't want to spend what it takes to build a performance N/A engine out of one of these trust me I did it. Spent about 12k to make a 450hp engine.
 
That's a big investment for a pretty smallpayoff. Think I'd rather just swap something in at that point if I wanted performance. Too bad boosting these engines seems to be nearly impossible with parts availability in 2026... It even seems replacement stock engines are pretty hard to find as well, without being high mileage? Spun rod bearing, I kinda doubt it. Will listen closer this weekend, haven't driven it much this year
 
You did say in your op that it sometimes sounds like lower end noise so don't write off a rod bearing, pretty simple to cut open the filter and check for bearing material. I have 4 of those engines here that spun a bearing one so bad that it broke the rod & piston destroying the block. Also if the chain guides are going bad you don't want to delay repairing that because if the chain jumps time you'll pretty much destroy the whole engine. Also you'll want to use quality parts not cheap Chinese knock offs although the prices will be tempting. You will spend more than $600 on a good timing chain set while you can get a Chinese set for about $100. Quality parts for these engines are not cheap, I will probably not build another performance one. I could have built 3 Ford 302's to make 450hp for the price I spent on 1 modular engine.
 
Last edited:
Also although it seems like a small payoff a 50% increase in HP on an N/A engine is actually pretty good even though the price was steep.
 
I just had the guides/timing kit replaced on mine 6 weeks ago (192k miles). I bought a timing kit from MMR out there in CA as they had it on sale for $550; pruchased a 1 year warranty and shipping bumped it up to $650. My car had been making the dreaded noise at start-up several years ago (maybe even before Covid) and I finally decided to do something about it...wished I had done it sooner, before everyone was over $100/hr for labor. I supplied the timing kit and oil/filter and the final bill came out to just under $1700, so about $2300 total...probably would've beenwell under $2000 if I had done it right away. I did get a quote from Marty in GA 3 years ago for right at $2000.

I asked the place that did the work to save the old parts because I wanted to see how worn the guides were and take pics to post on here, but they forgot to save them...grrrr. It sounds like you want to build something with more power so you'd be better off buying something to swap in vs spending money on what's wrong with it now and trying to build it up.
 
As mustangeddie said cut tire oil filter in half. That will give you a lot of insight to what is going on in the motor. I thought I had a problem noise with my 182,000 motor. After a oil change & cut up oil filter showing no signs of internal damage the noise found was coming from a serpentine belt that was starting to fray.
 
A 450hp naturally aspirated MM is what I'm looking for.......I'd spend that in Coyote engine alone. I'm totally ok with that amount and power numbers.
 
Brentster said:
Can you tell us everything you had to do to make a 450hp engine?
Click to expand...
The major components were a Boss 5.0 block, Manley crank and rods,11.0 to 1 pistons and Crower cams which made the engine 5.3 or about 326". Stock heads with better springs,melling oil pump with billet gears and Ford Racing timing chain set. All bolts were replaced with ARP hardware which was close to 2k alone. This was not in the cost of the engine a BBK 65mm throttle body, 90mm lightning MAF, 39lb Cobra injectors, JLT cold air intake and a Ford GT fuel pump. Also a full ARH exhaust with 1 3/4" long tubes,3" x-pipe, 3" mufflers into 2 1/2" over axle pipes with stock tips. Of course a custom tune for mods from Dan at Realspeed Automotive.
 
mustangeddie said:
Crower cams
Click to expand...
So, you do not have a stock camshaft which I kind of already knew. How is the drivability?
mustangeddie said:
Stock heads
Click to expand...

I would have thought Ported Heads!
mustangeddie said:
All bolts were replaced with ARP hardware which was close to 2k alone.
Click to expand...
You spent your money wisely; there are some people who build a high horsepower engine and do not realize that the stock hardware is not the same as the ARP hardware. Meaning the stock Hardware is not meant for 450 Horsepower!
 
Brentster said:
So, you do not have a stock camshaft which I kind of already knew. How is the drivability?


I would have thought Ported Heads!
Click to expand...
Was going to use the stock camshafts but a buddy of mine had the Crowers leftover from his Cobra that he gave me cheap. My tuner had to work at it but he got the drivability perfect. Moved a couple of years ago drove it from NY to NC even with 4.30 gears it still managed 20 MPG and a couple of weeks ago drove it to the track and went 12.55@109.29.

Price was starting to get out of hand just the valve job and springs cost $1500 so I left the heads alone for now might port them at a later date.
 
mustangeddie said:
Was going to use the stock camshafts but a buddy of mine had the Crowers leftover from his Cobra that he gave me cheap. My tuner had to work at it but he got the drivability perfect. Moved a couple of years ago drove it from NY to NC even with 4.30 gears it still managed 20 MPG and a couple of weeks ago drove it to the track and went 12.55@109.29.

Price was starting to get out of hand just the valve job and springs cost $1500 so I left the heads alone for now might port them at a later date.
Click to expand...
I like everything you did, what are the specs on the Crower Cams? Do you have a part number on this Crower Cam?
 
Brentster said:
I like everything you did, what are the specs on the Crower Cams? Do you have a part number on this Crower Cam?
Click to expand...
My friend at the machine shop was originally skeptical about these cams in an N/A engine but after some thought he figured they would be ok because of the big bore of the block.
google.com/search?q=crower+stage+2+cobra+cam+specs&rlz=1C1HRJB_enUS1075US1075&oq=&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgAEEUYOxjCAzIJCAAQRRg7GMIDMgkIARBFGDsYwgMyCQgCEEUYOxjCAzIRCAMQABgDGEIYjwEYtAIY6gIyEQgEEAAYAxhCGI8BGLQCGOoCMg8IBRAuGAMYjwEYtAIY6gIyDwgGEC4YAxiPARi0AhjqAjIRCAcQABgDGEIYjwEYtAIY6gLSAQ0zMDk3OTAyNjVqMGo3qAIIsAIB8QXj0JtrXRyuqPEF49Cba10crqg&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 
Last edited:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top