I am a new owner of a '99 Cobra Convertible. 40,000 original miles. Well cared for, I thought. I have been getting increasing amounts of noise from the front suspension as I drive over cracks and holes in the pavement. It sounds like rattling or banging metal. Could this be worn Ball Joints? Other causes? I don't have the location to do much of the work myself. How involved would the repair be and what am I looking at if I take it to a garage?

Additionally, I get a subtle clunk from the drivetrain when I engage and disengage the clutch. Is this Universals?

 

the clutch engagement caused clunk is called "cobra clunk" and is endemic to the 99 cobra. The best solution for that is... well there's not really a solution that's worth a damn. You can do all the poly-urethane pumpkin and cradle and control arm bushings but it's not going to be 100% effective.

Make sure the rear cover attachment bolts to the cradle are tight, check bushings for obvious damage like tears, missing chunks, etc...

The front suspension clunking could be any number of things. At 40K it's probably struts.

Find a set of used 03 cobra bilsteins (front and rear...trust me) and start there. I'll bet since it's been graduating from bad to worse that its the shocks and struts. Rattling and banging could also be caused by a fragged catalytic converter. Tap em with a hammer and listen for crap bouncing around inside. (Don't beat them hard or you'll end up with new ones anyway)

Last, find someone that knows their way around cars to come and take a look and test drive it. See if they can narrow the glitch down.

 

Thanks for the advice.

The clutch clunk was loose bolts. Bushings were good.

Front noise turned out to be the former owner going cheap on a break job. Break pads rattling around in the calipers every time I hit a bump. Looking for new rotors and pads. Got any suggestions?