Supercharger oil leak

If its truly the supercharger then it could be a major issue because I believe its a sealed unit. If leaking it may have to be replaced.

Dave

jtatum01,
I have never heard of this oil problem. Mine is clean and I have many more miles. The good news is that if it is leaking from the front of the supercharger, the front snout unbolts from the rest of the supercharger and can be easily replaced.

Sorry to hear of this, I know how painful any fault is in a prized car.

I've driven four supercharged cars over 100,000 miles in the past 6 years or so (XJR, XKR's, Range Rovers and GT). Never had a leak from this area.

Could you post any pics and would DBK put this in the technical stickies?

Would you keep us posted on what happens? The supercharger unit is almost a bolt on device - so hopefully that's what will happen.

Perhaps it is just the snout gasket leaking, but pics would be helpful.

I am glad I am not the only one! After my 2006 blew coolant all over at 39 miles, I have been keeping an eye out for leaks of any kind. My first "real" drive was last weekend, for about 240 miles. About 150 miles from home, I noticed fluid spraying on the rear window, which I assumed was coolant. Not so! It too was supercharger oil. It was running out of the snout and my intake manifold was puddled with oil as well. Miles on my car are 350 +/- as well, odd coincidence?

Also noticed that my transaxle had blown out a considerable amount of fluid as well, from the vent as others have noticed. Enough to fill up the belly pan pretty good.

I don't trust my local dealer, they failed miserably on the first repair and also positioned a floor jack wrong and damaged my belly pan.

I love the car, but don't feel they were put together all that well. I've found a lot of other scary stuff just poking around - like passenger's seat only had 3 out of the 4 bolts, etc. The whole experience reminds me of the Pantera years. Unfortunately, a GT is far more expensive!

I have pics of the S/C leak, I can try to post tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

CSX, I guess you've seen the thread on the transaxle vent leakage? The answer seems to be to wait for Ford to design a better (or higher) bolt or buy the transaxle cooler and maybe even both.

Is yours still leaking from the supercharger or has it now been fixed?

Neilda said:

CSX, I guess you've seen the thread on the transaxle vent leakage? The answer seems to be to wait for Ford to design a better (or higher) bolt or buy the transaxle cooler and maybe even both.

Is yours still leaking from the supercharger or has it now been fixed?

Click to expand...

Neil

I don't think Ford is going to improve a design on a car they are discontinuing.

Dave

Neilda,
Nope, I parked it in all of its leaky glory and have not returned since. I fear if I don't cool off I will pull an "Elvis" and shoot it. :lol

Funny how my old cars don't have these problems...

I have suggested to Ford that they either need to FIX the transaxle vent or install at no charge the FRPP cooler if that is the solution. IMHO, the lack of QC and proper de-bugging of this car is inexcusable. It is apparent the car was rushed into production from day 1 and there have been numerous problems with the subcontractors on the project. That being said, I wrote my check to Ford and think it is their obligation to figure these cars out and fast. I guarantee that any other owner's web forum for any other supercar does not have the extent of common tech problem faq stickies that we do here!

What Ford needs to realize is that the buyers of Ford GT's are NOT their usual demographic and can buy any car they want. Even though many of us seem to be mechanically inclined DIY types, you shouldn't have to be after stroking a six-figure check for a new car. I have 350 miles on my car and it has broken every time I have driven it. It is a beautful sunny day here in the Midwest today and I can't drive my new car. Kind of a shame, wouldn't you say?

All that being said, I still love the car and will ride it out to see if Ford comes through. I own a lot of vintage Shelby and Ford cars, and the idea of having a modern GT40 is still exciting, even after having my enthusiasm dampened by these problems. Hey, at least it is pretty to look at. :biggrin

Let me know if anybody has this problem and finds a cure....

Regards,
Colin

I have noticed 2 problems with quality control so far.

1. Winshield weather stripping not glued down on the drivers side A pillar. I just removed the paper from the double stick tape and pushed it down.

2. Truck key latch inoperable. Not repaired to date. I will probably get it fixed during the 1st oil change, or if something major comes up.

It would be a good idea to have a new section "GT Problems" so that all of us can share information about things to look out for.

BlackICE

Dave, you could be right about the motivation from Ford to find a fix - however I was told that they were aware of the transaxle vent issue effecting a few cars and that a fix was likely. My own fix is to have the oil cooler and I'm just waiting for Roush here in the UK to tell me they've arrived.

Collin - don't do an Elvis!! It must be incredibly frustrating not to be able to drive it when you want to. As you suggest, most of us aren't too troubled by any restrictions on our spending - therefore we tend to have great service and everything happens quickly (I don't mean to sound like a spoilt brat - I'm not - but I think you see my point). Broken down toys are not acceptable in our world. So you have my sympathy.

How does the oil cooler solve the vent problem? The vent exit is much higher than the oil level. Is it that when the oil get hot, thus thin and the cars get driven fast on bumpy roads, or high G corners that the oil will slush around and find its way out of the vent? If so would a taller vent tube solve it?

BlackICE

I think it's venting with expansion - hot gasses loaded with oil are venting (I'm guessing a bit from what I've been told). Therefore the rad would take any gas expansion before the vent bolt was required. That seems to be my take on it.

I have not been through any high G corners for oil to slosh out.... yet!

That sound like it could be the cause of the leak. If so the oil leak should as a thin film of oil in the general area without any pooling or evidence of the location of the leak. Is that the case for those seeing the problem? For the price of the car Ford should have just included the cooler on all of the cars if this is the cause.

Another solution would be to build a vent with a larger surface area to cool the vapors before they exited the vent. Something like an funnel with a cap on the top with small hole covered by oil resistant foam to stop dirt from entering the hole.

I haven't driven my car long enough to heat it up yet. What a shame. Since I got the car it has been raining most everyday.

BlackICE

Neilda,
Real sorry to hear about your supercharger oil leak. So far this does not appear to be a wide spread issue.
I recommend you ask SVT to completely replace the unit.

I believe the overheating of the trans ax is a typical issue and the reason I would suggest installing the trans ax cooler. In my opinion Ford should have included the trans ax cooler in production of the car. However, Ford did not do this and as with most things was likely driven by cost. Adding a larger vent to the trans ax is not the solution, the unit is overheating, oil is expanding and taking the easiest way out.
Many including myself have experienced and reported high engine temperatures too. Just look at the huge muffler sitting right on top of the trans ax and right next to the air intake box. I’ve had the trans ax cooler installed more than one year ago and it completely put a stop to any oil venting from the trans ax, even under extreme track use. Now that I’ve seen the reports from Ida Automotive about his exhaust system and the reduced temperatures I can’t wait to get one of these on my car too.

Let us know how you make out with the supercharger.

Trackday - it's CSX/Colin who has the supercharger issue. Mine's the transaxle vent leak.

That's very encouraging to have your report on the cooler/rad- mine is ordered and I'm waiting for it to arrive........ N

For what it's worth

Talked with an '06 GT owner at Road America this past weekend. Warranty issues with him were a coolant leak (loose hose clamp) and a supercharger oil leak . . . factory boys eventually came out & took his car away in an enclosed trailer for repair. Don't know if he got a new supercharger, but he told me, "A seal was leaking."