Axle Failure for the SECOND time

[Nardo GT]

My half shaft fell out for the SECOND time today. First time was a few months ago at 1920 miles and now at 5300miles. First time was repaired by the Ford dealer and it is there AGAIN. DBK, do you have another serious thread for owner's with a SECOND failure? I love the car, but am one really unhappy camper right now. Here are the parts that they used on the first repair that now failed......2 4G7Z7B368BA Output shaft flange washers /
12 4GZ7Z4529AA bolts / 2 4GZ7Z1s177BA seals / 1 4GZ7Z4851AA flange / 1 TA16 adhesive Anyone know if these are the latest parts for the "fix"? PS: They "fixed" both sides last time!

 

[analogdesigner]

which side failed?

My half shaft fell out for the SECOND time today. First time was a few months ago at 1920 miles and now at 5300miles. First time was repaired by the Ford dealer and it is there AGAIN. DBK, do you have another serious thread for owner's with a SECOND failure? I love the car, but am one really unhappy camper right now. Here are the parts that they used on the first repair that now failed......2 4G7Z7B368BA Output shaft flange washers /
12 4GZ7Z4529AA bolts / 2 4GZ7Z1s177BA seals / 1 4GZ7Z4851AA flange / 1 TA16 adhesive Anyone know if these are the latest parts for the "fix"? PS: They "fixed" both sides last time!

Prowler,

Which side of car failed?

Thanks,

Jay

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=34

 

[Empty Pockets]

I sure wish you people with the bolt failures would post the info asked for on the "Gaps" And "Busted Bolts" thread.

Maybe that'd help out in this situation.

What say you, Jay?????

 

[dbk]

The original thread has been up long enough. I'm going to give this information to Ford Wednesday. Thanks for the specific information.

 

[Black GT]

That sucks!!!! Looks like my GT will be back in shop after a few more thousand miles:confused :confused I have aleady went through this once:thumbsdow

 

[BlackICE]

The axle bolt failure rate is way higher than accepted norms for the auto industry. I believe Ford understands the issues and what can be done, but is pondering what actions to take, if any, based on the liability exposure vs. the cost to repair. The cost to repair this correctly can easily exceed the recall on the A arms! I am not privy to the contract they have with Recaro, but it Ford had written it correctly, Recaro should be on the hook to some extent for not meeting design specifications.

The reason for the Ford memo limiting the fix to broken axles bolts only, is to not skew the recorded number of failures upwards. This "faulty" information can then be used by some to justify a more costly "repair" than "needed." I believe that there is a design flaw with the flange attachment given just the number of failures on this board with only 4000 cars sold, most of which are not even driven to any real extent and the failure of more than one car with the updated parts.

 

[Nardo GT]

Just FYI

The first time mine failed in August at 1920 miles it was the rt side that broke but they replaced BOTH sides as a preventive. HA! Now it was the left side that popped out at 5300 miles. Unfreakin' believable! Let's not even mention the second gear crunch. Too bad, Ford really has a great car here....why in the world won't they admit there is a huge problem and just swallow it. I wouldn't want to if I were them either, but I do LOTS of things I don't want to. It IS the RIGHT thing to do! LISTEN to me FORD!

 

[KMCBOSS]

Prowler, are you 100 percent positive the dealer changed the bolts/washers on both sides? Something looks fishy here!

 

[BlackICE]

Too bad, Ford really has a great car here....why in the world won't they admit there is a huge problem and just swallow it. I wouldn't want to if I were them either, but I do LOTS of things I don't want to. It IS the RIGHT thing to do! LISTEN to me FORD!

I agree 100%, unfortunately the company is ran by bean counters and RIGHT has nothing to do with counting beans. They should do the right thing as follows:

1. Immediately send a letter to all the owners, stating that the transaxle is not living up to Ford standards and the a fix is in the works.

2. Until the fix is released Ford will handle repairs all failures under warrantee or not.

3. Have Recaro redesign the flange interface and produce enough parts for all of the cars.

4. If the new parts requires Recaro to do the repairs, schedule Recaro techs to travel to regional areas, lets say within a 100 mile radius of the owner, to make the repairs on the original transaxle case. A less attractive option would be rebuilding transaxles to ship to dealers, that will swap them out.

 

[STORMCAT]

Prowler,
Sorry to hear this happened again!!! This is the real reason I'm keeping some gloves in my car so I can slip the half shaft in and limp home!!
I'm leaning more towards Analogdesigners assessment that there are cars in spec and cars with too much slop in the spline sets. The cars with too much slop will always break the two bolts eventually. It would be very, very expensive to check all the cars so Ford has to play the waiting game and fix the ones that break...

I discussed Jay's theory with the Maroone service manager. They've fixed 5 or 6 cars and according to him they have not had one come back so who knows??? I feel your frustration...:ack

 

[SteveA]

The axle bolt failure rate is way higher than accepted norms for the auto industry. I believe Ford understands the issues and what can be done, but is pondering what actions to take, if any, based on the liability exposure vs. the cost to repair. The cost to repair this correctly can easily exceed the recall on the A arms! I am not privy to the contract they have with Recaro, but it Ford had written it correctly, Recaro should be on the hook to some extent for not meeting design specifications.

The reason for the Ford memo limiting the fix to broken axles bolts only, is to not skew the recorded number of failures upwards. This "faulty" information can then be used by some to justify a more costly "repair" than "needed." I believe that there is a design flaw with the flange attachment given just the number of failures on this board with only 4000 cars sold, most of which are not even driven to any real extent and the failure of more than one car with the updated parts.

I think your spot on.

 

[Nardo GT]

Reply to KMC BOSS

Yes, my Ford dealer said they replaced both sides and my work order shows that they did as well. I also verified that with them today upon the second failure and they said they replaced BOTH last time.

 

[nota4re]

Prowler,

I am saddened that you have had to go through all of this - twice. Your experience unfortuately only validates what a few of us have been thinking and discussing - the current remedies are inadequate.

I had speculated that we would see a "fixed car" failure in a post yesterday on these forums. I wish it wasn't so, and again I am sorry it was you.

This is the "shot over the bow" to all who have had the repair done previously. Don't leave your AAA card at home just yet.

 

[FLASH]

Stormcat I sorry to hear about your misfotune. And I thought I was having a problem trying to get some Epic Orange paint for my Heritage. A nice lady by the name of Karen from the Ford GT customer service really got involved with locating the paint but when I went to the local dealer they said that Ford only sells the primary colors not the stripe colors. After doing some reseach on the site I found the part numbers etc and also the BASF #'s and again the local dealer looked at me like I was from outer space. The parts manager has not gotten back with me but it has only been one day.
Flash

 

[canuck]

Assuming this is a "true" problem. Ford as no company will ever take full responsibility for the issue but in the interest of humoring those with a concern may offer a solution to a "preceived" problem that some customers may feel exist with the GT. They will probably take a page from the Z8 bmw. There was significant concern regarding the body/frame. The front strut mount at the top was deforming and was felt to be a flaw design by some. BMW stated it was almost always associated with some type of unusual stress to the frame (ie driver error). Some reported a bad pot hole is all that was required to cause the deformation of the stut tower mount. Solution by BMW was to offer a brace to bridge the two front strut towers as an aftermarket purchase to those customers who were concerned at the customers cost of course. This allowed them to offer a solution for a problem deflect any blame and incur no cost. Ford could do the same and offers some aftermaket fix at the customers cost. It would satisfy the bean counters and offer a solution but at the cost to the customer. Again this assumes a true problem and a cohesive front by owners.
A reliable source told me once that certain cadillacs can explode on its underside without damage to the occupants. Rather than isssue a recall if it occurs cadillac "investigates" the issue and gives you a new car no questions asked. It is cheaper than a recall and avoids poor publicity. I personally cannot verify this happening since I don't own or ever had an exploding Cadillac. But I kind of trust the source. On the Z8 the vanos was also notorious for failing. There was no question about this. I had mine replaced. And yes I paid for it since the car was off warantee.

 

[OCPETE]

Keep up the pressure on Corporate DBK it will happen.

I got GM to submit to a known C5 steering wheel lock issue. Many C5's, including my '02 Z06 would do the "turn ignition key on..get computer error msg...and your wheel remained locked". This went on for years.

Initial recall called for a flash to cut fuel upon lock, hence eliminating GM's liability for a runaway start up lock.

Did that and it still locked up. Demanded elimination of the lock plate. They wouldn't do it. Problem persisted...found out on posts how to turn key / crank wheel to break out....Very insecure feeling driving a car that could not only strand you anywhere anytime, but they insisted that it was "impossible to cause crash while moving".

Many evil posts, and I am sure, monitoring of our site by "Generals", and persistent calls / mails to their call center finally resulted in a second recall to eliminate the steering wheel locking plate and mechanisim.

Dealer initially tried to give me more bs to remove locking plate until I had to practically staple the GM memo to his forhead TO ABORT THE FRIGGIN THING.

Painfull as the process is, I actually was refunded towing charges from GM and an apology.

We all paid megabucks for Ford's Angel, pressure on this issue is mandatory.
Danka DBK

 

[STORMCAT]

Stormcat I sorry to hear about your misfotune. And I thought I was having a problem trying to get some Epic Orange paint for my Heritage. A nice lady by the name of Karen from the Ford GT customer service really got involved with locating the paint but when I went to the local dealer they said that Ford only sells the primary colors not the stripe colors. After doing some reseach on the site I found the part numbers etc and also the BASF #'s and again the local dealer looked at me like I was from outer space. The parts manager has not gotten back with me but it has only been one day.
Flash

Flash, It was Prowler who had the double failure. I was just offering my condolences.

 

[Speed Thrills]

Yes, my Ford dealer said they replaced both sides and my work order shows that they did as well. I also verified that with them today upon the second failure and they said they replaced BOTH last time.

This is very discouraging to say the least. From following the posts on this problem it seemed from the beginning many thought these retro kits were just delaying the problem and not fixing it. Seems this is now confirmed and probably why Ford has not officially called this kit a "fix", not that they have even officially acknowledged this as a problem. This combined with the "2nd gear crunch" has really left me with mixed feelings not just about the GT but about Ford as well. As many have brought to light, these cars are not only few but as a whole rarely driven and this worries me as to what else is on the horizon as more and more owners put miles on their GTs.

You'd think GT owners would be getting VIP treatment and it seems it is quite the opposite. I know it's quite an awkward situation being that we are GT and Ford fans and at the same time having these problems with no factory support but it seems drastic measures might be necessary to bring the proper attention to these issues. Any ideas?

 

[analogdesigner]

Thanks for the info!

Yes, my Ford dealer said they replaced both sides and my work order shows that they did as well. I also verified that with them today upon the second failure and they said they replaced BOTH last time.

Prowler,

Thanks for this info. I still feel that hardened washer "update" was the incorrect direction to go in, unless other design issues were addressed simultaneously!!!

We have a solution that many design engineers feel comfortable with. Next is a stress analysis and possibly even a non-linear analysis ($$$).

Thanks again and don't get discouraged...

Jay

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=34

 

[ROCMAN]

While I hate to say it, this is really starting to sour the ownership experience. I am sure I am not the only one that feels this way. I am sure this will eventually be dealt with, what do we do in the meantime? I have only 1600 miles on mine, and I am scared to drive it now. I haven't driven mine in a month, and it looks like I wont be driving it anytime soon.:frown