Damn........

[K-P Garage]

A cure for WVM

Neil- Here in the states and particularly in the South, we have a cure for WVM. It is called Smith and Wesson. :thumbsup

 

[EasyEric]

Neil- Here in the states and particularly in the South, we have a cure for WVM. It is called Smith and Wesson. :thumbsup

Ahh yes, the southern United States: Where the men are men, and the guns are easy to get! :biggrin

 

[rickisapilot]

WVM

WVM is the guy who transports crews back & forth from the airport & hotels. You should see the view from inside the WV ....eeeek. Much more dangerous than the nightime trip across the North Atlantic! :eek

----Rick

 

[FlagstaffGT]

Smoke and no gears

I found this site checking to see if this exact thing has happened to any one else! This weekend, on a road trip, AZ. desert to Tucson, 4 months owned and 4000 miles, a possible puff of smoke or wet road, looking back, definitely smoke. Downshift to pull over- no gears. Gearbox oil all over and smoking badly. 2 hrs. in 100 degree+ desert waiting for flatbed tow truck to take us in to Phoenix. Diagnosis- drive shaft 1/4 inch out of gear box on left side. No bolts or bracket! Everyone have your dealer check this! AND, Ford does not provide a rental replacement!!!!! FORD GT, Found On Road Dead, Great Truism. If it is just the two of us that's a .05% failure rate of a potentially fatal failure. Ford, do something! I'm providing copies of this thread to Ford.
Barry

 

[TEXAS GT]

I found this site checking to see if this exact thing has happened to any one else! This weekend, on a road trip, AZ. desert to Tucson, 4 months owned and 4000 miles, a possible puff of smoke or wet road, looking back, definitely smoke. Downshift to pull over- no gears. Gearbox oil all over and smoking badly. 2 hrs. in 100 degree+ desert waiting for flatbed tow truck to take us in to Phoenix. Diagnosis- drive shaft 1/4 inch out of gear box on left side. No bolts or bracket! Everyone have your dealer check this! AND, Ford does not provide a rental replacement!!!!! FORD GT, Found On Road Dead, Great Truism. If it is just the two of us that's a .05% failure rate of a potentially fatal failure. Ford, do something! I'm providing copies of this thread to Ford.
Barry

What VIN and year is yours?

 

[AtomicGT]

This is great! So how does one know if there is a problem with one's GT? Wait until it happens or take the car in and have them check it out? Where is FORD on this issue and why have we had to rely on this forum to find this info out?

Lets not start a downward slide on mechanical issues with the GT.

 

[Bill Oxley]

As previously asked Texas GT, what vin and year?

that would be helpful.

 

[zim32]

My GT is an 06' vin#1fafp90s56y400065. Do I have the hardened washers?

 

[AtomicGT]

FORD MOTOR COMPANY silence is very disturbing. So far there have been a series of testimonies of near potentially disasterous results from this axle flange issue. Several owners have frankly been dead in their tracks. CAn you imagine what this would mean on a freeway, high speeds, critically maneuvering or making a turn and be dead ,,,,,, literally.

Who knows contacts at FORD? Please post.

We need an answer to this problem and an official FORD reponse.

 

[Red Rocket]

loose bolts

Obviously this is a 'hot button' issue. I would like to ask the owners who have had this problem a question - how hard have they been driving their cars? It would be a big service to everyone in the forum if the owners who have had this failure be very candid about their driving habits. I don't mean getting it a bit sideways under acceleration because that is normal. Have they been doing burnouts, dropping the clutch or other such driving?

Also, are they running the OEM tires or have they mounted stickier tires? That could also account for this phenomenon. In addition, have they modified their cars for more horsepower? We need to know this background stuff. Frankly if owners want to modify their car they have to remember the cars are engineered to a certain level, but changes to improve performance naturally means they will have to upgrade parts of the running gear even if it is as simple as tie-wiring the halfshaft bolts. That's always a weak link in IRS cars.

BTW I called my dealer and he checked their computers - he says there have not been any bulletins issued by Ford about this. But he also offered to check the bolts on my car and to re-torque them free of charge. I think every owner should make the same call to their dealer's head mechanic for peace of mind. I will get this done next week and report back if there was any issue because I have not driven my car aggressively, just quickly. If my car has a problem that would be an indication of a systemic problem.

 

[Tungsten]

Vin Range

It would be very helpful to also know the VIN range of the failures. This could give all of us a heads up.

If you have had the problem and could post your year and VIN we would all appreciate it.

Don

 

[Specracer]

2005 1641

 

[Red Rocket]

VIN

My car is registered as a 2006, although it was converted (slightly) to meet Cdn. DOT standards. My VIN ends with s86y400724. The car has the forged A-arms, so that would indicate its a later car also. So Andy, if your car is an '05 but is #1641, how does the VIN sequencing work if we are to use this as a clue whether Ford fixed the bolt problem at the factory?

 

[fjpikul]

Supposedly, from the the mouth of the GT engineers (not techs) at the rally, a few late '05 and early '06 models can be affected. Not enough for a recall. The problem came from Ricardo, not Ford assembly. I was told, by them, to watch the painted bolts on the OUTSIDE of the half shaft (since you can't see the two trouble makers on the inside) for movement. This is not a high speed problem, it occurs when you are starting out from a dead stop. Mine is '05 #1297, June '05 build, and no problem yet, but only 3500 miles. ALL the bolts on both sides must be replaced with new, and the inside two on each side must be torqued to correspond with eachother, not one side at a time.

 

[Yogi]

So, I was talking with Mark today. Finding out more about this whole half shaft bolt problem. Remember, I am a photographer and eagerly learning more about cars. Can you imagine a better car to learn about!?!

 

[SLF360]

Time for a decision, dear FoMoCo

So, I was talking with Mark today. Finding out more about this whole half shaft bolt problem. Remember, I am a photographer and eagerly learning more about cars. Can you imagine a better car to learn about!?! Anyway, he told me we are automatically replacing the bolts on the cars that pass through here as an added service to our clients. Its just better safe than sorry. We're using grade 8 bolts and safety wiring them with a stainless steel wire. Just thought I would take a moment and pass that along to the forum. I don't know what we would charge on a GT that was just visiting our shop, but, on the cars that convert to GTX1 or GTB, its FREE

By now I think it should be a FORD recall. The company knows about it by now, and what to do if it comes out at high speed (75mph) on the highway and someone gets seriously hurt.

Stefan

 

[Specracer]

Not to justify, but mine was at about 70, but going in a straight line, very smooth and non invasive, there is a heat shielf directly under the CV joint that is a perfect tray to catch the fallen shaft. The issue would be if the car was laterally loaded and drive was lost causing the weight to transfer to the front unloading the rear, where if loaded enough might cause the back to wash out.