Halfshaft Bolt Answers (all threads merged)

[K-P Garage]

Probably not

Probably not because centerpunch is like 813 or something like that and somebody one number away from his had the failure.

 

[LEMANSZ]

Mine is VIN 287..build date 11/14 I am nowwondering

 

[ENZO BTR]

Mine broke last night. Went just as described. Ugly sound and then no power. The most stressful part of the event was finding a towing company that new what they were doing.

Phoenix owners: Write this down. John Paul of Hayden Towing was fantastic. He knows what he is doing and keeps the 4 4x4s on his truck. Went smooth and no problems. Keep this info in your car. If you need a tow, call them and ask for him.

PHXGT, how many miles on yours when they failed? You're only 121 units past mine (#1456) so I'm curious. I'm at 5,900 miles as of today and no problems...yet.

 

[ENZO BTR]

Okay, so I just picked my car up over an hour ago from the dealer. Here's how things went today:

Drove it in and had the automotive engineer check my half shaft clearances. He immediately noted the increased clearance on the passenger side unit, but I told him that was "normal" according to what you guys have noticed on all of your cars. He then tugged on the half shafts (not easy to do when the car is hot -- heat shields are right next to it). He said the passenger side felt fine BUT he noted that the driver's side seemed to have a bit of play in it. He's not a GT tech, so he said it might be normal -- but he found it curious that the amount of play was different between the two sides...

Then I drove it to SM Ford and had them change the oil and give the entire car a once over. When I picked it up they said everything was fine. I didn't have the bolts changed because I still want to see what action Ford takes in the coming weeks, and because mine isn't a late-2005 through early-2006, and because at 5,900 miles everything is still okay. PHXGT (#1575) is the closest number yet to mine (#1456) that has suffered failure, which is somewhat negating the piece of mind I just got from the dealer.

If another GT fails within 150 units of mine I'll re-evaluate, but for now I'm going to drive and (try) to not think about it.

BTW, today was just one of those days in SoCal. The Santa Anna winds have been blowing enough to clear out the smog and warm up the air. My drives up and down PCH were just amazing today. I saw several Ferraris, two Bentley Continental GTs, an Aston Martin DB9 convertible and multiple 911s. All quite amazing machinery. And you know what? I was driving the best one!! :banana

 

[Roger Vincent]

My dealer is changing mine next Thursday. I showed him our posts on the subject, and he said not a problem, ordered the parts, even had the bolts drilled so that they can be saftey wired, and called me today and scheduled the appointment. No issues as of yet, but why worry when the dealer will do a little preventative maintenance at no cost to me? (The service manager also gave me a copy of the 2006 workshop manual to go along with the 2005 manual he had given me previously! I guess he wants to be sure we speak the same language as this is the only GT they have sold and will service.)

I do have some oil seepage that appears to be coming from the gap between the transaxle and the halfshaft (driver side only), and they are going to take care of that as well. He showed me some sort of service bulletin he had received in that regard. BTW, the car has 1,100 miles on it.

 

[K-P Garage]

2006 #958

Took the blue car in today. 2006 #958. Built on St. Patrick's day 2006. It had the black hardened washers and they were NOT caved in as the 2005 silver ones were. Was told that the black washers are not the solution though as one GT that came in on a hook had broken bolts and had black washers. Wiring them will not help either as the heads of the bolts seem to be what is breaking off. My tech said that Ford engineering says that it is due to the cupping of the washers putting inordinate pressure on the bolt heads. That tis all I can report on the subject. All covered under warranty thanks to dealership. Good luck to everyone on it.

 

[Spirit]

Silver & Black Washers Now Seem To Be Failing

......... My tech said that Ford engineering says that it is due to the cupping of the washers putting inordinate pressure on the bolt heads........

K-P,
So does your tech say the root cause of the failure is an incorrect torque ft lb issue, or a torque sequencing issue, or a combination of both, or something else that is causing the washer "cupping"?
Your input is appreciated.

 

[K-P Garage]

over torque

He and the engineers that he has spoken with from FOMOCO are all saying over torque on the bolts. Did not hear anything about sequencing. I should also note that my car today is the fourth one he has fixed.

 

[isaakgt]

Took the blue car in today. 2006 #958. Built on St. Patrick's day 2006. It had the black hardened washers and they were NOT caved in as the 2005 silver ones were. Was told that the black washers are not the solution though as one GT that came in on a hook had broken bolts and had black washers. Wiring them will not help either as the heads of the bolts seem to be what is breaking off. My tech said that Ford engineering says that it is due to the cupping of the washers putting inordinate pressure on the bolt heads. That tis all I can report on the subject. All covered under warranty thanks to dealership. Good luck to everyone on it.

K-P, I tried to get back to you via the private message route but it said you do not accept private messages. Check it out. TI

 

[PHXGT]

My car had 1500 miles. No track time. Lots of fun at stop lights, though. After going throught the ordeal, I'd recommend going ahead and getting the fix before it happens..

 

[LEMANSZ]

Lynn, from Ford GT 'hot line' just inofrmed me that my car an early 2006 does indeed have the upgraded botl/washer package. She called me back as promised and could not been more professional and courteous. Some of you guys out there need to settle down on this issue. She advised me that less then 1% of the cars have experienced problems.

 

[AtomicGT]

I've settled down on this issue and actually paid the Ford GT Hotline and Lynn a compliment, but LEMANSZ, it is still an issue and perhaps only 1% of cars effected, but if it is you, it is 100%. So I doubt the issue will go away until each individual is convinced it is not a problem or has had it replaced.

 

[LEMANSZ]

I DO UNDRSTAND...but I have had Ferrari's and Porsche's with MUCH more major issues that both manufacturers refused to deal with me on...so let's gicve Ford a break,

 

[isaakgt]

Sorry about any attitudes, problems or misconceptions I may have conveyed. I love you guys (in a good way, I'm married) and I certainly enjoy the fellowship here. It's all water under the bridge. You all have a great day. Hope to see ya all on the road soon. TI :thumbsup

 

[RickM]

What is the service kit number?

- Here is the part number for the service kit for the redesigned axle shaft flange kit: Current service part number is 4G7Z-7B368-BA.

Does anyone know what's included in this Kit?
Does it contain the 6 outer bolts?
And does it contain parts for 1 halfshaft or 2 halfshafts (both sides)?

Thanks,
RickM

 

[vyprgt2]

A post by Tungsten a while back said that his replacement bolt kit included 2 washers and 4 bolts, i.e. enough for both sides. The upgraded replacement bolt kit does not apparently include the 12 outer bolts, which need to be ordered separately.

 

[Cyclenirvana]

I have been looking at the various threads on this topic, attempting to summarize the VINs that had this problem...so far this is what I have come up with...
2005 VIN 1297, 1575, 1641
2006 VIN 765
Is this correct? Could someone please add others. We may not be able to get all VIN's, but at least we can have a list that may help us to decide whether to do the repair.

 

[Cyclenirvana]

Another one, Thanks Centerpunch:
2006 VIN 812.

 

[K-P Garage]

#1170 to #958

2005 #1170 had silver caved in washers but not broken to 2006 #958 with black washers also not broken and not caved in.

 

[gwbartlett]

Add 2005 #498 with silver caved in washers, bolts loose but not yet broken