Talk with the GT folks about the Axle bolts?????

[samthejeepman]

i left my gt at saleen for some a/c repairs
while it is there they are going to replace my bolts and lock washers just as a precaution.
i have to hand it to saleen-they really know how to treat a customer !!!

sam
#1451-----red/white

 

[barondw]

As posted before wire them and don't worry.

Dave

 

[Gene Cassone]

I asked the Wixom rep why not a recall? He stated it only affected tracked cars and in some instances only one side was fixed only to have the other side affected later (though as per prevoius posts it has occerrd in non tracked cars)!! It appears to be a "numbers" game. I believe eventually with time as more fail a recall will be done!! I quess there trying to avoid any further bad press with recalls until after production is done. (winter is coming up here in the north!!)

 

[K-P Garage]

Wow!

Wow! A numbers game is not what we should hear about "The pace car for an entire company". A proper recall now is not nearly the bad press that this could well become. Sounds like Saleen could handle the problem quite well. Come on Ford, give them the contract and get this thing fixed.....NOW!

 

[Derry]

Maybe a whisper to Automotive news would motivate them?

 

[lthlvpr]

Saleen is a factory authorized warranty and repair facility. Now I just wish I lived closer to their factory....

 

[Neilda]

I had Roush in the UK change the bolts and washers on mine for hardened ones as a precaution. The ones that came out of my August '05 GT were not hardened.

 

[SuperB]

I overheard one of the converstations about track cars only and don't think that is true, but regardless, these are built for the track so they should all be capable of track use out of the box. If they are not, they need to be fixed.

I need to get a few things done, I'll ask my dealer about this when I see him.
I've sent him at least 3-4 GT's so maybe I'll get a gold star.

 

[analogdesigner]

Larger image available?

Here is a pix of the hardened washer I got @ Wixom, these come out of the box like this from Ricardo, the techs @ Wixom attach the half shaft to this cup

Specracer,

Do you have a larger size of that image?

Thanks in andavance, Jay
www.gtsaver.com

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

 

[Specracer]

Jay, PM's sent......

 

[analogdesigner]

Images, thanks!

Jay, PM's sent......

Spec...

Many thanks!

Jay
www.gtsaver.com

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

 

[Gene Cassone]

I asked my Ford dealer (SVT mechanic) about the axle bolts. He did some investigating and found out there are new part nos. updates for the bolt and washers that came out in 2006 hmmmmmm! No definite recall or service bullitin hmmmmmm! 4 bolts and 2 washer (updates) $270!! Three hours to change them (at least) plus changing the 16 bolts of the half shaft covers (though not expensive items). $500+ repair.
I did finally receive a e-mail back from the US rep from Ricardo but differed the problem (what problem?) to Ford.
I still belive there will be a recall next year or so after production has ended (less bad press) and more failures have been reported.

 

[Accufab]

We are working on an aircraft grade replacement bolt kit. The heads of the bolts will all be drilled for safety wire as well. Probably a couple more weeks maximum.

Thanks,

John Mihovetz
Accufab Inc

 

[Bill Briley]

I noticed a heavy single "Click" noise coming from the rear of the car upon heavy accelleration. Not a consistant event but probably a 10% occurence. I have 2000 miles on my '05 (#744)
I called my Dealer and mentioned the Posts on this sight and the possibility of the same failure. The Dealership contacted Ford who authorized the bolt replacement and provided the parts.
I just got my GT back from having the bolts replaced. There was no problem found with the four stub axel bolts or the hub mounting bolts. However, they were replaced with the new part #s. "Click" remains an un-repeated mystery.
Many thanks to Mark Malizzi ,Service Manager
Sean-"GT Master Mechanic"
Bean's Ford in Boyertown PA.


No Problems with "Test Drives" "Blemishes" "Delays" or other "BS". :biggrin

 

[Shadowman]

I noticed a heavy single "Click" noise coming from the rear of the car upon heavy accelleration. Not a consistant event but probably a 10% occurence. I have 2000 miles on my '05 (#744)
I called my Dealer and mentioned the Posts on this sight and the possibility of the same failure. The Dealership contacted Ford who authorized the bolt replacement and provided the parts.
I just got my GT back from having the bolts replaced. There was no problem found with the four stub axel bolts or the hub mounting bolts. However, they were replaced with the new part #s. "Click" remains an un-repeated mystery.
Many thanks to Mark Malizzi ,Service Manager
Sean-"GT Master Mechanic"
Bean's Ford in Boyertown PA.


No Problems with "Test Drives" "Blemishes" "Delays" or other "BS". :biggrin

I think the mystery click was then in fact caught however the situation was likely such that she was torn apart with great focus on the end game aka the replacement rather than the confirming of a potential failure.

Now you have the click gone and are likely a bit more relaxed as to press the go pedal.

Have fun

Shadowman

 

[davisp]

Kudo's to the guys at Bean's Ford. Great to hear that there are Ford dealerships out there that are on their game with the GT. PD

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Broken Bolts

Mine broke two weeks ago. '06 Feb build. 16,000 miles of fun. Pure GT enjoyment.

Going along at +- 30, coasting towards a red light. Light changed and I down shifted, into what I then thought was neutral. Re-shifted into gear -found no gears anywhere. Was able to coast into a parking lot. No noise at all when the bolt heads sheared off.

Called Ford Towing hot line. 90 minutes later car was delivered to my dealer.

Next day the "upgraded" bolt and hardened washer kit arrived. Installed on that GT and I am back on the road. Everything else was checked out just fine.

Just glad it was close to home and my favorite Ford dealer.

As has been posted a few times previously - have them checked. I'll soon be getting the drilled units and safety wire them. Just to sleep a little better.

 

[Shadowman]

Huuummm... not good. I thought this was contained within a small number of gals during the 05 build process.

So are the bolts are actually backing out or are the heads simply shearing off? I assume that this has been answered and yet this situation seems very odd.

Furthermore is it the exterior bolts as can be seen or internal bolts?

Thank you

Shadowman

 

[TEXAS GT]

Furthermore is it the exterior bolts as can be seen or internal bolts?

Thank you

Shadowman

Yes, my question exactly. I thought I had this thing figured out where it was the 2 internal and unseen bolts that back out causing the problem. But now I have seen in other posts where somebody ( I believe it was a Ford engineer) advised watching the paint marks on the outside bolts on the cup. From what I can see, the 2 inside bolts can fail and cause this problem without the outside ones moving.

Can someone help a poor dumbass like me understand?? :willy

 

[Neilda]

OK here goes - and I'm SO not good at this!

It is the two inner bolts (that you can't see). They back out at low speed causing the shaft to come off the spline.

The reason for this is that the washers (and bolts - but more importantly the washers) are not heat hardened, so they're soft. This means that they are warping when being torqued - giving an uneven load on the bolt head. In addition, the soft washer means that the torque is not retained. It's quite possible that if one bolt backs out that the other would shear.

I had mine changed as soon as I heard about it to harder bolts and washers. It's not a big job to do for someone that knows the GT.

Hope this helps.

Neil