GT clutch issues after installation!

Hi Guys,

So I shattered my clutch this summer and did a replacement with my LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP! I went with the Mantic 1000hp clutch/flywheel, and while at it I added MGW X-spec shifter, Steel clutch line, steeda clutch perch kit and RP tranny oil. After getting my car everything was smooth as butter, the shifter was a bit stiff for the first week but turned out awesome. The clutch pedal feel was much better than stock and the Mantic felt killer.

And then,

Right after the 500 mile break-in period, as soon as I stepped on the car the following started to happen:
1- 2nd-3rd gear WOT check engine light started flashing
2- check engine light stayed on even after multiple engine restarts (codes: P0300, P0301, P0306)
3- inconsistent clutch pedal feel (the dealership service guy said it's his first time doing a clutch bleed on s550, I think it has to be vacuumed or something)
4- Car won't get out of 1st,2nd or 3rd gear sometimes (Mostly low rpm situations)
5- Car feels sluggish and performance has taken a huge hit for sure (very noticeable, probably cuz of misfire codes :( )
6- Slight vibration when coasting (30mph and higher) maybe driveshaft issue?
7- violent vibration when slipping clutch on take off (I've taken my time with breaking it in:shrug. By vibration, I mean the whole car, not the clutch pedal!

In conclusion, what is causing this? How can it be repaired? Do I have the worst qualified Ford dealership nationwide and they messed up the install?

Thanks :(

May be a mixture of things if your saying your getting inconsitent clutch feel along with the misfires. Since they swaped your flywheel, did they do a crank relearn? If not it can contribute to your misfire codes.

Calvin said:

May be a mixture of things if your saying your getting inconsitent clutch feel along with the misfires. Since they swaped your flywheel, did they do a crank relearn? If not it can contribute to your misfire codes.

Click to expand...

I'll be including crank relearn in my list of notes for sure!! Do you have any idea why would it not let me get out of gear tho? and the shake when taking off? Thanks Calvin

turbo65 said:

I'll be including crank relearn in my list of notes for sure!! Do you have any idea why would it not let me get out of gear tho? and the shake when taking off? Thanks Calvin

Click to expand...

If the dealer doesn't know what a crank relearn is, ford calls it a Misfire Monitor Neutral Profile Correction.

As for your shudder and gear lock issues, I am not sure. A shudder at launch is usually related to not enough throttle at takeoff. From my experience with my Mustang, it's more of an accomplishment to make the car stall or studder since the car essentially raises throttle if the idle dips too low. From that, I can only assume that due to the misfires, it is effecting the car being able to start smoothly under its own weight. That is just an assumption though, as the car may not be misfiring at lower rpm. I believe the check engine light flashes during a misfire event.

Gear lock I have only experienced when I ride out first or second gear too long to a stop, though I technically wasn't locked. When I press in the clutch the car will sometimes jolt along with addition foot pressure needed to press in the clutch. I'vr always had this problem with the Mustang so I deemed it normal. This is just something I've experienced and it may not be the same thing you're experiencing.

Oh and for the clutch bleed. It has to be vaccum bled. I did the pump a million times thing and it works for a day before the pedal goes limp and I have to pump it again. Vacuum bled it once and pedal feel stayed consistent. I hate ford for not having a bleeder valve.

I just had a Mantic 9000 metalic and a MGW installed and have similar symptoms, massive shudder at 1500 RPM, jerks when letting out the clutch and lots of weird noise in the transmission. Any updates on this?

Sorry to hear about your issues, turbo65 and Legionofone. Calvin gave great advice. Most probably, most of those symptoms (especially the codes) are b/c they didn't do the crank relearn. The only thing I'd add is that when they dropped the driveshaft, possibly they didn't mark the original position and now it's imbalanced, and that's adding to the shudder/vibration issues? Really sad to hear this is the result you got from paying dealer prices. Really is a crapshoot with some dealers. The guys that do oil changes and tire rotations in the QuickLane are NOT qualified to do major repairs just b/c someone called in sick and the service manager needs coverage. Pisses me off.

I'm subbing b/c I'm considering some of these mods myself (and doing the work myself). Sure would like to avoid what you're going through. Good luck and I hope it's an easy fix.

turbo65 said:

Hi Guys,

So I shattered my clutch this summer and did a replacement with my LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP! I went with the Mantic 1000hp clutch/flywheel, and while at it I added MGW X-spec shifter, Steel clutch line, steeda clutch perch kit and RP tranny oil. After getting my car everything was smooth as butter, the shifter was a bit stiff for the first week but turned out awesome. The clutch pedal feel was much better than stock and the Mantic felt killer.

And then,

Right after the 500 mile break-in period, as soon as I stepped on the car the following started to happen:
1- 2nd-3rd gear WOT check engine light started flashing
2- check engine light stayed on even after multiple engine restarts (codes: P0300, P0301, P0306)
3- inconsistent clutch pedal feel (the dealership service guy said it's his first time doing a clutch bleed on s550, I think it has to be vacuumed or something)
4- Car won't get out of 1st,2nd or 3rd gear sometimes (Mostly low rpm situations)
5- Car feels sluggish and performance has taken a huge hit for sure (very noticeable, probably cuz of misfire codes :( )
6- Slight vibration when coasting (30mph and higher) maybe driveshaft issue?
7- violent vibration when slipping clutch on take off (I've taken my time with breaking it in:shrug. By vibration, I mean the whole car, not the clutch pedal!

In conclusion, what is causing this? How can it be repaired? Do I have the worst qualified Ford dealership nationwide and they messed up the install?

Thanks :(

Click to expand...

Bottom line: super easy fix, just have to know about the “misfire monitor neutral profile correction” process and send them this doc/insist that your mechanic hook his scanner up and run it, even if he’s understandably skeptical because he’s never heard of it.

What happened with my mustang

60K miles clutch started shuddering a little at first then horribly coming out of 1st and reverse

No matter how much gas you gave it or how quick you let the clutch out, it felt like when a beginner driver is learning to drive stick and stalls the car out—that kind of shuddering.

The ford dealership said it’d take 1 whole month for them to get to the repair on my car and that I’d have to leave the car with them for the entire month.

Obviously, I couldn’t go without a car for that long, so I did some research and found a highly rated private mechanic shop near-ish me.

They diagnosed the problem and installed a brand-new clutch and flywheel (regular ford replacement clutch and flywheel—i.e., not a fancy performance one)

No check engine light initially, within 24 hrs check engine light came on





Went to mechanic. Hooked up scanner #1 (Zurich ZR15S)



I took a picture of the code: P0304 (meaning cylinder misfire in 4th cylinder) to look up later even though mechanic told me not to worry about it.

I looked it up and seemed like it was potentially pretty dangerous

Did some research on ford forums and found discussions about people having had a similar error code (as well as other P03 codes for other cylinder misfires) specifically following clutch and flywheel replacement. These forums mentioned crank relearn and misfire monitor neutral profile correction as potential solution.

Went back within the hour with that limited info and mechanic was initially very hesitant to believe that that was the issue or the solution to the problem—he had never heard of a crank relearn on a mustang, he said.

Understandable: he’s reacting as a doctor would if you came in and started spouting off things you think are wrong with you from having looked at web md—i.e., he’s the professional and people who come in with that type of commentary usually have no idea what they’re talking about.

However, he looked on scanner #2, higher tech looking and didn’t see an option for crank relearn.

Might’ve been a snap on scanner (?), not positive on that, but it definitely looked more like this one:
Mechanic cleared code, said maybe it was a glitch since I wasn’t experiencing any engine misfire.

Went home. No problem till next day, check engine came back on.

Later that night, I actually felt the engine misfire (before I experienced it, I wasn’t sure exactly what that’d feel like, so I wasn’t 100% sure if I’d even be able to recognize it, but once it was actually happening, I knew immediately). The feeling was like a vibrating ratatat when depressing the gas pedal, and when I felt that immediately looked at the check engine light and saw that it had began blinking. That all lasted for about 10 seconds, then it was fine again, though the check engine light was still on.

So, then I was worried, so I did more research: texted mechanic that there was a lot of talk about check engine light problem after clutch and flywheel replacement on mustang forums. So, despite me not being a professional mechanic, asked him to look into it again with the key terms crank relearn/misfire monitor neutral profile correction.

See official ford technical service bulletin (TSB) outlining the problem:



Had car towed to shop just to be safe since I’d experienced an actual engine misfire the nigh before

He hooked up the Snap On scanner above and when I got there, he said he thinks I might be right. Cleared the check engine light, then ran the profile correction.

Link vid to people running that profile correction:





Been 2k+ miles and running like a top now, no check engine light has come back, and the car is running great. Note: for a few hundred miles (about 500 or so) after clutch and flywheel replacement, there was slight shudder (nowhere even near what it was like when I first brought it in) in shifting out of first and reverse. However, have read others experienced the same break in period post clutch and flywheel replacement, and shudder went away completely by 1k miles.

Turns out then whenever transmission is removed from engine, the computers inside the car need to be recalibrated.

See 2:06 for what it looks like when your transmission Is separated from the engine to access the clutch and flywheel for replacement: