Add me to the list…

[THX 138]

I’m not quite ready to share the circumstances of when/how, but as soon as I have the new engine in the car, I’ll be happy to share the story.

Holding you to this, by the way...

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[THX 138]

Oh man… sorry to hear about your luck. Which dealer?

Thanks!

Bill Estes in Brownsburg. When they gave me the car back in October after replacing the clutch slave cylinder & clutch, they left off literally half of the front splitter screws. Luckily, I don't trust anyone to do anything right anymore, so I always double check every shop's work. (With the transmission vent line, I just didn't know what I was looking for, unfortunately.)

 

[pilotgore]

Bill Estes in Brownsburg. When they gave me the car back in October after replacing the clutch slave cylinder & clutch, they left off literally half of the front splitter screws. Luckily, I don't trust anyone to do anything right anymore, so I always double check every shop's work. (With the transmission vent line, I just didn't know what I was looking for, unfortunately.)

Oh man, what a bummer!

The story: So I looked at my buddies and said “hey y’all, watch this!!”

Kidding… I was at Putnam Park for the weekend. On Saturday, I started hearing grinding noises as I released the clutch in reverse, backing into my parking spot in the paddock. I called my friend at ford and he said it was likely the reverse syncro in the tranny but couldn’t be sure until they got me in early the following week. The engine went on the third session on Sunday going into turn 1. In the video, you can hear the clunk of the valve about one second before I hit the apex. I set a new PB the session before (1:15:42), and was hoping to break it again. I think this was lap 4 and the tires were still heating up so I was in the 1:16’s.

So, like many others I’ve talked to who’ve had an engine replaced, it happened after a 8100-8200 rpm rev during a HPDE day. I didn’t over-rev during the downshift as some have suggested in the past (there was no code for a mechanical over rev.). I did an oil change after ever single track event and used motorcraft 5w-50. I always kept it under 4k rpm until the oil temp hit 190. . . I just don’t think there’s anything else I could have done from a preventative maintenance standpoint.

To my surprise, Ford never asked for my maintenance records (which are meticulously kept.) They also never asked how/when/why relating to the failure, which I thought was strange.

At any rate, not too terribly exciting. I just didn’t want there to be the possibility that the dealer or ford co. could use my own explanation on the forum about what happened against me and deny an engine and transmission claim.

 

[THX 138]

Oof! Thanks for sharing. Great lap times up to that point, anyway!

 

[pilotgore]

Oof! Thanks for sharing. Great lap times up to that point, anyway!

Thanks. I was planning to finally use some slicks the following weekend and hopefully break into the 14’s or maybe even high 13’s. Guess we’ll never know.

 

[SchnellGT350]

Love Putnam. Way up there on my personal favorites.

 

[K4fxd]

Thanks. I was planning to finally use some slicks the following weekend and hopefully break into the 14’s or maybe even high 13’s. Guess we’ll never know.

Why not? have at it.

What made you decide to sell?

 

[ice445]

Why not? have at it.

What made you decide to sell?

Probably because the car's been a turd and had 21 warranty claims, lol. I also wouldn't want to wait around for #22. I mean at some point you have to really compare the fun the car provides you against the hassle of always having to take it to the dealer....

 

[pilotgore]

Why not? have at it.

What made you decide to sell?

I’d like to get rid of it before winter and don’t have time to put the 1,000 break-in miles on the engine before tracking it.

I decided to sell for a few reasons, but the most important is I’m rehabbing a house at the moment and could use some extra cash. Other than that, I’ve had more visits to the dealership for warranty items for that car than I’ve had in alllllll of my other cars combined. I’ve lost that lovin feelin.

 

[Deadly0ne]

@pilotgore what camera/setup are you using to record your track days?

 

[pilotgore]

@pilotgore what camera/setup are you using to record your track days?

The garmin catalyst which I’m a big fan of.

The video I posted was me taking a video of the catalyst screen where no info was displayed because I stopped recording that lap before exiting the track. If you export a lap or session from the catalyst, the sound and video quality are better and all the data points are overlaid on top of the video.

 

[svttim]

Oh man, what a bummer!

The story: So I looked at my buddies and said “hey y’all, watch this!!”

Kidding… I was at Putnam Park for the weekend. On Saturday, I started hearing grinding noises as I released the clutch in reverse, backing into my parking spot in the paddock. I called my friend at ford and he said it was likely the reverse syncro in the tranny but couldn’t be sure until they got me in early the following week. The engine went on the third session on Sunday going into turn 1. In the video, you can hear the clunk of the valve about one second before I hit the apex. I set a new PB the session before (1:15:42), and was hoping to break it again. I think this was lap 4 and the tires were still heating up so I was in the 1:16’s.

So, like many others I’ve talked to who’ve had an engine replaced, it happened after a 8100-8200 rpm rev during a HPDE day. I didn’t over-rev during the downshift as some have suggested in the past (there was no code for a mechanical over rev.). I did an oil change after ever single track event and used motorcraft 5w-50. I always kept it under 4k rpm until the oil temp hit 190. . . I just don’t think there’s anything else I could have done from a preventative maintenance standpoint.

To my surprise, Ford never asked for my maintenance records (which are meticulously kept.) They also never asked how/when/why relating to the failure, which I thought was strange.

At any rate, not too terribly exciting. I just didn’t want there to be the possibility that the dealer or ford co. could use my own explanation on the forum about what happened against me and deny an engine and transmission claim.

I have not seen Ford deny a warranty because of track use. Now dealers..........

 

[brokenblinker]

Do you think you'll move on to another track car? I've debated moving to something like a GR86 (mine has also been in and out of dealer for the same warranty issue that has taken 4 months and 3 tries to fix).

 

[pilotgore]

Do you think you'll move on to another track car? I've debated moving to something like a GR86 (mine has also been in and out of dealer for the same warranty issue that has taken 4 months and 3 tries to fix).

I have a mini cooper that I’ve tracked for a few years, but unfortunately it’s just not the same. I need to get back to high HP and rwd. At the moment I’m leaning to a c5z, c6z, Miata LS swap, zl1 1le, mustang race car, or build something like a Daytona replica…. Too many options.

I’ve never had a GR86 on track, but I’ve had the Supra on track, and with some very light modding it’s faster than a stock’ish 350. Also, it’s hard to beat the reliability of a Toyota.

 

[ice445]

I have a mini cooper that I’ve tracked for a few years, but unfortunately it’s just not the same. I need to get back to high HP and rwd. At the moment I’m leaning to a c5z, c6z, Miata LS swap, zl1 1le, mustang race car, or build something like a Daytona replica…. Too many options.

I’ve never had a GR86 on track, but I’ve had the Supra on track, and with some very light modding it’s faster than a stock’ish 350. Also, it’s hard to beat the reliability of a Toyota.

BMW* Lol. The Supra is entirely based on the Z4 platform using a BMW B58. It's still pretty good though reliability wise.

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