Bad day/ good outcome

[Zrussian13]

I'm totally ditching this car when the warranty is over. I mean, I love the car but I only own it to track it. I barely drive it except for to and from the track. Seems like a time bomb...

Which dealer did you go too out here?

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[honeybadger]

So, full disclosure. I waited to post this till after warranty covered everything lol.
At a track day end of September I finished my 3rd of 4 sessions and noticed an odd vibration coming from the clutch pedal. 1st thought was throw out bearing must be going bad. My tires were pretty much smoked so I called it a day and headed for home. On the way home the check engine light came on and after the adrenaline had worn off I noticed an odd deep vibration in the shifter as well. Car did not go into any kind of limp mode (not sure if it even has limp mode) but i limped it home nice n easy.
1st thing I did was put fresh rubber on it. You never know if the horror stories about warranties being refused because of track duty are true so why make it obvious right?
Earliest appointment was 19 days out. From there a 10 business day wait to get it in the shop and then they said they would call me and let me know when they could get it fixed. I hate being the "back in my day" old guy but I seriously never thought there would be a shortage of auto mechanics. It's like I'm living in bizzarro world. Any way...
Absolutely no questions about track use. Dealer was amazing. 1st update was that everything was ordered and received and all covered under factory warranty. Great news. Here's the odd part. I wouldn't call myself a master mechanic but I've turned a wrench or two. The official diagnosis was:
The flywheel came loose and part of it broke off. This debris smashed the bell housing and destroyed the clutch, clutch plate (fly wheel was obviously destroyed) cam shaft sensor and rear main seal. WTF!?
Again, I'm no master mechanic but I've owned a lot of cars and worked on at least 10 times that many. Ive never seen a flywheel "come loose" on a new car with 14k miles on it. I've also not ever seen a problem in a tremec 6 spd with under 700hp. That doesn't mean it's not real though.
Next track day is Thanksgiving weekend so I'm back on the track and it cost me nothing. That makes me happy. Point for Ford warranty.
I've included the video from my last session. I can't hear anything abnormal.
Thoughts?

Glad to hear the dealer got it worked out. When we talked I didn't think about the flywheel bolts backing out and parts breaking. I was with you on input shaft/TOB. But can't say I'm surprised either...I've seen this engine rattle virtually everything apart at some point. Only thing I haven't seen yet is a water pump failure. Ha

That’s ridiculous. I get a kick out of posts like this. You have a car, that has a warranty, and you can track it, and its covered. Buy an extended warranty if your worried about. Also, name another car we can buy that offers what the Gt350 or Gt500 offers.

To the op. When I was doing the clutch in my car with the whipple, I thought the flywheel bolts were a little short from the factory considering. I’m pretty sure ARP has a longer set. Fathouse is selling a longer set if not. Maybe get the longer and ask them to use them.

Unless ARP has launched a new bolt kit in the last ~12 months, the ones you're talking about won't fit through the bolt holes on the friction surface part of the dual mass flywheel. Not sure if Fathouse fixed that issue, tho.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Glad to hear the dealer got it worked out. When we talked I didn't think about the flywheel bolts backing out and parts breaking. I was with you on input shaft/TOB. But can't say I'm surprised either...I've seen this engine rattle virtually everything apart at some point. Only thing I haven't seen yet is a water pump failure. Ha



Unless ARP has launched a new bolt kit in the last ~12 months, the ones you're talking about won't fit through the bolt holes on the friction surface part of the dual mass flywheel. Not sure if Fathouse fixed that issue, tho.

I used them on the McLeod clutch but I’m not sure about the factory clutch.

 

[willymo72]

You'd probably enjoy a Mach 1 HP ;)

 

[Deadly0ne]

That’s ridiculous. I get a kick out of posts like this. You have a car, that has a warranty, and you can track it, and its covered. Buy an extended warranty if your worried about. Also, name another car we can buy that offers what the Gt350 or Gt500 offers.

To the op. When I was doing the clutch in my car with the whipple, I thought the flywheel bolts were a little short from the factory considering. I’m pretty sure ARP has a longer set. Fathouse is selling a longer set if not. Maybe get the longer and ask them to use them.

Sorry to divert the thread, but how was the drivability/reliability with the whipple install? How did it change the nature of the car?

 

[barstowpo]

According to the Oasis report, My FPRS car #17 also had a flywheel failure that resulted in a cracked transmission case and engine block while still at the school..

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Car drove just like a 350, but with a lot more power. You can honestly drive the car very mellow and never know the whipple is there. A 30mph roll on is ridiculous, the car would pull like a freight train from 30 - 150+, scarey quick. Not scarey in an uncontrollable manner just in how fast it gained speed. I didn’t get to run it against my new 500 but I’m sure it would pull it slightly. I was never planning on selling that car but I couldn’t pass on an HE 500 Cftp to go with my HE R. It really pained me to put it back to stock and sell the car, but I didn’t have room to keep it.

Sorry to divert the thread, but how was the drivability/reliability with the whipple install? How did it change the nature of the car?

 

[Deadly0ne]

Car drove just like a 350, but with a lot more power. You can honestly drive the car very mellow and never know the whipple is there. A 30mph roll on is ridiculous, the car would pull like a freight train from 30 - 150+, scarey quick. Not scarey in an uncontrollable manner just in how fast it gained speed. I didn’t get to run it against my new 500 but I’m sure it would pull it slightly. I was never planning on selling that car but I couldn’t pass on an HE 500 Cftp to go with my HE R. It really pained me to put it back to stock and sell the car, but I didn’t have room to keep it.

That's good to hear. What size whipple did you use? Any other necessary engine modifications?

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Gen 5, stage two, opg’s, rear cooling mod, bigger radiator. Kit is actually in the classifieds section.

That's good to hear. What size whipple did you use? Any other necessary engine modifications?

 

[svttim]

So, sell the 350 and buy something else? Seams you could save your money for any repairs you may or may not need. As someone said, this is why the meticulous maintenance on high end exotics. Mustang guys do not expect to have to do that

 

[Sig556]

So, full disclosure. I waited to post this till after warranty covered everything lol.
At a track day end of September I finished my 3rd of 4 sessions and noticed an odd vibration coming from the clutch pedal. 1st thought was throw out bearing must be going bad. My tires were pretty much smoked so I called it a day and headed for home. On the way home the check engine light came on and after the adrenaline had worn off I noticed an odd deep vibration in the shifter as well. Car did not go into any kind of limp mode (not sure if it even has limp mode) but i limped it home nice n easy.
1st thing I did was put fresh rubber on it. You never know if the horror stories about warranties being refused because of track duty are true so why make it obvious right?
Earliest appointment was 19 days out. From there a 10 business day wait to get it in the shop and then they said they would call me and let me know when they could get it fixed. I hate being the "back in my day" old guy but I seriously never thought there would be a shortage of auto mechanics. It's like I'm living in bizzarro world. Any way...
Absolutely no questions about track use. Dealer was amazing. 1st update was that everything was ordered and received and all covered under factory warranty. Great news. Here's the odd part. I wouldn't call myself a master mechanic but I've turned a wrench or two. The official diagnosis was:
The flywheel came loose and part of it broke off. This debris smashed the bell housing and destroyed the clutch, clutch plate (fly wheel was obviously destroyed) cam shaft sensor and rear main seal. WTF!?
Again, I'm no master mechanic but I've owned a lot of cars and worked on at least 10 times that many. Ive never seen a flywheel "come loose" on a new car with 14k miles on it. I've also not ever seen a problem in a tremec 6 spd with under 700hp. That doesn't mean it's not real though.
Next track day is Thanksgiving weekend so I'm back on the track and it cost me nothing. That makes me happy. Point for Ford warranty.
I've included the video from my last session. I can't hear anything abnormal.
Thoughts?

Wow! I ordered a 2011 GT Premium when they first were released. I had about 600 miles on the clock when the engine vibration was so bad I thought the windshield would shatter. Towed to my dealer and two days later they found the flywheel bolts had backed out of the crank. The entire clutch assembly was replaced under warranty. It would appear Ford may have a problem in this area.

 

[Lorne34]

So, sell the 350 and buy something else? Seams you could save your money for any repairs you may or may not need. As someone said, this is why the meticulous maintenance on high end exotics. Mustang guys do not expect to have to do that

To me, the 350 is a bargain and the parts are more reasonable than an exotic. I have an extended warranty on mine... I will track it and drive it hard as it was intended and if things come up I will get them taken care of. The body/chassis alone makes me want to keep this car long term. Every Time I walk into the garage and look at it.. "dang... that is a nice." Best looking mustang I've ever seen.. at least since the late 60's models.

 

[K4fxd]

There is a reason Italian cars with flat plane cranks have the required Costly service they have.

But if one points this out about the 350 we get blasted.

 

[svttim]

But if one points this out about the 350 we get blasted.

That is untrue because that is not what you have been saying. Refer to your posts

 

[RagmopInKona]

That is untrue because that is not what you have been saying. Refer to your posts

Come on, Ford thought because of the Word Shelby and/or gt350 most would moth ball the cars, and if driven, not driven hard.
But THROTTLE JUNKIES, bought them that mat the go pedal with no load on it, to hear the exhaust Sounds. And Engines later go boom because of it.
Every owner I have met with one likes to let everyone else know the sounds of that engine and throttle junkies the car all the way into and out of the Show/cruise/cars and coffee. The same way V-twin riders Do.
My bet is this has a ton to do with the failures, That and Ford needing to invest about 10 grand more in every engine with better parts.

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