Broken diff bolt?

[NGOT8R]

Right, yes I was sitting still, foot on the brakes. Car didn't move and stalled out. What a stupid mistake! I was on the side of the road and in a hurry + stressed + distracted when it happened.
I will check driveshaft play once up on the ramps. Nothing determined yet.

I think you’re good. Take a look here.

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[WD Pro]

Are you upgrading to the through bolt kit when you reinstall the diff? Did you have severe wheel hop that led to the failure?

I was concerned about that happening to my car, seeing as how I knew I was going to be doing launches, so I upgraded to the following:

Steeda through bolt kit, black bushings, bushing supports, differential bracket, motor mounts, jacking rails and subframe braces.

I have to be careful what upgrades go in immediately as it’s going through warranty, but I do have 12.9 grade bolts (Ford and the Steeda bolts that come with the diff bushes are 10.9) and I have the bolt sleeves to take the play out of the sloppy bush bores. Steeda red bushes will also be going back in.

Ultimately I hope to acquire a spare diff cover that I will machine out to 16mm and then use M16 12.9 grade through bolts - that will only go on when the diff ratio and Torsen get done when it’s out of warranty though.

No obvious or excessive wheel hop.

I have a theory on what caused my issue, but I need to be careful with that and see what Ford ultimately tell me when everything is sorted out and fixed

WD

 

[murick]

I hope you haven’t joined my club …

Would you mind elaborating a bit more about what I see on those pics? I mean I am genuinely curious about that and envy everyone who can tell just by looking into random dirty tube

 

[Clint81]

I think you’re good. Take a look here.

I hope you are right! I bailed on the home diagnostics and just took it to the dealer, so I will have to wait to hear back from them.

I have my doubts it's just driveline slop though. It is a little hard to describe what I am experiencing and I really should have taken a video. I feel fairly certain there is something moving around under the car that's not rigth. It is not so much of a clunk, but 2 or 3 pops the happen once you get on the gas. It really sounds like a broken bushing or mount to me.

Would you mind elaborating a bit more about what I see on those pics? I mean I am genuinely curious about that and envy everyone who can tell just by looking into random dirty tube

That dirty tube should have a bolt in it! And what you see on the other end of the tube is what's left of that bolt after shearing off and leaving part of it threaded into the diff (I think?)

 

[RTFM]

There is a note in a user manual that you should not shift into the 1st gear when driving faster than 15 mph.

In some cultures, it is a wisdom passed from fathers to sons: “only shift into first gear from a standstill position”.
All the manual cars I’ve driven around the world hate it with few exceptions. Surprisingly my 2001 mustang and my 2011 mustang can handle a bit of the abuse — I use it mostly because I like the revving and the engine brake. But I have not seen that on any European or Japanese manual cars.

 

[WD Pro]

Would you mind elaborating a bit more about what I see on those pics? I mean I am genuinely curious about that and envy everyone who can tell just by looking into random dirty tube

That dirty tube should have a bolt in it! And what you see on the other end of the tube is what's left of that bolt after shearing off and leaving part of it threaded into the diff (I think?)

Yeah that’s exactly right

This is looking under the back of the car :

Note the left diff mount bolt missing - easy to spot with a euro due to the black crap and the nice silver paint free area …

WD

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

@Clint81

Right, yes I was sitting still, foot on the brakes. Car didn't move and stalled out. What a stupid mistake! I was on the side of the road and in a hurry + stressed + distracted when it happened.
I will check driveshaft play once up on the ramps. Nothing determined yet.

There is no way you damaged anything like that. These car have beefy drivetrains and are meant to be lunched from a dig, that puts tremendous stress. Sounds like if you have a problem it was either defective part or assembled incorrectly. I would not stress, just let the dealer find the issue and correct it.

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

There is a note in a user manual that you should not shift into the 1st gear when driving faster than 15 mph (or such), otherwise it will damage the clutch. They do not say how though.

Interesting detail about this statement is that it is a kind of definitive. They do not say "may" or "could", just "it will".

Its just a disclaimer for the people without common sense. If someone puts it in first going that fast, that person should NOT drive a stick shift.

 

[swoop1156]

There is a note in a user manual that you should not shift into the 1st gear when driving faster than 15 mph (or such), otherwise it will damage the clutch. They do not say how though.

Interesting detail about this statement is that it is a kind of definitive. They do not say "may" or "could", just "it will".

The 2022 Owners Manual states the following:

"Do not downshift into first (1) when your vehicle is moving faster than 15 mph (24 km/h). This damages the clutch."

"

"

 

[murick]

The 2022 Owners Manual states the following:

"Do not downshift into first (1) when your vehicle is moving faster than 15 mph (24 km/h). This damages the clutch."

I guess they rephrased it in a new version. I was quoting 2021 Mach 1 Supplement .

 

[Sig556]

I don't know for sure yet but I am thinking I may have popped a diff bolt this past weekend. Just a mistake on my part, thought I was in neutral but let out the clutch way too fast in first and gave the drive train a real shock. Now when I transition from backing up to moving forward, I get a few clicks/clunks from under the car. My Ranger made the exact same sound when my transmission mount bolts were broken.

Anyway, I'll get the car up on ramps to look, but how difficult is removing a broken diff bolt? How easy is that to see without a lift? Steeda and BMR say it's a 4 hour job to replace all the bolts with upgraded units. Does that sound about right?

Should I just take it to the dealer and maybe let them diagnose and fix it under warranty? Successful trips to local dealership service departments are about 1 in 4.
I'm not afraid of working on the car but I don't want to make a problem worse that now requires a tow to the dealer.

What would you do?

Edit 1: would this be a "drive carefully" or "don't drive at all" condition?

Edit 2: edit 1 is a stupid question and should be ignored

Thanks all

Clint, when you don't know or are not sure . No question is stupid. What has happened to your car is no joke and must be fixed. Myself I would take it to the dealer to see if it can be repaired under warranty. If not and you are able to do the repair yourself, 5 hours sounds about right. If you are going to beat on your car in the future, I would definitely upgrade the bolts. Best of luck Buddy this is a real PITA repair.

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