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Did my clutch just let go? Drivetrain warranty?

Shifting_Gears

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Had something not good happen yesterday and I am afraid the clutch went bye-bye. I did some research and it seems like the disk is an extreme weak point on the factory clutch. My car is damn near stock, just a non-tuned Steeda intake and catback only.

Here's what happened: I did 3 hard acceleration runs. 1st was 1-3, 2nd was 2-3 and last was 1-2. None of these were hard launches, no power shifts and I didn't feel any slipping. Just spirited runs through the gears.

After the last run, I was coming to a stop and smelled clutch. Fairly strong. When taking off from a stop, I experienced REALLY bad chatter. Bad enough I had to push the clutch back in and try again. Not too much better but the car was moving. Shifted to second OK and then I parked. Popped the hood and still smelled clutch.

My car is a 2016 with only 33k. I purchased it as a CPO car, so it has an extended warranty or "service plan" which includes drivetrain protection for 7yr/100k.

It's chattered since day 1 (5k miles) if I don't give it enough throttle. Recently, it's seemed a little reluctant to go into 1st unless I have the clutch depressed for a bit or I put it in 2nd, then into 1st. Not all the time and I figured maybe it's just time for a fluid change. The only other bothering thing is I have been hearing a metallic rotational sounding noise at idle. If I blip the throttle or the AC compressor cycles, it can be heard. With the clutch depressed the sound isn't present.

Anyone else experienced this? What was the outcome? I know the clutch is a wear item, but has anyone had luck with a dealer covering a catastrophic failure?

Let's say it's worst case and I am looking at replacing everything:
Clutch
Flywheel
Pilot bearing
Slave cyl/TOB
Anything else?

Any input on lightened steel or aluminum flywheels?
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Shifting_Gears

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Sounds like the disc is toast, probably from abuse from the prior owner. The 15-17 disc is fairly fragile to begin with.
Yeah that's what I'm afraid of. The car had next to no mileage when I got it. Allegedly it was an older guy who traded it for a Bullitt. However, that's the dealers word, so it could've been a repo from someone who just did street digs all day. Lol.
 

ice445

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Yeah that's what I'm afraid of. The car had next to no mileage when I got it. Allegedly it was an older guy who traded it for a Bullitt. However, that's the dealers word, so it could've been a repo from someone who just did street digs all day. Lol.
The dealers always make up stories about how it was "some old guy who took it to church on Sunday", lol. At least in my experience. It's possible too that while the dealer had it some young salesman or tech took it home for a few days and beat the ever loving shit out of it. Unfortunately happens all the time with fun and interesting cars that are trade ins.
 

15GTPPinCO

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I lost my clutch three weeks ago in my 2015 GT. (@60k), and I'd say that the number one symptom that it was toasted was indeed THE SMELL.

The smell hung around in my garage for 2 weeks after parking it in there for 1 night. It's been at the shop for 2.5 weeks and I can still smell it in my garage. I guess the clutch's defense is like a skunk. It just smells when it's agitated.

The price of a decent clutch, with TOB, resurfaced flywheel, etc installed was $1800 for me if that's helpful. I was outside of the powertrain warranty, because lucky me.
 

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Shifting_Gears

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I lost my clutch three weeks ago in my 2015 GT. (@60k), and I'd say that the number one symptom that it was toasted was indeed THE SMELL.

The smell hung around in my garage for 2 weeks after parking it in there for 1 night. It's been at the shop for 2.5 weeks and I can still smell it in my garage. I guess the clutch's defense is like a skunk. It just smells when it's agitated.

The price of a decent clutch, with TOB, resurfaced flywheel, etc installed was $1800 for me if that's helpful. I was outside of the powertrain warranty, because lucky me.
Damn dude, that sucks.

Did you have any drivability issues? Noticed it slipping? I definitely smelled mine but it didn’t linger once it cooled down.

I did find a couple of places where I can rent a bay, lift, tools, trans jack etc for a few hundred bucks. Thinking about just ordering the parts and DIY.
 

15GTPPinCO

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Damn dude, that sucks.

Did you have any drivability issues? Noticed it slipping? I definitely smelled mine but it didn’t linger once it cooled down.

I did find a couple of places where I can rent a bay, lift, tools, trans jack etc for a few hundred bucks. Thinking about just ordering the parts and DIY.
So, my case seemed to be unusual or just "perfect" timing. I turned on line-lock and did a burnout on Memorial Day. ONE burnout. When I finished, the clutch was slipping. It cooled down and was fine for about 4 days.

When I was driving (accelerating), I could feel it basically pull the last of the friction material from the plate. It was so worn, it couldn't engage at all, and I had to be towed to my mechanic.

New clutch, TOB, etc and she was happy again. I'm on the break in miles, trying to stay below 4k RPM on the new clutch for a couple weeks.

When we pulled the old clutch, it appears to be the factory one (Ford brand) @ 60k miles, so it had a decent life in a car with 450hp. I don't expect to replace it again for a long time.
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