End of the road - Good Bye GT350

[UnhandledException]

After 6 years and 80,000 miles, I have decided to part ways with my GT350. This was a decision that I did not take lightly - and I am still having hard time coming to terms with. I have other more expensive/rarer cars but for some reason I have not bonded with them as much as I did with GT350. It has never let me down, never let me stranded by the side of the road and always put a smile on my face. Unfortunately the past 2 years it has had somewhat of an "accelerated" aging process which was the main reason of me to decide part ways with it. Keeping it outside 24/7 took its toll on it. Plus I have now come to terms with the fact that this engine in this car is a ticking time bomb and I am (have been) gambling with it. As with any gambling, if you push your luck so much you may lose it all. No warranty and 80,000 miles don't make a good combination.

I wanted to thank this forum for providing me with lots of help over the years. I hang out in a lot of forums and this one and particularly this sub forum has some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of talking with. I am not going anywhere, the Mustang6G GT350 sub forum is still in my favorite bookmarks that I check at least once a day.

I will be creating a separate thread with items I am selling. And I have lots of things to sell. I realize now I am like a Ford parts department. Unused tires, Signature Wheels, oil filters, unused brake rotors, etc. I wanted to give the forum the opportunity before I sell them on craigslist.

Thanks

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[Carbide]

You got a lot of joyous miles out of her. Well done.

 

[s2ms]

One helluva ride! It's been a lot of fun reading about your journey with this car.

 

[dpAtlanta]

37,000 miles on my 2019…. I’m following your lead my friend.
What a glorious path to take… the gargling Chewbacca exhaust NEVER gets old…!

 

[Hack]

It will be sad to see you sell it. I still somewhat regret selling mine, but I came to a similar conclusion at 33,000 miles and 3.5 years. I didn't want to have to replace or rebuild the engine. I assumed that with the track miles I was putting on it was just a matter of time before I had an issue.

I thought maybe you were the type to just buy a new engine if necessary, but I understand it's not just the engine. Everything else will degrade over time as well.

 

[GTthree50]

Although there are well documented engine issues, you say that your engine is a ticking time bomb at 80k. You’ve gone that far without any trouble, do you feel like you are on borrowed time? You are in little charted territory mileage wise.

 

[UnhandledException]

Thanks for the responses. I believe the engine was a ticking time bomb because I wasnt driving it hard at all the past 30,000 miles. This car was our only daily driver car for 4 full years of which the last 2 years (30,000 miles), it probably saw 8,000 rpm once or twice. I stopped driving it hard when lead levels started going up in oil reports (around 30,000 miles ago) and I believe the rod bearings were wearing out. I think cylinder 8 is a problem in these cars. My research told me that spun rod bearings now started popping up frequently on the 2017-2018 cars and its always #8. Rod bearing wear is a function of rpm. My 80,000 miles is probably equivalent of 5,000 track miles. Except the first 2 years, Which was the first 25,000 miles, I did not drive this car hard. Hard meaning, hitting the redline multiple times a day, doing hard launches, power slides, etc. There is a reason why at 80,000 miles my stock clutch was holding and the brake rotors still were above minimum thickness. Car was babied and never abused. I think this is why it lasted as long as it did.

But the time bomb aspect was just part of the reason. The other part was, after the last oil change I have examined the under carriage and came to the conclusion that everything have aged a lot. Car sat outside for 2 years. The first year it sat outside it aged more than it did the prior 3 years and this last year it looks like it aged another 10 years. Frame didnt rust but every bolt, nut, suspension component, diff, driveshaft, transmission linkage show visible age. Its normal for this mileage and everything functioned but I guess at some point I realized there was no way to keep it nice.

Interior also went down the hill last year. This car had no squeaks or rattles. Beginning a year ago everything started rattling. One of the tail light assemblies started making a buzzing noise, rear seat hatch was squeaking, rear side panel had those foam pieces squeak, the bazels around tach and speedodemeter made noises, then the dash, then the center stack. Every time new noises started, I always told myself I’ll just fix it and I tried (and was successful in some) but in the end it was clear that there is no way to fight this. The materials used in this car as well as construction (lack of underbody panels, lack of high quality interior panel clips, hard plastic, etc) contribute to the problems.

It is an amazing car. I wish I could order another one and if I could, I would do so and not put this many miles on.

 

[GTthree50]

Thanks for the detailed reply

 

[460Fred]

Congratulations on hitting 80K.
Sounds like this would make a great track car.

 

[DougS550]

Good Luck. Heres a Song to Help you Get through your Loss

 

[UnhandledException]

I thought about that as well. But I have been following @honeybadger for almost 2 years and I know that this isnt an engine that can take abuse in track. Eventually vibrations catch up and there is no warranty in the US that will cover these problems.

Another thing I want to point out to the forum is the extended Ford warranty (Ford ESP) doesnt work the way you may think it does. It does not cover wear and tear items AND any problems wear and tear items may cause. I actually paid almost $5,000 for warranty and cancelled it after finding out it doesnt cover oil consumption due to its considered piston rings will need to be redone with miles OR any transmission issues due to worn engine mounts. Service managers I spoke to said with high mileage cars, Ford take a very different stance. Another example provided to me was if engine goes due to worn valve guides for example, again Ford will not cover the warranty if car has high miles. They will only cover the warranty if the oil pump shears or block cracks or water pump leaks and overheats the engine, i.e manufacturing defect. When I pressed him on Ford not having any specific maintenance items for motor mounts or piston rings and how they can refuse warranty, I was told the people that look after these ESP claims are not the same people that look at pre 60,000 mile claims. There is a lot of “human element” to these claims when mileage is high. At that moment, I basically gave up. Called Ford and asked for a refund and subsequently sold the car.

My warning to the forum is dont think you can drive this car till 150,000 miles and have maximum ESP coverage and assume you will get identical treatment/coverage from Ford as in the early days with less miles.

 

[460Fred]

I thought about that as well. But I have been following @honeybadger for almost 2 years and I know that this isnt an engine that can take abuse in track. Eventually vibrations catch up and there is no warranty in the US that will cover these problems.

Another thing I want to point out to the forum is the extended Ford warranty (Ford ESP) doesnt work the way you may think it does. It does not cover wear and tear items AND any problems wear and tear items may cause. I actually paid almost $5,000 for warranty and cancelled it after finding out it doesnt cover oil consumption due to its considered piston rings will need to be redone with miles OR any transmission issues due to worn engine mounts. Service managers I spoke to said with high mileage cars, Ford take a very different stance. Another example provided to me was if engine goes due to worn valve guides for example, again Ford will not cover the warranty if car has high miles. They will only cover the warranty if the oil pump shears or block cracks or water pump leaks and overheats the engine, i.e manufacturing defect. When I pressed him on Ford not having any specific maintenance items for motor mounts or piston rings and how they can refuse warranty, I was told the people that look after these ESP claims are not the same people that look at pre 60,000 mile claims. There is a lot of “human element” to these claims when mileage is high. At that moment, I basically gave up. Called Ford and asked for a refund and subsequently sold the car.

My warning to the forum is dont think you can drive this car till 150,000 miles and have maximum ESP coverage and assume you will get identical treatment/coverage from Ford as in the early days with less miles.

Absolutely true! This is why, for the most part I get rid of cars/trucks past my comfort zone of 80-100K miles. Things just start to fall apart and I’m no wrench.
I respect those who can keep a vehicle on the road for 250K miles without ever taking their vehicle into a service center. Also buying the right car in the first place is very important.
Let’s face it, nobody expects to drive their GT350’s for 100K miles yet most expect “just a car” to last that long.

 

[sublime1996525]

Great write up! I’ve had mine for 5 years and 32k miles. I’m considering selling too because it’s out of warranty and honestly I’m ready for something new. This is the longest I’ve owned a car!

 

[-RAC-]

I plan to just rebuild it for as long as I can. Good for the OP for all the smiles.

 

[Socalrugger]

I plan to just rebuild it for as long as I can. Good for the OP for all the smiles.

interesting as I’m pondering the same….. I have 26k miles on it and 1 year left til my ESP expires. It just brings a smile to me each and every time I drive it so, given I can afford to re-build it if the engine blows, I just wonder what the cost and hassle would be to go that route.

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