Crossi
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2022
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 24
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
- First Name
- Chris
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 GT350, 2023 Explorer ST
- Thread starter
- #1
To start off with, I am not a mechanic and this was my process, so take that as you may. I recently came across the dreaded Tone Ring symptoms for the GT350; slight surging while traveling in 5th-6th gear; inoperative cruise control. Found the TSB about the issue but found very little if any procedures for the driveway mechanic to fix it. Here’s how I accomplished it….
For starters, here is the TSB:
Tools needed:
32mm socket
1/2” 6 point socket
12mm 12 point socket
10” extension
swivel
torque wrench
thread lock
Entire process took about 2hrs from wheels up to wheels down. Difficulty is 3/5.
I did all of this in the driveway and on jack stands. The Tone Ring nut is located at the rear of the transmission where it attaches to the driveshaft. You cannot see the nut until you disconnect the driveshaft from the transmission. To do this, Undo the four bolts that attach the driveshaft to the transmission. Use 12mm 12point socket on the 4 bolts. Sprayed bolts with PB Blaster and let soak for about 15minutes. Leave the transmission in first gear. This will keep it from spinning when trying to undo them. Here it would also be beneficial to have a second person. You will be able to do two bolts but then you will need to rotate the driveshaft to get to the opposite bolts. So if by yourself, you will need to climb out and take it out of gear, climb back under, rotate the driveshaft, climb back out then put it back in gear to undo the remaining two. Be sure to mark the coupling of the driveshaft where it attaches to the transmission. I used a crayon. This will eliminate the need to rebalance or reposition the driveshaft when complete.
I did not drop the muffler, nor did I remove the trans mount. I did remove the bracket that holds the driveshaft up though. You will need the 1/2” 6 point socket with the 10” extension and swivel. This was required to give me the ability to drop the driveshaft enough to get to the bolt.
Once disconnected, slide the driveshaft out of the way. You can see and get to the Tone Ring nut. Using the 32mm socket, remove the Tone Ring nut. Mine was extremely easy to break loose which led me to believe this was the issue. The nut itself appears to be just a locking nut with no thread lock on it.
Reverse the process to put it back together. I reused all of the hardware(not Ford recommended, so replace with new if desired. All of the part numbers are listed in the TSB). I used the blue thread lock on all of the bolts and nuts. I placed the thread lock on the transbolt and Tone Ring nut. Torque the nut down to 105ft lbs. Be sure the transmission is in gear otherwise it will just keep spinning. After torquing down the nut, line up the driveshaft flange, but attach the driveshaft bracket first before putting the flange nuts back in. You will see why when you are under there. I couldn’t find a torque spec on the bracket so I tightened it to about 30ft lbs after adding thread lock. Here again a second person would come in handy as you have to rotate the driveshaft again to line up the bolt holes. Be sure to match the two crayon marks. Reattach the four bolts, using thread lock on each. Spec sheets show that these get torqued to 80ft lbs each. Wrapped everything up. Let the car sit four 4 hours to allow the thread lock to cure. Took it out for a spirited drive and all seemed to be good. No surging and cruise worked each time I engaged it. Again, I am not a mechanic, so do with this information as you please but it seemed to work for my issues.
For starters, here is the TSB:
Tools needed:
32mm socket
1/2” 6 point socket
12mm 12 point socket
10” extension
swivel
torque wrench
thread lock
Entire process took about 2hrs from wheels up to wheels down. Difficulty is 3/5.
I did all of this in the driveway and on jack stands. The Tone Ring nut is located at the rear of the transmission where it attaches to the driveshaft. You cannot see the nut until you disconnect the driveshaft from the transmission. To do this, Undo the four bolts that attach the driveshaft to the transmission. Use 12mm 12point socket on the 4 bolts. Sprayed bolts with PB Blaster and let soak for about 15minutes. Leave the transmission in first gear. This will keep it from spinning when trying to undo them. Here it would also be beneficial to have a second person. You will be able to do two bolts but then you will need to rotate the driveshaft to get to the opposite bolts. So if by yourself, you will need to climb out and take it out of gear, climb back under, rotate the driveshaft, climb back out then put it back in gear to undo the remaining two. Be sure to mark the coupling of the driveshaft where it attaches to the transmission. I used a crayon. This will eliminate the need to rebalance or reposition the driveshaft when complete.
I did not drop the muffler, nor did I remove the trans mount. I did remove the bracket that holds the driveshaft up though. You will need the 1/2” 6 point socket with the 10” extension and swivel. This was required to give me the ability to drop the driveshaft enough to get to the bolt.
Once disconnected, slide the driveshaft out of the way. You can see and get to the Tone Ring nut. Using the 32mm socket, remove the Tone Ring nut. Mine was extremely easy to break loose which led me to believe this was the issue. The nut itself appears to be just a locking nut with no thread lock on it.
Reverse the process to put it back together. I reused all of the hardware(not Ford recommended, so replace with new if desired. All of the part numbers are listed in the TSB). I used the blue thread lock on all of the bolts and nuts. I placed the thread lock on the transbolt and Tone Ring nut. Torque the nut down to 105ft lbs. Be sure the transmission is in gear otherwise it will just keep spinning. After torquing down the nut, line up the driveshaft flange, but attach the driveshaft bracket first before putting the flange nuts back in. You will see why when you are under there. I couldn’t find a torque spec on the bracket so I tightened it to about 30ft lbs after adding thread lock. Here again a second person would come in handy as you have to rotate the driveshaft again to line up the bolt holes. Be sure to match the two crayon marks. Reattach the four bolts, using thread lock on each. Spec sheets show that these get torqued to 80ft lbs each. Wrapped everything up. Let the car sit four 4 hours to allow the thread lock to cure. Took it out for a spirited drive and all seemed to be good. No surging and cruise worked each time I engaged it. Again, I am not a mechanic, so do with this information as you please but it seemed to work for my issues.
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