Vibration between 50 & 70 mph

[MikeD1]

If an f'n driveshaft is OUT OF BALANCE (because the Engineering fix with a hose clamp places it "in balance") - the same driveshaft that is SUPPLIED BY A DRIVETRAIN VENDOR - then FORD should be going back to the Vendor and saying "WTF, you're causing my Company PR issues, irate Customers, sales, loss of labor hrs and warranty monies AND you need to figure out WHY the F your company can't produce a driveshaft and matching front/rear flanges that ARE properly balanced".

And if it's NOT a Vendor issue, then YES, one would expect the Ford Engineers to come up with a revision to "X" so that the damn car is not constantly being returned to the shop for the same damn reason - even AFTER it's supposedly been fixed with a freakin hose clamp.

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The TSB solution is a f'n hose clamp for a FIX? Are you kidding me????

Here's the bigger question:
Since the driveshaft is tied to the rear and the transmission - I want to know what mechanical harm is being done to the rear, trans and engine with a constant vibe - since most of us are driving in excess of 60-65mph during our daily commutes.

Who can answer that?

IMO the answer is simple, this is no different than the exploding Pinto's were. It's simply a numbers game to them ! If the cost of the repairs & buybacks is below a certain threshold they'd rather eat that than pressure the suppliers to increase quality (and thus cost) or completely re-engineer the offending parts. Look how long they dodge issues where people are dying from defective product !!

Customer satisfaction & loyalty gets bandied about and given a lot of lip service, but in the end it's all about the $$. So, with 100k+ Mustang sales under their belts, they don't really give a flip about the relatively small #'s of us who #1 actually notice the issue & #2 pursue a fix beyond the usual dealers 'they're all like that' blather or #3 bail on the car and buy something else. I'd be willing to bet there are at least 10x more cars with DS issues out there than are getting reported/complained about. The owners are either just clueless or they are rental cars & no one really cares.

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The issue of what the vibration could damage over time in the rest of the driveline (trans, rear, engine) was a HUGE concern of mine. Look at the ppl experiencing OPG failures due to the (relatively minor) vibration introduced by adding a S/C.

I wasn't about the bet the life of my engine on a 10 cent hose clamp !!

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[Sick03L]

IMO the answer is simple, this is no different than the exploding Pinto's were. It's simply a numbers game to them ! If the cost of the repairs & buybacks is below a certain threshold they'd rather eat that than pressure the suppliers to increase quality (and thus cost) or completely re-engineer the offending parts. Look how long they dodge issues where people are dying from defective product !!

Customer satisfaction & loyalty gets bandied about and given a lot of lip service, but in the end it's all about the $$. So, with 100k+ Mustang sales under their belts, they don't really give a flip about the relatively small #'s of us who #1 actually notice the issue & #2 pursue a fix beyond the usual dealers 'they're all like that' blather or #3 bail on the car and buy something else. I'd be willing to bet there are at least 10x more cars with DS issues out there than are getting reported/complained about. The owners are either just clueless or they are rental cars & no one really cares.

***************************************

The issue of what the vibration could damage over time in the rest of the driveline (trans, rear, engine) was a HUGE concern of mine. Look at the ppl experiencing OPG failures due to the (relatively minor) vibration introduced by adding a S/C.

I wasn't about the bet the life of my engine on a 10 cent hose clamp !!

A 10 cent hose clamp is no different then a 10 cent weight tack welded on. Every DS has weight welded on.. its simple poor quality control from the ds manufacturer / plant. This is not a brain busting issue. Yes it sucks Ford can really give 2 shits but its fixable.

 

[keltymd]

If it is just a DS issue then a good aluminum 1 piece would fix them all

 

[Sick03L]

If it is just a DS issue then a good aluminum 1 piece would fix them all

Not true.. 2 issues there.
1.. not all 1 peice DS are vibration free, there have been plenty of issues with aftermarket ones here on the forum.
2.. there will be some increase in NHV with a one peice. Not a shake per say like we all are having now but there is a reason we have a 2 peice to deaden some NHVs.

 

[theredmeadow]

[FONT=&quot]does the shaft ha[FONT=&quot]ve[/FONT] two u-joints or two CV's?[/FONT]

 

[keltymd]

Not true.. 2 issues there.
1.. not all 1 peice DS are vibration free, there have been plenty of issues with aftermarket ones here on the forum.
2.. there will be some increase in NHV with a one peice. Not a shake per say like we all are having now but there is a reason we have a 2 peice to deaden some NHVs.

They are two piece due to NHSA requirements. Like i posted before I put one in my 197 and it was worse no matter where I indexed it. But it in my friends car this weekend smooth as silk. The issue is something else is out of balance and they are attempting to compensate for it with the driveshaft. Thats why people have 2 or 3 or 4 driveshafts and never fix the issue. Putting a Hose Clamp on it compensates for whatever else is out of balance bringing the whole driveline into balance

 

[Sick03L]

They are two piece due to NHSA requirements. Like i posted before I put one in my 197 and it was worse no matter where I indexed it. But it in my friends car this weekend smooth as silk. The issue is something else is out of balance and they are attempting to compensate for it with the driveshaft. Thats why people have 2 or 3 or 4 driveshafts and never fix the issue. Putting a Hose Clamp on it compensates for whatever else is out of balance bringing the whole driveline into balance

I got ya.... but a balanced assembly is just that, balanced. When connected it just one large rotating mass. If 1 hose clamp brings into Balance then so be it. I'm just happy mine is gone regardless. I told them to send the rear they ordered back.

 

[keltymd]

I got ya.... but a balanced assembly is just that, balanced. When connected it just one large rotating mass. If 1 hose clamp brings into Balance then so be it. I'm just happy mine is gone regardless. I told them to send the rear they ordered back.

I agree but I think the reason for so many issues is not the driveshaft. IMHO I am leaning towards output shaft issues or play causing it but ford won't own up to that due to cost.

 

[768mph]

They are two piece due to NHSA requirements. Like i posted before I put one in my 197 and it was worse no matter where I indexed it. But it in my friends car this weekend smooth as silk. The issue is something else is out of balance and they are attempting to compensate for it with the driveshaft. Thats why people have 2 or 3 or 4 driveshafts and never fix the issue. Putting a Hose Clamp on it compensates for whatever else is out of balance bringing the whole driveline into balance

This.

Basically. Today I was informed...

The dealership was forced to throw their hands up and said "Ford is working on a fix, we can't replace anything else " after their engineer came out and confirmed.

2016 Mustang GT with 4K miles.

(3rd) New driveshaft and balanced, rear diff and rear half shafts.
Road force Balanced the tires and switched out wheels with another mustang. No positive result.

I was informed to call my Ford Rep and request a buyback or other action.
Now the process begins... And it's a shame. This is my 4th Mustang.

As mentioned before, you watch the S550 Documentary "A Faster Horse" (on Amazon Prime) you hear them mention vibration over 8 times in the process and then an abrupt "it's cured."
They are aware of the issue but I feel they pushed the release to deal with the 50th Anniversary and first time global sales.

 

[MikeD1]

I agree but I think the reason for so many issues is not the driveshaft. IMHO I am leaning towards output shaft issues or play causing it but ford won't own up to that due to cost.

The 3rd DS they tried on my car still did not fix the issue. At one point in the 80+ days saga they sent it to an independent DS shop for balancing. Shop sent it packing back saying they could not make it right & it needed to be replaced (which Ford refused to do). So, there are definitely DS issues as part of the equation (and likely other culprits as well -flanges etc.).

 

[03cobra]

Man problem is its not balanced as whole. Each part by themselves are perfect but when put together there not. All vehicle makers have problems like this

 

[JakePSD]

I've read the whole thread and would like (not really, you know what I mean) to add mine to the mix as well. I have a 2017 that I got 8/4/16. I have roughly 1,400 miles on it. I freakin love everything about the car, aside from the vibration issue. It is not horrible like some on here seem to have, I can still see clearly out of my rearview mirror, and because I don't want to be without my car, so far I haven't gotten too extensive on getting it fixed. I'm not sure the mileage when I first noticed it, but there was 477 on it when I took it in the first time. They inspected all the stuff as per the service note, and road force balanced the tires, both to no avail (no kidding). So far my purchasing dealer has been very good with me, and both the service manager and the tech agreed before the balancing that it wouldn't do jack shit because it's not tires.

I am worried about having anyone else work on my car again, as its already been damaged twice. First, one of the wash monkeys scratched my door handle somehow (I normally would never let anyone touch it, but since it was in for a paint defect, speck of dirt in the driver door, they had to wash it). The second damage was done at a different dealer of the same group, since my purchasing dealer didn't have a road force balancer. The tech doing the balancing, who was supposedly a mustang guy himself, put one of the rear tires on the front causing the weight to put a small gouge in the strut. Luckily he noticed before he torqued them down but seriously, wouldn't a true mustang guy know about the staggered setup on GTPP's and make sure he put the wheels in the right damn spot?

So far the next step per the service note is to have the driveshaft balanced, but I'm thinking about just trying to reindex it myself, along with the hose clamp method, rather than risk more damage to my baby having someone else work on it. The guy at the purchasing dealer seems to know his stuff and seems to be a really good mechanic, but why risk it?

My biggest worry is what damage has/will this cause to other parts, mainly the diff and transmission. An output bearing on the trans or a pinion bearing on the diff would be an expensive PITA fix once the warranty is up, should it take that long for any damage done now to finally manifest.

 

[theredmeadow]

I've read the whole thread and would like (not really, you know what I mean) to add mine to the mix as well. I have a 2017 that I got 8/4/16. I have roughly 1,400 miles on it. I freakin love everything about the car, aside from the vibration issue. It is not horrible like some on here seem to have, I can still see clearly out of my rearview mirror, and because I don't want to be without my car, so far I haven't gotten too extensive on getting it fixed. I'm not sure the mileage when I first noticed it, but there was 477 on it when I took it in the first time. They inspected all the stuff as per the service note, and road force balanced the tires, both to no avail (no kidding). So far my purchasing dealer has been very good with me, and both the service manager and the tech agreed before the balancing that it wouldn't do jack shit because it's not tires.

I am worried about having anyone else work on my car again, as its already been damaged twice. First, one of the wash monkeys scratched my door handle somehow (I normally would never let anyone touch it, but since it was in for a paint defect, speck of dirt in the driver door, they had to wash it). The second damage was done at a different dealer of the same group, since my purchasing dealer didn't have a road force balancer. The tech doing the balancing, who was supposedly a mustang guy himself, put one of the rear tires on the front causing the weight to put a small gouge in the strut. Luckily he noticed before he torqued them down but seriously, wouldn't a true mustang guy know about the staggered setup on GTPP's and make sure he put the wheels in the right damn spot?

So far the next step per the service note is to have the driveshaft balanced, but I'm thinking about just trying to reindex it myself, along with the hose clamp method, rather than risk more damage to my baby having someone else work on it. The guy at the purchasing dealer seems to know his stuff and seems to be a really good mechanic, but why risk it?

My biggest worry is what damage has/will this cause to other parts, mainly the diff and transmission. An output bearing on the trans or a pinion bearing on the diff would be an expensive PITA fix once the warranty is up, should it take that long for any damage done now to finally manifest.

I'm the same way. I took mine in earlier in its life and they did the exact same as you and even replaced a tire. it's still there but it's not to the point where it's shaking my mirrors. its a drone/hum. I haven't taken it in yet because it's seems like the success rate is like 1%. LOL :doh:

 

[shahram72]

Got a reply from Ford Service today, being referred to another dealership in my area that has the vibration analyzer and they have already been made aware of my issue so making an appointment there soon. Hopefully they will find something and get it fixed or at least acceptable. Happy to just be getting some attention from Ford.

 

[Motoboy]

Mine went in last night and they said it's done. They re-indexed the driveshaft and said the vibration was fixed. Could it be that easy? Should I ask if they used hose clamps? I'm picking it up Saturday, I'll report the results.

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