Halfshaft bolts for newbies

[Indy GT]

There was NO threadlock applied to any of the small flange fixing bolts! The bolts were still torqued correctly as far as I can judge, but they probably would have come out after a few years….

So Pro_GT_driver some comments on your "disturbing" finding.

What did you expect to see on the small flange fixing bolts? You state you saw no threadlock on the threads YET the bolts appeared to be "torqued correctly" as far as you could judge and were tight. But observing the tight condition of this bolted joint, what BASIS do you present to support your opinion that the bolts "would probably have come out after a few years"? There is absolutely no reason to jump to that conclusion, that I can see. Help me understand your logic. I would opine the bolts would continue to maintain their torqued preload until an untorquing force was applied to the bolt head. The axle bolt recall many years ago on our cars was NOT caused by a lack of threadlock nor was it caused by improper torque on any of the bolts.

So if you still have the factory bolts, one more reason to check and change them.

Again, what is your BASIS for this opinion? The final Ford bolt fix works just fine and did not cause us owners any costs to replace. If the Ford OASIS database states the second generation axle bolt kit was installed in your GT or you have the Accubab bolts (visually different from Ford bolts) or the previous owner can authoritavely document either kit was installed, you are done. No need to worry further. Repeat....DONE.

This discovery really bothers me, and I do not want to imagine what problems this kind of lapsus will cause related to other components………..I will have a drink and forget about it.

So do you have any opinion on what "problems this kind of lapsus will cause related to other components"? Early on during the discovery of the bolt problem owners would try to start off from a stopped condition and the car would just not accelerate. I do not recall reading of any secondary damage caused by the disengagement of the half shaft from the transaxle yoke. As Ford discovered during development of the fix, the failed bolts actually carry very little load, which further perplexed the Team as to why they would fail. I would be interested in hearing what you think might happen to these "other components" under the bolt torque relaxation issue you discussed in your post. But again, this is really a dead issue with most owners.

I welcome your response thoughts.

[Pro_GT_driver]

IndyGT, may be we misunderstand each other. Are you questionning the use of threadlock?? Of course it should be there from factory. And the Ford replacement even came with Loctite on the bolts. I still had the factory bolts, that's for sure. I used Accufab now.
Member Myellowc5 car discovered some loose screws when he changed to Accufab bolts...., so if the screws were loose because they were not correctly torqued, that's even worse!
I think we shouldn't debate about this anymore.
By "other components" I meant for example components related to the engine, like belt tensioners, or suspension related components aso.

[Indy GT]

Agreed.
There is little interest in continuing this topic discussion as most if not our cars all have swapped out the bolts.
Glad you are happy with your Accufab (ARP) bolts.
I am equally pleased with my Ford sourced bolts.
Now just enjoy driving your car!

[AHudson]

Great reading this thread. It's one of those things that absent this forum, would likely exist in relative isolation, difficult for 'normal' owners to ever know the breadth and depth of the issue. With that, I submit my findings on a 32,700 mile car. I was shocked to see the paint marks on the bolts. Can any of you wise fellows ID the bolt below?

[Wwabbit]

A bit worrisome certainly. Of course those aren't the bolts of concern, it's the two inside. There's a tutorial out there to get in there and see what's up and make the change if required;

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/sh...+shaft+dummies

or here's the guide;
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pn7jq3mrpe...%20Dummies.pdf

You can inspect one side in about 15 min and that will tell you if you have the correct bolts or not. If you do, you can do the whole change in couple of hours or so and you don't need a jack.

[RALPHIE]

That's yellow paint - never seen it before!! You may be in luck. Looks like it was an after OEM marking, indicating a modification installed. Which Mod, - - - can't tell....

Contact the previous owner if you can.

[myellowc5]

Just to repeat myself, I could not confirm change was made so thought it was prudent to invest a small amount for insurance. If you see my later posts in this thread it was well worth it to check and change both sides..

[Indy GT]

It is indeed unfortunate as we get into second and third generation ownership that new owners have to raise this concern due to a lack of recordkeeping by the previous owners.

The Accufab bolts do fix the OE transaxle bolt problem but documentation (continuing with the car) is necessary. Otherwise you have to disassemble to visually confirm the use of these (different looking) ARP bolts.

In similar fashion, the no-cost Ford axle bolt replacement also fixes the problem with the OE Ricaro bolts. Although a Ford dealer would give the owner the upgrade bolt replacement kit over-the-counter to install himself, this warranty action (as well as the dealer installing the bolts) was logged into the Ford Oasis maintenance database. Thus making it much easier for downstream owners to assure themselves of compliance.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but those owners complying with the warranty action through Ford, make it easier for furture owners verification.

[myellowc5]

It is indeed unfortunate as we get into second and third generation ownership that new owners have to raise this concern due to a lack of recordkeeping by the previous owners.


I know in my case I bought from a speculator who owned several GT"s and like many of these they are not really "car guys". What seems basic to us as far as record keeping or recalls is not a concern for most speculators. On the flip side I got a perfect pristine car with 1100 miles 2 years ago at a good time to purchase and things like these half shaft bolts and fluid changes, and new Bridgestones was a minor inconvenience and completes the documentation that will follow this car from now on.

[jcthorne]

Verification that the Ford bolts were installed is not sufficient information to conclude this will never be a concern for a new owner. Several of us have found out the ford bolt kit can be installed in such a way that the bolts do not maintain torque and back out. Not sure why as I was not there when installed, but they are the correct bolts and had remnants of the ford supplied loc-tite on them. None the less my passenger side backed out and leaked. Saw the leak and discovered the problem before any damage was done but these bolts will likely be a source of concern for owners of these cars forever, ford kit installed by a dealer or not.