Mardyn,
Congratulations on the new machine.
I know exactly how you feel.
I too had a similar experience after my first 52 mile drive. I backed the car into her stall and that “what the heck is this noise” question came into my mind. The noise was amplified being there was a wall right behind the car. First thought was a bad throw-out bearing, but symptoms were backward from that of a bad throw-out bearing. This was on a Friday evening, and I really didn’t rest too well that night with visions of needing to split the engine from the transaxle – not a pretty vision for a brand new super-car.
The next morning I am on every WEB site I can think of to find out what the heck is going on. Ford, Panoz, Ricardo, How It Works, etc. Found a thread on this site discussing the “neutral rollover noise” phenomenon that made me feel a little better. However, as you mentioned, I too have a number of high performance automobiles, and being of a rather discerning type personality, I needed much more reassurance. Needless to say it was a LONG weekend of thought and worry.
On the next Monday morning I was immediately on the phone to my Ford dealer’s technician and he said he would be right out to our place so we could take a look at it. He also talked to the Ford Regional representative and they both assured me that this was in fact the “neutral gear rollover” noise as DBK has indicated and that it was normal and not an issue. Well, there are times when you just have to have faith, and this was one of those times. So I decided to run her and see what happens. It has now been almost 2 months, and all is well. The noise is still there, but no adverse issues.
Your new “BABY” is OK!! Let her run as she is intended and created to be. This is truly an AMAZING MACHINE. ENJOY THE RIDE!!
