Update on my half shaft issues....

[Specracer]

Hi All sorry, but I got the car back wednesday night, and was off on biz and back yesterday.

So after the thing came apart, the bolts were snapped, but the pieces had worked them selves out, they found 3 of the 4 pieces (4th was gone). What I am told is that they are suspect that the the washer some how is expanding too much when heated, which either snaps the bolts, or stretches them enough to loose torque. I did not see the replacement, but the tech said that the new units were black. They fixed both sides, and the side that fell out the replaced the "cup" (the part that goes on the output shaft that receives the 6 bolts that hold the CV joint), and the seal.

One thing that I noticed when I was doing the exhaust, was traces of pink about under the passenger / b piller, on bottom, pan. Turns out the power steering pump was leaking, so that was replaced.

Total time was 8 days, the pump was the largest delay.

I was VERY happy with the dealership that did the work, but it seems as though they only want to deal with the ones that they have sold, or at least that is what 05redrich found out. Which is too bad.

Here is a link to my original post of the issue: http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2069

Glad it is running in time for detroit "rock city" !!

Andy

 

[EasyEric]

I'm wondering if Ford should issue a TSB or recall for this issue.

Halfshafts loosening themselves and falling out can be a traumatic experience, expecially if one is far from home when it happens.

Although I have no reason to believe my GT has this problem, I am tempted to ask the dealer to replace the bolts and washers with upgraded parts. I am concerned that he (the dealer) will be unwilling to do this under warranty unless it is a TSB or recall.

Eric

 

[SLF360]

I'm wondering if Ford should issue a TSB or recall for this issue.

Halfshafts loosening themselves and falling out can be a traumatic experience, expecially if one is far from home when it happens.

Or, if one is travelling at 200 miles per hour, even if only around the block ! :ack


slf360 aka 225mph :wink

 

[Specracer]

The best would be on a laterally fully loaded suspension, loose drive, weight transfer goes up front suddenly, be like an 80's 911...........

IF you save it, it for sure would be a good "tank slapper"........

 

[Neilda]

Spec, I've just replaced the washers on these bolts on my half shafts with hardened washers. The factory ones appear to be too soft. It may be the case (and I'm no engineer) that a soft washer, when tightened up, not only (over time) loses the torque, but also distorts on tightening. When the opposite bolt is tightened it will throw the washer on the opposite side - crushing it, ever so slightly, on one side. This might put a disproportionate pressure on one side of the head of the bolt.

This is pure speculation on my part, however, it does seem to be the case that the factory fit washers on these bolts are not hardened and this may be the cause of the bolts backing out and the half shaft walking off the spline. I'm told this walking off would only happen at low speeds....

 

[gtjoey]

A BIRDIE FLEW IN MY WINDOW AGAIN, NOT knowing anything about cars , not saying what is fact,or fiction, just what a birdie told me perched at my window.
1. THIS IS A FACTORY WARRANTY ISSUE, RICARDO PROBLEM, NOT CAUSED BY FORD.
2.THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE 1 OR 2 LATE 05'S THE REST 06 BUT NOT ALL BUY A LONG SHOT.
3.THE 2 BOLTS HOLDING THE SHAFTS ARE BACKING OUT/SOMETIMES SHEARING FROM BEING LOOSE.
4. YES THE MAIN REASON IS THE WASHER IS TO SOFT,THEY ARE NOW BEING HEAT TREATED TO BE HARDER,LESS FLEX SO BOLT DOESNT LOOSEN UP.
5. THE DEALER WILL SWITCH THEM IF YOU ARE NERVOUS.
6.CAUTIOUS DEALERS WILL EVEN TAP HOLES AND LOCK WIRE THEM SO THEY CANT BACK OUT :thumbsup VERY GOOD IDEA..
7.REMEMBER WHEN HE OTHER BOLTS HOLDING THE COUPLING ARE REMOVED TO GET TO THE 2 CENTER ONES, THEY CANNOT BE REUSED AS THEY STRETCH WHEN THE ARE FIRST INSTALLED!!!!!!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!! YOU CAN USE THE SAME 2 BOLT WASHER THOUGH :thumbsup .
8. ISSUE OCCURS WHEN YOU LAUNCH OFF THE LINE, THE TWIST OR TORQUE , HELPS SPEED UP THE LOOSENING CONDITION.
9. CONCLUSION, SWAP OUT THE 2 BOLTS WITH NEW BOLTS/HARD WASHERS,AND DRILL OUT FOR LOCKING WIRE, AKA OLD JAG REARS. NEVER REUSE OTHER BOLTS TO HOLD SHAFT AND COUPLING THEY MUST BE REPLACED, YOU CAN USE THE WASHERS THOUGH......
WELL DONT HOLD ME TO ANY OF THIS , IM JUST REPEATING WHAT THE BIRDIE TOLD ME. THANKS GTJOEY1314 :thumbsup hope this helps....

 

[K-P Garage]

smart birds up in your neck of the woods

Joey- Your birdies are smarter than our birdies. When I talked to the senior tech at a local dealer it took me 10 minutes to convince him that the GT had an IRS rear and was not a muskrat. Does your birdie have any wisdom about a TSB on these so we can get the prevention done? We can all send you our old bolts and you can put them in a barrel in the barn. :thumbsup

 

[jamie]

half shaft bolts

I am not sure I understand what you wrote? Is it a problem for only a couple of 2005 gt's and all 2006's?
thanks

 

[gtjoey]

Hold on, here tweety,tweety,hold on he's coming now to the window, ive got to bribe him with some sun flower seeds.Okay tweety what say you on the tsb and window of cars?." Looks like very, very late 05 and hit and miss cars for 06 gtjoey" How about a tsb tweety? " no dice gt joey as ricardo and ford are blaming each other" . No recall tweety? " not yet as there havent been to many incedents, but they are keeping an eye out , also if you are concerned they will just replace them for good measure under warranty work" . REMEMBER GT DONT FORGET WHEN YOU UNBOLT THE COUPLING BOLTS THEY STRETCH SO THEY HAVE TO BE REPLACED!!! YOU CANNOT REUSE THEM. Thank you tweety, this is gtjoey coming to you live from gt central , now back to you . k-p :thumbsup gtjoey 1314 and loving it

 

[EasyEric]

Well we know it happend to Abolfaz's car.

ABOLFAZ: What VIN is your car?

My car is '05, VIN# 1712. That is probably late '05 but not very, very late...I hope.

Eric

 

[EasyEric]

Just checked the registry and Abolfaz's car is VIN# 1516, so my car MAY be impacted.

Eric

 

[fjpikul]

Mine is '05 #1297, build date June '05. No problems yet but only 1500 miles. With my luck it will happen on the way to Detroit. That's why I need DBTGT's parts car on the trip.

 

[Neilda]

I think I may have posted on another thread that a decent engineer can replace these bolts (and washers) in about 30 minutes on the roadside. One of our Le Mans group had this problem and Roush were on hand to fix the problem.

Interesting - as always with cars - that a five cent part can bring something exotic to a juddering halt!

As mentioned earlier, I had Roush swap my bolts and washers a week or so ago with hardened replacements as a preventative measure. Definitely worth doing.

 

[EasyEric]

Neil,

Did the repair at roadside include adding NEW halfshaft cup bolts (qty 6)? These are torque-to-yield bolts and can only be used once.

Eric

 

[Specracer]

FWIW mine is #1641 2005

 

[Neilda]

Eric, yes I believe it was all new bolts. Roush SVA'd all 101 European GT's and a lot more besides, so their people know the GT very well.... I obviously wouldn't use their 30 minute 'on tour' emergency repair as a benchmark. However it's interesting that it can be done quickly on the roadside. Mind you, most things can be done quickly on the roadside if you set your mind to it! :biggrin

 

[rickisapilot]

How do you drill the bolts?

Can the bolt "drilling" be explained to me? Do I understand this correctly that those little bolts would be drilled *across* the hex head from one "flat" on the hex to the other side "flat" on the hex? (If so, that takes a little skill with a pretty small drill bit that can cut thru a hardened bolt, right?) Then the bolt would be wired to what? The other drilled bolt? i.e. One piece of strong wire thru the head of both bolts & then twisted around itself? That's the way I've visualized this. Am I correct? If anyone has done this, do they have photos? Doesn't the drilling weaken the integrity of the bolt? (would hate to have the whole thing break down due to the same forces & vibration that is causing the bolts to lose their torque, albeit now with washers that are too soft). Comments & opinions?

----Rick

 

[B O N Y]

Can the bolt "drilling" be explained to me? Do I understand this correctly that those little bolts would be drilled *across* the hex head from one "flat" on the hex to the other side "flat" on the hex? (If so, that takes a little skill with a pretty small drill bit that can cut thru a hardened bolt, right?) Then the bolt would be wired to what? The other drilled bolt? i.e. One piece of strong wire thru the head of both bolts & then twisted around itself? That's the way I've visualized this. Am I correct? If anyone has done this, do they have photos? Doesn't the drilling weaken the integrity of the bolt? (would hate to have the whole thing break down due to the same forces & vibration that is causing the bolts to lose their torque, albeit now with washers that are too soft). Comments & opinions?

----Rick

I have seen guys drill the bolts for safety wire, but would it not be easier to get Grade 8's that are drilled already?

 

[gwbartlett]

Axle Bolts

Rick-
The next time you are doing a walk around on your 74 (77?) maybe you will be able to look inside of an engine housing. Most of the nuts and bolts in there are safety wired. Safety wiring the axle flange bolt is the same thing. The new Ford instructions, though, are to use Ford Loctite. That is what we did when mine were replaced. Safety wire or Locktite won't work unless the "soft" washers are replaced.
-GW

 

[Beach-GT]

Bolts

I went to a local Ford dealer today to see what the partyline on this problem is. I stopped in the parts department and found that the 2 retaining bolts and a "washer" that is really a retaining plate with 2 holes in it has been updated by Ford and costs $100 per kit. The 6 non- reusable halfshaft bolts are 75 cents apiece. I ordered 12 bolts so I can have a look if I choose for not much money. I then went to the service department and tracked down the transmission tech. He said "they" won't do any service work unless a TSB gets released. You must need a few deaths to get a TSB. :willy After discussing this with him I doubt I would let him touch my car anyway. I'm going to pull a side and inspect the "washer". If it looks ok then I'm going to drill the bolts for wiring. If there is evidence of fatigue due to softness in the washer then I'm going to buy the $100 replacements and wire them. Waiting for them to break or not break on me is folly. :ack I guess the next thing I will have to do is go all over the car tighening up hoses and checking torqs on critical fasteners. This is a real shame. :confused