I will try to address all of the questions posed in this thread:
1. How do I tell if the car has the replacement already done by inspecting the outer (6) flange bolts?
The Ford dealer will have a record minimally of the bolt kit being issued to that VIN and may also show that a dealership has installed the kit. (I have the former case because i picked up the kit but opted to install it myself.)
To determine visually, look at the outer 6 bolts around the output shaft flange. If these bolts are black 12-pt headed bolts, the car has the Accufab kit installed and no more work is necessary.
If the bolts are the silver OEM TORX bolts, then you need to look for evidence that the torque marks (typically white) are mis-aligned or there is a second set of marks. This is evidence that the bolts have been removed/replaced. The kits from Ford used the same bolts as the car left the factory with. If there is NO evidence from the torque markings that the bolts have been removed, then the update should be performed.
BUT, just because the torque marks are not aligned... it doesn't mean that the car received the RIGHT and latest Ford update kit. Before the final kit, Ford made a fix-kit available that updated the hardness of the inner washer and unknowingly included two inner-bolts from the same batch of bolts that eventually proved to have a percentage of them bad.
In summary, Accufab-equipped cars (12-pt black outer bolts) can be easily differentiated as being updated. Cars with NO evidence or the torque slashes being mis-aligned/changed can be differentiated as never have been opened and are NOT updated. Cars that have silver, OEM TORX outer bolts but with torque slashes mis-aligned, have been opened up... but it cannot be concluded WHICH kit was installed.
OK, so you may decide to go to the next step and remove the 6 outer bolts and take a peek at the inner bolts and washer and see if the update has been performed. I will tell you how. Before starting down this path, please know that Ford recommends discarding the 6 outer bolts if they are removed in favor of installing new bolts since these are all TTY (torque to yield) bolts.
2. How do I tell if the car has the updated axle bolt fix by removing the 6 outer bolts and inspecting the inner bolts/washer?
a. If the car has allen bolts, the car has neither the final Ford nor Accufab update. The Ford or the Accufab update kit needs to be installed.
b. If the car has had 10mm hex headed bolts that are recessed into a black washer with the head of the bolt approximately flush with the surface of the washer, you have the latest (good) Ford fix kit.
c. If the car has silver-colored 12-pt bolt heads, the car has the Accufab inner bolts and is fine. (It would be admittedly weird to see these Accufab inner bolts without the Accufab 12-pt outer bolts.)
Summary: If you see allen-bolts - REGARDLESS of what washer you see, you need to do the update. FIXED cars will have either 12-pt, 10mm silver-colored bolts sitting on top of a black washer (Accufab), or 10mm hex-head bolts recessed into a black washer (final FORD kit). If you have something other than one of these two configurations, you need to do an update.
3. What are the proper torque specs?
a. Ford Kit:
Use blue Loctite and tighten INNER bolts in a 2-stage process.
Stage 1: Tighten to 15 lb-ft (each of two bolts)
Stage 2: Tighten to 22 lb-ft (each of two bolts)
Ford Outer Bolts:
Stage 1: Alternately tighten bolts to 30 lb-ft (each of 6 bolts)
Stage 2: Loosen bolts (1) full turn one at a time. Tighten to 21 lb-ft, then tighten an additional 90 degrees (1/4 turn).
b. Accufab Kit
Use blue Loctite and tighten INNER bolts to 24-27 lb-ft
Accufab Outer Bolts:
Stage 1: Lightly oil bolts and tighten bolts equally until snug
Stage 2: Alternately tighten bolts (using a star pattern) to 30 lb-ft (each of 6 bolts)
Stage 2: Alternately tighten bolts (using a star pattern) to 50-55 lb-ft (each of 6 bolts)
Finally, if you have any signs of excessive transaxle fluid inside of the coupler flange, you should perform the 05-10-13 TSB to correct the condition.
