Transaxle problems


RickH

GT Owner
Mar 5, 2015
426
Florida
I've heard about recent reports on this forum re: getting their cars out after winter weather subsides and report of "transaxle bolt?" problems. That would be a problem at around 150 MPH I believe. How often does this occur here and is there something you can do pre disaster other than a visual? A GT Guys punch list item? I'm not mechanically inclined.

Thanks in advance.

Rick
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,267
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Rick, I'll be kind before one of the more irascible members retorts, "The search button is your friend." There are several threads about this problem, so read those first. Since you're not mechanically inclined I'll boil it down for you:
1. The heat and surface treatment of the original bolts causes them to become brittle with time and use and the heads break off. Not all of them, but a high percentage. Only Ford knows how many (and maybe not even them), but my guess from what I read on the Forum and discussed with members and GT specialists is it's probably in the range of 50% or more. FYI, I believe my car has the original bolts, and it has 32Kmi with no problems, so I'm going to take a close look this weekend to find out if they are original bolts. If they are I will replace them.
2. Ford issued a recall some years ago to replace them with improved parts, however not all cars were done. To find out, go to your Ford dealer, give them your VIN and ask them to search OASIS to see if the recall had been completed on your car. At this point, the recall campaign is over, so you can't go to your Ford dealer and get it fixed. You have to go with the aftermarket ARP bolt kit.
3. It's not just a problem at high speed, it's a problem at any speed, because when the bolts break or loosen up, the inner CV Joint shaft (that goes into the side plate of the transaxle) slides off the spline and lets the tranny oil pour out of the tranny on your floor and driveway. If you ever see this, STOP driving the car! If you keep going, the CV joint and half axle will back all the way out, fall on the belly cover, flop around under the transaxle, and probably damage something expensive. You also will lose drive to the wheels. So you'll have to get it towed anyway.
4. Definitely a GT Guys punch list item.
5. There are a bunch of Forum members in S. Florida, so check out the map of GT owners and make contact with them. They can help you.
6. Use the search function.
 

matteuson

GT Owner
Jun 4, 2014
99
Cincinnati, OH
I've heard about recent reports on this forum re: getting their cars out after winter weather subsides and report of "transaxle bolt?" problems. That would be a problem at around 150 MPH I believe. How often does this occur here and is there something you can do pre disaster other than a visual? A GT Guys punch list item? I'm not mechanically inclined.

Thanks in advance.

Rick

Rick,

I bought my FGT a year ago and the first thing I did was bring it to the GT Guys to look at the bolts. One bolt head was sheared off completely and another was hanging by a thread. This car had 1800 miles on it and probably never driven above 80 mph, and certainly not hard, knowing the original owner personally.

Don't drive the car until the bolts are replaced. Seriously, don't.

You next email/call should be to the GT Guys.

Matt
 

CincyKen

GT Owner
Dec 23, 2013
17
Hi Matt,
Here is my my email address: wedgewood48@gmail.com.

Drop me a email when you get a chance....
Thanks again!
Ken
 

twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
2. Ford issued a recall some years ago to replace them with improved parts, however not all cars were done. To find out, go to your Ford dealer, give them your VIN and ask them to search OASIS to see if the recall had been completed on your car. At this point, the recall campaign is over, so you can't go to your Ford dealer and get it fixed. You have to go with the aftermarket ARP bolt kit.

Also be cautious in that there were two Ford part numbers. The first set of parts also failed, and they were replaced by a later set. There is also a discussion on when the cutover was done. I am told by the date on my OASIS report that it was the second set.
 

RickH

GT Owner
Mar 5, 2015
426
Florida
Rick, I'll be kind before one of the more irascible members retorts, "The search button is your friend." There are several threads about this problem, so read those first. Since you're not mechanically inclined I'll boil it down for you:
1. The heat and surface treatment of the original bolts causes them to become brittle with time and use and the heads break off. Not all of them, but a high percentage. Only Ford knows how many (and maybe not even them), but my guess from what I read on the Forum and discussed with members and GT specialists is it's probably in the range of 50% or more. FYI, I believe my car has the original bolts, and it has 32Kmi with no problems, so I'm going to take a close look this weekend to find out if they are original bolts. If they are I will replace them.
2. Ford issued a recall some years ago to replace them with improved parts, however not all cars were done. To find out, go to your Ford dealer, give them your VIN and ask them to search OASIS to see if the recall had been completed on your car. At this point, the recall campaign is over, so you can't go to your Ford dealer and get it fixed. You have to go with the aftermarket ARP bolt kit.
3. It's not just a problem at high speed, it's a problem at any speed, because when the bolts break or loosen up, the inner CV Joint shaft (that goes into the side plate of the transaxle) slides off the spline and lets the tranny oil pour out of the tranny on your floor and driveway. If you ever see this, STOP driving the car! If you keep going, the CV joint and half axle will back all the way out, fall on the belly cover, flop around under the transaxle, and probably damage something expensive. You also will lose drive to the wheels. So you'll have to get it towed anyway.
4. Definitely a GT Guys punch list item.
5. There are a bunch of Forum members in S. Florida, so check out the map of GT owners and make contact with them. They can help you.
6. Use the search function.

Pete,

Thanks for your courteous and lengthy response and keeping the rascals from jumping on me. I'm new here so not yet familiar with the search button but now know where it is located for future reference. The car I purchased was owned by the original dealer from new, 2005 until December 2013 with 9300 miles on it when I purchased it on a MSO. Problem is, all the repair work he had done on "his car" was done on in house internal work orders that were hand written with no vin# or anything other than "Reds GT". Never was entered in the companies computer I believe. I spoke with him once and he said he had the gas gauge go out on him and had to have the fuel filler door replaced for whatever reason. I believe him to be in his 70's so he may not remember but I'll try calling him. Thanks again. Rick
 

STORMCAT

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 25, 2006
7,549
Ft. Lauderdale
I've heard about recent reports on this forum re: getting their cars out after winter weather subsides and report of "transaxle bolt?" problems. That would be a problem at around 150 MPH I believe. How often does this occur here and is there something you can do pre disaster other than a visual? A GT Guys punch list item? I'm not mechanically inclined.

Thanks in advance.

Rick
Hello Rick, Welcome to the GT family. I will PM ( private message) you my number if you want to discuss anything GT related I migt be able to save you some time
 

mmlcobra

GT Owner
May 25, 2013
1,215
Rick,

I bought my FGT a year ago and the first thing I did was bring it to the GT Guys to look at the bolts. One bolt head was sheared off completely and another was hanging by a thread. This car had 1800 miles on it and probably never driven above 80 mph, and certainly not hard, knowing the original owner personally.

Don't drive the car until the bolts are replaced. Seriously, don't.

You next email/call should be to the GT Guys.

Matt

What he said!
 

RickH

GT Owner
Mar 5, 2015
426
Florida
Thanks to all who responded and was not once relegated to the "dog house" for not using the search feature.
 

GTED

GT Owner
Apr 4, 2006
783
For a peace of mind, get it done again. Cheap insurance.

Congrats on the purchase, btw.

GTED
 

junior

GT Owner
Mar 9, 2007
1,151
So Cal
Accufab came up with a fix before Ford's fix ?- (I think) - Congrats on the car, you're going to love it.

https://www.accufabracing.com/more/product/108-ford-gt-rear-axel-bolt-kit
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,526
Greenwood, IN
Rick,

I too welcome you to our owner’s forum and will not jump on you as a new owner asking for important information on your new purchase. But as others have indicated this forum is populated with an abundance of technical information on numerous FGT topics. And the search function works well when doing research.

Pete gives a pretty concise synopsis of the early axle bolt problems which I have slightly modified for accuracy. I would further add to GTED’s comment that verification of new axle bolts is more than peace of mind. It really is a REQUIREMENT of ownership. You do not want to experience one of these failures as it renders the car undriveable when it occurs. As you state, you are not “mechanically inclined” and live in Florida, the GT guys are your closest experts on the topic. Certainly worth a call to Rich/Dennis to discuss this topic or have them perform an inspection.

For a peace of mind, get it done again. Cheap insurance.

Congrats on the purchase, btw.

GTED
If it can be determined the axle bolts have been replaced thru Ford’s customer satisfaction program 07B49 dated 3 December 2007 either visually (see search posts) or by OASIS you are good. As others have stated, AccuFab also offered a kit using ARP bolts which are visibly different looking than the Ford bolts. During the campaign the Ford bolt replacement and labor was free to the owners whereas the ARP kit was an owner purchase/install. Either replacement option works fine. The (Ford) identified bolt problem was NOT a strength issue and had NOTHING to do with vehicle speed or how hard/easy the owner had driven the car. The bolt loads are actually very low. The hydrogen embrittlement bolt failures were due to the electroplating process applied to the original European bolts used during OE assembly of the transaxle.

Rick, I'll be kind before one of the more irascible members retorts, "The search button is your friend." There are several threads about this problem, so read those first. Since you're not mechanically inclined I'll boil it down for you:
1. The heat and surface treatment of the original bolts causes them to become brittle with time and use and the heads break off. Not all of them, but a high percentage. Only Ford knows how many (and maybe not even them), but my guess from what I read on the Forum and discussed with members and GT specialists is it's probably in the range of 50% or more.
Pete, I think your number is a bit high. Jamal told us owners at the R2 meeting (August 1-5 2007) that they saw about 8 failures per 1000 hrs of Ford testing. They were not necessarily alarmed at this rate but customer’s claims seemed to support a higher level and since this was a halo project, they launched into a root cause investigation. To Ford's credit they did figure out the failure mode (which was perplexingly difficult) and resourced new bolts to a domestic vendor which are included in Ford's kit.
FYI, I believe my car has the original bolts, and it has 32Kmi with no problems, so I'm going to take a close look this weekend to find out if they are original bolts. If they are I will replace them.
You should definitely replace your bolts.
2. Ford issued a recall some years ago to replace them with improved parts, however not all cars were done. To find out, go to your Ford dealer, give them your VIN and ask them to search OASIS to see if the recall had been completed on your car. At this point, the recall campaign is over, so you can't go to your Ford dealer and get it fixed. You have to go with the aftermarket ARP bolt kit.
Again good advice to go check the OASIS data base with Ford to see if a repair (or bolt replacement kit) is logged against your VIN. Ford did allow the owner to just pick up the replacement bolt kit and do the install himself. Yes the Ford (free) recall has expired but you CAN still buy the bolt kit from Ford (I believe the P/N is 4G7Z-4B490-A) and have it installed by Ford, GT Guys, etc. at your expense. Or you can buy the AccuFab kit. Either way you will have to pay the labor to install either kit.
3. It's not just a problem at high speed, it's a problem at any speed, because when the bolts break or loosen up, the inner CV Joint shaft (that goes into the side plate of the transaxle) slides off the spline and lets the tranny oil pour out of the tranny on your floor and driveway. If you ever see this, STOP driving the car! If you keep going, the CV joint and half axle will back all the way out, fall on the belly cover, flop around under the transaxle, and probably damage something expensive. You also will lose drive to the wheels. So you'll have to get it towed anyway.
Mostly true. Again the bolt failures have NOTHING to do with vehicle speed. The bolts do not loosen in place, they break or fail. Any failure of both bolts on either driver/passenger side drive axle will render the car undriveable and you will need to get your car towed. Early on there were reports of owners experiencing this failure (very few) where it happened while driving and although disconcerting and may have produced some anxious sounds from the engine bay, I do not recall any substantial post failure damage to surrounding parts.
4. Definitely a GT Guys punch list item.
5. There are a bunch of Forum members in S. Florida, so check out the map of GT owners and make contact with them. They can help you.
6. Use the search function.
Correct!
 
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Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
We have an outstanding GT tech here in Sarasota, although this is not a difficult job. It just has to be done right.
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,526
Greenwood, IN
Accufab came up with a fix before Ford's fix ?- (I think) - Congrats on the car, you're going to love it.

junior- While technically correct, Accufab did offer an axle bolt kit before Ford's recall campaign was launched, their kit contained higher strength ARP bolts which worked fine. But the root cause of the bolt failure was still not known. First reaction to a bolt failure is to assume (in this case incorrectly) the bolt must not be strong enough to perform its intended function. In typical failure investigations it is always desirable to fully understand WHY a failure happens before designing a fix to prevent it's reoccurrence. This is the path the Ford engineers took.

As was later determined by Ford's research and testing, the problem had nothing to do with bolt strength which was offered by the AccuFab kit. The problem was with the bolt electroplating process and the ARP bolts did not have this plating process applied and thus (unknowingly at the time) the ARP bolts supplied in the AccuFab kit were also not susceptible to root cause hydrogen embrittlement.
 

RALPHIE

GT Owner
Mar 1, 2007
7,278
In addition to Indy's well written responses, I would like to add that inspection and replacement (if not done already) should be performed on all cars having owners that do not have knowledge of their car's history. When mine were replaced, 2 of the bolts were cracked and on another, the head had broken off. So it behooves every owner to ensure that he knows the status of his car.
 

GKW05GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 28, 2011
2,755
Fayetteville, Ga.
From my post from 2012 when I decided to change.

After much debate and being fairly sure it had been done I ordered kit from Acufab anyway. It appears it was done as the washer and bolts show, let me know if you agree. Changed driver side, first pic see locktite, no problem but the kit on the other side was not even finger tight. You can see the wear on the washer, last pic ,where it was moving around. The bolts were backing out no locktite was used on those bolts by whoever changed these out. I guess it was worth the gamble as I assume this would have been a problem in the future
 

RickH

GT Owner
Mar 5, 2015
426
Florida
After all the posts and research, I have decided to use the Accufabracing.com FGT transaxle replacement kit as insurance for the future. Along with their magnetic oil plugs and the intake sleeve stiffener, I believe them to be better than factory parts and a necessary upgrade, keeping the original parts for the next owner.

Cheers,
Rick
 

RALPHIE

GT Owner
Mar 1, 2007
7,278
After all the posts and research, I have decided to use the Accufabracing.com FGT transaxle replacement kit as insurance for the future. Along with their magnetic oil plugs and the intake sleeve stiffener, I believe them to be better than factory parts and a necessary upgrade, keeping the original parts for the next owner.

Cheers,
Rick

I think that is a good choice!
 

RickH

GT Owner
Mar 5, 2015
426
Florida
Thanks Ralphie, appreciate the thumbs up which is highly appreciated here.
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,267
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Ahhh, I love it--a technical discussion! Indy, let me (as they say in the US Senate) extend and amplify the comments of the distinguished gentleman from Indiana.

Yes, you are correct, the Ford replacements parts are still available--in fact, that's what Rich put on my car.

As for the number of failures, I was guessing at 50% from the number of comments on the Forum, I could be way off. However, what Jamal said at the R2 in 2007 did not account for the failures since, so his statement based on testing at that time almost certainly is way low. Whatever the real number, so many Forum members have experienced the problem that it's something to be on guard against. As I noted in another thread on "I Broke my GT" I had the bolts replaced last weekend at John Bailey's gathering by the GTG. The originals were just fine, and it took about 40 ft-lbs to break them loose. Even so, I had them replaced. BUT, if you have significant miles on the car (say 10,000+) at this point, if they haven't failed, they have passed the "infant mortality" part of the failure curve and very likely will never fail. I certainly understand anyone who wants to replace them after reading about all the stories on this Forum, however (that's what I did).

As for the shaft backing out and not causing damage, I can only imagine that if you're rolling along at highway speed and that part backs out, the other end of the axle is still attached to the rear wheel, which will continue rolling until the car comes to a stop, so I can easily foresee that the axle and CV joint would flop around and bang into other stuff (like the cats). Maybe it won't flop around as much as I expect. But maybe the other guys have been lucky so far.

Has anyone had this failure at highway speed yet?