ARP Halfshaft Bolt Upgrade Interest List


PHXGT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 11, 2005
369
Phoenix, AZ
I'll take 2 sets. Thanks AMB!
 

FLASH

GT Owner/Board of Directors
Mark IV Lifetime
Aug 29, 2006
61
Atlanta, Ga.
Count me in for a set. Will they come with the better washers?
Flash
 

PILOTJPW1

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Sep 22, 2005
908
Maryland
Answer

If I install the new ARP halfshaft bolt kit, will that void the warranty, if, God forbid, I should have a future halfshaft failure? Will Ford back these non-Ford parts. I ask in case the cause of the failure really isn't due to inadequately strengthened bolts.

You can be positive they won't cover any non-ford parts and probably wont pay to switch it back to any up-coming Ford fix.

But other than those parts and that repair, the rest of warranty should remain in place.
 

abolfaz

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jan 11, 2006
827
Coral Gables
You can be positive they won't cover any non-ford parts and probably wont pay to switch it back to any up-coming Ford fix.

But other than those parts and that repair, the rest of warranty should remain in place.

So what do you suggest we do?
 

usmcfred

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Oct 26, 2006
546
Massachusetts
I'll take one set. Thanks! usmcfred
 
Dec 10, 2006
1
I'll take one set. Thanks 3g race eng.
 

AMB

GT Owner
Aug 29, 2005
401
San Diego,Ca.
ARP Halfshaft Bolts

I talked with John @ Accufab yesterday; He said that he has a ORDER in with ARP for some ARP2000 bolts and he has had some UPGRADED washers made TOO!! He sent the order in 12-06, so it should be aviable about the middle of February.

AMB
 

GUNNAR

Member
Jan 23, 2007
7
Marin County, CA
I would like one set please...thank you.
 

nota4re

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 15, 2006
4,196
My esteemed colleagues,

Perhaps in parallel (I sincerely hope) to what Ford is doing to resolve the problem, I wanted to let everyone know that I am consulting with what is one of the top EXPERTS in the world when it comes to half-shaft and hub designs. This individual is founder and owner of a company that has been number one in their industry of supplying space-age, bleeding edge, half-shafts and hubs to Formula 1, CART, Champ and various other racing organizations. Both their engineering and manufacturing capability is truly state-of-the-art and perhaps literally without peers. The owner has been in the hub & half-shaft business for more than 40 years. He has seen it all.... and he is relied upon by many current Formula 1 teams to continue to push the envelope. I honestly believe that if Ford and/or Ricardo developed a list of 3 people in the world to consult with on the problem and fix, he'd be on the list. No doubt. Ironically, he is also an owner of a Blue/White '05 GT and until I met with him, he had never heard of the problem. (Unfortunately he’s not a member of this great forum.)

Anyway, we met for over 3 hours last week with many pictures, descriptions, and experiences that I had captured from these forums. He has been a friend of mine for several years but only recently did the increasingly dimmer light bulb in my head click on to make the connection.

He is not an arrogant man, nor is he a man to condemn other designs or presume to be "all knowing". However, he believes he "sees" and understands the problem and why it is occurring. He asked me to look and gather some additional measurements from my car after I returned home - and all seemed to be fully supportive of what his failure assumptions were.

Frankly, this is the easy part and I have no doubt that Ford/Ricardo is already "there" too in understanding why the problem is occurring. A more difficult problem is determining a resolution that can be retrofitted to cars in service without requiring removal of the transaxle. Even more complicated than this is having a fix that will work with all cars when there is likely car to car tolerance variations. So, for example, he is relatively confident to be able to develop a solution based on the tolerances for my car... but we may likely need to have some other cars to guinea pig to know if a solution has broad applicability.

With the constraints of not requiring transaxle removal/dis-assembly and with finding a broadly applicable solution (in contrast to a single car fix), the resolution is not going to be easy. The good news is that he is on-board to help. Other good news is that he often consults with a semi-retired individual who is a household name in Formula 1 engineering circles. A legend. He is roping him in too to have a look.

Both individuals are “contributing” out of the kindness of their hearts and because they are enthusiasts like ourselves.

Any progress we may make on the topic is on hold for one week as my contact is out of the Country on a hunting expedition. I hope to have more to report within a couple of weeks and I will keep everyone abreast of our progress. Once again, I sincerely hope that this effort – with literally the top experts in the world is in parallel with what Ford/Ricardo may already be doing.

I have hesitated to post or say anything because I am reluctant to set expectations. Anything is possible including the fall-out of these participants…. for any number of reasons – their schedule, legal issues, etc.

I wanted to provide this update, however, to say that the pursuit of ARP bolts as a singular resolution is on hold. I have no doubt that superior fasteners will be needed in an eventual overall solution, but I no longer want to distribute bolts as a viable singular fix.

I will keep the group updated on our progress and in the interim perhaps Ford, Jay, or John (Accufab) may have a resolution or alternative available. The good thing is that there are a lot of people working on this – and I have the utmost confidence and respect for the experts I have contacted.

More – as soon as I have it.


(I made this duplicate post in the "merged thread". May I ask that any continuation of this on-going discussion be held over there? Thanks.)
 

hemidoc

GT Owner
Sep 8, 2006
26
Ottawa, Canada
Please count me in for whatever solution you come up with. Thanks for all the work!

Allan
 

vyprgt2

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 9, 2005
609
CA
<<Please count me in for whatever solution you come up with. Thanks for all the work!>>

Me too!


Thanks for your perseverance on this very, very important issue.
 

canuck

GT Owner
Mar 4, 2006
280
I also have an interest.

More so, thank you for taking on this project and allowing us to benefit from your enthusiasm and work.
 

Accufab

Well-known member
Mar 14, 2006
142
For those that are interested we are taking back orders for the axle bolt kits at this time. The expected delivery date will be in the middle of February and orders filled on the first come first served basis. The kits will consist of a new set of thicker washers, 4 hardened inner bolts ARP 2000 material drilled for lockwires, and 12 ARP outer bolts drilled for lockwires. Our part number for this kit is GTBK and the retail is $199. Again, this is a significant step towards fixing the existing problem, but I think the final cure will be a new axel flange which we are in the process of making right now.

Thanks all,

John Mihovetz
Accufab Inc

909-930-1751
 

isaakgt

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Dec 20, 2005
691
Wilder, Idaho
For those that are interested we are taking back orders for the axle bolt kits at this time. The expected delivery date will be in the middle of February and orders filled on the first come first served basis. The kits will consist of a new set of thicker washers, 4 hardened inner bolts ARP 2000 material drilled for lockwires, and 12 ARP outer bolts drilled for lockwires. Our part number for this kit is GTBK and the retail is $199. Again, this is a significant step towards fixing the existing problem, but I think the final cure will be a new axel flange which we are in the process of making right now.

Thanks all,

John Mihovetz
Accufab Inc

909-930-1751



You Accufab guys are going in the right direction with this thing. It isn't rocket science, just common sense. It was a very poor design by Ricardo. Thankyou & many ditto's. :bow :bow :bow
 

fly-by

GT Owner
Mar 22, 2006
12
Please add me to your list for the new bolts. I haven"t broken anything yet but i looks like this is thw way to go. thanks Jim H.
 

06gt1858

GT Owner
Jan 29, 2007
154
Lodi Ca.
I am in for the set , thanks for all your help

Steve 06gt1858
 

AZTungsten

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Feb 2, 2007
10
So. Arizona
Please add me to the list for 2 sets also. Thanks
 

glord

GT Owner
Mar 25, 2006
84
Los Gatos California
I'm in for two sets. Thank you!
 

dbtgt

One lucky SOB to own a GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 4, 2006
1,106
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Please add me to the list for 2 sets. Thanks!