GT Clutch Explosion


GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
Here's an interesting little story.
In the fall of 05, I was told by my boss to take one of the engineering cars to one of the Ford buildings in Dearborn. They were letting an exec use it for the weekend. (A woman in marketing) One Monday, the car came back to the plant on a flat bed. According to the exec, when she tried to drive it back to work on Monday, the car wouldn't move. She also said the car was uncomfortable to drive, hard to get in and out of, (hit her head on the door) and VERY low on power. Of course we all knew what had happened.

When I pulled the trans to replace the clutch, we couldn't belive how bad it was. The friction material on the front disc was completely gone, and on the second disc, just the disc hub was left. It had gotten so hot that it melted the seals on the throw out bearing. They didn't give her a car again.

I'll attach a picture of the carnage, but I had to shrink it down a lot to upload the photo. :thumbsup:thumbsup

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4749&stc=1&d=1197591320
GT pictures 0022.jpg
 
Last edited:

kmillen

Well-known member
Jan 29, 2007
504
Here's an interesting little story.
In the fall of 05, I was told by my boss to take one of the engineering cars to one of the Ford buildings in Dearborn. They were letting an exec use it for the weekend. (A woman in marketing) One Monday, the car came back to the plant on a flat bed. According to the exec, when she tried to drive it back to work on Monday, the car wouldn't move. She also said the car was uncomfortable to drive, hard to get in and out of, (hit her head on the door) and VERY low on power. Of course we all knew what had happened.

When I pulled the trans to replace the clutch, we couldn't belive how bad it was. The friction material on the front disc was completely gone, and on the second disc, just the disc hub was left. It had gotten so hot that it melted the seals on the throw out bearing. They didn't give her a car again.

I'll attach a picture of the carnage, but I had to shrink it down a lot to upload the photo. :thumbsup:thumbsup

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4749&stc=1&d=1197591320
GT pictures 0022.jpg


ummmmm...Wow...I don't really know what to say about that picture.

When the engineer from Ricardo was out he was showing us some of the pictures from some of the experimental clutches. Some of them had definitely been the victims of abusive drivers more so than an actual part failure.
 

gtjoey

Keep Smiling - GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 14, 2005
3,454
gt tech , how are you fixed for vegas? are you in next year? gtjoey..1314:thumbsup
 

GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
Joey my friend, sorry I missed your call. Tried calling back, but you have so many numbers, and you don't answer ANY of them.

Looking forward to the Vegas event. I love Vegas anyway, and now it's only 100 miles up the road. You WILL be there I assume? I'd hate to have to send Moose and Rocko to pay you a visit.

I may even try to set up a little pit stop for people driving there. There are some real neat scenic roads on the way there. The original Rt. 66 is quite a ride.

Sorry for hi-jacking the thread guys, but it's for the one and only GT JOEY :thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

Back to clutch thread :cheers
 

TEXAS GT

2006 Twin Turbo
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Rich commented you only get 1 3rd gear burnout:rofl

Unfortuneately, I can personally vouch for that.:frown
 

gtjoey

Keep Smiling - GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 14, 2005
3,454
GT TECH , GREAT NEWS!!!! WILL BE THERE WITH BELLS. Hows about posting some real:eek clutch blow up jobs from the factory:biggrin. Hey, that pic. you posted was that car ever resold:eek . gtjoey 1314
 

BlackICE

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2005
1,416
SF Bay Area in California
GT TECH , GREAT NEWS!!!! WILL BE THERE WITH BELLS. Hows about posting some real:eek clutch blow up jobs from the factory:biggrin. Hey, that pic. you posted was that car ever resold:eek . gtjoey 1314

Run the VIN in Carfax. You can see in the picture.
 

GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
The car was an engineering car and as far as I know, it's still in the Ford fleet. We were told that these cars would never be sold to the public. I suspect that some of the cars ended up in some Ford exec's garages. Just my 2 cents of course. The car in the picture was VIN # 116, which was Job 1. The first production level car. We called it the "Fred" car, as a certain engineering manager had a major oops with it. I understand that there was another major oops after it was repaired the first time.

I tried to get the old shop car when the program ended, but I was told it went to DST for scrap. Also tried to get the roof car for the museum, but no luck. :frown
 

B O N Y

MODERATOR & FGT OWNER
Mark IV Lifetime
Sep 5, 2005
12,110
Fresno, Ca.
I tried to get the old shop car when the program ended, but I was told it went to DST for scrap. Also tried to get the roof car for the museum, but no luck. :frown

I thought Fred gave the roof car to Joey...:thumbsup
Well if he didn't, he should have..:biggrin:thumbsup:lol:thumbsup:biggrin