Gentlemen:
This is a near final update on my 2006 GT that had a complete 3rd gear failure 2 months ago. To sum up the failure, my hand was on the 3rd hear shifter under hard acceleration. At aproximately 120-125MPH, 3rd gear failed as if I had clutched the car. My hand was firmly on the shifter and felt no release or movement.
After numerous suggestions that I needed to replace the Ricardo transaxle, extensive discussions with STILLEN and my best move to date, taking my car to Thomasville, Georgia to Aaron Scott @South Georgia Corvette (229) 226-4447. Aaron is a top notch engine builder and has tackled several GT's with entire engine rebuilds. His team was willing to open my box and attempt to locate the problem and repair without the multi thousand dollar new unit from Ford.
The result was a separation of the two-piece 3rd gear due to a weak weld (announced some time back by Ricardo that they discovered during production). According to Ricardo, they removed all of the weak units before they were installed in retail GT's. I am the second known failure and from the sounds of others on the Forum, there have been others simply replaced under warranty.
In summary, these transaxles can be repaired and for a lot less than a new T/A which will alter your matching number casing. If anyone has similar issues, I highly recommend Aaron and his guys a S. Ga Corvette. Their expertise in adding engine upgrades, tuning and leaving absolutely NO telltale wrench marks behind are second to none.
I plan to attach some photos of the Ricardo apart and hope this helps any of you with a similar gear loss issue.
Thanks agian to all of you who pointed me in the right direction for technical advice and the right people to make this happen.
This is a near final update on my 2006 GT that had a complete 3rd gear failure 2 months ago. To sum up the failure, my hand was on the 3rd hear shifter under hard acceleration. At aproximately 120-125MPH, 3rd gear failed as if I had clutched the car. My hand was firmly on the shifter and felt no release or movement.
After numerous suggestions that I needed to replace the Ricardo transaxle, extensive discussions with STILLEN and my best move to date, taking my car to Thomasville, Georgia to Aaron Scott @South Georgia Corvette (229) 226-4447. Aaron is a top notch engine builder and has tackled several GT's with entire engine rebuilds. His team was willing to open my box and attempt to locate the problem and repair without the multi thousand dollar new unit from Ford.
The result was a separation of the two-piece 3rd gear due to a weak weld (announced some time back by Ricardo that they discovered during production). According to Ricardo, they removed all of the weak units before they were installed in retail GT's. I am the second known failure and from the sounds of others on the Forum, there have been others simply replaced under warranty.
In summary, these transaxles can be repaired and for a lot less than a new T/A which will alter your matching number casing. If anyone has similar issues, I highly recommend Aaron and his guys a S. Ga Corvette. Their expertise in adding engine upgrades, tuning and leaving absolutely NO telltale wrench marks behind are second to none.
I plan to attach some photos of the Ricardo apart and hope this helps any of you with a similar gear loss issue.
Thanks agian to all of you who pointed me in the right direction for technical advice and the right people to make this happen.
Attachments
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