We Haven't Talked about Axle Bolts in Awhile!


N

nota4re

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 15, 2006
4,366
Well, it's been awhile since we last spoke about axle bolts, but that doesn't mean that the problem is still not out there!

We're working on a GT today of a non-Forum member. We removed the transaxle from the car as part of some work that we are doing... and lookey what we find.

The side with the broken bolt is the driver's side and on the passenger side one of the bolts is half-way out.

DriversSide2.jpg

PassSide1.jpg

OK, so all of you new owners that may be out there. ALL, repeat ALL, Ford GTs regardless of year, color, miles, etc. need to have the axle bolt upgrade performed. If anyone has told you differently, they are wrong. Have your car inspected to make sure this upgrade has been done. If you buy a new car - from Shelby, for example... make sure you pay him to do the upgrade before the car leaves his shop!
 
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Kendall, thanks for the great reminder. If you are anywhere near SoCal, Cooltech would be the place to go for this and other repair or ungrades to your FGT.
 
Well does not surprise me.....I bet there are still a lot of cars out there unaware..... They did not fail 100%, and they are not here to know any better. Kendall, Sign them up, here!! Well atleast you will fix them up.
 
No need for anyone to pay us to do it on a car purchased from us Kendall, we Do our best to inspect all our inventory. If it comes in and we can't verify if the bolt replacement has been done, we do it. As for these new delivery mile MSO cars we just got in and listed on the forum, I have the service records for each, showing they have already been done along with full fluid changes even though they only have 20 miles on them. Thanks for the public service announcement, but if they are buying from me, they don't need to worry about this.... :)
 
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Just another example of the quality and class of Shelby and his Elite Autos team.
 
Shelby, I had no doubts.... just don't want anyone hunting for true factory virgins to overlook this step!
 
I came across a GT in upstate NY that had just been towed in because of broken axle bolts, so the timing of this thread is perfect!!

Merry Christmas

John
 
By the title and first few sentences I thought you were going to tell us that the replacement bolts ware breaking. Almost scared to ask but

has anyone heard of a failure of the replacement bolts?
 
If you don't know if it's been done, check your Oasis report. If it was done by Ford it will be listed. Your Ford service manager should pull the Oasis for you.
 
If you don't know if it's been done, check your Oasis report. If it was done by Ford it will be listed. Your Ford service manager should pull the Oasis for you.
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Yes, but not foolproof. DBK helped us to get a clause in the infamous letter to owners that would let us take the kit in hand rather than have it installed. At least at my dealership, the only way to do that was for the dealership to update the oasis report to say that the kit was installed - but they didn't do it. So, report says "installed" and mine were not installed (by them). Also, Ford had a false-start on this. The first attempt at a remedy was a thicker (black instead of silver) hardened washer - and bolts from the same "bad" batch. Probably not many cars with this sub-standard remedy, but some. Once again, Oasis report will be incorrect, IMO.
 
I had "both" ford kits installed, and all is well! But for cheap insurance, I still have an accufab kit that I keep in the passenger foot well pocket, just in case.
 
Is it good idea to buy a spare set or accufab set?

Will these be hard to get one day??
 
Kayvan said:
Is it good idea to buy a spare set or accufab set?

Will these be hard to get one day??
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If you are considering a spare set of bolts, the Ford parts are one time use, whereas the Accufab parts can be reused. So either Ford is overly conservative on the parts ratings, or the Accufab parts are superior.
 
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If you are considering a spare set of bolts, the Ford parts are one time use, whereas the Accufab parts can be reused. So either Ford is overly conservative on the parts ratings, or the Accufab parts are superior.
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This might be a little misleading. The 6 "outer" bolts that secure the halfshaft to the Ricardo's output flange are, from the factory, Torx-head torque to yield (TTY) bolts. Ford advises replacing these with new bolts if they are removed. The two inner bolts that secure the output flange to the transaxle output shaft (shown in Post 1 in this thread) are the ones that were subjected to a treatment process that inadvertently made them brittle. THESE are the bolts that need to be replaced. The Accufab kit explicitly uses custom manufactured (smaller head flange for side by side fitment) ARP bolts. Ford doesn't explicitly say that their replacement bolts are made by ARP but I suspect that they may be. Both kits include a thicker, hardened, "washer" so that it does not cup under the torque applied to the securing bolts. Both kits include 6 new outer perimeter bolts. The Ford kit simply provides 6 new OEM TTY bolts. The Accufab kit includes 6 ARP bolts. Both kits work and have been proven. IMO, the Ford kit has the best design for the ultra-thick washer (recessing the heads of the inner bolts), while the Accufab kit has the best inner and outer perimeter bolts.
 
Kendall thanks for the additional information, but like I said, Ford doesn't recommend reusing any of the bolts in their kit, whether it is the 6 perimeter ones, or the 2 that may fail. Whereas the Accufabs can be reused. I hope you are not assuming that the Ford bolts are made by ARP and reusing them!
 
I hope you are not assuming that the Ford bolts are made by ARP and reusing them!
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That's right Clinton, we re-use the bad inner bolts because we are dumb asses. Man, I'm SOOO glad you are on here - what on God's earth would we do without you? Why don't you do me a BIG favor - something I've asked repeatedly but you can just never hold yourself back, JUST DON'T POST IN MY THREADS!!!
 
nota4re said:
That's right Clinton, we re-use the bad inner bolts because we are dumb asses. Man, I'm SOOO glad you are on here - what on God's earth would we do without you? Why don't you do me a BIG favor - something I've asked repeatedly but you can just never hold yourself back, JUST DON'T POST IN MY THREADS!!!
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Ouch!

Ed
 
Yeah Clinton! What are you thinking!....that this is an open forum?!?! Only one side of the story is what we like to see here.

(Ridiculous)
 
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Fun threads are hard to find. Keep it going.

Ed
 
Only one side of the story is what we like to see here.
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(Intelligent)
 
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