ukfiveo Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 I have a delivery mileage 2008 GT500 (built Dec 2007) on its way to me in the UK. Now the warranty is void as soon as the car leaves the US, so i am "on my own" & no TSB so to speak. I have an idea regarding the trans woes afflicting this car. What if I changed the flywheel, which I believe through warping is the main cause of the issues, for either an aftermarket piece, i.e. SPEC or the later factory unit. Would this work with the stock clutch & if so, do you think it would help protect me from possible future issues? Any advice gratefully received Thanks Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s code mach Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 My personal opinion is this has been made way more complicated than it is. I'm not going to do a thing to my car until it has a problem, if it's still on warranty great if it isn't I'll put a new clutch in it myself and forget it. As long as you change your clutch out before you start having a problem shifting it will do no damage to your syncros, if it starts working them by all means get it taken care of. all a clutch does is disengage the flywheel from the input shaft there is no mystery here, if it ain't broke don't fix it. there are plenty of good aftermarket clutches when and if you need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharabi Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 "If ain't broke don't fix it" works here. i advise you to enjoy the car and if no signs of TSB then great with early signs i would continue enjoying the car until the clutch is out, then i would go for 2010 gt500 clutch, (flywheel, trans/syncros) as the condition requires. it may never happen like other members who had high mileage on the car and every thing seems ok. As long as Ford is not recalling it i would not touch it especially when the warranty is over. too much to risk IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullittmansparts Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 "If ain't broke don't fix it" works here. i advise you to enjoy the car and if no signs of TSB then great with early signs i would continue enjoying the car until the clutch is out, then i would go for 2010 gt500 clutch, (flywheel, trans/syncros) as the condition requires. it may never happen like other members who had high mileage on the car and every thing seems ok. As long as Ford is not recalling it i would not touch it especially when the warranty is over. too much to risk IMHO Agree 100 % Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckstang Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 wow Here we are July 7th 2009 and some still don't understand the TSB There is nothing wrong with the clutch, none of them. It is th flywheel, and input shaft, so replacing the clutch with an aftermarket one will not help you! Only reason it is not a recall is beause it is not a safety issue, but I agree with everyhing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlloyDropTop Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 wow Here we are July 7th 2009 and some still don't understand the TSB There is nothing wrong with the clutch, none of them. It is th flywheel, and input shaft, so replacing the clutch with an aftermarket one will not help you! Only reason it is not a recall is beause it is not a safety issue, but I agree with everyhing else. I agree, but add that the only reason Ford hasn't put an extended warranty on the input shaft / flywheel and the thousands of dollars of parts / repairs needed when this stuff goes to hell, is that they don't care about their customers enough.... If I was out of warranty, I'd watch for signs of clutch drag and replace immediately prior to damaging the synchros.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharabi Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I agree, but add that the only reason Ford hasn't put an extended warranty on the input shaft / flywheel and the thousands of dollars of parts / repairs needed when this stuff goes to hell, is that they don't care about their customers enough.... If I was out of warranty, I'd watch for signs of clutch drag and replace immediately prior to damaging the synchros.... That where it can get tricky, at what point can someone say this is the early sign and am sure the syncros are not affected, so when really to pull the trigger on committing to replacing/opening the trans/inspecting the syncros which is major decision, you cannot do it now to find out they are still ok and you have to redo it few thousand miles later. you may commit to labor on good clutch/trans or delay decision thinking the signs are not enough and end up with toasted ones. i think best approach is to let the clutch making itself noticeable then replace the whole darn thing with gt500 2010 package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s code mach Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Guys I've talked to say the input can be polished up while in the transmission . A Centerforce dual friction GT500 clutch and flywheel package is $728, it ticks me off that I might have to put this in a car before I should expect to but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. You can tell if you're clutch is hanging, and you should notice something is wrong if you're working your syncros overtime. if you don't think anything is wrong it probably isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1huggy Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 a few things that are unique to being in England 1. no roadside assist if you break down. unlike everyone in the USA who will get thier car towed to a Ford dealer for warranty work. 2. no warranty. exported Fords (unless US military personel etc ) lose thier warranty. 3. import duty and Value Added Tax on parts, to include shipping and insurance costs $$$ 4. possibly no shop with experience in doing the TSB. Or in Europe. this works both ways. I think you guys are missing the original question. replace the FLYWHEEL before it warps. If the flywheel is the root cause of the problems related to the TSB and you can afford it, why not? All the "if it aint broke dont fix it" people are not going to be out of reach of a Fordd dealership in the USA or Fords roadside assist. I am lucky in that I work for the USAF and can have my car fixed under warrranty if it breaks. however, on a recent trip to Italy from England I was quite concerned. if I had flywheel/clutch/synchro issues getting stuck in traffic I would be screwed. If replacing the flywheel with a aftermarket one keeps the clutch and synchros from wearing prematurely I'd think that would be good to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfadchi Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 wow Here we are July 7th 2009 and some still don't understand the TSB There is nothing wrong with the clutch, none of them. It is th flywheel, and input shaft, so replacing the clutch with an aftermarket one will not help you! Only reason it is not a recall is beause it is not a safety issue, but I agree with everyhing else. Chuck I think you missed the OPs question. He asked should he go ahead and replace the flywheel. Which I think would be a good idea. If he goes ahead an replaces it now, he should not end up with the symptoms of the TSB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT500Tow Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Just from my own experience. My clutch didn't have any problems until i went drag racing and it got real hot. But many have had problems with out racing. This car needs lower gears. Its geared way to high and that alone can cause your clutch to over heat. Even with just normal driving. I would highly recommend installing lower gears. This would be a great help in prolonging clutch life. Maybe to a point were no repairs would be needed. Depends on driving style and how good of a driver you are as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharabi Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 a few things that are unique to being in England 1. no roadside assist if you break down. unlike everyone in the USA who will get thier car towed to a Ford dealer for warranty work. 2. no warranty. exported Fords (unless US military personel etc ) lose thier warranty. 3. import duty and Value Added Tax on parts, to include shipping and insurance costs $$$ 4. possibly no shop with experience in doing the TSB. Or in Europe. this works both ways. I think you guys are missing the original question. replace the FLYWHEEL before it warps. If the flywheel is the root cause of the problems related to the TSB and you can afford it, why not? All the "if it aint broke dont fix it" people are not going to be out of reach of a Fordd dealership in the USA or Fords roadside assist. I am lucky in that I work for the USAF and can have my car fixed under warrranty if it breaks. however, on a recent trip to Italy from England I was quite concerned. if I had flywheel/clutch/synchro issues getting stuck in traffic I would be screwed. If replacing the flywheel with a aftermarket one keeps the clutch and synchros from wearing prematurely I'd think that would be good to do. Just from my own experience. My clutch didn't have any problems until i went drag racing and it got real hot. But many have had problems with out racing. This car needs lower gears. Its geared way to high and that alone can cause your clutch to over heat. Even with just normal driving. I would highly recommend installing lower gears. This would be a great help in prolonging clutch life. Maybe to a point were no repairs would be needed. Depends on driving style and how good of a driver you are as well. +1 the problem is multi factorial and we are not missing points, it is not as simple as swapping the flywheel then you are off the hook, part of it the gearing and that is been discussed with passion on many older threads that i invite you to google, bottom line if no symptoms do not touch it, mild symptoms of clutch dragging monitor and the worse it becomes then you pull the trigger at the point you think you are unable to engage gears to the degree that it is disrupting driving, it is not so far a safety issue may be if God forbid something happens to a driver because of it and ford's a$$ gets slammed with a suite that makes them cough up money........ may be then they recall it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s code mach Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Yes, flywheels warp from heat not time. and when they do they don't just puke and leave you stranded unless you've been doing hook snakes or something stupid. You will have warning, the flywheel gets hot from a slipping clutch and you should feel that and know trouble is coming. you will not damage anything if your clutch feels normal and your transmission is shifting smooth and easy. unless a person has no mechanical ability what so ever I just can't for the life of me see why this is such a big deal, it's not thermonuclear reactor it's a clutch. Ok I'll stay out of this now that's all I have to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukfiveo Posted July 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Thanks for all the input guys, A bit more information for you. This car has delivery miles on it at the moment, a new SPEC flywheel is $299 & we can fit the part at the car dealership I work for if its a good idea. It will do no more than 3k per year, I intend to fit 3.73s asap, it will be driven hard but respectfully & have mild strip use, possibly with drag radials. I will probably go with a pulley & tune, then eventually TVS or KB. With regard to heavy traffic use, probably not much but you can get caught here anytime!! As I said before IF the flywheel is the main issue, it made sense to eliminate it at the start for the sake of a few hundred bucks. (z1 Huggy) Good to meet you on Saturday & many thanks for the ride in your great Shelby. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingram4868 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Yes, flywheels warp from heat not time. and when they do they don't just puke and leave you stranded unless you've been doing hook snakes or something stupid. You will have warning, the flywheel gets hot from a slipping clutch and you should feel that and know trouble is coming. you will not damage anything if your clutch feels normal and your transmission is shifting smooth and easy. unless a person has no mechanical ability what so ever I just can't for the life of me see why this is such a big deal, it's not thermonuclear reactor it's a clutch. Ok I'll stay out of this now that's all I have to say. We have had members have the clutch go with as little as 700 miles on the car and they claim there were no signs and no warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mblgjr Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I'd stick the new flywheel in it and keep going. That is the *main* root of failure as far as I'm concerned. BUT if you have serious plans for the car you might as well stick the aftermarket clutch in since you've already paid for the labor of pulling the trans down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharabi Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 I'd stick the new flywheel in it and keep going. That is the *main* root of failure as far as I'm concerned. BUT if you have serious plans for the car you might as well stick the aftermarket clutch in since you've already paid for the labor of pulling the trans down. I do not think that your advice is going to prevent the inevitable. he is going to have low mileage of respectful driving a year i do not see any problem with leaving every thing as is instead of going in with the possibility of a problem to solve that he is not sure it exists already and coming out with more problems from a mistake here or a blunder there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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