Jump to content
TEAM SHELBY FORUM

Please help. Dealer clutch replacement went bad


Sharp GT500

Recommended Posts

I took my 08 Shelby GT500 in to get the updated clutch installed and I think the dealer screwed it up. I get in my car and first notice there is very little clutch pedal resistance. It was so easy to push that I wondered if the pedal was going to return on it's own. Then I start my car and shifted into first and noticed the shifter goes farther forward than before. Not liking what I found so far, I drive it to see what else is wrong. Taking off from a stop, with the clutch fully released, I gave it the gas and there was a chatter. Kind of like running over a rumble strip on the highway. I soon realized the clutch was slipping on acceleration even when my foot was off the pedal.

 

At this point I'm madd and sick to my stomach. I called the service department to tell them what's going on and they said " The tech said the clutch was chattering but he just thought it was because it was a ceramic clutch " . I just can't believe these guy's thought it was normal for a clutch to slip and chatter. The tech should have known that something wasn't right as soon as he pushed in the clutch. With the pedal being to easy to push and the clutch slipping there has to be something wrong with the pressure plate. It simply has no clamping force. I understand that you can get bad parts but to return a car knowing there is a problem is unacceptable.

 

Now this is the part that I really need help with. First, has any else had these problems after the clutch update?

Second, what do you think could be the cause of the shifter going farther forward than before. At first I thought they put the shifter arm on backwards. I checked it and it's right. I'm at a lose as to what else they could had done to change it.

Third, When I picked up my keys, they didn't give me any paperwork. I asked why not and the service guy said he would mail it to me after they filed the claim. I have never heard of this before. I feel they did that because they wanted to see if the car was going to come back or not. Has that happened to anyone here? I don't even know if they had to take the transmission apart and replace syncro's or not. That's optional in the TSB.

 

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

Terry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took my 08 Shelby GT500 in to get the updated clutch installed and I think the dealer screwed it up. I get in my car and first notice there is very little clutch pedal resistance. It was so easy to push that I wondered if the pedal was going to return on it's own. Then I start my car and shifted into first and noticed the shifter goes farther forward than before. Not liking what I found so far, I drive it to see what else is wrong. Taking off from a stop, with the clutch fully released, I gave it the gas and there was a chatter. Kind of like running over a rumble strip on the highway. I soon realized the clutch was slipping on acceleration even when my foot was off the pedal.

 

At this point I'm madd and sick to my stomach. I called the service department to tell them what's going on and they said " The tech said the clutch was chattering but he just thought it was because it was a ceramic clutch " . I just can't believe these guy's thought it was normal for a clutch to slip and chatter. The tech should have known that something wasn't right as soon as he pushed in the clutch. With the pedal being to easy to push and the clutch slipping there has to be something wrong with the pressure plate. It simply has no clamping force. I understand that you can get bad parts but to return a car knowing there is a problem is unacceptable.

 

Now this is the part that I really need help with. First, has any else had these problems after the clutch update?

Second, what do you think could be the cause of the shifter going farther forward than before. At first I thought they put the shifter arm on backwards. I checked it and it's right. I'm at a lose as to what else they could had done to change it.

Third, When I picked up my keys, they didn't give me any paperwork. I asked why not and the service guy said he would mail it to me after they filed the claim. I have never heard of this before. I feel they did that because they wanted to see if the car was going to come back or not. Has that happened to anyone here? I don't even know if they had to take the transmission apart and replace syncro's or not. That's optional in the TSB.

 

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

Terry

 

Maybe they didn`t get the air out of the slave . In order to change the spline shaft which is part of the TSB the transmission has to be dismantled & synchros are to be changed as part of the TSB. Sounds like you need to take it to another dealer but make sure they have done the this TSB Yes you should have got detailed paper work when you picked your car up. Good Luck Keep us posted what they find

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The latest TSB replaces the clutch and flywheel with the one used on the 2010+ GT500. It uses a larger organic clutch that should not exhibit as much chatter as the ceri-metallic clutch used on the 07 - 09 models. I understand that it also takes much less foot pressure to dis-engage. However, it should not exhibit the other symptoms that you describe. You should have received the invoice before you left the shop ... at least that's the experience that I have with all the dealers I have dealt with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Shelby001. That's a good point on the slave. I forgot that when I first got in the car, the pedal had too much "free play". It reminded me of an old style clutch needing adjusting. After driving it a few blocks, that seemed to go a away.

 

I thought they knew what they were doing because they had performed this job before. Clearly that Tech must have quit or something.

 

Any idea's about the shifter?

 

I go back on monday to see what they're going to do, I'll let you know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Shelby001. That's a good point on the slave. I forgot that when I first got in the car, the pedal had too much "free play". It reminded me of an old style clutch needing adjusting. After driving it a few blocks, that seemed to go a away.

 

I thought they knew what they were doing because they had performed this job before. Clearly that Tech must have quit or something.

 

Any idea's about the shifter?

 

I go back on monday to see what they're going to do, I'll let you know.

 

No idea why the shifter has so much throw as you already check to make sure it was on the right way. When I had mine done I had them install the FRPP short throw shifter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm happy to report it's fixed. The tech that worked in the car put the transmission mount on backwards. What I thought was chatter, was the driveline vibrating. It also changed the angle of the shifter so it was going farther forward.

 

My next mod is going to be the FRPP shifter but I'm doing it myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry I didn't get to your thread sooner. I went through the SAME exact issue when I had the TSB done, when I lived in Columbus as a matter of fact.

 

It took some doing but they finally figured it out, and I actually never got an honest answer back from the dealership about how they fixed the issue. When I brought it back to them, the tech said the pinion angle was off, which was weird because the pinion angle can't be adjusted on a stock GT500 without adjustable hardware. I thought the tech had failed to put the shims back in above the drive shaft (which threw of the "pinion angle"), but I never got a definitive answer.

 

Long story short, when got the car back it was in perfect condition (whatever they did to it) and never asked to many questions because I was simply thrilled to have it back in problem-free form. They actually installed a new drive shaft thinking that was the issue, but not that it's of any value. :shrug:

 

Glad everything worked out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm happy to report it's fixed. The tech that worked in the car put the transmission mount on backwards. What I thought was chatter, was the driveline vibrating. It also changed the angle of the shifter so it was going farther forward.

 

My next mod is going to be the FRPP shifter but I'm doing it myself.

 

To bad you didn`t have when they done the TSB as the shifter has to be removed for the repair & is easy to work on . You won`t regret doing it though , makes quite a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I'm happy to report it's fixed. The tech that worked in the car put the transmission mount on backwards. What I thought was chatter, was the driveline vibrating. It also changed the angle of the shifter so it was going farther forward.

 

My next mod is going to be the FRPP shifter but I'm doing it myself.

 

 

 

When they did my TSB, my knuckles were basically touching the radio panels in the odd forward gears. I did some research and someone had posted pictures on how to just reverse the shifter....it was extremely simple, but I don't have the photos or link any longer. The even gears were a little further back then normal, but it was much better then the knuckles on the radio panel.

 

Basically unscrew the shifter grip and lift out the leather boot and you'll easily see how to take the shifter out and reverse it....nothing to do with anything connected to the tranny.

 

 

Of course now my clutch is slipping again after about a year and a half / 21000 miles and the Ford stealership doesn't want to replace it now, as it is not under warranty.

 

So anyone got some good recommendations for after market clutches? I'm not going to pay my stealership $2800 to put in another ford clutch that still has TSB issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HEY SHARP ...... glad everything came out ok .... being a dealer myself you have to be very careful on who works on these cars. Techs do make mistakes but always insist on having a master tech work on your car and if available a SVT store who is more familiar with this car than say a smaller store.

 

Glad all is well !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check out the RAM G Force, 80 Series. (The one I used is 10 1/2 inches, so the 80 series might be for 10 1/2" replacements only.) It is a twin disc organic clutch and the kit, which includes an aluminum flywheel (with steel clutch surface), retails for around $1200. I used this in my GT/SC and have not had any issues with it since replacing my SPEC single disc stage 3+ with it.

 

A local Mustang shop here in Dallas is using the RAM for replacement clutches in the GT 500's when they come in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...
...