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TEAM SHELBY FORUM

Clutch Failure


denohew

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Ford did cover the cost thanks to my aggressive approach. Apparently, they were not able to get a new clutch delivered to the dealership, as the vehicle had only been in production for a few months and they had not built up an inventory of spare parts. I agree with the comment above, I would be pissed to learn that a car I had purchased had been used for spare parts. Very curious to know if this was disclosed to the eventual purchaser of that GT500.

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I would think the clutch less gt500 on the lot will wait quite awhile until the clutch inventory builds up....Beware NEW BUYER ... ALSO Please let forum members know where in Canada this is happening..... I think people would be very thankful for the info.......

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  • 3 months later...

i am now facing my second clutch also in this car... first clutch went at 1200 now at 7500 miles... its gone again...ive owned many a cars, a 2011 shelby that i put a ton of miles on, and never an issue with the clutch...i am also stuck between having to put another piece of crap clutch back in the car , or having to pay out of pocket to modify it..i am beyond frustrated that i spent 70k on a sports car, with clutch that is not proper for the car..

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  • 4 weeks later...

Below is a good video for 2013/2014 clutch sticking fix:

 

 

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'DOWNTOWN28', on 16 Apr 2013 - 12:47 PM, said:snapback.png

My clutch went on my 2013 GT500 (build date June 2012) at about the same mileage. Ford took a long time to determine that there were faulty components in the clutch assembly. I never did get the full explanation as to why the clutch failed. Basically, I had to threaten a lawsuit to get them to pull a new clutch out of a GT500 they had on the lot.

 

 

 

Recently, at 3900 miles, no track or strip time. My clutch pedal didn't engage when I released it.

Thought maybe I wasn't in gear because car didn't move.

Checked and it was in gear, released the clutch again and presto! The car moved, immediately after that

I smelled the distinct smell of burning Clutch. Smell lingered for about 5 minutes and went away.

Needless to say, car is at the dealer being looked at for a faulty Clutch Slave and possible glazed clutch discs.

I have been told that there has been numerous 2013's in with similar problems.

 

This hasn't discouraged me as far as the car goes, I love this car, and I plan on keeping it.

If I have to upgrade the clutch at a later date so be it. For now Ford is taking care of it.

 

I will keep you all posted as to the outcome. My build date was June 1, 2012

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  • 2 weeks later...

'DOWNTOWN28', on 16 Apr 2013 - 12:47 PM, said:snapback.png

 

 

 

Recently, at 3900 miles, no track or strip time. My clutch pedal didn't engage when I released it.

Thought maybe I wasn't in gear because car didn't move.

Checked and it was in gear, released the clutch again and presto! The car moved, immediately after that

I smelled the distinct smell of burning Clutch. Smell lingered for about 5 minutes and went away.

Needless to say, car is at the dealer being looked at for a faulty Clutch Slave and possible glazed clutch discs.

I have been told that there has been numerous 2013's in with similar problems.

 

This hasn't discouraged me as far as the car goes, I love this car, and I plan on keeping it.

If I have to upgrade the clutch at a later date so be it. For now Ford is taking care of it.

 

I will keep you all posted as to the outcome. My build date was June 1, 2012

 

 

Took my car into the dealer for my clutch issue Last Thursday 8/29/13 and got it back yesterday 9/5/2013. This is what they found.

 

After they pulled the transmission, this is what was found. My Slave Cylinder was sticking causing the clutch to not engage properly.

The pilot bearing had signs of not being properly lubed and had signs of corrosion and premature wear. The Throw-out Bearing also had signs of premature wear. Built on 6/1/12 and delivered to me on the 6/15/12. I have never driven the car in rain or washed it. I currently have 4000 miles on the odometer.

 

 

The clutch itself showed normal wear with no signs of glazing or other damage. Service tech told me that it was in excellent condition. Pressure plate was also in great condition along with the flywheel. I did see some marking on the flywheel but I was told that this is normal. there was absolutely no warping of the clutch discs, pressure plate or flywheel. or any glazing from getting hot or slipping. all surfaces were flat and in within specs.

 

After I picked up the car, I could immediately feel a difference, the clutch engaged sooner and was much smoother on takeoff. With the clutch all the way out there was slight pedal play, maybe 1/2" to an 1". Engagement starts now around 1 1/2" inches off the floor now.

 

I can now (feel the clutch engagement) when taking off, Where before it was jerky and hard to tell when it was starting to engage. Pedal seems much smoother and takes less effort to push in. I asked about the extra helper return spring if it could be removed. Was told that if it was it, it would void the warranty on the clutch assembly. So I don't think I will be removing it. Besides the clutch now feels like it should to me, so why take it off.

 

Now that it has been in for this issue, I am not worried about it being covered. Its documented in the service record if another problem appears with the clutch assembly.

 

Overall, I am very pleased with the results, it didn't cost me anything as it was all under warranty.

 

I would post pics, but they are not very good quality.

 

I hope that this information may help someone else if they are having issues too. at least now they may have a starting point to tell the service

department about what is going on. I believe that maybe some of the other owners with problems may have a bad slave cylinder that is either not engaging all the way or sticking causing the premature clutch failures.

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I have never driven the car in rain or washed it. I currently have 4000 miles on the odometer.

.

What does driving it in the rain or washing it have to do with mitigating clutch problems? At the end of the day, it is a car. If they aren't built to withstand weather, I never would have bought one.

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What does driving it in the rain or washing it have to do with mitigating clutch problems? At the end of the day, it is a car. If they aren't built to withstand weather, I never would have bought one.

Sometimes Parts corrode when they get wet, the pilot bearing was corroded, I was simply stating that I never washed the car or had it out in the rain in case someone

might have thought the pilot bearing corroded due to getting wet somehow. That was the reasoning behind it.

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Don't take my statement as a critical response to yours. I really did want to know why that would matter. There should be no real corrosion no matter the conditions it was driven in being less than 2 years old. I drive my raptor in the rain, snow, heat, desert, through rivers and water 2 feet deep. Haven't had any corrosion issues with it yet, and its 3 years old. While I don't subject the GT500 to that kind of weather, if I happen to be doing an event and it rains, I don't worry a bit, just don't drive it as crazy as I normally would.

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Don't take my statement as a critical response to yours. I really did want to know why that would matter. There should be no real corrosion no matter the conditions it was driven in being less than 2 years old. I drive my raptor in the rain, snow, heat, desert, through rivers and water 2 feet deep. Haven't had any corrosion issues with it yet, and its 3 years old. While I don't subject the GT500 to that kind of weather, if I happen to be doing an event and it rains, I don't worry a bit, just don't drive it as crazy as I normally would.

None taken, I'm still trying to figure out how a brand new car would have a corrosion issue with pilot brearing. :shrug:

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  • 1 month later...

My clutch prematurely started failing at 14,400 miles. The folks at Wynne Ford in Hampton were awesome and covered 100% of the clutch and flywheel replacement under my warranty. The Shelby was in and out of the Ford dealership in 3 days. Great job Wynne Ford...way to generate customer loyalty!

 

Also, after the clutch replacement the pedal is much smoother and is easier to push in.

 

Question: Did any of the other folks here that had their clutch replaced find the shifter to be in a more forward position when you got it back? The "rear" position (2nd, 4th, 6th gear) is about where neutral used to be and neutral is where the "forward" position (1st, 3rd, 5th) used to be. The dealership is not sure how to get it back to the original position. They are not being jerks about it, but they just honestly don't understand how it could have moved forward (and I don't know how to fix it either).

 

Thanks for any assistance in this manner :-)

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  • 6 months later...

Bought my first Shelby Gt 500 a few weeks ago. My third time out with the car total clutch failure 124 miles on the clock. And yes i know how to drive. Applied power fairly slow from about 40mph in 2nd gear and went to shift at about 5500 rpm heard some clanking noise at the same time could not get 3rd gear. Coasted to shoulder of road car would not move in any gear still making the clanking noise at idle. WTF!!!! To say the least i am in disbelief. 65k for a performance car and this is what happens. Car was towed to dealer have not heard any word from them yet but i would hope it is a warranty fix. The thing that concerns me after reading all the posts about clutch failures is will they put the same junk back in it.

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I have a 2007 Shelby gt500, I replaced my clutch at 11,000 miles and it is in the shop now replacing it again with only 20,000 miles on it. I feel no matter how hard we can be on a car a clutch should last more than 10,000 miles, but for the record the care is a garage queen and has never see the track.

 

The ford dealer has been good about replacing the clutch, yes both times. Frustrating to have to deal with this.

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I guess we all have different driving styles but unless I was on a race track, I would never see a need to shift from 5th down to 4th running 100mph. I would simply use the cars brake to slow down. I may be wrong but I feel that high speed downshifting may be the root of most of these clutch problems I have only read about. If, for instance, I was running 65 mph in 5th gear and approaching a four way stop. I would leave the car in 5th and at about 35-40mph I would push in the clutch and roll to a stop using my brakes, then put it in 1st. Some guys, however, to the complete reverse shifting thing going from 5th to 4th to 3rd and so on. I don't get it but that's just me. I had a 12 GT500 and never had an issue. I only have 200 miles on my 14 and hate the feel of the clutch release but after 45 years of driving manuals I guess I am just easy on clutches. Of course mine may fail the next time I get in the car if there is an inherant problem.

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Bought my first Shelby Gt 500 a few weeks ago. My third time out with the car total clutch failure 124 miles on the clock. And yes i know how to drive. Applied power fairly slow from about 40mph in 2nd gear and went to shift at about 5500 rpm heard some clanking noise at the same time could not get 3rd gear. Coasted to shoulder of road car would not move in any gear still making the clanking noise at idle. WTF!!!! To say the least i am in disbelief. 65k for a performance car and this is what happens. Car was towed to dealer have not heard any word from them yet but i would hope it is a warranty fix. The thing that concerns me after reading all the posts about clutch failures is will they put the same junk back in it.

 

With 124 miles on the odometer, I would say they definitely should cover a clutch failre. However, to most, the 500 recommended drive train break-in miles in the Ford owners manual is typically what is followed prior to going WOT or aggressive driving. Perhaps your clutch did not have enough time to break-in properly.

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Thomas, I'm wiling to bet that clutch will be much more reliable and robust compared to the stock clutch. For those of us like me who are 100% stock, and expect the stock clutch to hold up to the power level that Ford put in these cars, I would have liked to have seen a stronger factory clutch installed in these cars. I find it hard to beleive that the Ford engineers never ran into any stock clutch problems with all the drag strip testing and launch testing they did with these cars.

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Thomas, I'm wiling to bet that clutch will be much more reliable and robust compared to the stock clutch. For those of us like me who are 100% stock, and expect the stock clutch to hold up to the power level that Ford put in these cars, I would have liked to have seen a stronger factory clutch installed in these cars. I find it hard to beleive that the Ford engineers never ran into any stock clutch problems with all the drag strip testing and launch testing they did with these cars.

I completely agree. Never liked the stock clutch from day 1 even before I did some performance mods. Ready to be done with it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I OWN a 2013 Gt500 with Clutch failure as well. Car has been great but last week while running it hard I was having issues hitting 3rd gear. This was very depressing because I know how to drive. Last night I went on a drive to rip ass and have fun. Drove up the freeway and turned around to come home and low and behold I was coming to a light and pulled out of 5th and no clutch!!! Damn clutch is destroyed. Im very concerned the dealer is going to hold me liable for the repairs. Has anyone out there been denied coverage? I have 1800 miles and now I need a Tow Truck!

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I OWN a 2013 Gt500 with Clutch failure as well. Car has been great but last week while running it hard I was having issues hitting 3rd gear. This was very depressing because I know how to drive. Last night I went on a drive to rip ass and have fun. Drove up the freeway and turned around to come home and low and behold I was coming to a light and pulled out of 5th and no clutch!!! Damn clutch is destroyed. Im very concerned the dealer is going to hold me liable for the repairs. Has anyone out there been denied coverage? I have 1800 miles and now I need a Tow Truck!

 

What modifications are done to your car, if any?

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