09KR0058 Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 I've developed the dreaded clutch slip on my KR, so I'm looking for an experienced Ford mechanic (hopefully a Master Mechanic) in the Atlanta area. Someone who has done this procedure at least a few times.The dealer I've used for years is Jim Tidwell Ford at Town Center in Kennesaw. Never had any issues with their service, but as I described in my previous post (http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/62588-taking-a-poll-on-clutch-failures-rates-and-mileage/?p=1516101) , I'm really nervous about letting anyone perform this surgery on my pride-and-joy. Since I'm going to be pushing for this to be covered under the clutch TSB 10-3-8, I need this to be a Ford dealer and not an independent. Anyone in my area have any suggestions? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Went to the dealer today to talk to the serivce manager, whom I've know for many years. Much to my surprise, he's gone. The new guy has only been there a week. He said he's been a service manager for over 20 years, but this is his first time working for Ford. I had printed out the latest TSB 10-3-8 and went over it with him, using all the talking points Grabber talked about. He said that he would have to talk to the district/regional service manager to see if they would cover everything in the TSB. I reiterated that the whole cause for the clutch going out was the old flywheel, and that after 3 previous TSBs, Ford was now putting in the newer 5100 series steel flywheel and the newer clutch with the organic pads. I also asked if they had all the special tools, including the alignment tool, and if they had a master tech that had done this procedure many times before. Now I'm just waiting for him to call me back. Thanks again for all the info Rob. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I sure hope you get good news from him. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted February 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2014 Well, so far, so good. The new Service Director talked to the district guy and someone at Ford corporate. They said they would cover everything in the TSB. Per the reccomendation of corporate, he also called Shelby American and spoke to them. Shelby reiterated that the PCM absolutely cannot be reflashed as stated in the TSB, due to the special tune they use for the KR. That was a big relief, since he had told me when we first talked that since the TSB had a step to do the flash, that they would have to do it as part of the TSB. After talking to Shelby, he understands, and the district guy also agreed to leave it as-is. They have all the special tools to do the job, except for that alignment tool. They had one, but the transmission guy said someone "borrowed" it at some point and he doesn't have it any more. They are ordering that, along with all the other parts today. He said it could take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks to get all the parts. The guy who will do the work does nothing but transmissions & clutches and has been doing this with Ford for about 25 years. I'm going to meet him when I take it in to have the TSB done. For the first time since I felt that clutch slip the first time a couple weeks ago, I'm feeling better that this will be taken care of and I can see that supercharger boost needle jump again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 This is great news to hear. So glad that they are covering everything. I truly believe knowledge is power in this matter. Good job spending the time needed to do the research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelbyKR664 Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Very interesting. I am happy for you #58 that TSB will still be covered. Better yet you found a competent installer. I have barely 800 miles on my KR and would love the thought of having the newer 5100 series fly wheel and clutch. (Peace of mind) I hear only good news. I assume you have to have the slip issue before pursuing this with Ford? Did someone from your dealership actually drive your car to confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Yep, just noticed the clutch slip the first time I got-down-on-it after her winter hibernation. Thanks to Grabber, I got myself educated on the issue and went to the sevice manager with all the ammo I needed. They never did test drive it, but the guy could tell I knew what I was talking about, given that this is the 4th and final TSB for this clutch. He just went ahead and got the approval from Ford and ordered the parts. BTW, got an email from the parts guys yesterday saying that everything came in. Talked to the service manager and he said that the transmission/clutch guy was out all this week in class. He has 3 jobs ahead of me, which had also been waiting on parts, when he gets back on Monday. So they have me scheduled for Tuesday the 18th. :happy feet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelbyKR664 Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 I may pay a visit to my dealer this week. I will review the thread and extract the key points. I test drove a Raptor at the end of the year and brought this up to my salesman. He said at that time to take it up with service. Thanks again to Grabber and yourself for all the good information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Grabber doesn't just have "information". He's a freekin Encyclopedia Britannica! Keeper of the flame indeed!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Are you going to be able to take a few pic's of your car while it is being worked on ? Did you get the Royal Purple ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheppd01 Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 I have a question. Are you guys getting this TSB done under warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabber Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 I have a question. Are you guys getting this TSB done under warranty? I know that 09KR0058 is getting his done under the power train warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperNC Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 After reading this thread I inquired about the TSB with one of the local dealerships down here and they denied there ever being any issue. Hard to say if my clutch is slipping because I don't drag race the car... I just drive it hard. It really has never been great off the line, but the PST driveshaft made a big difference. Before changing from the stock driveshaft, the car would shudder off the line if I did not bring the revs up enough (more so than any other manual transmission I had ever driven before). Now it is not much of an issue, but occasionally still occurs. Question: is this worth pursuing at Ford realizing I've modified my car enough they may finally acknowledge the TSB, but then tell me I've altered my car and it will no longer be covered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Are you going to be able to take a few pic's of your car while it is being worked on ? Did you get the Royal Purple ? I don't have the relationship with this guy like you do with yours, so I'll probably just leave him to do the job. Not all mechanics like people hanging around while they work. Although, I will probably ask him about it when I meet him. Thanks for the reminder about the Royal Purple. I had mentioned that to the service manager when we first spoke and he said he would have to check with the regional guy/corporate to see if they would allow that vs the standard Ford Racing fluid. The last thing I want is for something to happen after they do the job and I come back and they say "its that Royal Purple stuff" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 I have a question. Are you guys getting this TSB done under warranty? Yep, that's why I was in such a rush to get it in there. In just a couple weeks its going to be 5 years since I bought the KR. Time sure flies when you're having fun, but I still can't believe I've had it that long. But, your question does make me curious. Even if you get outside of the 5 year warranty, wouldn't the existence of a TSB mean that Ford was admitting fault with this setup? And the fact that this is the 4th TSB for this issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 After reading this thread I inquired about the TSB with one of the local dealerships down here and they denied there ever being any issue. Hard to say if my clutch is slipping because I don't drag race the car... I just drive it hard. It really has never been great off the line, but the PST driveshaft made a big difference. Before changing from the stock driveshaft, the car would shudder off the line if I did not bring the revs up enough (more so than any other manual transmission I had ever driven before). Now it is not much of an issue, but occasionally still occurs. Question: is this worth pursuing at Ford realizing I've modified my car enough they may finally acknowledge the TSB, but then tell me I've altered my car and it will no longer be covered? They denied there was/is an issue? Seriously? Just print out the 4 TSBs and show them. Explain that not only is this an issue, but it took Ford 4 TSBs to finally get it right! I don't really drive mine hard either. Well, not all the time. But when you've got that kind of power, you do tend to stomp it every now and then. From my understanding, the clutch chatter is one of the early signs of this issue. It started to become noticeable for me about a year ago. But once the clutch slip starts, there is no mistaking it. When accelerating, anything more than about 1/3 - 1/2 throttle and it completely slips as if you were in neutral. At first I thought I was spinning the rear tires, but this set only has about 3,000 miles on it, the pavement was completely dry, and there was no fishtailing. That's when I remembered all the info Grabber and others had posted here about it. You should still confront (in a nice, polite way) your dealer with printouts of the 4 TSBs and tell them other dealers are making good on a miscalculation by Ford. Having said that, I'm guessing that they will deny the fix due to your mods. But you never know if you don't ask. Maybe they would split the bill with you, which wouldn't be that bad considering you will be getting a much more reliable clutch/flywheel.G Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperNC Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 If you would be so kind as to post a link or add the TSB's as an attachment to the forum that would be great. I agree it is a discussion worth having. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsybtch Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 If you would be so kind as to post a link or add the TSB's as an attachment to the forum that would be great. I agree it is a discussion worth having. PM me an email addy and I'll send them to you Or look here where Grabber pinned them: http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/forum/151-clutch-transmission/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperNC Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 After reading the TSB info, I don't think my car has the problem. I have no issues changing gears and can even downshift into first when blipping the throttle. I bought my car in 12/08 and the car was manufactured after the date when Ford started using the new set up. Guess I got lucky and waited just long enough to purchase my '09 as I never even knew there was a problem until much later with the '07 - '09 cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheppd01 Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 The dealer I went to knew about the TSB. The car is no long in warrenty so I am out of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 If you would be so kind as to post a link or add the TSB's as an attachment to the forum that would be great. I agree it is a discussion worth having. Lots of good information here: http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/forum/151-clutch-transmission/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiaCobra Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 If my '09 set up implodes, I'll go aftermarket. I do have a spare TR-6060 transmission from my '08 GT-500 that I have since sold. Trans has 2500 miles on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08KR525 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 I agree with FIA, if my clutch has any issues I'll just replace the whole assembly with a quality aftermarket manufacturer and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 If mine wasn't still under warranty, I might consider going that route myself. Having said that, it does look like Ford finally got it right with that 4th TSB, so I'm hoping I won't see this issue again with the new parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheppd01 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 The dealer I went to knew about the TSB. The car is no long in warrenty so I am out of luck. Update. I took the car to one of the big dealerships a few miles from my work. They looked at my VIN and said sorry. The next day I took it to the small dealership a few miles from my house. It goes in on Tuesday under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 Bingo! Work complete on the KR and she's running like new. No slippage and no chatter. Very impressed with the new service manager and the guy who did the work. The only difference I noticed is that the clutch is much lighter. Hard to quantify this, but let's say on a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 being very light and 10 being very heavy, it used to be about an 8 and now its about a 3. Has anyone else who has had this done noticed this difference? BTW, getting on the interstate after leaving the shop, its a two lane entrance ramp, eventually merging to one lane, then merging on to the interstate. There was an Audi, who as I started passing him on the left, gunned it. I dropped back into 3rd and blew past him. Can't tell you how awesome it was to hear that supercharger whine again. Looking in my rear-view, I could see him mumbling about something. Thanks again Grabber! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mavisky Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 May want to take it easy for the first 500 miles or 1200 clutch engagements (I know, who keeps count of those) to seat the friction material on the clutches. Same as you would bed in a set of brakes or rings on a new engine. Glad to hear they took care of you. I was less than impressed with my phone call over to Gwinnett Place Ford's parts department, and that makes me suspect of their service department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheppd01 Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 The only difference I noticed is that the clutch is much lighter. Hard to quantify this, but let's say on a scale of 1 - 10, with 1 being very light and 10 being very heavy, it used to be about an 8 and now its about a 3. Has anyone else who has had this done noticed this difference? Yes it does feel much lighter. It is also a lot more forgiving when starting out from a full stop. I have about 200 miles on the clutch. It is starting to grow on me. At first I didn't like it. It was to easy to drive muscle cars shouldn't be easy to drive. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 May want to take it easy for the first 500 miles or 1200 clutch engagements (I know, who keeps count of those) to seat the friction material on the clutches. Same as you would bed in a set of brakes or rings on a new engine. Yeah, I know, but I just had to get that feeling again. Glad to hear they took care of you. I was less than impressed with my phone call over to Gwinnett Place Ford's parts department, and that makes me suspect of their service department. I think that was you mistake in just calling them. I spent a LOT of time reading through all the research and info that Grabber had posted, then went in to talk to the service manager directly. I was armed with enough information that I could talk about what the problem was and how it was addressed in that last TSB, without even looking at any notes. Its pretty easy for them to turn you down over the phone, but when you come in and meet them face-to-face, with inside-out knowledge of the subject, you really do make much more of an impression on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
09KR0058 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Yes it does feel much lighter. It is also a lot more forgiving when starting out from a full stop. I have about 200 miles on the clutch. It is starting to grow on me. At first I didn't like it. It was to easy to drive muscle cars shouldn't be easy to drive. Right? I think I like it this way, but you hit the nail on the head. Doesn't seem like its supposed to be THIS easy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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