OaktownACE Posted April 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Next item: gear upgrade. I had the 3.73 gears put in to replace the 3.31 gears that are OEM. A couple months after delivery, the pinion seal was leaking. Ford dealership replaced it and SAI paid for it under my warranty. Almost a year goes by and pinion seal is leaking again. I take it back to same dealership, and they replace it, no charge. 3 weeks later my rear axle locks up, pinion is shattered and drive shaft is separated from differential. Fluid everywhere. When it happened I was driving 45 mph in 4th gear and at a slight acceleration. Once I get the car back to dealership for inspection, more details to follow...... Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB12 Cobra Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Next item: gear upgrade. I had the 3.73 gears put in to replace the 3.31 gears that are OEM. A couple months after delivery, the pinion seal was leaking. Ford dealership replaced it and SAI paid for it under my warranty. Almost a year goes by and pinion seal is leaking again. I take it back to same dealership, and they replace it, no charge. 3 weeks later my rear axle locks up, pinion is shattered and drive shaft is separated from differential. Fluid everywhere. When it happened I was driving 45 mph in 4th gear and at a slight acceleration. Once I get the car back to dealership for inspection, more details to follow...... Ughh....hearing stuff like this really puts my stomach in knots! I truly hope they get it sorted out for you and I'm glad you didn't get hurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real_supersnake Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Ughh....hearing stuff like this really puts my stomach in knots! I truly hope they get it sorted out for you and I'm glad you didn't get hurt. Thx. While this is a huge pain in my backside, I consider myself very lucky how it went down. I wasn't going 160mph, I wasn't on the highway, and I wasn't across the country (only 4hrs away) when it happened. Another Shelby owner was able to bring his trailer to come rescue the car within a couple hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB12 Cobra Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Thx. While this is a huge pain in my backside, I consider myself very lucky how it went down. I wasn't going 160mph, I wasn't on the highway, and I wasn't across the country (only 4hrs away) when it happened. Another Shelby owner was able to bring his trailer to come rescue the car within a couple hours. That's good to hear, the Shelby community generally is always willing to help another fellow Shelby owner. Luckily I don't need the 3.73 gears as my 12' already has them because of the Svtpp, so SA won't need to be making any modifications to my pinion gears if I choose to have my GT500 Snaked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real_supersnake Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Hind sight being 20/20.... If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would have approached the SS build differently. I would probably pay for the very basic SS packaged ($30K ?) just to get the CSM# and badges to get the car in the registry. Maybe the interior upgrade package too. I would then work with SAI and a local trusted "shelby-associated" performance shop to install each of the SS mechanical components separately (brakes, kenne bell, exhaust, etc). This way I would know the quality of the work is much higher, and SAI could update the car with each component in the registry. This would also allow me to still have possession of the car as I wait for the parts to become available. SAI had my car for 7 months, and then rushed to get it finished the more pressure I put on them. Owners of CSM# products that actually drive their cars the way Carroll intended are very rare. Those that I have talked to say that they basically had to rebuild everything that SAI touched because of durability. Owners that enjoy their cars in a way other than driving them, won't have the opportunity to find all the issues with their cars because of the low mileage. Because SAI doesn't actually produce any of the components (save the hood, which is awful) the quality of their work is really all they have to offer. And if what they did to my car is an example of their craftsmanship, they are doing severe harm to Carroll's legacy. For you other CSM# owners, I highly recommend you check and double check everything that SAI touched on your car. I am sure you love your car, but its not worth your health or your life. I love my car and will never want to be apart from it.....and now its going back into the shop AGAIN to get something SAI did fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktownACE Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) Hind sight being 20/20.... If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would have approached the SS build differently. I would probably pay for the very basic SS packaged ($30K ?) just to get the CSM# and badges to get the car in the registry. Maybe the interior upgrade package too. I would then work with SAI and a local trusted "shelby-associated" performance shop to install each of the SS mechanical components separately (brakes, kenne bell, exhaust, etc). This way I would know the quality of the work is much higher, and SAI could update the car with each component in the registry. This would also allow me to still have possession of the car as I wait for the parts to become available. SAI had my car for 7 months, and then rushed to get it finished the more pressure I put on them. Owners of CSM# products that actually drive their cars the way Carroll intended are very rare. Those that I have talked to say that they basically had to rebuild everything that SAI touched because of durability. Owners that enjoy their cars in a way other than driving them, won't have the opportunity to find all the issues with their cars because of the low mileage. Because SAI doesn't actually produce any of the components (save the hood, which is awful) the quality of their work is really all they have to offer. And if what they did to my car is an example of their craftsmanship, they are doing severe harm to Carroll's legacy. For you other CSM# owners, I highly recommend you check and double check everything that SAI touched on your car. I am sure you love your car, but its not worth your health or your life. I love my car and will never want to be apart from it.....and now its going back into the shop AGAIN to get something SAI did fixed. Sorry you are having troubles but if the pinion seal was leaking and then was fixed and then leaked again before it all blew up, do you think you had a manufacturing problem that caused something to not sit right eventually leading to failure? Also, knowing that you've put pretty high miles and track miles on a high performance car isn't it not that unusual for things to break? It's not your average Ford anymore. I'm on here and on a Ferrari forum and the number of issues on low mileage Ferraris 360s and 430s (supposedly the most reliable Ferraris) is bad and those that track their cars are constantly fixing something. Id hope the SS are more reliable than a Ferrari but with 850 HP and a non upgraded rear end I think we are all asking for it. And I am not a cool aid drinker and fully agree there is a LOT of room for improvement at Shelby. Edited April 21, 2016 by OaktownACE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real_supersnake Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 All very good points. I still don't have an answer on what exactly went wrong with the pinion so it may be premature to point a finger. Unfortunately because there have been a number of other issues, I am biased to think the problem started in Vegas. The track miles argument is valid. My retort would only be that I definitely drive it on the track like an old lady. Since it's it my ride home and it's probably a little more expensive than the other cars in my run groups I actually baby the car compared to other drivers. Also, a car with something called a "track pack" option and a post title package from a performance company I would hope it would be more durable than a standard mustang. I will just have to try and be patient and see what comes out from taking it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktownACE Posted April 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 All very good points. I still don't have an answer on what exactly went wrong with the pinion so it may be premature to point a finger. Unfortunately because there have been a number of other issues, I am biased to think the problem started in Vegas. The track miles argument is valid. My retort would only be that I definitely drive it on the track like an old lady. Since it's it my ride home and it's probably a little more expensive than the other cars in my run groups I actually baby the car compared to other drivers. Also, a car with something called a "track pack" option and a post title package from a performance company I would hope it would be more durable than a standard mustang. I will just have to try and be patient and see what comes out from taking it apart. Any resolution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real_supersnake Posted April 28, 2016 Report Share Posted April 28, 2016 Still in the "autopsy" phase. The dealership has been sending me pics as they take the rear end apart. The techs still aren't sure on what caused it yet, but they do believe something wasn't "true" and that was what caused my pinion seal to go bad twice. The CV joint is locked up but hard to say if it locked before the incident or because of it. The pinion shaft snapped in two pieces, torqued from both ends. The pinion head was rolling around in the housing, scarred up my locker and inside of the housing pretty good. At a minimum I will have to have new driveshaft/CV joint, ring&pinion, locker, axle housings and all associated bearings. They are going to inspect the axles for any damage to the splines. Of course I am worried about the other end as well, wondering if it did any damage to my transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Keefe Posted May 3, 2016 Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 My build had the original spark plugs in it when I picked it up and drove it. It was not running right so I checked air intake track and plugs. Shelby forgot to change to NGK-TR6 plugs. Black stripe's on the truck lid off, but all in all not a bad job. I guess being the first SS 2007's they did a pretty good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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