Feeler Thread: BOSS Transmission Issues

[jimprw]

Great...

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

I wouldn't get disappointed just yet. I started this thread just to keep any tabs seeing if there were any issues like 2011 GT owners encountered.

After sorting through the various BS on multiple forums, most of the issues seemed to be with the clutch assembly. On the Boss, with the Exedy clutch, this shouldn't be a problem. Additionally, I'm sure Ford has sorted through the "pressure plate bolt" issue by now. There is one individual that is blowing up every forum with his transmission failure woes, but considering nobody else is experiencing this, and he is just fanning the flames, I think that is likely related to the user.

Furthermore--I haven't heard a peep out of 2012 owners having any sort of transmission issues. The issues may already be resolved for our cars.

So don't sell the MT82 short just yet.

 

[jimprw]

Fair enough....to be continued then.

 

[Dean#4AI]

The higher you wind it up, the easier it is to slip it into the next gear.

According to what I read about skip shift, if you wind out first gear the first few times while driving the computer disables the skip shift feature until you restart the car again.

I don't think my car has ever forced me to shift from 1st to 4th. Are we sure this is active on the Boss?

Yes, I am absolutely sure the Boss has skip shift. If you turn off the odometer display, it will come up the display saying you should shift from 1st to 4th.

Also, there may be something to winding out the car a few times and then it disables. There have been times that I'll be accelerating slowly and the skip shift doesn't come on.

 

[steveespo]

My GT is a 9/16/2010 Job 2 build and I have had no complaints with the MT-82 in my car other than cold weather >32 degree stiffness on the 1-2 until warm. I did the TSB change to the QDC XT-11 Dual clutch trans lube myself on Sunday and did 63 laps at Lime Rock Park yesterday. Trans shifted smooth as always and I did not experience any balking or grinding on downshifts from 4th-3rd (heel toe matching revs at about 5500 rpm) at the end of the main straight and the entry to the uphill. Then drove home 76 miles with no problems at all. The fluid I drained at 12345 miles was clean and golden colored with no detectable particles in it or on the drain plug. Knock on wood so far so good for me. Sad to say but alot of the forum problems seem to be Job 1 cars with the pedal assembly and pressure plate bolt problem. There also have been hundreds of complaints about cold shift effort but they should have tried my 996 when it was cold either had to muscle it in 1-2 or shift 1-3 until warmed up, not even close to the Mustang. PS Have you ever had a lighter clutch effort in a 300+ HP car? I had an 87 5.0 with a Paxton that we put the 10.5" Heavy Duty Ford Motorsport Kit in, just about needed two legs on the left pedal. I think 99.99% of us will be OK, the 1 in 10000 owner will be pissed but should be taken care of by Ford warranty. Of course we may run into trouble if we are modded and run track days on R Comps or make 100 passes at the strip and roll in with stripped synchros and a box of gear teeth.
Steve

 

[BossJockey]

The higher you wind it up, the easier it is to slip it into the next gear.

According to what I read about skip shift, if you wind out first gear the first few times while driving the computer disables the skip shift feature until you restart the car again.

I don't think my car has ever forced me to shift from 1st to 4th. Are we sure this is active on the Boss?

Yes, I am absolutely sure the Boss has skip shift. If you turn off the odometer display, it will come up the display saying you should shift from 1st to 4th.

Also, there may be something to winding out the car a few times and then it disables. There have been times that I'll be accelerating slowly and the skip shift doesn't come on.

I have seen the display but I can still shift to 2nd. I has never put me into 4th when I went for 2nd. Maybe I'm revving to high in 1st? ???

 

[ORANGE CRUSH]

Is the MT-82 really made in China? Who makes the MT-82 for Ford? Its not a Tremec right?

 

[PJWANNABE]

My GT is a 9/16/2010 Job 2 build and I have had no complaints with the MT-82 in my car other than cold weather >32 degree stiffness on the 1-2 until warm. I did the TSB change to the QDC XT-11 Dual clutch trans lube myself on Sunday and did 63 laps at Lime Rock Park yesterday. Trans shifted smooth as always and I did not experience any balking or grinding on downshifts from 4th-3rd (heel toe matching revs at about 5500 rpm) at the end of the main straight and the entry to the uphill. Then drove home 76 miles with no problems at all. The fluid I drained at 12345 miles was clean and golden colored with no detectable particles in it or on the drain plug. Knock on wood so far so good for me. Sad to say but alot of the forum problems seem to be Job 1 cars with the pedal assembly and pressure plate bolt problem. There also have been hundreds of complaints about cold shift effort but they should have tried my 996 when it was cold either had to muscle it in 1-2 or shift 1-3 until warmed up, not even close to the Mustang. PS Have you ever had a lighter clutch effort in a 300+ HP car? I had an 87 5.0 with a Paxton that we put the 10.5" Heavy Duty Ford Motorsport Kit in, just about needed two legs on the left pedal. I think 99.99% of us will be OK, the 1 in 10000 owner will be pissed but should be taken care of by Ford warranty. Of course we may run into trouble if we are modded and run track days on R Comps or make 100 passes at the strip and roll in with stripped synchros and a box of gear teeth.
Steve

Funny, I figured Ford would have fixed the cold shift thing by now, especially with the new tranny not being a Tremec. The TR3650 in my Bullitt had a cold shift problem from 2nd-3rd and had a nasty grind until after the car warmed up. They did a TSB tear-down and replaced synchros and blocking rings (and in my case a couple of gears the dealer broke teeth on putting it back together). It has been fine in the cold since then but it feels a little loose again and sometimes I have to wait for the synchros to settle when I shift. I know the quirks and I just work around them.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Is the MT-82 really made in China? Who makes the MT-82 for Ford? Its not a Tremec right?

Yes. Getrag.

 

[jimprw]

I read that the MT-82 is made in China and Mexico. Cheaper to build and lighter than the Tremec supposedly. I have no idea where they are sourced for the Boss. Not sure if there would be a difference anyway whether they were made in China or Mexico. I also saw some discussion about the problems being with earlier builds and the issues were worked out by 2011 models, but I have no idea if that is to be taken as truth or not.

 

[Kaylan1521]

When I was gonna order a new 5.0, I did my homework and was disgusted that Ford would use some slappy ass Chinese transmission in the Mustang! WTF?!!! So do we have the Chinese trans too?

Yep- and the 5.0 engine is made in Canada to boot. I think the Boss engines are modified in the US.

What you got against Canada

 

[Fenderaddict2]

Best part of the car is Canadian.

 

[PJWANNABE]

When I was gonna order a new 5.0, I did my homework and was disgusted that Ford would use some slappy ass Chinese transmission in the Mustang! WTF?!!! So do we have the Chinese trans too?

Yep- and the 5.0 engine is made in Canada to boot. I think the Boss engines are modified in the US.

What you got against Canada

;D

 

[PJWANNABE]

Best part of the car is Canadian.

If your dollar gets much stronger we'll start making our own stuff again.

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Yes the trans is made in f&%#ing China, it says that on the sticker. 55% of the car is from US and Canada.

 

[jimprw]

The Exedy clutch also appears to be foreign made: EXEDY is formerly known as Daikin. I'm optimistic that the Ford engineers tested this setup extensively. Does anyone know if the same transmission was used in the FR500s?
I don't necessarily think that foreign made is the kiss of death since global parts manufacturing and sourcing is really the order of the day. But, I'll be more aware of the clutch and transmission peformance now that there is at least some concern.

Heck, back in the old days, I had a new '77 Z28 and the clutch went out after 8K miles and I never beat it. It had an all American Muncie M-21 4 speed in it. The Quality Control today is light years ahead of where it was in the '70s. Plus, if there is gonna be a bonk with the transmissions, I'm sure you track guys are going to hit it before us tame street guys do.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I'm pretty sure the FR500's have a five speed tranny.

 

[STIG302]

The higher you wind it up, the easier it is to slip it into the next gear.

According to what I read about skip shift, if you wind out first gear the first few times while driving the computer disables the skip shift feature until you restart the car again.

I don't think my car has ever forced me to shift from 1st to 4th. Are we sure this is active on the Boss?

Yes, I am absolutely sure the Boss has skip shift. If you turn off the odometer display, it will come up the display saying you should shift from 1st to 4th.

Also, there may be something to winding out the car a few times and then it disables. There have been times that I'll be accelerating slowly and the skip shift doesn't come on.

I have seen the display but I can still shift to 2nd. I has never put me into 4th when I went for 2nd. Maybe I'm revving to high in 1st? ???

When it comes up, release the clutch, then re-engage. The light will go out.

 

[codyl]

Does anyone experience slight transmission whine in 2nd and 3rd when the car is warm? I only really notice it when the windows are up. Should I get it checked out or is this normal?

 

[cloud9]

Are you sure it's coming from the trans? I was hauling my track wheels to a buddy's body shop last week so had the rear seats folded down for the first time. It was cold out so I had the windows up which is very rare. With the stereo off, rare again ;D, I noticed some "whine" coming from the rear end that I hadn't heard before but it was mostly due to the insulation of the rear seats being up. When I put the seats back up it quieted down considerably. I assumed it was coming from the rear end (Torsen maybe is a little louder than limited slip?) and transmitting through the panhard bar or control arms into the cabin. It doesn't sound anywhere near as loud as my GT500 which whines like a bloodhound.