Mt82 class action lawsuit

[Michael55]

Just saw that a class action has been filed against Ford for the mt82 trans durability issues.

 

[AdmirC]

I thought one was filed a while ago but it was ruled that there was nothing wrong or something along those lines. Is there a new one?

 

[TMSBOSS]

That should be interesting.

With Ford standing behind their cars and their warranty, this should make a lot of money.....for the lawyers.

I am on my first MT-82 with 8 years of mostly track use and there are others here in the same boat. Push in the clutch, shift, release rinse and repeat.

The article and lawsuit hits on the Chinese factor. Interesting knowing how most cars are made globally. Strangely enough, Getrag is owned by a, sit down for this one, Canadian company Magna International. Same trans is used in other cars and SUVs with good results.

Sure, people had problems with the MT-82. Most Did Not. Mine locked out until I replaced the clutch, not the trans. Lock out was only on track 3-4 also at speeds not street legal. The shifter was as firm as over cooked Pasta. Fixed that with an MGW shifter and blowfish mount. I also played the clutch line game with no noticeable change. I have a whiteline trans mount stiffener if anyone wants one.

From an article on the suit.

"Owners and lessees say the transmission issues have resulted in a loss of value and that both groups are put in danger when they drive an affected Mustang. The class-action lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California."

"In 2011 there was a federal investigation into the manual transmission problems by the NHTSA. This was precipitated by over 350 owner complaints about the Mustang transmissions. It specifically called out shifting problems, especially in cold weather.
Ford made some changes prompting the NHTSA to close the investigation. Its findings were, “there is no indication of loss of motive power or unreasonable safety risk associated with the alleged defect in subject vehicles.” Ford says the transmissions are not defective. It says the cause of the failures is extra “wear and tear” associated with manual transmissions. "

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/class-action-lawsuit-says-ford-mustangs-have-bad-transmissions/


I believe this has been tried before. With the NHTSA investigating and closing their investigation without finding against Ford, I don't expect to see much from this suit. Where is the Emoji for the popcorn??? There it is.

 

[Grant 302]

I doubt this will go very far. There’s nothing really wrong with the box itself. Just almost everything outside of it that makes it look bad.

Remote shifter
Soft bushings as relates above
Assist spring on the clutch pedal assembly
Boss clutch
Shared brake fluid reservoir

Arguably:
Plastic clutch line
Lack of a bleeder

As much as I’d like compensation for the Boss clutch, I doubt we’ll see a penny from this.

 

[blacksheep-1]

a lot like racing a Subi..decent car, but push it to it's limits and it turns to poo

 

[Drlee50]

33k mile on mine.
I lost 3rd gear Saturday at RA. Teeth must be sheered off. And 4th syncros are gone. Im going to replace the trans now. I have the MGW race shifter installed and going to install exedy twin disc (to replace stock clutch) and SS line and already have separate reservoir. Should the stock drive shaft be replaced as well ?
I don't want new trans to suffer same fate.
Final question- should i go Ben Chalmers stage 3 or just a stock rebuild?
I planned to stick with the mt92 since I have the 23 spline clutch already and have all the mods that should allow the trans to survive .
Thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[TMSBOSS]

DrLee50

How ya doing?

I would go with the stage 3 from Ben. There will be more noise from the box but it appears to be the strongest option with an MT-82. Lethal performance carries his stuff also.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

One thing about the Class Action situation is I don't remember a single issue we had with " Mr./Mrs/Ms. Average Driver," they all cropped up with folks like us --- Track Addicts. I am sure there were some , but Ford stood by all the issues I knew about and though not a fan of the tranny , going to be a bit tough to say , " Well mine took a dump while I was racing?" I guess , racing ( autocross or track ) since the early 80s I can sure name a lot of trannies that had problems with those who tracked their machines , and I can't imagine this complaint will go overly far?

Who knows, but since the Boss S came with a Tremec , I don't have an issue anyway.

 

[Grant 302]

33k mile on mine.
I lost 3rd gear Saturday at RA. Teeth must be sheered off. And 4th syncros are gone. Im going to replace the trans now. I have the MGW race shifter installed and going to install exedy twin disc (to replace stock clutch) and SS line and already have separate reservoir. Should the stock drive shaft be replaced as well ?
I don't want new trans to suffer same fate.
Final question- should i go Ben Chalmers stage 3 or just a stock rebuild?
I planned to stick with the mt92 since I have the 23 spline clutch already and have all the mods that should allow the trans to survive .
Thoughts?
Thanks!

Depends what you believe.

If you believe the primary issue was the Boss clutch, then a stock or stock-ish rebuild should be okay.

But if you think there are more issues inside the box, then pay for the Calimer upgrades. Or just do them for good measure.

If your clutch can be taken out before you decide, I suggest you inspect it for glazed spots. That’s what I found on a friend’s Boss clutch after he had issues and swapped it out.

Did you have any of the typical problems with the clutch pedal going soft or sticking to the floor? Lockout?

 

[Drlee50]

Depends what you believe.

If you believe the primary issue was the Boss clutch, then a stock or stock-ish rebuild should be okay.

But if you think there are more issues inside the box, then pay for the Calimer upgrades. Or just do them for good measure.

If your clutch can be taken out before you decide, I suggest you inspect it for glazed spots. That’s what I found on a friend’s Boss clutch after he had issues and swapped it out.

Did you have any of the typical problems with the clutch pedal going soft or sticking to the floor? Lockout?

yes when I got the car originally it was stock. And it would have high RPM lockout issues bad. So I changed the shifter to a Barton unit and that helped a little bit but wasn't great. So then I opted for the better mgw and that was a lot better. I remove the assist spring also. Then I put in the separate Reservoir. At that point that's how it's been since then. I put 10 to 15 track days on it and overall pretty good. Until two weeks ago at gingerman when I lost 4th gear synchros. I put in some fresh Amsoil into the trans and hope for the best at Road America. But shifting from 5th to 3rd must have been a bit too much and cost me the gear. Luckily the parts seem to fall down into the magnet area and I was able to continue and just run the course in 5th for Saturday. Sunday I ran it in 4th all day. I could get it into 4th at low speeds as I entered the track and just left it there. I'd top out at 120 in each of the straights and just hover at 7500 til the brake zone. I figured at least I was on track. Funny thing is I ran 2:40.0's if I ran it in 5th or in 4th! Pretty heavy momentum car I'll tell ya. Anyway, I had problems with some high speed lock out into 4th and 5th despite my changes- but it was manageable . I knew i still needed to change the clutch. That should fix the rest but wasn't sure on the driveshaft effects.
I don't know if the trans is inherently weak and the liberty gears are needed or not.

 

[BmacIL]

I doubt this will go very far. There’s nothing really wrong with the box itself. Just almost everything outside of it that makes it look bad.

Remote shifter
Soft bushings as relates above
Assist spring on the clutch pedal assembly
Boss clutch
Shared brake fluid reservoir

Arguably:
Plastic clutch line
Lack of a bleeder

As much as I’d like compensation for the Boss clutch, I doubt we’ll see a penny from this.

Plastic fork pads that wear pretty quick and contribute to lockout/syncro wear

Syncros go quickly but are primarily caused by the clutch being inadequate. With a good clutch most of the durability issues with the MT82 would be gone. Feel? Different story that an MGW fixes.

 

[Grant 302]

Syncros go quickly but are primarily caused by the clutch being inadequate. With a good clutch most of the durability issues with the MT82 would be gone.

Thanks for posting this. Hopefully this helps shift (no pun intended) the thinking on where the problems are with the MT-82.

 

[Grant 302]

yes when I got the car originally it was stock. And it would have high RPM lockout issues bad. So I changed the shifter to a Barton unit and that helped a little bit but wasn't great. So then I opted for the better mgw and that was a lot better. I remove the assist spring also. Then I put in the separate Reservoir. At that point that's how it's been since then. I put 10 to 15 track days on it and overall pretty good. Until two weeks ago at gingerman when I lost 4th gear synchros. I put in some fresh Amsoil into the trans and hope for the best at Road America. But shifting from 5th to 3rd must have been a bit too much and cost me the gear. Luckily the parts seem to fall down into the magnet area and I was able to continue and just run the course in 5th for Saturday. Sunday I ran it in 4th all day. I could get it into 4th at low speeds as I entered the track and just left it there. I'd top out at 120 in each of the straights and just hover at 7500 til the brake zone. I figured at least I was on track. Funny thing is I ran 2:40.0's if I ran it in 5th or in 4th! Pretty heavy momentum car I'll tell ya. Anyway, I had problems with some high speed lock out into 4th and 5th despite my changes- but it was manageable . I knew i still needed to change the clutch. That should fix the rest but wasn't sure on the driveshaft effects.
I don't know if the trans is inherently weak and the liberty gears are needed or not.

Good luck with the swap. I’d like to hear what direction you go in...and if your clutch shows the same kind of glazed spots.

 

[67GTA]

yes when I got the car originally it was stock. And it would have high RPM lockout issues bad. So I changed the shifter to a Barton unit and that helped a little bit but wasn't great. So then I opted for the better mgw and that was a lot better. I remove the assist spring also. Then I put in the separate Reservoir. At that point that's how it's been since then. I put 10 to 15 track days on it and overall pretty good. Until two weeks ago at gingerman when I lost 4th gear synchros. I put in some fresh Amsoil into the trans and hope for the best at Road America. But shifting from 5th to 3rd must have been a bit too much and cost me the gear. Luckily the parts seem to fall down into the magnet area and I was able to continue and just run the course in 5th for Saturday. Sunday I ran it in 4th all day. I could get it into 4th at low speeds as I entered the track and just left it there. I'd top out at 120 in each of the straights and just hover at 7500 til the brake zone. I figured at least I was on track. Funny thing is I ran 2:40.0's if I ran it in 5th or in 4th! Pretty heavy momentum car I'll tell ya. Anyway, I had problems with some high speed lock out into 4th and 5th despite my changes- but it was manageable . I knew i still needed to change the clutch. That should fix the rest but wasn't sure on the driveshaft effects.
I don't know if the trans is inherently weak and the liberty gears are needed or not.

One of the biggest cost concerns when deciding between MT-82 replacement and Tremec conversion is the driveshaft & clutch, as most had already made the investment in both prior to the failure. Since those 2 items are on your list, you should seriously consider the conversion. I took the plunge along with the Exedy hyper-single and couldn’t be happier.

 

[Ludachris]

One of the biggest cost concerns when deciding between MT-82 replacement and Tremec conversion is the driveshaft & clutch, as most had already made the investment in both prior to the failure. Since those 2 items are on your list, you should seriously consider the conversion. I took the plunge along with the Exedy hyper-single and couldn’t be happier.

@67GTA - did you happen to do the swap yourself or did you have a shop do it? That would be a great write-up to have in the How-To forum here to have the process documented. Maybe we can get the next person who does the swap to post a write up for it.

 

[67GTA]

@67GTA - did you happen to do the swap yourself or did you have a shop do it? That would be a great write-up to have in the How-To forum here to have the process documented. Maybe we can get the next person who does the swap to post a write up for it.

I completed the swap in my garage. Unfortunately once the research phase is complete and I fully commit to getting a project done, I’m horrible about taking pictures and documenting the process. I did learn a few things that weren’t easily discovered in my research, so could definitely recap with the hopes of helping someone else down the line.

 

[Ludachris]

I completed the swap in my garage. Unfortunately once the research phase is complete and I fully commit to getting a project done, I’m horrible about taking pictures and documenting the process. I did learn a few things that weren’t easily discovered in my research, so could definitely recap with the hopes of helping someone else down the line.

Hell, even a rough recap would probably be useful to some in the form of a How-To article - whenever you get the chance of course. We can always have others add photos to it later - like a crowd-sourced tutorial. (https://trackmustangsonline.com/forums/how-to-tutorials.18/)

I'm the same way. Always forget to take photos when I'm doing installs.

 

[aerok]

wondering if the MT-82 has overheating problems?
my car only has 25000 kms (~40225 mi) and only once had the 3rd lockout at ~7000 rpms and lost the lap. After that I start thinking in Barton's, but I don't think that is the issue
My next thought is, comparing MT82 to GT350's Tremec, that has heat exchanger and is a track focus car. Make me think if really the MT82 has a fix for Track use

 

[TMSBOSS]

Do the MT-82's get hot on track, yep. Steve and others have made oil coolers for this trans. Check out his thread if you might go that way.

I run the scoop which came on the LS. IF you don't run some sort of cooling for the 82, change the fluids often.

 

[aerok]

Do the MT-82's get hot on track, yep. Steve and others have made oil coolers for this trans. Check out his thread if you might go that way.

I run the scoop which came on the LS. IF you don't run some sort of cooling for the 82, change the fluids often.

Who's Steve?
What's the name of the thread, can you share the link?

Thank you