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Some new tire issues, Drivetrian sound and different shifter issues

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I've been having some odd things occur with my Boss as of late. First is an odd shifter / drivetrain issue and the other is a tire issue.

So I had to take the car in thursday due to an odd situation. I was on my way to work in the AM, I gunned it from a light and was locked out from 2nd. Try third, same thing. Put it into neutral, tried 2nd again while the car was now slowing down and no luck, but get it into third. I get to the next light, car downshifted fine. Green light, I get on the throttle again (not full WOT mind you, but a spirited drive non-the-less). 2nd agian is locked out, but I get it into third. I upshift like normal into 4th. Coming up to the next light, I downshift like I always do, third is ok, and then going into second the car grabs hard and I hear a whirring / grinding noise from the trans tunnel under the shifter. My foot is 100% off the clutch and I smell clutch. Quickly put it into neutral. Light turns green, I take off slow and gentle. 2nd gear same noise, same smell, get into third just fine, fourth just fine, smell still present. I stop at the next parking lot and ever time I went from 3rd to 2nd, it made the same noise and smell.

Got coffee and called the dealer, they say bring it in. Car drives perfectly normal, and I drove it the same way I did earlier. About 6 miles away, I'm getting off the FWY by my dealer and upon downshifting get locked out of third and 2nd again. coming to a stop, I finally get it into second and the same noise and smell occur. That was the last it ever happened.

Dealer could not replicate, nor could I when I gave the service writer a test drive later in the day. They said the car drove normal (which upon test driving time with me it did) and I had them check the diff pinion angle and everything was OEM normal.

I currently have the whiteline trans bushing and Barton two-post. Dealer actually installed the Barton 2 post when they replaced my OEM shifter that they broke when they removed my OEM shift knob lol... (that OEM knob was locked on there tight though, and it took their tech 40 minutes to get it off, the factory over added locktite to mine I guess).

NOW fast forward to this afternoon. I noticed that when driving over 45mph if I put the car into neutral and coast, there is a metallic noise that seems to be coming from just under the shifter (perhaps driveshaft). Sounds like I have a race clutch, IE: cement mixer noise. Only occurs in neutral while coasting over 45mph. Put the car into gear and the sound goes away. I can't figure that one out at all.


Now for my tire.... I had the dealer lower my car with Steeda springs and adjustable rear panhard bar back around 7k miles. I'm now at 11,700. The dealer did an alignment and everything was in the green. A few months later I noticed that the car would pull and the steering wheel went crooked so while going straight the steering wheel was off-center slightly. I took it back and they adjusted it, and did a re-alignment, again everything OK. About a month later, I went in for the same issue.

Each time I brought the car in, I complained about fwy and high speed steering wheel shudder (minor but for a car with so few miles, IMO shouldn't be there at all).
Again, told the same thing, nothing loose, no shocks blown, alignment is all in OEM spec, bushing and tie rods seem ok, no loose bolts or parts broken / missing. They're now done three alignments and re-balanced the wheels/tires twice. They've never been able to give me an answer on my shudder, never can fix anything as nothing is "wrong".

HOWEVER, my front right tire now is worn on the inside and feathering and will soon need to be replaced. My front left is perfect. No abnormal wear on ANY other corner, all the other tires are wearing normal. Tire pressure is the same in both fronts, 34psi. No pulling or odd driveability besides the high speed steering shudder that has never been fixed.

As of now I have a Monday early AM appointment to take it back in. Is there anything you guys can think of that might be the cause of my issues? Perhaps I can bring up some new possibilities to the service writer? Why just the one front tire with no visible signs of possible issues to the suspension etc?

At this point I'm beyond frustrated. And just before anyone blames the car being lowered... the shudder was there when I bought the car (2nd hand from a dealer with 5k miles approx). So far the dealer has not blamed any aftermarket parts for any issues, as well they shouldn't in this case IMO.

Long post, sorry, but looking to vent a little and pick your brains for thoughts.

Thanks in advance!
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
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1) you have tranny issues like many if us. There are many posts on this on BMO.
2) don't trust dealer with an alignment. Check you ball joints and tie rod joints. Sound like bad camber and maybe bad toe also. Find a GOOD race shop to check your front end and do the alignment.

-Pete
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
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Cookeville TN
Your clutch disc may have thrown a spring and is bouncing around in there and interfering with the pressure plate and disc. You should stop driving and pull the trans before the carnage becomes greater.
Sorry to say but it won't get any better by letting Ford techs drive it around.
Steve
 
my problem is the warranty. I can't pull the trans etc, I don't have the time, money or ability. Plus I don't track the car etc so I'm pushing my hardest to have FORD actually warranty the things.

As much as I love this car, I cannot justify buying ANY new car where to have it work correctly, you have to dump money into it to fix things from the get-go (so-to-speak).

Plus this is my daily driver so it's got to be reliable.
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
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WorldFamousZ said:
my problem is the warranty. I can't pull the trans etc, I don't have the time, money or ability. Plus I don't track the car etc so I'm pushing my hardest to have FORD actually warranty the things.

As much as I love this car, I cannot justify buying ANY new car where to have it work correctly, you have to dump money into it to fix things from the get-go (so-to-speak).

Plus this is my daily driver so it's got to be reliable.

Unfortunately there is a huge variation in how the dealers deal with us on these issues. My Boss is heavily modified and track only, and my dealer has stood by every warranty claim I've had including a new full wiring harness, clutch and tranny. Maybe its because I paid a $7k ADM for my Laguna, who knows. Bottom line is I believe you are currently a victim of your dealer, not necessarily Ford. I do agree, however, that Ford made a mistake in choosing the MT-82 and associated clutch on our car.

-Pete
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
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Cookeville TN
WorldFamousZ said:
my problem is the warranty. I can't pull the trans etc, I don't have the time, money or ability. Plus I don't track the car etc so I'm pushing my hardest to have FORD actually warranty the things.

As much as I love this car, I cannot justify buying ANY new car where to have it work correctly, you have to dump money into it to fix things from the get-go (so-to-speak).

Plus this is my daily driver so it's got to be reliable.

Z, sorry I meant that the Dealer should pull the trans to investigate the grinding/scraping noise you hear. The problem is they won't unless they hear or smell it during a service check ride. You shouldn't have to fix the car just to drive it every day but your car seems to have a serious issue that does need attention. It could be 2nd gear synchronizer going bad, but that would not explain smelling burning clutch, partially releasing clutch would explain both the smell and difficulty engaging gears. One of the clutch disc spring shot out of my disc and got wedged between the pressure plate diaphragm fingers and kept my clutch locked. Luckily it was fully engaged and I was able to make it home. I replaced it with a McLeod RST and have been happy.
 
Yeah, I agree. I'm giving the dealer one more chance tomorrow. If they keep giving me a run around, I'll try a different dealer.

As I used to work for dealers in the past, I know that there isn't much to do if they cannot duplicate things so I'm more irritated at FORD for the trans issues and not really the dealer. The tire and shuddering issue however, now that's something I am taking issue with my dealer about.

now a question regarding my tire / shuddering issue. I'm only assuming the two are linked. BUT considering my noises etc from my drivetrain, what are the chances, if any, that the shuddering at higher speeds could be coming from my driveshaft or something related in that area of the car and not suspension? Just a thought...
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
Moderator
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1,924
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Cookeville TN
Call Ford Service customer hotline, or email Deysha over on allfordmustangs.com for help. You should take that whiteline thing off before you bring it in again, the Barton you can't do much about but that is where they might question if the mods caused these symtoms/problems.
Good Luck with it.
Steve
 
The whiteline I agree with, but the Barton Two post is something they installed. I was even told by them when they were going to replace my shifter that instead of installing the OEM shifter, If I brought in a Barton or Ford racing shifter or the Barton bracket, that they would install it for free. They specifically mentioned these brand since Barton makes the Ford racing shifter. So it appears that the dealer is up to speed with the aftermarket knowledge. I have it all documented as well so if they question it they can refer back to those comments in my service history. So I'm comfortable with handling that if it comes down to it.

This is why I had them install my Steeda springs and do the alignment, so they couldn't blame anyone else. They're an official Roush dealer as well, so they already have a service policy of working on and installing lowering kits etc.

Thanks for the ideas though, :)
 
When I lowered mine on T springs, I bought the BMR adj pan hard bar and centered the rear myself. I then went to Ford for an allignment and when he got it into OEM specs, the rear passenger wheel was out past the fender lip and the drivers side was sunk in. Under hard excel, the car pulled to one side bad, so I took it back and centerd it with the teck. That problem gone. I find my dealer knows absolutely NOTHING about the BOSS, let alone Mustang performance, so I will always try to do mods myself from now on and use this forum for pointers.
 
I agree, this forum is a wonderful source of info :)
What's odd is that every time I'm in at my dealership, they're working on fairly custom cars. Today I saw them working on a full offroad baja style Raptor, a track prepped 2012 BMW M3 (one of the employees I'd imagine), three newer GT500's etc etc.

So I took the tech out for a test drive in my car this morning and he noticed the steering vibration. It was subtle as we couldn't really find a smooth road w/no traffic at that time of the morning to be past 45 or so. He did notice my tire pressure appeared low. The cement truck sound was intermittent and since we were not at higher speeds, it wasn't too loud (which frustrated me).

By the end of the day, they re-checked the alignment, suspension, tire balance and tire pressure and said there wasn't anything more to do. Since some of the noises / trans issues appear intermittent and couldn't be duplicated they just said to bring it back the next time it acts up.

They re-balanced the tires so I'll get more seat time tomorrow on my way to work to see if this time it made a difference or not...

So we'll see
 

pufferfish

Supporting Vendor
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your shifting issue may be a broken shift fork pad. a broken pad can cause grinding synchros and lockout at any rpm/load. it may also make the "cement mixer" noise. then, whats left of it could line back up and the problems and noise disappears.

i removed my original trans due to 4th gear synchro being bad and put in a different trans. i opened up the original trans to find it was the pad, not the synchro. the trans that is in there now is having similar issues as you are having. i am getting close to pulling it (hopefully by this weekend) and i believe i will see a smashed stop pin and at least 1 broken shift fork pad...hopefully those broken parts didn't take out something else.

as for your unusual tire wear and shuddering, it really sounds like a worn part. usually, they can find this during an alignment, but not always.
 

Domestic Product

Big fat tires and everything !
PeteInCT said:
1) you have tranny issues like many if us. There are many posts on this on BMO.
2) don't trust dealer with an alignment. Check you ball joints and tie rod joints. Sound like bad camber and maybe bad toe also. Find a GOOD race shop to check your front end and do the alignment.

-Pete

+ 1 dealing with a dealer is not always the best. Get it into a good speed shop and get a diagnose and then use that with the dealer. Or like many of us just fix it the car is worth it.
 
Well, driving the car for a few days around town to and from work, the car has been shifting better. I went ahead and installed my Barton shifter last night. It's an easy install so if I need to take the car in for something major again trans related, I'll just remove it and swap in the OEM unit. It's easy enough.

Does the Barton shifter need time to "break in"? It is a bit notchy albeit direct, and somewhat stiff. I did check the boot and aligned it properly as well so I know it's not the rubber boot. Pushing down on the shifter also is stiff and getting it into reverse takes a good bit of muscle. I'm getting used to it though and do like the precise shifts. I'm wondering though if the notchiness is from the synchros or trans itself and the new shifter is only picking up on these issues more? But so far so good.

As for the tire wear, nothing new to report. I haven't had the chance to really get up to fwy speeds the past few days to see if the vibration comes back. But where I noticed it at 45mph before I no longer feel it. So I dunno... The tire isn't worn as "bad" as I initially thought, but it will suck when only one tire needs to be replaced down the road...
 
160
110
NJ
I had the exact same issues with my FRPP (Barton) shifter when it was new. It was so stiff initially that I thought something was wrong with the install. But now that's it's broken in the stiffness is gone (even reverse) and movements feel much more direct, especially the 2-3 shift.
 
WinterSucks said:
I was driving my buddies Boss last night and it literally shifted like butter and couldn't get him to tell me how he fixed it. Then I woke up.

Under your pillow did you find a Blowfish Racing decal??
Thats no dream...It's coming my friend.
My dream became reality and Thanks to BlowFish Racing..
 
boss man said:
Under your pillow did you find a Blowfish Racing decal??
Thats no dream...It's coming my friend.
My dream became reality and Thanks to BlowFish Racing..

Awesome! I will keep lurking around until he posts his testing results and solution.
 

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