Well I was on my way home today and noticed the clutch felt a bit wierd... about a mile from my house taking a turn I push in the clutch (and divert my eyes quickly at my new ScanGauge 2 and watch my MPG's shoot up, lol) and after turning the corner I drop it into 2nd and let out the clutch and press the gas and it feels as if I'm in neutral, so I try again, but pushing in the clutch I notice that my clutch only goes 1/2 way and stops. So I pull over and an hour later my dad manages to get the friciton plates to bite enough to drive it to the yard. Tomorrow we're hopefully going to put it in the shop. Not lookong forward to seeing a $600 bill.... plus a week on the school bus!

 

****TY.. but it was bound to happen.

 

Well it's been through EXACTLY 165,000.3 miles. When I get my new clutch and bearings replaced, I promise never to drive like a freak like I did before...

 

ouch that sucks man..let us kno how it goes.

 

Well, I got it towed today. Ford called us back and told us for $1100 they'll rebuild the trannie. So my dad is willing to eat half of it, but still $500 for a new trannie, aobut $300 for prom coming up, a $600 insurance payment in 2 weeks, and gas? Once I get my truck back Friday or Saturday I won't be able to afford to start the damn thing. I'm 16 making $6.50 an hour, WTF?!?!? I'm just so upset right now, I just managed to stop the water works. I'm too emotionally attacted to that damn thing...

On the bad note, I'm acutally pissed at Ford. Not even 170K miles and so far the WHOLE POWERTRAIN had to have been replaced? I can't believe I'm saying this but thats friggin pathetic!

 

Think this had anything to do with your drivetrain failures

 

I'd be quite happy to get 170k out of any motor vehicle.

When I was 16 I was walking and taking the bus when I couldn't borrow my mom's car..........

 

170k on the original M5OD trans?? That's not bad. JMC eats his about twice a year!!

If it's a clutch issue, it should not be $1100. I'd like to know how they determined the trans needed to be rebuilt, and how they can justify $1100 to do so. Any halfway competent trans shop should be able to do it for half that, and if it's just a cluth, 1/4 of that or less.

What, exactly, are they saying is wrong with it?

 

I paid $1250 for a complete clutch job on mine - full Brute Power kit plus a master cylinder and flywheel resurfacing - labor rate was 80 bucks an hour. If your labor rates are lower and you go OEM, it should be closer to $1000.

 

$1250!??! Seriously? There isn't $300 in parts there, and at $80/hour, that's still not a 12 hour job... I don't care how bad a mechanic they are! That's highway robbery!

 

Have you thought about doing it yourself or having a local place do it? I have never done it and I'm no mechanic but a clutch job really isn't a big deal. If it is the tranny, have you considered looking in a salvage yard? Sure you are probably only going to get a 30 day warranty but I'm thinking you should be able to get one for a third of that price......just guessing based on similar experience with a different vehicle.

 

i agree your paying to much for extras theres proboly nothing wrong with your trans or you clutch you probobly only need a new slave which is like $70 but when you rely on a shop to tell you whats wrong you got to pay the piper or learn how to fix it yourself its just basic hand tools and about a day of laying under your truck

 

Well yes. We found out it is the slave (throwout bearing) but when they pulled the trannie, they told us the clutch and the rest of the components (except the gears) look like that had a year or two max and me and my dad talked and since I'm going to be keeping this truck for quite a while (after college) we decided to get the whole thing rebuilt. 12 month/12,000 mile warranty, and the fact knowing I have a brand new engine and transmission not only pepped up the value a bit, but also knowing that I should last another 10 years without a drivetrain problem. Again, we confirmed today we should have her safely at home by friday.

Looks like I'm going to have to re-learn to drive my baby. Looking forward to seeing what she feels like with a new trannie!

BTW, the comment that driving hard prolly ruined it, I'm blaming the early blowout (my dad says 160K on a trannie is nothing) on my dad who loads a 3,000 camper loaded to the hilt with 4 people and a bed full of vacation supplies up the Appalacian Mtn's twice a year. I just liked to maybe squeal the tires once a month and sometimes when I'm bored and I see a ricer pull up to me I'll WOT it. But I guess it was it's time.

Should I expect a kind of "break-in" period for this (I.E no gunning it or stretching the gears?) or should she be ready as soon as they drop her back on all fours?


I tell ya, these last few days have been killer on me! Riding shotgun w/ my g/f everywhere I go kills not only my ego, but also my pride! Everyone at school is now getting all ****y saying: "Oh, did you hear Alex's truck broke down? Stupid Ford!" meanwhile the people saying that have brand-new Chevy's with probs. Shes 10 years old and after this, she'll be like 2 again!

 

Also, yes, we could have done it for about $200 cheaper, but by that time, she was already sitting in Ford's lot and my insurance only covers towing to $50. By the time we could've loaded her up and pulled her to a new place, we would've saved maybe $50 max. Plus, only the dealer would've gave us a new warranty. I've still got a year left on my new engine, so I think I'm good for a while when it comes to any powertrain issues in the near future.

 

He charged me $538 for a clutch kit that costs $300 from Rock Auto. Big deal, he was able to get the parts and get it fixed same day, I knew I was paying top dollar going into the job and have no problem with that because this guy is GOOD. It was the ONLY kit he could get same day other than a cheap crappy reman and he had to pay a premium to get it. NONE of the local Ford dealers had an OEM kit in stock. Labor was 6 hours, by the way.

I would have wiped out any savings if I had to rent a car while waiting for parts to come in.