Could Ford be Fixing the Issues?

[DIB5.0]

A friend works for a Ford dealership and he says its like pulling teeth to get any GT's. If you look there are very few Mustangs on Fords lots. Production is at a snails pace. Maybe Ford is trying to fix the tranny and piston issues. Why else would it be so hard to find a Mustang in the prime of the seasons?

 

[BlackOut2k11]

Tranny issue is definitely something that should be on their radar. Piston issue is probably something that they're looking at, but it doesn't change the fact that those of us with 11's and 12's are gonna get screwed if anything happens to our motors.

 

[COYO TT]

Whats wrong with our tranny? It has a slight whine, so what. Lethal is running 10's on it. Its the clutch assembly that is the issue, just ask anyone who has gone with an aftermarket one. The clutch engagement issues it causing damage to the syncros in the tranny IMO

 

[Lupo222]

Supposedly I read somewhere that tranny is rated for LESS horsepower than the car makes from the factory?? I swear I read that somewhere...

 

[VTXFrank]

Right now, many popular cars are very hard to get a hold of. My wife and I were looking to buy her a new Nissan Frontier. They are very popular trucks, but we simply cannot find one in our region with 4x4 and the other equipment we want. No explanation given except that they are coming off the line slower than normal.

I would postulate that given the horrific damage done to Japan, many of the electronics aren't as readily available as they once were. Until Japan can get back up to speed or another manufacturing country can get geared up, cars are going to slow down. Everything from Harley's to our beloved Mustang's depend on Japanese made electronics.

 

[J.Kidd]

Supposedly I read somewhere that tranny is rated for LESS horsepower than the car makes from the factory?? I swear I read that somewhere...

It was torque. I think the tranny is rated for 375 ft/lbs (IIRC) and the motor makes 390 ft/lbs. That baffles me as well.

 

[COYO TT]

Right now, many popular cars are very hard to get a hold of. My wife and I were looking to buy her a new Nissan Frontier. They are very popular trucks, but we simply cannot find one in our region with 4x4 and the other equipment we want. No explanation given except that they are coming off the line slower than normal.

I would postulate that given the horrific damage done to Japan, many of the electronics aren't as readily available as they once were. Until Japan can get back up to speed or another manufacturing country can get geared up, cars are going to slow down. Everything from Harley's to our beloved Mustang's depend on Japanese made electronics.

Also the cash for clunkers program took so many cars off the road, and drove up the price of used vehicles so much that often with financing and incentives, its cheaper to buy new

 

[fdjizm]

It was torque. I think the tranny is rated for 375 ft/lbs (IIRC) and the motor makes 390 ft/lbs. That baffles me as well.

And the tr3650 is rated for 360 ft-lbs, but we all know how many 500-600 ft-lb mustang are running around fine.
I would take those ratings with a grain of salt.

 

[sean858]

The tsunami in Japan slowed down parts availability for a LOT of manufactures. I know we (Lexus) are having a real hard time getting cars and some parts. Our new car sales is dead. I remember reading somewhere that Ford lost 2 paint colors and I believe some electronics for the RCM because of it.

 

[Flapjack]

And the tr3650 is rated for 360 ft-lbs, but we all know how many 500-600 ft-lb mustang are running around fine.
I would take those ratings with a grain of salt.

It really doesn't matter if they (3650's) can take that HP or not. Those numbers are not stock. The new GTs are shipping with transmissions that are not rated for the accompanying engine's output. To me, this is inexcusable. Not only is it poor planning/engineering, but it leaves the end user with less "room" to grow as far as adding power goes. We all know some transmissions are stronger than others. This is not one of them, which casts Ford's decision in a really bad light...

Sent from my Android using Tapatalk

 

[Seer]

You need to look at torque multiplication and gearing, when taking those ratings into account. Those 390 ratings are at a 1:1 ratio.

 

[Lupo222]

I just bought my wife a brand new scion. We had to buy it sight unseen because our dealership didn't have any on the lot...there's only 23 in the southeast region (NC SC GA Fla). Ya productions slow!! Makes me think the value of our used car is slightly higher though...

 

[TexasKyle]

It really doesn't matter if they (3650's) can take that HP or not. Those numbers are not stock. The new GTs are shipping with transmissions that are not rated for the accompanying engine's output. To me, this is inexcusable. Not only is it poor planning/engineering, but it leaves the end user with less "room" to grow as far as adding power goes. We all know some transmissions are stronger than others. This is not one of them, which casts Ford's decision in a really bad light...

Sent from my Android using Tapatalk

That really doesn't make sense. There is no mass produced car that is set up from the factory to have "room to grow" Cars are designed to perform to whatever specs the company sets for them, and then they achieve those specs/goals with the absolute lowest costs possible.

If Ford was ever worried about us aftermarket mod bugs, which they arent, we would never have had toothbrush size rods in the 3vs.

It doesn't cast a bad light on Ford, or any other manufacturer that doesnt send a 400hp car out the door ready to handle 500+hp/tq.

 

[chad05gt]

A friend works for a Ford dealership and he says its like pulling teeth to get any GT's. If you look there are very few Mustangs on Fords lots. Production is at a snails pace. Maybe Ford is trying to fix the tranny and piston issues. Why else would it be so hard to find a Mustang in the prime of the seasons?

Kinda a fear to be expected with a '1st generation'... all of us that have 05's are well aware of! lol!

 

[Lupo222]

That really doesn't make sense. There is no mass produced car that is set up from the factory to have "room to grow" Cars are designed to perform to whatever specs the company sets for them, and then they achieve those specs/goals with the absolute lowest costs possible.

If Ford was ever worried about us aftermarket mod bugs, which they arent, we would never have had toothbrush size rods in the 3vs.

It doesn't cast a bad light on Ford, or any other manufacturer that doesnt send a 400hp car out the door ready to handle 500+hp/tq.

While they dont necessarily do it with us in mind, they do make a little cushion for their engines. The terminators for example can handle much more than the 390 they come with. And our 3v's can take more than 305 by a good number.

 

[19COBRA93]

A friend works for a Ford dealership and he says its like pulling teeth to get any GT's. If you look there are very few Mustangs on Fords lots. Production is at a snails pace. Maybe Ford is trying to fix the tranny and piston issues. Why else would it be so hard to find a Mustang in the prime of the seasons?

Trans issue, yes probably needs to be addressed. Piston issues? Not something Ford needs to worry about since "theirs" are running just fine.

As for the hold up of cars, It's a parts availability issue. The Focus is experiencing the same delays. 2 years ago during the big downturn and shakeup of the US automotive industry, Ford (and GM and Chrysler) lost a lot of their vendors/suppliers for parts. A lot of suppliers went under. Now, even though production is seemingly back up, those suppliers never made it back. So Ford has had to source parts from different suppliers, and put strain on current suppliers to keep up with demand. It's getting better, but it is a problem.

 

[tjm73]

And the tr3650 is rated for 360 ft-lbs, but we all know how many 500-600 ft-lb mustang are running around fine.
I would take those ratings with a grain of salt.

Stock 4.6 3V's make about 320 ft-lbs. Less than the trans is rated for.

There's no denying Ford F'd up with this 6 speed manual. IMO.

 

[19COBRA93]

There's no denying Ford F'd up with this 6 speed manual. IMO.

I tend to agree. Although, I think I'd still take it over my 3650. Whining or not.

 

[tjm73]

I tend to agree. Although, I think I'd still take it over my 3650. Whining or not.

I still say they could offer a more expensive for them to buy manual trans, increase the cost of the car accordingly and still sell just as many cars.

 

[19COBRA93]

I still say they could offer a more expensive for them to buy manual trans, increase the cost of the car accordingly and still sell just as many cars.

I guess it depends on what sort of price difference there would be. A few hundred dollars more for a much stronger trans would be reasonable. But a thousand dollars or more wouldn't fly past the bean counters.