So for those of who do not know, but the majority of 2010-2013 GT500's have an issue with engaging second gear at high rpm, basically when banging gears. The car will torque up and then deny entry into the gear. There is now an estimation of over 90% of GT500's in these years have this design flaw issue. Tremec the maker of the transmission states the root cause is Ford's hydraulic clutch design and the "floppy" remote mounted shifter.
So back in April of 2012, I took my 2012 GT500 to the local dealership who is really known as "the performance Ford dealer" as they typically sell a lot of Roush, Saleen, GT500's etc. Their lead SVT tech has also been a friend of mine for about 10 years now.
So I take my stock GT500 in to have the issue diagnosed and yep, it grinds second gear for them. They stated though they are 14 cars deep with transmission issues so either wait a month or so for it to be even taken apart or come back later. So I told the Service Manager, that I planned to mod the car over the summer, he had no issues with this.
I added a Whipple 2.9, Suspension, Long Tubes, tune etc. Car ran pretty good when it wanted to engage second gear, although even when it would engage second, it still had a delay, as you could feel a hesitation before the gear could engage. Keep in mind it would only shift into second about a third of the time. My WOT Box only masked the problem. So fast forward to the last week in November, I make another appointment now that the season is over for it to be finally fixed.
Since they still had an open issue on file from me prior to the car being modded the dealership and the field engineer had no issue in allowing the repair to be done under warranty.
So, the dealership was advised to remove and take the transmission apart to see what the issue was. To their findings they found the teeth on second gear syncro destroyed. They were also made out of brass, not carbon fiber lined. So we can pretty much squash the rumor that all 2011+ GT500's come with carbon fiber lined syncros, as this is not the case. From my understanding it is more of a random thing or just a myth.
Dealer replaced syncros, blocker rings, actual gears etc. Get the car back together, and go for a road test, attempt to slam second, GRIIIINNND.
Dealership calls Ford Engineering and has a lengthy conversation with the SVT looking for a fix as the parts and labor list is well over $2000 at this point. SVT advises dealer that the actual TSB to fix this issue for 2010-2013 GT500's will be released in EARLY January 2013, which illustrates a two step process.
Step 1. Replace syncros, blockers, gears etc.
Step 2. If Step 1 does not resolve the issue, replace shifter and clutch assembly with revised part #, which is to be relased as of Dec 6, 2012. They are currently in production as we speak. Dealer estimates the car will be done before January as my car will be one of the first if not the first to have the revised parts in it.
This being said, I do have a MGW Shifter, CHE K-Member Brace w/Torque Limiters and Steeda Motor Mounts sitting here waiting to go on to see if this will remedy the issue if Step 2 does not work, as I have read the above items have cured it for a lot of other cars.
I applaud my dealer for working with me on this issue and not giving me a hard time due to the mods, even though they confirmed the issue earlier. Below are 2 videos illustrating the 2013 GT500, and how the SVT Chief Engineer states they acknowledge the second gear grind issue on the 2010-2012 GT500 and have fixed it for 2013.
Comment starts at 2:40 in
The second video is a test drive of the 2013 GT500 from Hot Rod magazine, trying to bang second gear and doing nothing but grinding.
You can see at 5:05 in
So back in April of 2012, I took my 2012 GT500 to the local dealership who is really known as "the performance Ford dealer" as they typically sell a lot of Roush, Saleen, GT500's etc. Their lead SVT tech has also been a friend of mine for about 10 years now.
So I take my stock GT500 in to have the issue diagnosed and yep, it grinds second gear for them. They stated though they are 14 cars deep with transmission issues so either wait a month or so for it to be even taken apart or come back later. So I told the Service Manager, that I planned to mod the car over the summer, he had no issues with this.
I added a Whipple 2.9, Suspension, Long Tubes, tune etc. Car ran pretty good when it wanted to engage second gear, although even when it would engage second, it still had a delay, as you could feel a hesitation before the gear could engage. Keep in mind it would only shift into second about a third of the time. My WOT Box only masked the problem. So fast forward to the last week in November, I make another appointment now that the season is over for it to be finally fixed.
Since they still had an open issue on file from me prior to the car being modded the dealership and the field engineer had no issue in allowing the repair to be done under warranty.
So, the dealership was advised to remove and take the transmission apart to see what the issue was. To their findings they found the teeth on second gear syncro destroyed. They were also made out of brass, not carbon fiber lined. So we can pretty much squash the rumor that all 2011+ GT500's come with carbon fiber lined syncros, as this is not the case. From my understanding it is more of a random thing or just a myth.
Dealer replaced syncros, blocker rings, actual gears etc. Get the car back together, and go for a road test, attempt to slam second, GRIIIINNND.
Dealership calls Ford Engineering and has a lengthy conversation with the SVT looking for a fix as the parts and labor list is well over $2000 at this point. SVT advises dealer that the actual TSB to fix this issue for 2010-2013 GT500's will be released in EARLY January 2013, which illustrates a two step process.
Step 1. Replace syncros, blockers, gears etc.
Step 2. If Step 1 does not resolve the issue, replace shifter and clutch assembly with revised part #, which is to be relased as of Dec 6, 2012. They are currently in production as we speak. Dealer estimates the car will be done before January as my car will be one of the first if not the first to have the revised parts in it.
This being said, I do have a MGW Shifter, CHE K-Member Brace w/Torque Limiters and Steeda Motor Mounts sitting here waiting to go on to see if this will remedy the issue if Step 2 does not work, as I have read the above items have cured it for a lot of other cars.
I applaud my dealer for working with me on this issue and not giving me a hard time due to the mods, even though they confirmed the issue earlier. Below are 2 videos illustrating the 2013 GT500, and how the SVT Chief Engineer states they acknowledge the second gear grind issue on the 2010-2012 GT500 and have fixed it for 2013.
Comment starts at 2:40 in
The second video is a test drive of the 2013 GT500 from Hot Rod magazine, trying to bang second gear and doing nothing but grinding.
You can see at 5:05 in