'13 GT500 new clutch recommendations? (Dealer says mine has failed)

[nhs156]

I'm astounded that my car, which has practically been babied since purchase new in '13, now has a worn clutch. Never seen a race track. Never seen a drag strip. I found out as I had the local dealership investigate 2 separate noises, including what we thought was a chassis/suspension squeak. I won't bore you with the details, but the dealership authorized a tear down of the clutch and is now telling me it's in bad shape - "hot spots" all over, issue with the pressure plate, slave cylinder etc. Honestly, I'm not technically-inclined and have no idea what all this means other than I apparently need a new clutch. They offered to have me look at it - but as I have no idea what I'd be looking at, that seems pretty darned pointless.

The tech was telling me that the issue was using it as a daily driver - now that it has 21K miles on it. "Stop'n go kills the clutch", he said. "You can't drive it like a regular stick shift. You have to drop the clutch quickly in traffic - leaving a big gap between you and the car in front in traffic so that you can lunge forward." What absolute bollocks! As someone who's driven manual transmissions for 25 years and has never had a clutch issue, this floored me.

Anyway, I have little faith in the standard Ford clutch now. If these guys want to install another, I'm thinking I should have them install something that lasts longer/works better. Any recommendations beyond the standard GT500 clutch? Dealership suggested I go with theirs for warranty reasons - which made me laugh out loud: they wouldn't honor it anyway, methinks.

Thoughts?

 

[STTOCK]

McLeod RXT

http://www.mcleodracing.com/index.php/rxt-clutch-17078.html

 

[Snoopy49]

Are they going to cover the clutch under warranty?

From the 2013 Warranty Manual.

Extended warranty coverage periods are available for certain vehicle parts and conditions. Specifically,
(1) Your vehicle’s Powertrain components are covered for five years or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first. The extended coverage applies to the Engine: all internal lubricated parts, cylinder block, cylinder heads, electrical fuel pump, electronic engine control unit, engine mounts, flywheel, injection pump, manifold (exhaust and intake), manifold bolts, oil pan, oil pump, seals and gaskets, thermostat, thermostat housing, timing chain cover, timing chain (gears or belt), turbocharger/supercharger unit, valve covers, water pump;Transmission: all internal parts, clutch cover, seals and gaskets, torque converter, transfer case (including all internal parts), transmission case, transmission mounts

The warranty doesn't cover the clutch lining, but it should cover the pressure plates and flywheel. If you paid for the ESP plan, it will cover the clutch.

When they mention the clutch cover, they may be referring to an automatic transmission.
There is a history of failed clutches in the 2013 GT500's as well as earlier models that have been covered by the factory warranty, it seems to depend on the servicing dealer and how much he is willing to stand up for his customer.

 

[nhs156]

Are they going to cover the clutch under warranty?

From the 2013 Warranty Manual.



The warranty doesn't cover the clutch lining, but it should cover the pressure plates and flywheel. If you paid for the ESP plan, it will cover the clutch.

I did buy the ESP, but they're telling me nothing is covered as all is wear and tear. Am I missing something?

 

[Imatk]

Man I don't understand that advice at all.

My previous car (which is now gone/wrecked) had your clutch installed and I drove it for about 20k miles and had no issues at all. And I drove it the same way you would drive any manual transmission car... didn't dump the clutch at lights or anything.

Until of course I crashed it into some rocks and trees

Sounds like something strange is going on... maybe the clutch was improperly installed from the factory?

I remember reading that there were people with the '13 models that had issues with their clutch but it was determined that perhaps it was a "bad batch" of clutches.

 

[Snoopy49]

I did buy the ESP, but they're telling me nothing is covered as all is wear and tear. Am I missing something?

What ESP plan did you buy?

 

[STTOCK]

What are your goals? If you're looking to mod, the stock clutch slips in the 700s. The McLeod is good to 1000hp and is lighter than stock.

 

[nhs156]

Snoopy: The most expensive one that gave me max coverage for 7 years 125K miles. I don't remember what it was called. Premium Care perhaps?

 

[Snoopy49]

Sorry, I thought that I had read it was covered under the ESP plan, but they have it listed under "Owner Maintenance Requirements". Which means it is the owners responsibly.
I would still get with the dealer and get him to submit it to the Factory Service Rep. for authorization. The clutchs have been replace under warranty in the past, so your not the first customer with the problem.

By the way, never let that tech drive your car, he doesn't know what he is talking about.

View attachment PremiumCARE_Ford_ESP.pdf

 

[nhs156]

Sorry, I thought that I had read it was covered under the ESP plan, but they have it listed under "Owner Maintenance Requirements". Which means it is the owners responsibly.
I would still get with the dealer and get him to submit it to the Factory Service Rep. for authorization. The clutchs have been replace under warranty in the past, so your not the first customer with the problem.

By the way, never let that tech drive your car, he doesn't know what he is talking about.

View attachment 37254

Thanks for posting. I find it interesting that both the '13 warranty manual AND the ESP PremiumCare brochure mention that the flywheel is covered. I'll raise a stink if that isn't the case - out of pure principle. Furthermore, the ESP states that "failure of components due to normal wear, etc., etc., of covered components are included." So the ONLY logical way they could exclude a warranty claim on the blimmin' flywheel would be to claim "abnormal wear", i.e. abuse. Of course, where there's a will there's a way. I'm not sure the warranty is worth the paper it's written on, to be honest. I've never had issues under warranty with Audi, Merc or BMW. Just Ford!

 

[Snoopy49]

I think a lot of the warranty problems are dealer induced. They make more money charging the customer rather than the manufacturer and they don't have to waste their time trying to get it covered by the warranty.

 

[phil123]

So the clutch (and brakes) are covered under the service plan not the ESP, the main reason I got a service plan. However my clutch went out a month or two ago with about 25K on it and it was replaced under warranty no questions asked, so you may want to pursue the issue a little further. I see you are in California so I will PM the dealer to you. I didn't buy the car there. The new clutch has a completely different feel. The old one was pretty stiff and released near the top of the stroke. The new one is quite easy to push in and engages towards the bottom of the stroke so I am thinking Ford made some changes. Unless you are going to mod the engine it might be worth sticking with the stock clutch especially if you can get it under warranty. I have heard with some of the after market clutches there can be drive-ability issues such as vibration, increased effort, etc. but have no first hand experience.

 

[Bad Company]

Call and ask for Darrel Bloomer at Ace Manufacturing about the dual disc clutch for the GT500s that is capable of handling 1100ft-lbs of torque. This clutch is supposed to have a similar to stock pedal effort or less. Ace also spent a considerable amount of time engineering the friction material to engage the plates without chatter or hard grabbing. I believe the price on the Ace dual disc will be competitive with both the Spec and McLeod, but it should have a lot less chatter during engagement. Talking with Darrel they are rebuild-able at a very reasonable cost, when compared to a Spec. I have a 3 disc on order that should be showing up shortly.

http://aceracingclutches.com/products/powerforcestreetperformance.html

 

[VFORCEJOHN]

I think a lot of the warranty problems are dealer induced. They make more money charging the customer rather than the manufacturer and they don't have to waste their time trying to get it covered by the warranty.

exactly...Plus waiting for ford to accept the claim and send them the money! Those extended service contracts will cover a headlight bulb. That, they'll even argue with you on.

what I didn't understand is...Are they sure this is the issue!!!

Sure the clutch can hot spots. it's 650 hp car. was the clutch burnt up and the car didn't move???

When I toasted my clutch I had 1-2-3 gear. I could go 1/8th throttle. no more. I drove it home 300 miles this way after MIR dragrace last year. Most of it thru WashingtonDC traffic and Baltimore MD traffic, which was horrendous!!

If you want it done and they aren't covering it. fight with them about it. warranty is warranty. That's bullshit.

 

[BigBlueOval]

When they mention the clutch cover, they may be referring to an automatic transmission.

Lol..................:dw:

 

[Snoopy49]

When they mention the clutch cover, they may be referring to an automatic transmission.

Lol..................:dw:

When it comes to nomenclature, if you show 10 people an object and ask them to name it, you will probably get more than one answer.
I just looked in the 2014 Service Manual and it refers to the clutch pressure plate cover, if that's the case, it should be covered under warranty and clutch discs are not.
It looks like the clutch disc/linings and pressure plate are not available separately, you stuck buying both. It makes you wonder how Ford could warranty the pressure plate but not the discs, when they come only as a set. By the way, the stock clutch assembly P/N DR3Z-7B546-A sells for $387.81 plus shipping

Manufacturer: Ford Part Number: DR3Z-7B546-A
Part: PRESSURE PLATE
Part Notes: MUSTANG; 5.8L
Includes: Disc

 

[nhs156]

exactly...Plus waiting for ford to accept the claim and send them the money! Those extended service contracts will cover a headlight bulb. That, they'll even argue with you on.

what I didn't understand is...Are they sure this is the issue!!!

Sure the clutch can hot spots. it's 650 hp car. was the clutch burnt up and the car didn't move???

When I toasted my clutch I had 1-2-3 gear. I could go 1/8th throttle. no more. I drove it home 300 miles this way after MIR dragrace last year. Most of it thru WashingtonDC traffic and Baltimore MD traffic, which was horrendous!!

If you want it done and they aren't covering it. fight with them about it. warranty is warranty. That's bullshit.

Actually, the clutch was behaving just fine. No smell, no slippage. Just a slight squeak when going over uneven road surfaces, and an odd noise when cold and engaging first gear - same noise made by '05 Mini Cooper and which Mini said was normal and to be expected. I could have the dealer take pics and send - or I could take them myself. Trouble is, I'm not sure I'd know what to take photos of - and I don't think the service rep would either. She was simply repeating what the techs said, and talked a lot about "hot spots", "bad news", "excessive wear", and "need for a new clutch".

 

[tomshep]

Get us pics. Clutches will have wear and hot spots. What they may be seeing is normal for a clutch with your mileage. You said it wasn't slipping. These clutches do make a little noise when in neutral.

Tom

 

[SteveWK]

I have 17.x miles on my clutch, and I've wondered about replacing it before it fails. It seems like anyone who drives their car more than 20k miles starts to have problems.. These are just my observations from the forum.

I think the dealer is full of it. I probably have 100 laps around a road course and mine is still alive. Their excuse for using it on the street is BS, imho. However, I do have an odd noise that seems to be getting louder over time, and that is a thunking oscillatory noise with the car in neutral clutch engaged, i.e. peddle not depressed. If I depress the peddle the noise goes away. I'm thinking throw out bearing or something related to it being a dual clutch. Either way, it isn't confidence inspiring.

I say make them pay. You're car isn't modified and no car's clutch should "fail' after 20k miles.

 

[rwboring]

i was told the same thing... essentially they said they would have argued for me if it was under 12k but since I was at 21-22k there wasn't much they can do because it is a wear item.


the clutches flat out dont last... what to do you expect from a $400 (from ford) clutch! I went spec, Van had it in stock (unlike any other place I called).