Bought a 2013 GT500... was supposed to be stock...

[v1p3r66]

First post to this forum... sorry it's a long one:
I picked up a higher mileage 2013 GT500 in Grabber blue from Utah a month ago. It was supposed to be fairly stock with some JLT catch cans, deleted cats, and a tune for the cat removal.
Turns out it has a Magnum XL transmission, Watts Link with solid (no bushings) adjustable 3 link in the rear, the front shocks have been changed and front end lowered, etc. oh and it did have the catch cans, and a Moroso oil pan. Previous owner didn't know much about it I'm the 3rd owner now.

I'm curious on a few of things:

• Has anyone ever changed the 5.8 oilpan to a Moroso? Why? I thought the stock one had more capacity. (and now this one leaks... but that's another story... I'll work on that)
• The Watts Link or the solid three link in the rear clunks like mad, over every bump. Has anyone adjusted these, is there a proper way for the GT500? It appears the Watts Link also slightly rubs the Rear Diff cooler lines, as well. Why would you go solid 3-link and no bushings?
• The Magnum XL locks out of 3rd gear religiously on high RPM's... I've ordered a SS clutch line. Are there any other considerations here on the Magnum? I also think the TOB is going bad as I started to get some horrible noises in the clutch area (TOB or Pilot Bearing). Are there any other concerns with Magnum XL's on this car? I just changed the fluid to Mobile-1.
• The exhaust is overly-loud, and I'm not that old... it's loud. Has anyone removed the cats, did you add an inline muffler or resonator to eliminate droan and the extra noise? Looking for suggestions here. Appears to have the stock Ford GT500 dual tip mufflers.
• Does anyone recognize this car? Maybe I could get some history on it. The most notable item is the Mothers Sticker on both sides of the side skirts. (grabber blue and white striped) The Moroso pan has me wondering if the engine was removed and any internals modified... I would love to know.

Joys of buying a used car... But loving the GT500! I've wanted one for years after I got the pleasure of meet Carroll 4 times at his Christmas party in the late 90's... I was hooked on his cars. So, happy to have one that had his influence!

 

[Blkblk13car]

I wish I had the magnum Xl

 

[CobraBob]

Welcome to SVTP. Sounds like you found a lot more, mods wise, than you expected. Also sounds like you're tackling any issues proactively so in short time you'll get everything resolved and get even more enjoyment out of it.

 

[tones_RS3]

OP, did you buy from dealer?
I would return the car and tell them,.....NO GO! Car isn't as advertised. Money back please!

 

[Cman01]

With those mods sounds like the car was raced hard, maybe a little abused???

That Magnum shouldn't have problems unless it was beat on. You sure 100% it's an XL in your car?

Tony

 

[Catmonkey]

Do you know who's watts link you have? There are a few manufacturers and there are some options to get it quieter. Those are some fairly hard core mods. You have to wonder what all else he had on there that he removed and sold separate. Caveat Emptor on this one.

 

[Norton]

With those mods sounds like the car was raced hard, maybe a little abused???

Those are some fairly hard core mods. You have to wonder what all else he had on there that he removed and sold separate. Caveat Emptor on this one.

I would return the car and tell them,.....NO GO! Car isn't as advertised. Money back please!

+1 to all of this!

 

[Blkblk13car]

Do you know who's watts link you have? There are a few manufacturers and there are some options to get it quieter. Those are some fairly hard core mods. You have to wonder what all else he had on there that he removed and sold separate. Caveat Emptor on this one.

Yeah I guess if they were all newly added I’d be pumped about it but on the tail end I’m not so sure..

 

[v1p3r66]

Welcome to SVTP. Sounds like you found a lot more, mods wise, than you expected. Also sounds like you're tackling any issues proactively so in short time you'll get everything resolved and get even more enjoyment out of it.

Thanks... I'm actually excited about the mods, just hoping to get on top of it!

 

[Weather Man]

With how this car is set up, needs to be gone through completely. I would change all fluids, compression and leakdown test at a minimum. I would also scope every cylinder. The Moroso pan may indicate you have mystery rods, pistons and compression. I would also verify the tune.

Good luck OP, you got a tiger by the tail there.

 

[v1p3r66]

Do you know who's watts link you have? There are a few manufacturers and there are some options to get it quieter. Those are some fairly hard core mods. You have to wonder what all else he had on there that he removed and sold separate. Caveat Emptor on this one.

That's the hard part for me. I've looked and don't see any stamp/sticker or anything for the configuration. I've only briefly searched for how to set it up and looks like for our cars it's not well documented. Hoping I can find a good resource to dial it in. Right now if you launch hard, it's very straight and true, just clunky over bumps and you can see some rubbing wear on a large bolt and a diff cooler hard line.

With those mods sounds like the car was raced hard, maybe a little abused???

That Magnum shouldn't have problems unless it was beat on. You sure 100% it's an XL in your car?

Tony

Probably was a race car, indeed. However, I got that impression when I first checked it out and I bought it at a super great bargain, so I'm OK with that. Just trying to wrap my head around some of it. I wasn't looking for a purist GT500 this time.

99% Sure. It looks identical to:

 

[RBB]

With how this car is set up, needs to be gone through completely. I would change all fluids, compression and leakdown test at a minimum. I would also scope every cylinder. The Moroso pan may indicate you have mystery rods, pistons and compression. I would also verify the tune.

Good luck OP, you got a tiger by the tail there.

I second everything here. I would think the car was most definitely raced, and who knows what other mods/tune were on it before it was partially returned to stock.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Hey, I'm in Colorado. Just return your car and buy mine.....

 

[RedVenom48]

First post to this forum... sorry it's a long one:
I picked up a higher mileage 2013 GT500 in Grabber blue from Utah a month ago. It was supposed to be fairly stock with some JLT catch cans, deleted cats, and a tune for the cat removal.
Turns out it has a Magnum XL transmission, Watts Link with solid (no bushings) adjustable 3 link in the rear, the front shocks have been changed and front end lowered, etc. oh and it did have the catch cans, and a Moroso oil pan. Previous owner didn't know much about it I'm the 3rd owner now.

I'm curious on a few of things:

• Has anyone ever changed the 5.8 oilpan to a Moroso? Why? I thought the stock one had more capacity. (and now this one leaks... but that's another story... I'll work on that)
• The Watts Link or the solid three link in the rear clunks like mad, over every bump. Has anyone adjusted these, is there a proper way for the GT500? It appears the Watts Link also slightly rubs the Rear Diff cooler lines, as well. Why would you go solid 3-link and no bushings?
• The Magnum XL locks out of 3rd gear religiously on high RPM's... I've ordered a SS clutch line. Are there any other considerations here on the Magnum? I also think the TOB is going bad as I started to get some horrible noises in the clutch area (TOB or Pilot Bearing). Are there any other concerns with Magnum XL's on this car? I just changed the fluid to Mobile-1.
• The exhaust is overly-loud, and I'm not that old... it's loud. Has anyone removed the cats, did you add an inline muffler or resonator to eliminate droan and the extra noise? Looking for suggestions here. Appears to have the stock Ford GT500 dual tip mufflers.
• Does anyone recognize this car? Maybe I could get some history on it. The most notable item is the Mothers Sticker on both sides of the side skirts. (grabber blue and white striped) The Moroso pan has me wondering if the engine was removed and any internals modified... I would love to know.

Joys of buying a used car... But loving the GT500! I've wanted one for years after I got the pleasure of meet Carroll 4 times at his Christmas party in the late 90's... I was hooked on his cars. So, happy to have one that had his influence!

OP: its a fantastic start to a bad ass car.

Most on here would kill for a Magnum XL. Pull the trans, have it overhauled and get the Tremec hybrid synchronizer rings installed 1-4 if you will drag race, 5 and 6 if you plan on doing any half mile and mile events. The factory TR6060 is essentially the Magnum XL without the direct mounted shifter. They are fairly stout transmissions, but the factory style syncro rings are the achillies heel.

TUES11858 1ST OR 2ND HYBRID SYNCHRONIZER RING SET UPGRADED
TUES11859 3RD OR 4TH HYBRID SYNCHRONIZER RING SET UPGRADED

I cant say that Ive tried to pull off my oil pan, but when you get it pulled for a reseal, it would be a great time to take a peek up into the block and see what pistons and rods you have in there.

Congrats on the ride and welcome to the Shelby club.

 

[Snoopy49]

I would spend some time and try to contact the original owner or the one responsible for the mods and see what exactly was done to the car. In some states you can go to DMV and they can find out who the car was registered to. Another option is to go to a Ford dealer and have them run an OASIS = Online Automotive Service Information System report on the car. This should give the service history.

 

[2011 gtcs]

it would be cool to find out that it had a built engine. do a carfax search on the car, you might be able to track down the orginal owner, or maybe find out what shop it was at.

 

[Snoopy49]

Did the car come with a tuner?

 

[Alejandro5.0]

Welcome, sounds like you got yourself a interesting one hopefully someone on here recognizes the car to give you some insight. Good luck with the car

 

[Snoopy49]

Can you post some under hood pictures?

 

[boduke0220]

Definitely check the motor and tune out before you do anything. Interesting it has that oil pan