[bullittman615]

Had the dealer replace the 1-2 shift fork in the tranny as per the TSB. Not only was the fork slightly bent it also has a couple of nylon pieces on it that have something to do with engaging the syncro......but anyway the nylon pieces were split in several places. New ones come on the new fork. They also found the exciter ring had been cracked so they replaced that also. They did a detailed check of the rest of the tranny but didn't find any other issues. 00615 only has 6300 miles on it. The dealer told me if I feel the slightest shifting problem I'm to take it back to the dealer for another inspection. While I appreciate the dealers attention to detail, If there is another problem with the tranny I will insist on a new one.

 

[From the other side]

My 1-2 shift is rough when the car is cold, but it seems to be better once the car warms up. What kind of trouble were u having?

 

[FordBullitt]

The Tremec uses nylon/plastic tips on the tips of the shift fork. These move the syncronizer ring which engages the gears(via the blocker/synchro ring). The damaged ring was most likely a blocker ring which is the actual synchro ring itself.

Brian

 

[Escrotumus]

I had my car into the dealer for an entire week last week to fix the ticking noise and the 1-2 grind when cold and they managed to fix nothing in that time.

1. The car still ticks because of an "exhaust leak" that they have no clue how to fix because ford doesnt know yet how to fix it, although they are aware of the problem and are "supposed" to be working on a fix.
2. The 1-2 grind when cold. The car takes forever to warm up when its below 60 degrees outside so the 1-2 grind is a pain in the arse. The dealer was "supposed" to have drained the stock fluid and installed the amsoil synthetic for me but the grind is still just as prominent as it was before, until it warms up. Whats funny is that the mechanic could not get it to grind from 1-2 at any time he drove it. I have absolutely no problem getting it to grind...maybe its driver error, who knows......

 

[Escrotumus]

Also i almost forgot. I asked the dealer about the tsb for the bent shift fork and he said there was no such tsb. I also asked another dealer just to verify and he told me the same thing...no such tsb for a bent 1-2 shift fork. I even gave them the number and they said nope. Is this for real and if so how do i prove it to the dealer(s)?

 

[TrueBlueBullitt]

Escrotumus, maybe it's a Special Service Message instead of a TSB...

http://www.bullittclub.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=3068&forum=1&3

Don't know what the difference is.

John

 

[Escrotumus]

Ok here is the letter that i just wrote to Art Hyde re: the ticking noise and 1-2 grind. Its kinda lengthy but thought you all might follow suit so that we can put these 2 issues to bed:

Mr. Hyde:

My name is David Bennett and I wanted to ask you what progress is being made on the fix for the incessant ticking noise that comes from the Bullitt when the accelerator is applied. I have had the car to two different dealers in the Metro D.C. area and they have told me that the ticking noise is indeed an exhaust leak and that Ford knows about the problem. They did not give me any timetable as to when a fix will be implemented. I would not even bother mentioning this as it does not seem to affect performance but the noise is so bad that it really is embarrassing to drive this beautiful car. I would compare the sound to a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle. I am an avid member in the Bullittclub.com website and I see that I am definitely not alone with regards to the ticking noise. I also have another problem with the car in which it grinds whenever I shift from first to second gear until the car warms up. I have also had this problem looked at by two different dealers and they can't even make the grind until I take them for a ride. I would have thought that maybe it was something that I am doing, but I have been driving manual transmission cars for fifteen years with no problems like this and once again I am not alone with regards to this problem with as many posts as there are on Bullittclub.com about this very issue. The dealer did drain the stock transmission fluid and replace it with Amsoil Synthetic, but it did not make a difference. Please don't get me wrong, I love this car, but these two things are nagging and nagging me and at this point I am thinking of pursuing legal advise to remedy the situation. Please don't let me down as I am and have always been a Ford man and would hate to consider myself an Audi or BMW man.

Sincerely,
David Bennett

 

[donwil]

I hope the Art is able to get something done with these two issues. Thanks to the BULLITTCLUB web site I am finding out about these issues without having to rack my brain, time, money and patience. I too am having the shifting issue between 1-2 as well as the "ticking" noise. I got my Bullitt last Saturday and it already has 1200 miles on it, 244 when I got it.

I hate to say it, but if we do not get a satisfactory and timely response from Ford we may be able to initiate a class action suit. There is absolutely no way a new car should have these many issues, especially this many limited production cars.

I too am a Ford man, but am not willing to "squirt" away many thousands of dollars on a car that appears to be on the verge of being a "lemon".

Hopefully, someone from Ford is reading these forums and will take some immediate action. After all if it were not for us Ford/Mustang loyalists this car would still be sitting on the dealers lots.

Come on Ford, step up to the plate and address and fix the issues we are having. For the most part we love the Bullitt and all that it stands for. We expect a quality car for what we paid.

_________________
DONWIL
Black
Bullitt #2276
No Mods...

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: donwil on 2001-10-22 20:14 ]</font>

 

[Escrotumus]

Donwil: Well said. The only way we will get any action here is for all of us to gang up on them. Anyone who reads this and has 1-2 grind and/or ticking noise please respond to this with your name and bullitt number and i will pass it on to ford when i talk to a rep.

 

[donwil]

How do we get a decision maker at Ford to read some of the posts on this site?

Would a rep be interested in championing this? Probably not!!!!

Would Mr. Hyde be interested in resolving these issues for the sake of improving the product and the all important consumers vote of confidence. If not, who in this group would be willing to buy the next limited edition Mustang to come off the assembly lines with what is happening to the Bullitt.

I know I would seriuosly question the viability of Ford to deliver a quality muscle car. The Bullitt is my 8th Ford product to own. Out of this I have purchased 6 of these as new vehicles, the others were used '66 and '71 Mustangs.

For you users that are not having any issues this may seem drastic, but for us that are having issues it is critical that we get some type of positive response for Ford.

 

[Y2K16T8]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-10-22 21:17, Escrotumus wrote:
Anyone who reads this and has 1-2 grind and/or ticking noise please respond to this with your name and bullitt number and i will pass it on to ford when i talk to a rep.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Mine grinds 1st to 2nd but if shifted very gently it's not too bad. Add me to the list. William Cook. Bullitt 2759.

_________________
Bullitt #2759 Dark Highland Green
Mods: MGW tid-bits, Steeda Tri-Ax shifter, Ford Racing aluminum driveshaft, tightened transmission bolts, CDC sequential taillights, Densecharger.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Y2K16T8 on 2001-10-23 07:03 ]</font>

 

[bullittman615]

Could have been a service message not a tsb. It seems to go into 2nd much smoother now that they worked on it. The ticking you have been hearing, do you know exactly where it is coming from? Where are you around the car when you can hear it the best?

 

[DHG #1302]

Count me in.
Ticking from day one....even after the reflash...guess it wasn't the timing after all..
1-2 catch before trans gets warmed up...

Jim
1302

 

[Escrotumus]

Bullittman615: the ticking is very audible from anywhere near or inside the car. The mechanic took a stethoscope to the car and determined that it is definitely an exhaust leak. He also went out to his lot and started up another Bullitt and a Cobra and he said that they both make the same noise. That is all the info i have about the noise unfortunately.

 

[CoolerKing]

You can add me to the list for 1-2 shifts when it's cold out. When shifted gently, it will go into second without much grinding but needs a little muscling. It's definitely not right though. Once it's warmed up, the car shifts fine. To get rid of any little noises, I simply turn the radio up to drown them out. :smile:

 

[donwil]

Bullittman615:

While driving with the radio off and the windows up I can clearly hear the "ticking" noise. As I am the driver I assume that the noise is comning from the drivers side engine area.

Just thought about the issue I had with my '66 'stang and the donut gasket leaking between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe. Does anyone know if the Bullitt has this configuration? If not how do the pipe and manifold connect?

Also, it appears that Bullitt 2276 "leaks" more as the car gets warmer/hotter.

 

[From the other side]

As I said before, I also have this 1-2 shift nastiness. Temporary solution, shift from 1st to 3rd when cold.

 

[Escrotumus]

Well guys i got a response from both the Ford CRC and from Art Hyde. The CRC response was, "we need more info....VIN, name etc" so I will post that email later. Art's response is as follows:

Thanks. If your car is like the others, the ticking noise is not an exhaust leak. It is predominantly a pulse noise in the fuel rail. This condition is inherent with the fuel rail design used on the 4.6L engine and can not be eliminated. It is not an issue on GT because other noises mask it to the driver. It is not something that there is a fix for. There could be some secondary detonation (ping) noise you here on initial acceleration if you have an early car (1st month of production). There is a new calibration that your dealer can have flashed on your engine control module to help this or you can use premium fuel to quiet this noise down.

The transmission grinding is most likely from a bent shift fork. We found that the shift fork on 2001 GTs and Bullitts can bend when shifted with gusto. Your dealer can order and install a new fork.

Art Hyde
Mustang Chief Program Engineer
Ford North American Car

Well now i have no idea what is wrong and have emailed Art again to see what i can do about really finding the culprit. The 2 dealers i took it to have never seen or heard of the TSB for the bent shift fork so i asked him to give me the real skinny on that issue so i can give it to these 2 dealers. I encourage everyone in this forum that has these 2 issues to email both the CRC at [email protected] and Art Hyde at [email protected] to let them know you are not alone.

 

[sinner]

Howdy. On the rough 1-2 shift when cold, isn't this normal for any car? Especially when new? In 94 I bought a new VW GTI and I recall that when cold, shifting could be balky. Shifting is balky on my 73 240Z when cold and this is on a new transmission. I won't say that I have a 1-2 shift problem on my Bullitt, but when it's cold, i don't go racing through the gears. The car should be at "normal operating temperature" before zipping about. I actually shift 2 different ways depending on the temp of the car. If it's cold, between all shifts, I actually pause in neutral for a sec before engaging, similar to what you do when blipping the throttle between shifts (which I don't do). When the car's warm (and esp when I'm going fast) I shift quickly and directly from gear to gear with no problems (knock on wood).

The exhaust manifold leak should be easy to fix: tear down the exhaust manifold, make sure all surfaces are smoothly machined, put on a new gasket and let'er rip!

Best of luck with your battles with Ford, especially the guy in Manassas.I don't live too far from you and would hate to have a similar experience.

 

[From the other side]

Hey guys, It's a Special Service Message, not a TSB.

Special Service Message # 15175
"15175 / 2001 Mustang - T-3650 Transmission shift fork bending. Some 2001 V-8 Mustangs equipped with TR-3650 transmissions built from Feb-2001 to Aug 2001 may exhibit difficulty engaging 1st or 2nd gear. This may be due to an out-of-spec 1-2 shift fork. A new shift fork has been developed to service this condition (2r3z-7230-aa). Remove transmission and follow service procedures detailed in 308-03c for dissassembly and assembly of replacement 1-2 shift fork. Examine 1-2 syncronizer and blocking rings for any damage. Service as necessary following service procedures in 308-03c."

I've confirmed this with a rep from the Ford SVT program. After calling him and telling him the problem, he told me the Special Service Number and it matched the one above. Good Luck.