Crutch Expert Needed LOL

Submitted: Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 14:39

ThreadID: 14183 Views:1451 Replies:5 FollowUps:4

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Member - Pesty (SA)

Spellcheck Clutch expert.
Mate has a new BA falcon XR8, 260kw, done 11,000ks, 7500ks of them on long hauls like Mt Isa and Broken hill etc, and has a clutch shudder and slipping, and ford dealer doesnt want to know about it, nor do other dealers, nor do Ford Melbourne, nor do Ford Sydney, I know you are all shocked that they would take your money for a new car and run from any warranty issue !!!
He was told unofficially to get an independant assesment without taking it out, so went to major clutch expert shop in Adelaide and lo and behold the boss there has a new BA XR6 with the same problem, only he reported his at 1600ks so they might do something about it sometime, apparently you only get 3000ks for these things to play up, then you are on your own.
The info he has found out so far and im not sure if this is how it is, but will write it as it was told to me , ( mate also had a 98 model XR6 a few years ago also)

98 XR6 156 kw 10 ton clutch pressure, no clutch problems
04 XR8 260 kw 9 ton clutch pressure, clutch shuddering and slipping
3l patrol 118 kw 8 ton clutch pressure, heavier vehicle with clutch problems
the clutch expert mentioned about the patrol problem so I put it in for your interest.
Basiclly the clutch clamping pressure is not good enough in both these vehicles so I reckon that it is the manufacturers problem and should be fixed by them.
The clutch expert said that those that had been replaced with heavier clutches XR8 and Patrol had no more problems.
Anybody any ideas out there to get ford to meet there obligations or any thought on the matter ?

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Reply By: GO_OFFROAD - Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:02

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:02

Well apart from being in the fine print, and agreeing to the conditions of sale when you purchase a car, what obligation is there?

I had mine replaced twice under warranty, as well as 2 gearbox rebuilds by 100,000km, no questions asked, though I know dealers and manufacturers can be reluctant to help out if they smell a rat.

AnswerID: 65346

Follow Up By: Jimbo - Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 21:02

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 21:02

Two clutches and two gearboxes?

Can only be one of two causes, a dud car or a dud driver.

I know it's going to hurt you but you'll have to admit one or the other hahahaha.

Jim.

FollowupID: 326377

Follow Up By: GO_OFFROAD - Monday, Jun 28, 2004 at 08:15

Monday, Jun 28, 2004 at 08:15

Certainly a dud car, went to HSV Maloo R8's after the XR6 and XR8, could of been a dud driver too, as it was driven by one of my staff.

Dud car seems more the option though, given the clutches wore out, not slipped, or shuddered, and the synchro rings on 1st and 3rd were the gearbox problems, the car carried gear in the back, and towed a fair bit.

FollowupID: 326400

Reply By: Mrs Diamond - Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:09

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:09

i cant help with that perticular problem.
but (theres always a but)
new car waranty wont cover a clutch plate or brake pads under waranty.
the rest of the clutch is covered.
we had a new festiva when the clutch started playing up i asked ford about waranty they said clutch plate not covered but everthing else is well how do i tell if its the plate or some thing else.
bring it in we will pull it out if its the pressure plate ect we will replace it if not we will bill you for our labour and we might as well fit a new plate if thats what it is.
i said no ill pull the gearbox out and have a loook my self.when the gearbox was out i noticed presure plate was bent rang ford and they said thats ok we will replace it if you like leave the gearbox ect in the car to save us time and bring it to us.sorry ill have to put it back together we have no way of getting it to you .lol
any way they ended up replacing the whole lot.
they also told me about an older lady who was on her 3rd clutch in less than 10000ks just the way she drove(he said the sales man should never have sold her a manual)thats why they cant cover the plate.

AnswerID: 65348

Follow Up By: Member - Pesty (SA) - Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:40

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:40

Go off road, No rodents involved

Diamond thanks for that as it seems to be a pressure problem and the car is only 3-4 months old. The problem goes away when a heavier clutch plate is fitted according to the experts.

FollowupID: 326344

Follow Up By: Mrs Diamond - Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:43

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 15:43

our festiva had 5000ks when the clutch went.
i also forgot to tell the ford dealer that the mrs learned to drive a manual in it.have you ever seen a festiva lift the front wheels of the ground..lol she was a shocker to teach how to drive a manual.
but the kids loved it funniest thing they ever seen hahaha

FollowupID: 326345

Reply By: Joe - Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 23:12

Sunday, Jun 27, 2004 at 23:12

HI,
Well they still can't get it right!. In 1997 I bought an EL GT Falcon 200kw bla bla bla.

After a short while these clutches shuddered and were replaced on a number of these special builds by Ford.

I still own it, an it now has 70,000km on it without any further problems. So they do know how to upgrade and fix it,so keep at them and remind them they have a history with this problem. It makes you spit chips that they treat customers so badly.

Regards
JOe

AnswerID: 65447

Reply By: Member - Bradley- Monday, Jun 28, 2004 at 10:16

Monday, Jun 28, 2004 at 10:16

The clutches in the new xr6t are engineered to slip as a 'fuse' in the driveline to protect the under-rated gbox. So the xr8 is probably very similar. Adelaide Clutch Services have some very good aftermarket gear to suit these applications under their extreme brand, with an increase in clamp force of 100% if needed. Give them a call, and get the flywheel machined by them at the same time.

Mate as Diamond has said, no warranty coverage on clutch plate, and the dealers are not going to pull the clutch and send it off to get the finger tension checked etc..
You can probably hassle the dealers for the next year or so, or just get a quality unit fitted and know it will be better than standard .

Check out some back issues of Zoom magazine, they went through all of this with their xr6t project ute.

AnswerID: 65479

Reply By: CHRIS - Tuesday, Jun 29, 2004 at 16:20

Tuesday, Jun 29, 2004 at 16:20

Pesty,
Sorry to hear of your mates problem. I have the BA XR8 in the auto and cant fault it (5000ks). I too was going to buy the manual untill I took the sequentsial box for a run and after virtually driving it like a manual found it to be far better. ( a lot quicker to change). Am no stranger to flicking gears ( B double licence), but after the experienceing these new box's, I'm glad that I went this way after reading your post. Hope Ford fix your mates problem.

AnswerID: 65665