VERY IMPORTANT INFO ON REAR END POP

Hey, everyone,

I brought my car in today for the rear end pop. You may remember previous threads and polls about this problem. When you start out in 1st or sometimes in reverse you may get a popping sound from your rear end. This is what I'm talking about.

The service dept. first tested my car and called Ford who said the problem was "normal". I said no it's not and showed them Chicago Mike's invoice where they replaced his halfshafts and wheel hubs for the same problem. I went out with the tech and he clearly heard the pop with me in the car. He pulled my wheel off and I was horrified to discover METAL SHAVINGS AND WORN TEETH in the hub. The tech said this would have eventually resulted in the car being unable to move. This is a SERIOUS problem.

I called SVT and they said they are unaware of the problem. 3 out of 8 '03s at our last meeting had this same rear end pop and on the poll, many guys had it. Anyone who has it-IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE! Everyone check your cars next time you drive them. With the windows down, back up a little ways and then start out in 1st. If you hear a "pop" or 2 or 3 from the rear end, you probably have the problem. If you do get your car in for service.

SVT say anyone with the problem should call them and report it so Ford can start to address this issue. We need EVERYONE who has or has had this problem to call SVT [1-800-FORDSVT] and tell them you have it too. This is the only way we can get Ford working on a permanent fix such as stronger half shafts and hubs. If your car pops, call SVT. And get it in for service before you are stranded somewhere.

I am not kidding people. I do not whine about little things. This is a SERIOUS problem. I didn't have my camera today. I'll try to take pics when I bring it in after the new half shafts arrive.

IF YOU HAVE THIS PROBLEM CALL SVT [1-800-FORDSVT]

By the way, I'm not knocking Ford about anything. They have been very good to me and my car so far. They need to know the extent of the problem to decide if it warrants a fix. Please let them know if you have this pop. This is not the turning on an incline pop that is covered under a TSB.

flyn high again, i just called them and they actually reffered to you on the phone saying how your hubs were getting worn and that you said 3 of 8 cars had this problem at your meeting.....i toild him that i was experiencing the exact pop your describing and he said well thats normal and only a couple of bolts have to be torqued down to clear it up and then he said well when you take it to the dealer and if you have worn hubs then to call him back.....so off to the dealer i go to figure out what the prob is.....lata

Last week, using the info that Chicago Mike supplied, I discussed the matter with my dealer. Fortunately, there is one guy I've been dealing with for years and he ALWAYS gets the problem fixed. Ford service departments could use more guys like him.

Anyway, I gave him the phone number to the SVT tech that fixed Chicago Mike's car. Well, I finally got a call late Friday afternoon from my Ford guy. He called the other tech and got the lowdown on the pop noise. He's ordered all the parts to fix the problem! He also has a driveshaft waiting to fix the Vibe problem. Hopefully in a couple weeks, I'll have the pop AND vibe fixed! Then I can move on to the engine tapping problem.
:cryying:

These fixes come just in time too. While accellerating around a corner yesterday, I got a quadruple pop. It's definitely on its last leg. Also my vibe is worse too. I had to do 50 mile trip on the highway yesterday and I thought my teeth were going to be rattled out of my head. The mirror was shaking, the dimes were singing in the change cup, and the sun visors were doing a dance. Sigh..

My girlfriend calls my car "The Vibenator".

Look at the numbers in this poll from a couple weeks ago:

Does your '03 Cobra rear end pop/tink?

My car's rear end pops/tinks when starting out in first or sometimes in reverse.
21
36.21%

My car's rear end pops/tinks when turning on an incline.
17
29.31%

My car's rear end pops/tinks when starting out AND when turning on an incline.
10
17.24%

My car's rear end does not pop/tink ever.
10
17.24%

Total:
58 votes
100

Granted this is only 58 votes, but it shows that a high percentage of us either have or will have this problem. Ford needs to hear from those of us who have the problem. They can only find a fix if they think it's a widespread problem. From the poll, I see that a lot of you have this. Call Ford and let them know. [1-800-FORDSVT]

Here's the link to the poll if you want to read the thread.

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52954&highlight=rear+end+pop+poll

flying high... pictures would be nice, if you could get them. I too have this retarded pop from a stop 'n go situation. The hub your refering to, is that a carrier bearing?

I'm not sure what it's called. It's the center of the hub where the halfshaft teeth engage the hub. The outside of the halfshaft in the center of where the wheel mounts.

Okay. Cool. I kind of know what you're refering to now. It's not a bearing issue. It's the teeths that are wearing out or the hubs is wearing out.... Thanks.

Yes, the teeth were worn and there were metal shavings. If anyone thinks they have this problem, have your dealer remove the nut on one of the rear hubs and look at the teeth.

Could one of the experts help me out here on what these parts are called?

i have it too, i think? cant it also be called the "tink"?? i also live in the chicago suburbs.....i also realized that when i purchased the car i did not have this problem.........until now i have it while launching in 1st or Reverse, and i also have it on turns and inclines....

It sounds like you may have both of the rear end problems.

The pop while turning on an incline TSB says to retorque the rear end bolts.

The starting out in 1st and sometimes reverse tink/pop looks to require new half shafts and hubs. A dealer or mechanic or knowledgeable owner can take the hub cover off and see the worn teeth and metal shavings. Anyone who has the starting out pop/tink please call SVT so they can see the number of owners with this problem. 03 DOHC said a guy he knows has had this replacement done 4+ times so far. If this is going to be a recurring problem, I would like it if Ford would figure out a permanent fix before our warranties are expired. It's about $400 a side for the repair. I'm not sure if that includes labor.

TTT

Beautiful, I have this same problem, no way in hell Ford will warranty it, despite the fact that I took it in 4 months ago and they told me they couldn't find anything. :cuss: Sigh, I am getting closer and closer to just going solid on this thing. It's just too much of a pain to try and keep the damn IRS running. What a peice of junk.

I hear a knocking sound that repeats 3-5 times in a couple seconds when I am traveling at slow speeds in a parking lot, usually when I am turning into a parking spot. I also hear it when I stop, take the car out of gear, put the car in reverse and begin backing up, whether I am backing up straight or turning.

Is this the same problem?

I'm not sure. The way my tech found out for sure was to remove the nut that holds the hub on. If you get yours in for service you may want to ask them to do this.

I've heard the sound described as a pop or click or tink. Mine sounds like a cross between a click and a pop. I'm guessing that the teeth inside the hub are slipping, but I could be wrong. If I back up, then go forward it does it almost every time now. It is definitely getting worse with my car.

Mike's service tech said something about the parts not being machined right or something like that. I don't remember exactly. Maybe Mike will see this and chime in.

I have the poping noise on slow turns going up an incline. Took it to the dealer and they could not fix it. I have noticed it is getting worse, but there is no pop just backing up or going straight. Guess it may not be the same problem.

I have the exact same pop/tink noise. It used to be about 10% of the time but in the last week or two it has started to do it every time I start to move.
Anyone think there will be a problem getting it fixed with a rear coil over? Should I swap back to stock springs before taking it in? It started this noise before I installed the coil over, I should have taken it in first.

Flyn High,

Thanks for the info!!!! I have been trying to figure this out for a while.

Do you know the SVT hotline guy's name you spoke to just in case I need to have the dealer call for verification of the problem/fix?

AND, so I can talk to someone different when I call Ford. If we try to talk to different people maybe we can get this problem through to Ford a little faster...

I 'm not sure which of the guys I talked to. He said that Ford had only had 4 reports of this problems before I called. I KNOW there are a lot more '03s out there with this than that. The main idea is to call and give them your vin so they know that rather than an isolated incident, this is a problem with a lot of our cars. Then Ford can start to think about a fix once corporate actually knows it's an issue with many of the cars. The more people who call, the more Ford will listen and hopefully come up with a permanent fix. Warranties end sooner or later and I don't want to be paying for this repair every 10,000 miles. Since at the moment, they are replacing with the exact same parts, there's nothing to prevent this happening over and over. Like I said before, if you have this it will get worse. We need to get together and get Ford moving on a permanent fix. If it was just a noise I wouldn't care so much, but I saw the ground up teeth and they look bad.

1-800-FORDSVT

TTT...I'm going to keep sending this to the top for a while so everybody reads it. Call SVT if you have the pop/click/tink. If you have this pop and you don't call now, you'll kick yourself when your warranty expires and you have to pay for this repair. Ford needs to know the scope of the problem. If you post on other sites, please let them know about calling SVT if they have the rear end pop in their '03s. Thanks, everyone.

I told them about mine when I called for my build number..