It could be. Bad bearing retainers are very common on T-5's. Could also be the fork (another common problem). Luckily, you can get any part you want for a T-5 from any Ford dealer.
Update on Warranty nazi and TOB retainer - Warranty voided
- Thread starter NetworkingGuru
- Start date
It could be. Bad bearing retainers are very common on T-5's. Could also be the fork (another common problem). Luckily, you can get any part you want for a T-5 from any Ford dealer.
Thanks again. I'm a little bumed that I'll have to the the 300 or so in labor to checked it out again. My extended warranty does not cover the TOB or Clutch. Maybe the tranny retainer though???
The noise is present at idle with the clutch out and also at speed in gear with the clutch out. A very small amount of pressure on the clutch pedal removes the noise. Also, it is not always present. It sounds as if something is hitting on something and is not, to the best of my knowledge, a TOB bearing noise. The composit TOB from Spec has also been questioned by my techs. The TOB fork may be the culprit but, how would this be determined? Anyway, I will contact Spec next week and describe my current symptons to see if they can offer any insights. The clutch is getting smoother and bites extremely well with none of the slip of the stock unit so I want to get it right if at all possible. If I have to put a stock clutch back in, I think that I may demod the car and trade it in on an automatic pickup. That way I'd be sure not to go fast ever again:lol: :shrug:
Originally posted by Tetge
The noise is present at idle with the clutch out and also at speed in gear with the clutch out. A very small amount of pressure on the clutch pedal removes the noise. Also, it is not always present. It sounds as if something is hitting on something and is not, to the best of my knowledge, a TOB bearing noise. The composit TOB from Spec has also been questioned by my techs. The TOB fork may be the culprit but, how would this be determined? Anyway, I will contact Spec next week and describe my current symptons to see if they can offer any insights. The clutch is getting smoother and bites extremely well with none of the slip of the stock unit so I want to get it right if at all possible. If I have to put a stock clutch back in, I think that I may demod the car and trade it in on an automatic pickup. That way I'd be sure not to go fast ever again:lol: :shrug:
I don't know Tetge, it still sounds like something in the fork to me. In order for there to be any banging, I think the fork would just about have to be moving from side to side, which it shouldn't be doing. It's possible that the TOB is too big as well, causing it (the fork doesn't really have any "stops" to keep it from doing that with a big TOB). I am leaning against this though, because mine doesn't do this. Is it really loud? Could it possibly be gear noise? Just asking. BTW, one way to see what it is is to have the car put on a lift, remove the dust cover, then crank it up and run through some gears until you hear the noise. If it's the fork, whoever is watching from under the lift should be able to see the fork banging around.
BTW, I hope you get this solved, I would hate to see you buy a pickup :lol: Yea, this is a pain, and an expensive one, but you only live once :shrug: I considered getting rid of mine, but, at the end of the day, I couldn't think of anything I wanted more. :shrug:
The Spec clutch is working just about perfectly at this point. Great grip and the engagement has smoothed out until it is almost as chatter free as stock. I am convinced that the clutch is perfect. The "tapping" noise is present in all gears and in neutral. I am beginning to think that it must be the composit TOB from Spec, but, TOB problems are occuring on so many '03's that the underlying reason for the failure may not have anything to do with whether or not the TOB comes from Ford or from Spec. The only problem with the TOB fork arm being defective is that the original TOB was just fine for 25000 miles and the arm looks perfect. If it had been damaged after 25000 miles, one thinks that the damage would be apparent.
Anyway, the plan now is to drive the car for some more miles to see what happens with the noise. It should be easier to figure out what the noise is if it gets worse and louder. Meanwhile, I'll just have to live with this tacky thumping sound coming from my car. At least the car shifts well and there is no burning smell coming from the clutch each time I drive it. I am even getting used to the bite of the Spec, because it really does make a difference in launching the car to have a clutch that doesn't slip and that hits right now.
Anyway, the plan now is to drive the car for some more miles to see what happens with the noise. It should be easier to figure out what the noise is if it gets worse and louder. Meanwhile, I'll just have to live with this tacky thumping sound coming from my car. At least the car shifts well and there is no burning smell coming from the clutch each time I drive it. I am even getting used to the bite of the Spec, because it really does make a difference in launching the car to have a clutch that doesn't slip and that hits right now.
Does anyone have a pic of the retainer? Sorry for my ignorance, but it is part of the tranny right? I ask because my tranny is supposedly covered under my extended warranty. Thanks.
Az, with a 99 cobra, you had the T-5, right? The t-5 retainer looks like this:
http://www.aksem.com/mustang/mustangtransmission.htm
It's the next to last product on the page.
It's about $50 from any Ford dealer. You can also buy them from Jegs.
http://www.aksem.com/mustang/mustangtransmission.htm
It's the next to last product on the page.
It's about $50 from any Ford dealer. You can also buy them from Jegs.
Thanks Guru. I assume they would need to drop the exhaust, the tranny etc to replace it? Like when they did the clutch?
any update yet?
I just called SVT hotline. The guy was very nice. He said that more and more people are calling about the issue with this piece, but more or less it is not a recall nor an epedimic problem. He also said that I should take it in to get it looked at ASAP. They are working on trying to get individual pieces from Tremec but for right now this is costing them $3400 per tranny. So looks like my car will be going in soon.
Now I talked to my dealer. I am bringing my car in on monday, you guys hope the best for me. I sure hope they figure something out.
For a 99 Cobra Ford used a T-45, they have been since 96, then changed over to the 3650 in 01models. I believe the retainer on the t-45 is pressed in like ours. Not 100% sure though, so it could be bolt on retainer like the T-5
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YOu will have to drop the tranny. I believe the T-45 has abolt in similar to the T-5, but regardless, you have to take the tranny out to fix it.
Gotthe retainer in today. I THINK it's going to work, but I won't know until I drop the tranny. My two techs think that it is slightly different from the one in my car, but I think it looks pretty much the same. We shall see. Might drop the tranny tomorrow, but it may be Friday. Don't know yet
Thanks for the update guy. We're following what's happening. Hope it fixes it better than new for ya. :thumbsup: :beer:
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