Pinion Broke

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10-31-2006, 10:13 PM

#21

joshetc

2nd Gear Member

Join Date: Jul 2006

Location:

Posts: 242

RE: Pinion Broke

Quote:

ORIGINAL: mtd5248

Thank you all for writing. At this point the car has been to a second dealer, and I am paying for repairs ($2,200), which includes new drive shafts and new rear axle assemly. I've had two engineers look at the photos taken by the shop, and they both agree, from looking at the poor photos, that the pinion shaft likely did not fail due to misues. It's another thing getting this in writing.

I've even been told by a source at the dealer that this should be covered under warranty, and that I should contact Ford's local rep. The only problem is that I cannot get any contact information for the "local rep". Not from Ford customer service (which is a complete joke), or the dealer. Does anyone know who this might be in the mid-atlantic region? And possibly any contact info?

Once I figure out how to upload photos, I'll add them.

I think you should talk to a lawyer instead of engineers. AFAIK it is up to Ford to prove it was misuse that broke it, not the other way around. If there is a defect in their product they should be fixing it for you. That is what a warranty is.

10-31-2006, 11:47 PM

#22

BoidMorphs

3rd Gear Member

Join Date: May 2006

Location: New Hampshire

Posts: 692

RE: Pinion Broke

A warranty is a warranty and clearly your car should be covered by it. If you know there really wasn't any abuse, IMHO the burden of proof is on the dealer to prove otherwise. Their approach seems like you're guilty until proven innocent and that's just plain wrong! I'd NEVER pay a cent towards a mechanical breakdown as serious as what happened to you with a non-modded car. You need to go way over the dealers heads and get a regional service rep involved. Keep the pressure on and if that doesn't work I'd consult an attorney.

11-01-2006, 12:47 AM

#23

RedGTyl

1st Gear Member

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location:

Posts: 112

RE: Pinion Broke

Quote:

ORIGINAL: mtd5248

I have an '05 GT, manual transmission, with 18,000 miles. No modifications. The pinion broke just before the gear. Took it to a dealer who said they wouldn't cover under warranty because it looks like there was missuse. This car has been driven normally and not missused.

Any suggestions?

I had a bad mishift when i first got my car and my car has never been the same since. I told my service adviser and he said it doesnt matter. It was an accident and Ford doesnt have time to prove otherwise. They're taking my tranny off as we speak. (finally!!! after bring it in four times.) its like pulling teeth with these "stealer"ships. Anyway your problem is not your fault and its complete BS that they are trying to blame this on you. Start a **** storm. You didnt pay 25+ grand for your car's axel to break. Good Luck

11-01-2006, 03:42 PM

#24

fredlo69

1st Gear Member

Join Date: Sep 2006

Location: New York

Posts: 147

RE: Pinion Broke

If this happen under normal driving condition and to an unmodified vehicle, this clearly should be covered by the warranty. Explain to the dealer if its not fixed under the warranty you are going to report them to the better Business Bureau and Consumer Affairs as well follow legal action.

11-02-2006, 09:56 AM

#25

MBDiagMan

3rd Gear Member

Join Date: Aug 2006

Location: North East Texas on the Red River

Posts: 886

RE: Pinion Broke

As said earlier in the thread, it is hard to tell for sure from the pictures, but honestly, it looks as if it were being torqued pretty hard when it failed. As I said earlier, a pinion actually breaking in half is rare, but things can happen.

I say that if you KNOW FOR SURE that it was NOT abused in any way, then contact your regional Ford rep and go from there. If you did jerk the car around, then I'm afraid that "If you're gonna dance, you've gotta pay the fiddler."

11-02-2006, 02:10 PM

#26

duk

1st Gear Member

Join Date: Sep 2006

Posts: 60

RE: Pinion Broke

I thought that the pinion was one of the strongest points on an 8.8. I might be making this up but I can almost swear I heard that the pinion is just as big on an 8.8 as a one ton dana 60. If this is true then the pinion really should not have broke. I had a blown 460 in a 78 f250 running 44" super swampers making well above 500 hp and I never broke a pinion in the dana 60. The shafts gave way or the ring did.

11-05-2006, 08:13 PM

#27

RodeoFlyer

4th Gear Member

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: CA

Posts: 1,700

RE: Pinion Broke

take the dealer a copy of the mustang commercial on t.v. with the dad and son doing burnouts!

11-05-2006, 08:15 PM

#28

RodeoFlyer

4th Gear Member

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: CA

Posts: 1,700

RE: Pinion Broke

also - why bother having the dealer fix it for $2200 ?????

for that amount you could have a shop install a 1-piece driveshaft and better gears and still have beer money left over

11-06-2006, 03:15 PM

#29

slow07

2nd Gear Member

Join Date: Jul 2006

Location: Arkansas

Posts: 202

RE: Pinion Broke

I have a mechanical engineering degree, and my analysis is: Every part on our car is designed to have enough of a "Safety Factor" that it should hold up to more punishment than even a lightly modded car could give it. I can't tell by the pictures, but it has to have been defective. At some point in production a weak spot was probably created, which later began to separate. The only arguement that they have on abuse (on a stock car) would be if you ramped it, and destroyed the suspension, burn a clutch up, drive it in deep water, or something stupid like that.