:angry:
Was backing up at work on Monday and heard a "Ziiiing - Snap!" When shifting into 1st and letting out the clutch I heard the sound of a threaded bolt moving around in a mount (work in a machine shop...I know EXACTLY what this sounds like!). I live nearby so I decided to see if I could make it home. From the way it drove (ie..no sound on bumps or turns...only when vehicle was shifting weigth from accelerating) it had SOMETHING to do with panhard rod. Took it to the dealer near work Tuesday morning...(OBTW Wade Ford service department sux...won't use them again). They called me and confirmed a sheared bolt on the panhard mount and...OF COURSE....they hinted about "drag racing" the car. Well, after explaining that this was my baby and I had not gotten into it hard he explained that maybe the factory had "overtorqued" the bolt.
Long story short...they have NO BOLTS in the system...they had to order from the vendor and it may take a week to get the bolt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will probably have to drop the rear end and gas tank to replace this bolt.
So now I am stuck driving my Chevrolet Truck....and everyone says "that's what you get for buying a ford"....what I say can not be mentioned on this board!


Can't wait to get "Limey" back!!!!!

Jay

 

Drag racing wouldn't put high loads in the panhard rod. The bolt was probably overtorqued from the factory. They don't need to drop the rear axle or fuel tank to change this bolt. It's a pretty straight forward job.

 

Hey Pony Chief..

I hope you're right...they told me it's the "top bolt" and the can see the body of the bolt and the hole it goes into but not the head (which is gone but they meant for replacement purposes).
This was the closest dealership and I would normally not use them....but the other dealerships are on the other side of town. I didn't know if more that a 10 min drive was advisable.

Man, this is killing me!

Jay

 

Why go with the factory bolt ? ...get one of air craft strenth thats the same and put it in .You willl never have to worry about it breaking ever again and you get your stang back pronto!

 

That Bites! I hope you get it fixed right soon! Good Luck

 

What Craig said. Some bolts are soft and are made to shear, like a snow blower bolt, in the auger. I don't think those pan hard rod bolts are suppose to be breaking. I would seriously consider a case-hardened bolt? JMO! B)

 

To use a phrase from one of my favorite movies...
"...i would **** on a sparkplug if'n I thought it would help right now..."
(Wargames)

The dealership would only use "original ford parts" for replacment...I don't think they would go for a "aftermarket" replacement.
If the car was out of warranty that's EXACTLY what I would do...but it's not....besides they are quotint the "Auto Dimming Mirror w/temp and compass" install.

Peace!
Jay

 

Bolts can be defective. It's happened.

 

The problem with the Chevy is what?
I know I'll get slammed here but, oh well.
As far as trucks go, I'll never own anything but a Chevy.

Good luck with the pony.
Sorry to hear it.

 

I don't think it's a fact that he's getting down on his truck, I think he would rather be driving his Mustang. Man, people try to read to much into what other people are saying sometimes.