Freshmeat

Does the shifter on anyone else's 5.0 feel clunky? Think an aftermarket unit could clear that up? It's probably my only legitimate complaint after 500 miles.

GRABOID

Shifter no....little clunky with the split drive shaft but nothing like my 08. Is that maybe what you are feeling/hearing

Stinger1982

is it hard to get into gear from a dead stop? or reverse?

Freshmeat

It's not hard to get into gear from a dead stop or anything like that, but the transfer from one gear to the next isn't nearly as smooth as even my Kenworth I drive with work every day. Don't these have some sort of extension for the shifter instead of going directly into the transmission? Maybe that's what I'm fighting. I don't know- it just doesn't feel right compared to most of the other manual transmissions I've driven.

As far as the split driveshaft... I can here an occasional (and light) "thunk" if I don't clutch/throttle it right, which I'm guessing is from the driveshaft. That's not what I'm referencing here.

Stinger1982

the shifter goes into a transfer box which reverses your actions so they can be input to the trans.

Picture of said box:

coffeejolts

Mine was a little stiff for the first couple hundred miles. It feels perfect now.

cdynaco

Ford engineers will disagree. They state any clunk is not from the 2 piece driveshaft. Excerpts:

Clunk is driven by total driveline lash, dominated by the gear sets and clutch tuning/capability. The 3.73 amplifies this a bit compared to the 3.31 and 3.55 axles. The 2-piece driveshaft is not the cause of the clunk noise.
I do know about the 2-piece in the factory car. It is a fairly robust piece. Vibration is not an issue unless the centerbearing shims are not installed properly, the shaft has a balance issue or the pinion angle is off. These would be quality issues (that I'm not aware of having in production), not design. The 2-pc has no roll in whether or not you have a random vibration. U-joint angles, run-out (flange or shaft), balance and system modal (resonance) response govern vibration.
The 2-piece driveshaft is required to meet internal engineering requirements for safe operation at max vehicle speed. Basically, it is designed to provide a driveline system resonance well above what the speed limiter will allow you to operate at. If you put your driveline into resonance, bad things may happen! I've seen what it does to a car and it isn't pretty.
The driveshaft CV joints are required components on this type of driveshaft when combined with a live axle. If the rear suspension were IRS, simple flex couplings would be used (look at the new Camaro, Challenger, etc...) and would make for a lighter driveshaft.

krnpimpsta

I wonder at what speed the driveline system will resonate... is it something like 200mph (theoretically achievable after mods) - or something that we don't have to worry about, ever (i.e., 250mph+ )

Freshmeat

I do still only have about 500 miles; maybe it's something that'll wear in a bit. We'll see how it goes.

vdub2stang

I have a clunk going from first to second. It happens sporadically, I can get it to be smooth if I drive it like a granny. I also have felt vibrations when accelerating in first from a stop, only between 6500-8000 rpm if I don't let the rpm's rise before I start moving. When starting in second, I hear a noise that sounds like a very fast paced, yet subtle grinding. I've never owned a mustang, or a ford for that matter so I don't know if this is normal, but the dealership seemed to think so. I also have a minor vibration at around 80 mph that can only be felt through the chassis and the pedals (not the steering). Is any of this normal? I might have a defective driveshaft from what I've read so far in this thread.

vdub2stang

EDIT: I have a 5.0 gt/cs

Genot

Not an expert, but 1,000 RPMs over redline is probably only going to make those vibrations worse

Stinger1982

at 8k rpm vibrations are the LEAST of his worries. Those valves are not long for this world.

Ethanjbeau

Just got the 5.0 last night and i notice the same thing. It seems to be worse going from 1st to 2nd. I also seem to hear a clunk coming from behind me at the same time. I dunno, maybe its because it only has 120 miles on it?

Stinger1982

the clunk behind you is you not being smooth on the clutch. We all did it when our cars were new by 1,000 miles you will have learned the clutch and the clunk from behind you will stop

RickV

I have the V6 with the auto trans. I have noticed that when starting from slightly rolling like when a traffic light changes and you haven't came to a complete stop. I feel a "clunk" in the rearend. Is this normal?

Freshmeat

I discovered that. I'm greatly improving as I get more seat time.

As for the shifter, I think it may just be a much more pronounced detent system than I'm accustomed to experiencing. It also does appear to be smoothing out already. Either that or I'm just getting over it.

Stinger1982

the first week I sounded like a hack before I got it figured out LOL

Ethanjbeau

Well since im sharing the car for now and have never driven a manual full time before, i hope i can get the hang out it. Especially those **** hills lol but practice makes perfect i guess

vdub2stang

wooah.. that meant to read 650-800 rpm, late nights