I actually enjoyed your analysis of your car and appreciate the time you put into the experience. Thank you

 

Thank you UnrealFord!

 

Automatics seem to be bulletproof. I love my 6R80. I've beat it to death for 11,500 miles. The car just gets stronger and wants everything that I throw at it.

 

I read the whole thing on the iPhone app just fine. Hmmph :shrug:

I think you should look into the 11-12 GT500 mufflers. They are pretty much perfect IMO!

 

You know MM, the reason I stayed away from automatics are several, but let me list a few:

99 F350 Four transmissions in 137K miles
99 Taurus Three Transmissions in 125K miles
05 V6 Mustang One transmission in 67K miles

After that string, lost all confidence in Ford Automatics. I know they're different transmissions, but a guy starts to see a trend after a while. Meanwhile, in my 89 Mustang, I would probably now need to rebuild the T5, and around 130K miles, it picked up a bit of a synchro problem into 3rd. I'm probably going to start restoring the Fox at some point...sooner rather than later.

Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the automatic. I'm not having any problems with the transmission itself, and as I said, the weird clutch thing only happened on one day, twice, within minutes, but it didn't repeat after. So far.

Mark

 

LaserRed, I don't mind the sound of the stock mufflers. I guess that is something I'll think about. My more pressing concern, just as a personal project, something I want to do, just because.... Some guys want to go from 0-60 in .1 seconds. Some guys want to run the quarter in 9. Some guys want to achieve a top speed of 200mph. I have a different goal. I want a true 1.0g + handling car that doesn't ride like a jackhammer.

I figure that's something I should be able to do without running afoul of a warranty.

I'll see how that plays out. When I check in with my service manager tomorrow, I'm going to ask him about 1.) the clutch issue, and 2.) what I can do suspension-wise that won't compromise warranty on the drivetrain. I plan to lower it a good bit, probably close to 2", front control arms, rear uppers and lowers, panhard bar,(all adjustable), and maybe a set of coil-overs. Maybe some more chassis stiffening here and there. Stiffer swaybars. Camber plates. Not sure yet, but you get the idea on the direction I want to go. Besides, if I wait from now until I'm out of warranty, and maybe I go see the guys at Hellion for some turbo magic, maybe with an upgraded reciprocating assembly.

My thing is, from lessons learned the hard way long ago, I want a car that can stop on a dime and be as if on rails around a curve. Once I have that, adding power becomes much more practical and useful.

Thanks again!

 

Yeah Mark, I see your hesitation with an auto with a track record like that. Just remember the 6r80 was introduced in the 08 Expeditions and Navigators. It was designed for towing etc. It is consistently holding over 600 rwhp without breaking ( tuner in-house cars that are daily drivers namely Amazon Tuning in South Carolina ). Ford had had their fair share or crap transmissions no doubt . Just a suggestion for your Fox: I installed a Lentech AOD with a manual valve body and it was bulletproof. It had a 347 stroker that went 10.80s and could be driven to the beach. T5's are good for about 300 rwhp to be reliable. I've seen bolt-on foxes snap the input shaft going from 3rd to OD at wot in the AOD. The stock AOD was crap.

-- side note - my beater vehicle is a 98 4runner with 4wd. It is actually in excellent condition. It has 270,000 miles and the transmission fluid has never been changed. I love my Yota as well.

I used to be a manual guy too but the consistency and durability of the new automatics can't be denied. I'll race any stock manual 5.0 with my auto and I guarantee that I'll win atleast 8/10 against any driver there is. It just isn't about how good the driver is when your clutch sticks, miss 3rd, miss 4th or whatever. I will hot lap my car and run 12.80 10/10. No manual GT will do that no matter the driver. --

Great write up , enjoy your Coyote !

 

Thanks MM! Yeah, the problem is, in all but one of those cases, it was the wife left stranded side of the road, usually I-35, and usually in summer. If I proposed an automatic transmission to her at this point, she'd probably divorce me!

 

 

Well done sir on the write up. I pray the 13's don't have this clutch problem as well. Looking like it does though.

 

I hope not as well, but I don't think we'll know for sure one way or the other for some time. Thanks!

Mark

 

love the review, My clutch is doing the same thing(~2300 miles now) and over the past week its gotten so much softer and feels completely different now. :/

Anyone tried any of the old fixes?