Truck broke down! Front axle and transmission issue after 60 miles

[Decayed]

There is no reason to think OP got a lemon yet. Sure the truck shouldn’t have passed its’ quality checks, but it’s possible OP will get hundreds of thousands of miles out of it still.

Agreed-it had a bad part. Somebody screwed up. A lemon is a car nobody can seem to fix. It sounds like this car can be fixed. I hope OP is able to get it resolved. But really, this IS what warrantees are for. There is no human anywhere who is 100% perfect all the time.

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[Mavonorder]

Holy shit. You are like the textbook example of people who can't recognize the difference between statistically significant data and anecdotes.

Must never forget the first rule of statistics, "statistics don't lie, but people using them often do" And so, looking at anecdotal evidence along with statistical data is far more revealing than depending on statistical data alone.

 

[NJBob]

Retired Ford Dealer Service Advisor here, after 20 years of being a tech I found it more to my body's liking to use a pen and computer rather than be under a vehicle dripping ice water down my neck, leaning over and working on a 300 degree engine or stuffing myself under a dash. Service advisors have a very tough job, no say so on the work being done but being blamed by owners for poor engineering design, no parts availability and not to mention how an owner treats the vehicle. My favorite saying to myself (wish I could say to owners).... I didn't make.... and I didn't break it. Don't blame me!... I'm here to help you! Maybe take a look at my 57 Chevy in the Showcase and tell me (a retired Service Advisor) I know nothing about cars. 57 has been down to frame off, not a piece attached to the body, all engine, transmission and rear axle work as well as stripped of paint twice painted twice, all done by me. NJBob, you are so wrong. I sir, was no order taker.

You sir are from the old school. An exception in todays business model Most dealers don't have people like you anymore. I apologize I offended you. Today when I go to a dealer and as questions they have no idea what I am talking about.
The OP was told by the service advisor that the rear axle had an issue. While mistakes can be made it does show that he had a lack of knowledge about the vehicle. I had a Honda service Advisor try to tell me my car had 2 spark plugs per cylinder, (it doesn't) a Toyota service advisor wanted to rotate the tires on my Mr2. (Front and rear are different sizes). Had a Ford service Advisor tell me incorrect information about my F 150 trans issue.
The job has morphed into one where they try to upsell you service you do not need. Like changing oil at 3K, intake cleaning services things like that. I know it can be a tough job , anytime you deal with customers it is not easy.
The closest Ford dealership to me hired my sons friend as a service advisor with 0 automotive experience. Times have changed.

 

[SCCIGARMAN]

Hope it is not the Blinker Fluid!

It could be blinker fluid as easily as power steering fluid. Since the Maverick has EPS. So no power steering fluid.

 

[Barracuda340]

The Corvair was nice. It would go in snow and flooded streets. The only problem was the oil seals would fail and the oil would leak on the exhaust manual and that's where the car received its heat. When you stopped the car in winter, blue smoke would blow into the car and fill the car with smoke. The other problem was Ralph Nader.

Actually the problem was General Motors penny pinching and not designing a decent independent rear suspension for it from the get go. The 1960 thru I believe 1965 corvairs rear suspension had a single u joint per axle shaft inboard at the transaxle. This made the rear wheels move in an arc as they went up and down. Along with the weight of the flat 6 engine behind the rear axle centerline this creates a nasty tendency to snap oversteer in certain conditions. The cars also should have had a rear sway bar as standard equipment to help with the oversteer but didnt. This again was typical GM penny pinching, as this part was optional extra cost equipment.

With the oversteer issues, GM tried to mask this problem with a door sticker showing uneven tire pressures with a lot more in the rear wheels and less in the front to lessen it. Most consumers just read the tire pressure written on the sidewalls and set it to that on all 4 wheels.

A recall was issued eventually on the earlier cars pre 1966 to install a rear swaybar, I believe it was sourced through EMPI the VW beetle hot rod specialists of the time.

By late 1966 the rear suspension issue was sorted out with 2 u joints per rear axle and a true independent rear suspension where the wheels went up and down in a straight line instead of in an arc like the earlier models. GM finally decided to spend the money to make it right.

The combination of the earlier rear suspension, no rear sway bar, and ass end being heavy made this vehicle dangerous to the average driver if it would oversteer. In fact there was a video where a road race car driver drove one of these to get it into a snap oversteer condition, and they could barely get it back under control in that condition. And that's with a professional driver behind the wheel. The later ones were much better but the damage was done by then. Plus the camaro came out in 1967 and people gravitated towards it instead.

Porsche has flat 6 engines behind the rear axle centerline, and yes they do have oversteer issues. However porsche has had many years with this design to tweak it to where that's not a big issue anymore.

People tend to malign Ralph Nader as a safetycrat, however without him we wouldent have such things as safety related recalls, collapsible steering columns, low brake fluid warning lights, seat belts, dual circuit brake systems.

Prior to the safety related recalls, the manufacturers would just issue the parts the dealers and tell them if the customer complains of (whatever) when they bring their car in, then just change (X) part out.

Believe it or not up until around 1966 car makers used solid steering shafts, not collapsible columns. In a decent impact those solid shafts would rip loose from the dashboard and the steering wheels would go right into the driver breaking ribs, and necks. I have restored plenty of early 1960s cars, and the inner steering shafts were a solid steel rod from the box to the steering wheel.

The other fact is theres people who flip the corvair transaxle around and install an adaptor with a small block chevy V8 where the rear seat should be. The engine fits perfectly when you remove the passenger door and RH front seat to get it in there. This also sets the weight and balance of the vehicle to almost a 50/50 weight distribution because the vehicle is now mid engined. The Corv8 mid engine conversions actually make these things go like hell and they handle really well.

All of this is fact. Refute it if you want. Google it if you need to. I dont have to. It is what it is.

Matt

 

[Sunset Ranch]

The last vehicle I spent any considerable amount of time working on was a HMMWV in the middle of Baghdad. There its used for the tranny, brakes, and power steering. EPAS wasn't a thing then.

Either way my point was it could be used in more than one place. (No offense taken, just showing my history/thought process)

Ultimately there is going to be a failure rate though. The objective is for it to be as low as possible, we'll see after a considerable amount have been produced...

Yep, hopefully its low.

 

[Onceforall]

Actually the problem was General Motors penny pinching and not designing a decent independent rear suspension for it from the get go.

All of this is fact. Refute it if you want. Google it if you need to. I dont have to. It is what it is.

Matt

Thanks Matt for the recap! I love the old stuff, but it sure can drive us crazy (what were they thinking? NOT, evidently).

On the Ford side, the 61-67 Econoline pickups had many issues. I know because I've had three, and still have two. First major issue was that all the weight was up front. There are youtube videos where Chevy pointed out how their Corvair pickup could actually handle slick road conditions, vs the Econoline where a guy standing at the front of the truck could keep it from moving with one hand. A fun watch.

Then, when a panic stop was needed, the first edition econo would nose dive and flip up on the front bumper. So Ford added a 200lb weight on the rear of the bed, sandwiched between the gas tank and bed.

Next, there were the heat soak issues of having a hot engine inside a doghouse...turn off the engine, heat has nowhere to go, and the fuel in the carburetor would boil off. Get back into the truck, and it reeks of gasoline vapor and won't start.

Such fun with these rigs...could go on...eventually Ford decided that these issues were too difficult to resolve, and dropped the econoline pickup option.

 

[mcc63303]

You sir are from the old school. An exception in todays business model Most dealers don't have people like you anymore. I apologize I offended you. Today when I go to a dealer and as questions they have no idea what I am talking about.
The OP was told by the service advisor that the rear axle had an issue. While mistakes can be made it does show that he had a lack of knowledge about the vehicle. I had a Honda service Advisor try to tell me my car had 2 spark plugs per cylinder, (it doesn't) a Toyota service advisor wanted to rotate the tires on my Mr2. (Front and rear are different sizes). Had a Ford service Advisor tell me incorrect information about my F 150 trans issue.
The job has morphed into one where they try to upsell you service you do not need. Like changing oil at 3K, intake cleaning services things like that. I know it can be a tough job , anytime you deal with customers it is not easy.
The closest Ford dealership to me hired my sons friend as a service advisor with 0 automotive experience. Times have changed.

Yes, I am from old school. Apology accepted. Many dealers and workers get a bad rap. Trust me, I know there are very many poor techs, advisors, salesmen and owners. Happens in all professions. Many people would rather answer without knowing instead of saying "I don't know but let me see if I can get the answer for you".
If the OP got answers of "it's the rear axle" clearly the person saying that has no business being at a dealer or any auto repair shop for that matter. Talk to someone else for sure.
I get a kick out of people always saying a different make of vehicle never has any problems. My answer has always been..."then why do they need a warranty at all or why is a service department full all the time with a wait list to get in?"
I managed an independent 12 bay shop after being a tech, then worked 20 years in a Ford dealership as advisor...best advise I have is ask if the person your talking to works on commission... if so find a different shop. Any pics of your z/28

 

[NJBob]

Best shot I had that did not show the License plate. Still has the 302.

Wish you were still working. Seems no one not just in the Auto Field can or won't do their job anymore.

 

[Walter56]

Yea...................that wouldn't result in the truck being down forever while the dealer and Ford decide whether or not it would be under warranty since the computer would show everything.

Computer show what? That you drive your brand new vehicle from the dealership to your home. How long your think it's going to take then to round up whatever parts they think they need to fix the old one. And hopefully whoever fixes the old one knows WTF they're doing. It's not up to Ford to decide to fix it. There is expressed merchantability when your but a brand new truck

 

[Barracuda340]

NJBob,

I used to live in N.J. years ago. hey what exit. Exit 154 off the GSP. My folks still reside near Lakehurst naval air station. Me I been a Texan for 28 years. I love my adopted state.

Thats a sexy 69 Z-28 you have. Heres my current project 1969 barracuda 340-S . When done I will have reskinned probably 75% of the car. In process of building a warmed over small block, with a 42RH O/D out of a dodge pickup and 3.73s with a locker. Car should run 2,400 RPM at 75 mph with the O/D trans when done.

Matt

 

[rtkegger]

Looking for some advice from the knowledgeable people here on MTC. After 8 months of waiting I finally was able to pick up my hybrid XLT so I was super excited!

I was driving on the highway, going about 70mph, back from the dealership when all of a sudden the truck started shaking pretty violently. I used to own a Wrangler and it felt just like the infamous "Death Wobble" that my Jeep used to get on the highway.

At first I thought it was a flat tire because of the way it was rumbling, but the tire pressure indicator didn't go off. I pulled over and looked over all 4 tires, and they all looked good. No warning lights on the dash either. I got underneath the truck and saw reddish fluid dripping from the engine compartment, I'm guessing that was power steering or transmission fluid. Not a good sign. It had about 60 miles on the odometer at this point.

The whole truck was shaking over 15mph and the shaking was so bad that it felt very unsafe over 30mph so I didn't want to drive it far. My home is about 90 miles from the dealership so I ended up limping at a slow speed to the closest Ford dealership and crashed in a hotel room until the next day when I learned that service was booked full for 3 weeks so I just got it towed back to the original dealership. It didn't feel safe to drive all the way there with all the shaking, plus I was worried about causing further damage so I got it towed. The truck was still leaking fluid the next day and the tow truck driver thought it was transmission fluid. It's also good that I requested a flatbed given that it turned out to be a rear axle issue. Luckily the original dealership was able to give me a loaner so I could get home.

Spoke to the service manager on Monday and they said it was an issue with the rear axle and that something wasn't "seated correctly" from the factory. They said they would need to order a new rear axle and it would take a week to come in. I asked for more details and also asked about the transmission and they said they would get back to me. I called back today (Tuesday) and asked to speak to the mechanic directly to get more details and the service manager said he'd try to get a video and send that over to me. Sounds like they might still be diagnosing it.

I'm sure they will eventually find and fix the issue so it's driveable but I am obviously worried about longer term damage that might have been caused to the transmission, axle, engine, rest of the truck that might not show up until years from now. I'm thinking of asking them to add on an extended warranty and hopefully Ford picks up that tab at a minimum. I definitely want the Maverick so what do people here think?

Anyone else that might have run into a similar issue?
Any ideas on what could cause leaking transmission fluid and require a whole new rear axle?
Any other suggestions on how to proceed or other options I may want to explore with the dealership?
What other things should I ask them to check?

Love this forum, thanks everyone for your advice!

TL;DR New truck broke with a rear axle problem while I was driving it home. It's at the dealer now and I want to know what options I have going forward.

Update: Spoke to the actual service manager and he said it was a problem in the FRONT axle, not the rear.

Pic of the leaking fluid while on the flatbed:

The shaking inside the truck doesn't show up on video, but you can certainly hear it.

If the repair is done correctly, I would not get too excited. Major failures in the first few hundred miles are generally isolated to that component and should not be an indicator of the quality of the overall build.

 

[NJBob]

NJBob,

I used to live in N.J. years ago. hey what exit. Exit 154 off the GSP. My folks still reside near Lakehurst naval air station. Me I been a Texan for 28 years. I love my adopted state.

Thats a sexy 69 Z-28 you have. Heres my current project 1969 barracuda 340-S . When done I will have reskinned probably 75% of the car. In process of building a warmed over small block, with a 42RH O/D out of a dodge pickup and 3.73s with a locker. Car should run 2,400 RPM at 75 mph with the O/D trans when done.

Matt

Very nice I live way up in NW Jersey by PA and NY. I wish I had the skills like you to tackle a job like that. I am getting up there in years and not sure I can even do a brake job now. The z runs at about 3k rpm

NJBob,

I used to live in N.J. years ago. hey what exit. Exit 154 off the GSP. My folks still reside near Lakehurst naval air station. Me I been a Texan for 28 years. I love my adopted state.

Thats a sexy 69 Z-28 you have. Heres my current project 1969 barracuda 340-S . When done I will have reskinned probably 75% of the car. In process of building a warmed over small block, with a 42RH O/D out of a dodge pickup and 3.73s with a locker. Car should run 2,400 RPM at 75 mph with the O/D trans when done.

Matt

NJBob,

I used to live in N.J. years ago. hey what exit. Exit 154 off the GSP. My folks still reside near Lakehurst naval air station. Me I been a Texan for 28 years. I love my adopted state.

Thats a sexy 69 Z-28 you have. Heres my current project 1969 barracuda 340-S . When done I will have reskinned probably 75% of the car. In process of building a warmed over small block, with a 42RH O/D out of a dodge pickup and 3.73s with a locker. Car should run 2,400 RPM at 75 mph with the O/D trans when done.

Matt

Matt wish I had the skills to take a job like that. Getting old now and not sure I can even do a brake job. My bud had a 340 duster that we used to make fun of. But it was a nice car. Back in the day it was mostly Chevys and Mopars very little Fords. Probably depended on the area you lived what brand was dominant. Bad thing about the 302 it is a very camy engine, most of the power in the upper RPM ranges. I drive it now feels like a tank, no power steering.

 

[NJBob]

Actually the problem was General Motors penny pinching and not designing a decent independent rear suspension for it from the get go. The 1960 thru I believe 1965 corvairs rear suspension had a single u joint per axle shaft inboard at the transaxle. This made the rear wheels move in an arc as they went up and down. Along with the weight of the flat 6 engine behind the rear axle centerline this creates a nasty tendency to snap oversteer in certain conditions. The cars also should have had a rear sway bar as standard equipment to help with the oversteer but didnt. This again was typical GM penny pinching, as this part was optional extra cost equipment.

With the oversteer issues, GM tried to mask this problem with a door sticker showing uneven tire pressures with a lot more in the rear wheels and less in the front to lessen it. Most consumers just read the tire pressure written on the sidewalls and set it to that on all 4 wheels.

A recall was issued eventually on the earlier cars pre 1966 to install a rear swaybar, I believe it was sourced through EMPI the VW beetle hot rod specialists of the time.

By late 1966 the rear suspension issue was sorted out with 2 u joints per rear axle and a true independent rear suspension where the wheels went up and down in a straight line instead of in an arc like the earlier models. GM finally decided to spend the money to make it right.

The combination of the earlier rear suspension, no rear sway bar, and ass end being heavy made this this dangerous to the average driver if it would oversteer. In fact there was a video where a road race car driver drove one of these to get it into a snap oversteer condition, and they could barely get it back under control in that condition. And that's with a professional driver behind the wheel. The later ones were much better but the damage was done by then. Plus the camaro came out in 1967 and people gravitated towards it instead.

Porsche has flat 6 engines behind the rear axle centerline, and yes they do have oversteer issues. However porsche has had many years with this design to tweak it to where that's not a big issue anymore.

People tend to malign Ralph Nader as a safetycrat, however without him we wouldent have such things as safety related recalls, collapsible steering columns, low brake fluid warning lights, seat belts, dual circuit brake systems.

Prior to the safety related recalls, the manufacturers would just issue the parts the dealers and tell them if the customer complains of (whatever) when they bring their car in, then just change (X) part out.

Believe it or not up until around 1966 car makers used solid steering shafts, not collapsible columns. In a decent impact those solid shafts would rip loose from the dashboard and the steering wheels would go right into the driver breaking ribs, and necks. I have restored plenty of early 1960s cars, and the inner steering shafts were a solid steel rod from the box to the steering wheel.

The other fact is theres people who flip the corvair transaxle around and install an adaptor with a small block chevy V8 where the rear seat should be. The engine fits perfectly when you remove the passenger door and RH front seat to get it in there. This also sets the weight and balance of the vehicle to almost a 50/50 weight distribution because the vehicle is now mid engined. The Corv8 mid engine conversions actually make these things go like hell and they handle really well.

All of this is fact. Refute it if you want. Google it if you need to. I dont have to. It is what it is.

Matt

Wow Matt I knew they changed the suspension but did not know the year. I think the turbo version had almost 200 HP. The ones I remember always seemed to smell of oil from the heater ducts much likeca beetle. My cousin had a monza, I think that's the turbo version. Think I was like 12 years old. Have always liked them since even though they had a reputation as a s...tbox.

 

[Barracuda340]

Very nice I live way up in NW Jersey by PA and NY. I wish I had the skills like you to tackle a job like that. I am getting up there in years and not sure I can even do a brake job now. The z runs at about 3k rpm

Matt wish I had the skills to take a job like that. Getting old now and not sure I can even do a brake job. My bud had a 340 duster that we used to make fun of. But it was a nice car. Back in the day it was mostly Chevys and Mopars very little Fords. Probably depended on the area you lived what brand was dominant. Bad thing about the 302 it is a very camy engine, most of the power in the upper RPM ranges. I drive it now feels like a tank, no power steering.

Thanks for the kudos. I'm 53 and still doing this type of stuff. I am getting slower at it, and with a full load on my plate with wife, kids and a demanding job, it sure lessens my available time to work on this stuff. I used to get mopar restos done faster when I was single about 25 years ago. Age may have something to do with it. For both the cars and myself. These things are pushing 50 plus years, they get worse and worse the older they get.

I used to be into 68-70 chargers, back in the 1980s-1990s but the cost of them to buy as basket cases, and restore lately have made them unaffordable by the common man. A body mopars tend to have a cheaper buy in these days. I have 2 barracudas. a 67 coupe, and the 69 coupe. The 67 metal work is done and it's in primer. The 69 was so rough being as it was a butchered up ex drag race car, that I decided to do its metal work while I still am young enough to do it.

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