The Nature of the Beast . . . Things We Expect and Things We Could Do Without
| 31 August 2007
If you really enjoy Mustangs, then you’re perfectly happy with their rough edges. They can be a harsh breed, they’re somewhat crude, they don't have much sound deadening, and they’ll never be confused with a luxury car or a luxury car wannabe. Mustangs come off the assembly line with a wild streak. Call it attitude. Call it character. Call it personality. Whatever you call it, it’s the thing that makes the marque an icon. It evokes emotion and it can bring your adrenalin to a boil. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s a good thing and a major component of the sales success enjoyed by Mustangs over the past 43+ years.
Some of us like the beast just as Ford bolted it together and find it perfectly satisfactory as a daily driver. Some of us prefer to add more personality and push the wild streak to a higher level. We like such things as power adders, loud(er) exhausts, modified suspensions, and/or various visual add-ons to change the appearance.
At first glance, the S197 Mustang introduced in 2005 was a great piece. It had killer styling with just the right mix of retro and new age cues; it was Mustang through and through. It attracted us like a magnet. And sales figures told us right away that it was a runaway hit in the market place; people loved the most recent iteration of our favorite pony. It definitely had attitude! But I dare say that no matter if we kept it stock or if we modified it, most of us, probably all of us, expected the new pony to be substantially free of manufacturing issues. That had nothing to do with designed-in character. It had to do with our expectation that individual parts comprising the whole would go about their business in a proper manner and that assembly line crews would put the machine together correctly.
Well, to a large extent, that turned out to be true, but not totally. As time passed following Job 1 in September 2004, 86 TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) were issued to address design issues, parts issues, and assembly issues. As each problem was identified, Ford studied it and then issued a TSB to describe the appropriate corrective action. Evolutionary refinement was the result and now as the marque enters its fourth year of production, the 2008 models are pretty well sorted out.
Actually, it’s not unusual for new models to generate TSBs and in the grand scheme of things, the Mustang has been among the best. This was substantiated in early June when J.D. Powers announced the results of the 2007 IQS (Initial Quality Survey) based on customer satisfaction during the first 90-days of ownership. Mustang came in first in the “midsize sporty car” class, beating out the second place Toyota Solara. A great effort in the third year of production and one sorely needed by Ford. And FYI, other Ford products did well too.
TSBs can be instructional, they can be administrative, but usually they describe upgrade repairs that are covered under the new car warranty. That was typically the case with the Mustang. If the warranty was still in effect when the owner returned for a TSB repair, Ford picked up the cost. In addition to customer repairs, problems covered by TSBs also spawn corrections/upgrades on the assembly line. When the changes become part of assembly line protocol, the end result is refinement of the breed, as mentioned above. The more refinement, the closer the car comes to our high expectations.
But it’s unusual for these complex machines to be perfect so if you have a concern with your 2005/2006/2007 model and you wonder if a TSB was issued, you can view the titles of all TSBs on AllData’s Internet site at:
http://www.alldata.com/index.jsp
Details are also available from ALLDATA but only if you subscribe to their service. On the other hand, many of the TSBs issued in 2005/2006 are also listed on the StangNet site at:
http://www.stangnet.com/Tech-Articles/S197-Technical-Service-Bulletins-060923.html
StangNet lets you download a free PDF copy which you can then view or print.
Don’t confuse TSBs with recalls. A TSB repair is applicable only if the owner returns for service. There is no mechanism whereby Ford advises owners that a TSB exists and no cost recovery unless the warranty is still in effect. On the other hand, recalls follow a specific procedure where Ford notifies the owner to make arrangements with the dealer for correction of a problem, usually one that’s related to safety or environmental concerns. Recall costs are always covered by Ford, regardless of warranty status.
For the S197, ALLDATA lists no recalls but they list 86 TSBs. There were 47 generated in 2005, an improvement to 29 more in 2006, and further improvement to 10 in 2007. It’s not uncommon to find TSBs from 2006 applying equally to 2005 models and those from 2007 applying equally to 2006 and 2005 models. There are also cases where a TSB applies exclusively to a V8 or a V6.
The TSB program is a good thing but since it typically addresses systemic problems, it goes without saying that some owners become irritated when they need to return to the dealer for correction of an issue that they feel should have been identified during vehicle development. To pick an example from early production, TSB 05-4-8 was issued to address “Fuel Fill Slow, or Difficult to Fill.” in vehicles built before 4/26/2005. The correction was to install, under warranty, a new fuel tank with a redesigned venting system. Cars assembled 4/26/07 and later received the new tank on the assembly line. The new design helped to some extent but owners continued to complain about “slow fill.”. Subsequently, TSB 06-3-13 was issued to tell dealers that the redesigned tank was as good as it was going to get; i.e., “slow fill” was not a valid reason to replace a tank under warranty in cars assembled 4/26/2005 and later. Ford considered the fill rate to be “normal” with the new tank and “normal” doesn’t qualify for repair. Remember this when “normal” comes up again later on in this pony trick.
In another example, some 2005 and 2006 cars had a rattle coming from the vicinity of the center stack or gearshift area. It was determined that sometimes the rattle came from loose exhaust system isolators at the transmission crossmember. The issue was addressed by TSB 06-4-1: “Rattle/Noise from Center Stack (Radio/Heater) or Instrument Panel or Gearshift Area.” The fix consisted of wrapping the isolators with stainless steel worm clamps and tightening them securely.
Still another example found some 2005 and 2006 cars hesitating or stumbling on acceleration, particularly from a stop. TSB 06-9-9 “Hesitation on Acceleration After Long Cruise” recognized that air bubbles could form around the fuel pump and, when ingested, could cause the hesitation, occasionally to the point that the engine would stall. Installation of a redesigned fuel pump fixed the problem.
Also, some 2005 and 2006 cars had a gear whine from the differential. TSB 05-20-2, “Rear Axle Noise,” instructed dealers to gut the third member and install a laundry list of new parts including a new ring and pinion. That didn’t always fix the problem unless the dealer experimented with the gear backlash. The best success was usually found by setting the backlash at the loose end of the tolerance range.
Other TSBs addressed additional problems and mostly they resulted in successful corrections. But in at least one case, Ford got it wrong when they issued an incomplete TSB for a NVH concern. TSB 05-9-11 was generated to treat “Front Suspension Popping Noise Turning Right or Left—Vehicles Built Before 4/8/2005.” The TSB called for replacing the MacPherson strut upper bearings with redesigned units. In addition, it noted that some cars assembled before February 2005 might not have isolators on/under the bottom coil of the front springs. Service departments were instructed to check for the isolators while replacing the bearings and if they were missing, they were to be installed during the procedure. The redesigned bearing was rolled into assembly line procedure on 4/8/2005; the isolator had already been rolled in. So far so good but unfortunately, the story didn’t end there.
Unintentional fallout from TSB 05-9-11 arguably resulted in the most controversial and irritating NVH issue in the short history of the S197. A significant number of owners were exasperated when it was discovered that the redesigned bearing corrected one noise but it totally missed a second noise coming from the same general location.
The second noise became a hot topic of discussion on several Internet forums devoted to the care and feeding of the Mustang. Owners were quite angry with Ford because the front suspension on their babies had what was variously called a “rattle,” a “clunk,” or a “thunk,” depending on which thread you read. The noise was most noticeable in the car’s right front corner, but to a lesser degree, it could also be heard in the left front. Slow speeds over sharp bumps caused metal-to-metal hammering that could be quite obnoxious in some cars, most, if not all, of them coupes. The noise was evident in all model years, V6 and GT alike. Convertibles seemed to be exempt, possibly because they had extra bracing at the K-frame.
Many Ford dealers refused to try to fix the noise because it occurred in nearly every car and, therefore, they considered it “normal” (remember normal?). Those who did attempt to correct it changed struts or upper bearings (again) or both, tightened or replaced sway bar links, and in some cases installed the convertible bracing. But their efforts had little or no effect. As months passed with no resolution, the frustration level among many owners became intense, especially among those who went to dealers who wouldn’t even try to correct the noise.
At the same time, Ford took a long time to admit that a second noise existed; they were defensive and reluctant to initiate an investigation. But they couldn’t ignore the hubbub emanating from dissatisfied owners. They finally acknowledged the second noise and went to work on it. It took nearly 18 months to identify the source, determine a fix, design a new part, and put the part into production. Meanwhile, nearly all coupes coming off the assembly line had the noise when they were delivered to new owners or they developed it soon thereafter, as miles accumulated.
In May 2007, it became “ common knowledge” on the Internet that a correction was in place and that a TSB would be issued in June. But the TSB never materialized, further irritating owners. Nevertheless, on the flip side of the coin, there actually was a correction and Ford had rolled it out on the assembly line beginning in April.
For reasons known only to them, Ford decided against issuing a TSB for the second noise so the dealer network was never officially notified that there was a fix. Thankfully for rankled owners, anonymous Ford insiders (members of the group that worked on the problem) were monitoring the forums and eventually, some of them posted detailed messages to let owners know what was going on. As they described it, the fix turned out to be another design change for the bearing at the upper end of the MacPherson struts, making it the third generation for the part. Ford called the new iteration a bracket but in reality it was a refined configuration for the redesigned bearing covered in TSB 05-9-11. Ford also came up with another name for the noise. Rather than a rattle or a clunk or a thunk, they called it a “chuckle.”
The group of owners that had been driven to distraction by the noise was now aware that a correction was available. Other owners admitted to hearing the noise but they weren’t bothered by it. All of which is to let you know that a fix is available if you’re in the group bothered by the noise.
If your S197 has the chuckle and you want it repaired, you’ll need, among other bits and pieces, a pair of bearings (brackets, one for each side) and a dealer willing to install them under warranty. The brackets carry part number 8R3Z-18183-B. Ford has stocked them at National Parts Depot in Livonia, MI and they’re available for dealers to order. To avoid confusion, you need to be aware that the first redesign of the part is still available and listed for use on convertibles only; its number is 5R3Z-18183-A. The “5R” part won’t fix the coupes; only the “8R” part will do that. With that said and recognizing that seldom is anything absolute, it’s possible that some convertibles also have the chuckle. If so, the “8R” part will fix them too.
It’s been reported that lack of a TSB makes it difficult or impossible to get the chuckle repaired under warranty at some dealerships because the service departments still think the noise is normal (there’s that word again) and therefore, not qualified for warranty repair. That isn’t true. Dealers who put a high priority on customer satisfaction are demonstrating that Ford will indeed cover the repair under warranty. Sometimes that means an owner will have to seek-out another dealer but more and more the cars are receiving warranty repair.
Keep in mind this final note. The “8R” bearing doesn’t fully correct the noise in all cars. Some also have a problem with noisy sway bar links that are either loose or need to be replaced because of premature wear or both. The links carry part number 6R3Z-5K483-A. Ford hasn’t addressed the link situation but some dealers are doing a prophylactic replacement when they install the “8R” brackets.
And one other thought: It’s a good idea to have the car checked for proper wheel alignment, after you have the chuckle corrected.
Or if all of this is too much to stomach, you could simply belly up and trade for a 2008 model. That would get you a pony with the refinements already installed from the factory. The line forms on the right.