Half Shaft seal said "Goodbye" today

[outatime]

Just turned over 1300 miles on my 2015. Got in her this morning and backed out the garage -- noticed a foot long piece of thin, gray foam sitting in the middle of the garage floor -- and stopped to see what it was. Right next to the foam were three small drops of oil. Shined a flashlight under the car and the transmission case, half shaft and rear transmission mount were soaked in gear oil. Wonderful. Still don't know what the piece of foam was. It definitely fell off the car. Off to the dealer in the morning!

 

[outatime]

UPDATE: Both half shaft seals, driver and passenger side, are shot. Tech thinks improperly installed at factory. They were pouring fluid. New seals have been ordered. We are hoping that the mating surface isn't damaged. Should have me ready to go Wednesday.

The piece of foam was from between the the bottom of the radiator and its support. Shoved it back in. Good to go on that.

 

[airjor13]

Wow that's a bit disheartening.. Improper install at the factory, glad they are taking care of you

 

[Hijinx]

Must be a Friday build.

 

[airjor13]

Must be a Friday build.

Tequila Friday build

 

[outatime]

Thursday, July 24 build. Must've been built before they took their afternoon siesta....

The tech was kind of surprised both seals were leaking. I just hope its a bad batch of seals and not something wrong with the machining of the mating surfaces. If they have to pull and replace the transmission on my brand new car, I'm gonna be pissed.

 

[Hijinx]

Wish I could have siestas.

 

[outatime]

Wish I could have siestas.

Move to Mexico and build Fiestas! Nice weather, hot Latinas, tequila, and regularly scheduled daily naptime!!!

 

[FordService]

UPDATE: Both half shaft seals, driver and passenger side, are shot. Tech thinks improperly installed at factory. They were pouring fluid. New seals have been ordered. We are hoping that the mating surface isn't damaged. Should have me ready to go Wednesday.

The piece of foam was from between the the bottom of the radiator and its support. Shoved it back in. Good to go on that.

Keep me updated on how this goes.

Meagan

 

[outatime]

Keep me updated on how this goes.

Meagan

Will do, Meagan. So far, Riverside Ford in Macon, GA (the selling and servicing dealer) has been great!

 

[FordService]

Will do, Meagan. So far, Riverside Ford in Macon, GA (the selling and servicing dealer) has been great!

That's awesome to hear!

Meagan

 

[outatime]

Getting nervous. Not a word from the dealer....

 

[outatime]

UPDATE: The new seals will be delivered either late this afternoon or tomorrow. The only problem is there are 12 cars ahead of mine for the one transmission tech. My service advisor said he would get me in as quick as he could. I told him not to do a rush job. This is a brand new car. He figured a couple of weeks, give or take to have me back on the road. Now, this is for the first attempt to fix the half shaft leaking. God, I hope its the seals. If its a bushing or untrue axles and they have to tear it apart again, Ford can keep it. No excuse for a two week old car.

 

[outatime]

Yet another UPDATE: The parts came in and the dealership really manned up and put me at the front of the service line. They pulled the axles and replaced the seals this afternoon!! I watched them perform some of the work and they really did a nice, careful job. Very impressed with the dealership! I drove the car home and was on cloud nine! I parked the car, grilled some burgers, and on a whim, shined a flashlight under the car. Guess what? Oil. Dripping. From same places as before. Round two! Ding!

 

[Sourskittle]

Sorry to hear that. Wonder if they put a super small amount of grease on the seal before putting the axle in. Saw it on "Trucks!" Back when Stacey David was the host, and I tried it on axle and shaft seals at work, and it does a great job of helping the seal break in gently. But because it wasn't "throwing a code", its tough for dealership techs sometimes.

 

[outatime]

They did grease the seals. Very thorough job. They couldn't have done it any better. Tech said transmission was overfilled from the factory. The seals weakened from the overfilling and the car sitting still on dealer lot. My guess is while that may have been true, there is obviously something else wrong. Maybe it's the stub axles being not properly machined? Maybe it's a transmission case issue? I've driven the car 6 miles and for a total of 10 mins. It was bone dry underneath when they pulled it off the lift. I checked it myself. My patience is thinning....

 

[me32]

sorry too hear man. keep us updated

 

[outatime]

Ive got a daily 140 mile roundtrip commute. Ill check it again tomorrow night. My strategy is to give the seals some time to seat. If by next week its still leaking, Il bring it back to the dealer. I have every confidence Ford will make it right.

 

[outatime]

After a 60 mile drive, the seals are dry, no signs of leakage.

I'm betting the tiny drip I saw last night was from where they refilled the transmission.

I hope this matter is now closed.

 

[Cruz'nFiST]

That's good to hear man, I've had mine for about a month and a half, i can't imagine having to deal with an issue at this point. I hope it's smooth sailing from here on out so you can enjoy this awesome car.