Big Als Z

http://www.blueovalnews.com/2004/pla...ve07sept04.htm

07 September 2004
Dearborn, Michigan.
Robert Lane

Sources at one of Ford's engine plants told BlueOvalNews that Ford Motor Company has instructed assembly plants to stop shipping certain 2005 model year vehicles because they can contain defective 4.6L or 5.4L engines. BlueOvalNews was first altered to the problem after we received a news tip at the end of August.

The products that can contain the defective engines include the 2005 Ford Mustang GT, 2005 F-Series, 2005 F-Series Super Duty, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. Ford has instructed the assembly plants to stop shipping vehicles until they are screened to see if they contain the defective engines. It is not known if any products were shipped to consumers before the problem was noticed.

The 2005 model year 4.6L and 5.4L engines in question were built with defective cylinder heads. According to sources, the defective cylinder heads will have an adverse effect on performance and will cause the engine to fail to meet Ford's specifications.

It's not immediately clear if Ford will replace the entire engine at the assembly plant or just replace the defective cylinder heads and approve the vehicle for shipment to customers.

A Team Mustang source told BlueOvalNews that a stop shipment order means that Ford won't ship GT Mustangs to dealers, but it doesn't mean that Ford will stop building Mustangs - they can still build V6 powered models until problems with the 4.6L engines are corrected. Further, even though Ford officially launched JOB1 of the Mustang today, shipments don't occur immediately. "Somewhere within two weeks after Job #1 we have an OK to ship meeting where all the upper management on the program proclaim the vehicle is OK to ship. . . .launching a new vehicle in a new plant can have its issues. That's just part of what a launch is all about.", said our source.

In what could prove to be the most devesting news; however, is that the Ford GT "40" is alleged to have cylinder heads that contain defects in the combustion chamber pocket area. According to sources, Ford is allegedly making design changes to the cylinder head and will create a new casting which is targeted for release by 01 January 2005. Rather than issue a recall for the Ford GT, Ford would most likely issue a TSB (technical service bulletin) and repair the vehicles only as needed. Look for an update on the GT heads at a later date.

--------------------------------------------------------
Oh boy...all that money spent on the Ford GT, and they couldnt weed out the flaws in the 150k supercar? Big "whoops" on Fords part, especialy on what is supposed to be an icon for the company.

cmc

Wonder if it melts/cracks pistons the same way Navi engines do when you run low-octane fuel and drive it with a heavy load (e.g. the weight of a heavy luxury SUV )

02pewterss

Ford is just realizing NOW that their engines are defective. It's been that way for decades!!

Snorman

Blue Oval News...what a wonderfully reliable source for info.
ROTFLMAO...his "source" at Team Mustang. Funny how they don't elaborate on what is "defective" in either the engine or the cylinder head.
Most people take what info they see on BON for what it is...Bob Lane's continuous, ongoing effort to discredit Ford as the disgruntled ex-employee that he is.
S.

MrDude_1

from what i was told, its excessive casting flash.... not only does it create a restriction lowering power output, but it can break off and go into the motor...


then again, thats what i heard over the internet, so take it with a grain of salt.. lol.

Snorman

Do you have any idea how much casting flash would have to be present to restrict flow and possibly "break off" and damage the engine?
S.

Gold_Rush

BON reminds me of the tabloids i see at the grocary mart (just saw one with a pregnant lady on the covor claiming to have been big-foots love slave, wtf?? lol).

I'd take what they say with a grain of salt. It may very well be true, but a lot of their stuff can be questionable.

MrDude_1

yea. ALOT. like "how could you not notice".

i was just passing the info i recieved along....

btw, i do recall ford having QC problems with their casting.... somthing about mustangs having even less power because of a mismatched intake....

Magnum Force

I don't know what's happened to BON...it used to be a much bigger site, and Lane used to get a LOT more juicy info leaked to him...I remember clearly back in 1999 when he single-handedly informed consumers of the underpowered 99 cobra (ford even sued and tried to have him shut down, lol)
It seems all he's been able to post the last couple of years is pure hearsay...I guess time will tell if this one is true or not

RedHottG2

Hmm not saying this isn't true, but I know all of our 05 Stang's (and GT's) are still being shipped as to be expected full steam ahead. Havn't heard anything about them not shipping. I work in sales for a Ford dealer and have alot of these already sold and on order. A couple of the first orders I had are scheduled to arive around the 17th of this month. I guess we will have to wait and see.

guionM

Ford is REALLY sweating the details over the new Mustang, so I suspect the smallest item that may have been acceptible a few years ago under Nasser is probally reason to shut down the line today.

MrDude_1

does this mean they wont feel/handle like F150s anymore?

94LightningGal

Ford couldn't stop shipment as no shipments have been made on the '05 Mustangs or F150's. Remember that job 1 for the Mustang was the 7th of September. One F150 plant had a job 1 date of Sept 7th, but it was moved to September 10th due to a shortage of parts (this is coming from the people at the plants). Another F150 plants job 1 date is Sept 20th. Official release of the Mustang isn't supposed to happen till Sept 23rd, as per a memo released to the dealerships in May. Official release of the '05 F150 is supposed to be Sept 20th. There will be a ton of Mustangs sitting outside the factory, as Ford will go over them with a fine tooth comb........... just like they did when the redesigned Expedition and redesigned F150 were released. They are just being very careful.

Thus, most of what is in the Blue Oval (kinda) News article is false. Another worker reported that the only problem they are having with heads is a shortage of supply on one part (this will also shut down the line).

Even Robert Lane had to admit (after much badgering on the BON forums) that the Ford GT information was only a rumor. Mr Lane always makes sure that there is JUST enough truth in his "factual" articles these days, so Ford can't sue him again.

dan05gtowner

We have an assembly worker on our boards and he says he hasn't heard of this problem at all. They are producing GT's as normal.