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Rear end damage
- Thread starter Chrispw24
- Start date
I find the interesting part on all this is that whenever a problem is found that causes a vehicle to lose power while driving, Ford always says that is dangerous and can cause injury or death. They then issue a recall to prevent that. In this case they do not say loss of power is dangerous (not to mention drive shafts possibly hanging loose), but the only danger is after you get it parked to the side of the road that the vehicle may roll away. I know this is all because of cost, and I am not personally real concerned about the problem, but it had to take a lot for Ford to ignore their usual safety procedures.
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Perhaps you could be more specific since you have first hand knowledge of a RWD platform? Did you completely disable traction control? Are you tuned? What RPM did you launch? That information is important. If you didn't disable the traction control, obviously, the ECU will go out of its way to limit wheelspin.
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New to my ST, and new to the forums, but I will say that I've done some extensive work on Ford IRS suspensions with my 2016 Shelby GT350, and one of the modifications I made to it recently might be a benefit to the "three-holer" ST owners. Here's a writeup I did about some improvements I made on my GT350: https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/4-56-gears-and-qa1-carbon-fiber-driveshaft.174916/
About midway down that writeup, you can see the larger bolts I used in all four differential mounts. I haven't yet been under my new-to-me 2020 ST (which I assume does have the four-bolt setup), but I suspect that like the S550 Mustangs, the differential cover could be drilled and tapped for a larger bolt than what Ford used from the factory.
I'll dig into this deeper the first time I put my ST on the lift, but this might be something to consider for the three-bolt setup.
About midway down that writeup, you can see the larger bolts I used in all four differential mounts. I haven't yet been under my new-to-me 2020 ST (which I assume does have the four-bolt setup), but I suspect that like the S550 Mustangs, the differential cover could be drilled and tapped for a larger bolt than what Ford used from the factory.
I'll dig into this deeper the first time I put my ST on the lift, but this might be something to consider for the three-bolt setup.
I think that’s a dang good idea. It’s likely what Ford is going to do to the LE vehicles and those that come in for warranty failures. Don’t know that for sure, but it seems likely and more economical for Ford vs subframe replacement. All speculation, but Ford likely had already considered the larger bolt option when they made the running change in production from 4 to 3 mount bolts.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
Welcome! A really nice write-up, but I'm not sure if it's entirely relevant. I don't think the ST with the current isolator has enough metal inside the isolator to install a much larger bolt, and while a larger bolt will certainly be harder to break, it hasn't changed the durometer of the single isolator- meaning the flex is still present.
Did this solve your wheel hop problem? If it did, the change in gear ratio would also have something to do with this.
Depending on the year, most of the STs already have a drilled and tapped second bolt hole. The problem is the subframe doesn't have the ring support for the second isolator. Some models also have a different differential cover with no provision or supporting bracing for the horizontal bolt. I haven't yet seen a really great solution for the single horizontal bolt- the AWR is probably best at this point, but according to @UNBROKEN another solution is on its way.
Did this solve your wheel hop problem? If it did, the change in gear ratio would also have something to do with this.
Depending on the year, most of the STs already have a drilled and tapped second bolt hole. The problem is the subframe doesn't have the ring support for the second isolator. Some models also have a different differential cover with no provision or supporting bracing for the horizontal bolt. I haven't yet seen a really great solution for the single horizontal bolt- the AWR is probably best at this point, but according to @UNBROKEN another solution is on its way.
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Yeah, I haven't been under mine yet, so I don't know if the rear bushing is the same size at the bolt or quite a bit larger as is the case in the Mustangs. I also don't know if there's enough clearance to drill them out without lowering the subframe, so this suggestion may be quite a bit more involved than just installing something like the AWR brace or whatever Unbroken's solution might be. Same issue probably exists for drilling and tapping the hole in the diff cover, too. It's never easy to fix a problem the factory created by being cheap.
You won't be able to get away from the flex of the factory bushing unless you replace it altogether, and while there's a lot of urethane bushings available for Mustangs, I don't know if anyone is making differential bushings for the Explorers yet. But still, a larger bolt means a stronger bolt, and even though it's still flexing the bushing, it hopefully isn't breaking the bolt.
Don't know, as I haven't been back to the track to test it with the 4.56 gears (never had a problem wheel-hopping on the street). Probably won't go, either. I've long since outgrown the need to go to the track just to see if I can break stuff on my car. I can do that well enough on the street.
You won't be able to get away from the flex of the factory bushing unless you replace it altogether, and while there's a lot of urethane bushings available for Mustangs, I don't know if anyone is making differential bushings for the Explorers yet. But still, a larger bolt means a stronger bolt, and even though it's still flexing the bushing, it hopefully isn't breaking the bolt.
Don't know, as I haven't been back to the track to test it with the 4.56 gears (never had a problem wheel-hopping on the street). Probably won't go, either. I've long since outgrown the need to go to the track just to see if I can break stuff on my car. I can do that well enough on the street.
Update, I got reimbursed. For context I paid out of pocket to swap the subframe to the correct model with the 2 bolts behind the rear diff. Took a while but the dealer cut me a check a couple months after the recall notice for parts and labor (had rarefab do the swap).
So there's some hope. Sawgrass Ford down in South FL for those are interested. Happy with them.
So there's some hope. Sawgrass Ford down in South FL for those are interested. Happy with them.
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I just picked up last Thursday, a brand new 22 right off the shipper to me from the dealership. Didn't even make it to the lot, I purchased it while it was in transport from the plant with 3 miles on the OD. I just looked under it and it is missing the 4th bolt like everyone elses here. So it looks like Ford is still shipping new ST's with this config. There is no recall under the VIN either... Maybe they are using a harder bolt now for the 3rd bolt in the mount?
