Performance cars may be engineered to take a beating, but that doesn’t mean they won’t break at some point for one reason or another. The Shelby GT350 is one of those hi-po cars, and a certain individual has experienced what can only be described as a catastrophic failure after 200 miles since it was delivered.
Bought new from a Ford dealership in Arkansas, the GT350 snapped one of its U-joints in grand fashion. Reddit user russellharral explains that his father's car was called back to the dealership a few weeks after taking delivery for some simple adjustments of the struts. Until the car was checked out by a mechanic, the Voodoo V8-engined pony started to and kept vibrating at approximately 60 miles per hour (96 km/h).
“The car was taken to the dealer for the strut work on December 16th and to assess the source of the vibration,” the owner said. “The strut work was performed and while the car was being driven by the dealership for alignment, the U-joint snapped.” The extent of the damage can be seen in the photo gallery, and it certainly isn’t a pretty sight given the retail price of the GT350.
First things first, a universal joint helps the rear axle of the ‘Stang move up and down in relation to the transmission without bending or snapping the shaft. That’s the purpose of a U-joint, and there are too many designs out there to list them all here. Analyzing the photographs taken by the owner with the damaged universal joint, it’s likely that a pre-existing crack in the yoke from a manufacturing error or from mishandling is the culprit of this catastrophic failure.
“Ford Customer Service has been contacted, and as of this time, neither the dealership nor my dad have heard any specifics on what they intend to do,” concluded the GT350 owner. Lawyering up and asking for a buyback may be the worst-case scenario for russellharral, but nevertheless, he would get all of his money back to buy something that doesn’t break after 200 miles when driven by a dealership employee.
“The car was taken to the dealer for the strut work on December 16th and to assess the source of the vibration,” the owner said. “The strut work was performed and while the car was being driven by the dealership for alignment, the U-joint snapped.” The extent of the damage can be seen in the photo gallery, and it certainly isn’t a pretty sight given the retail price of the GT350.
First things first, a universal joint helps the rear axle of the ‘Stang move up and down in relation to the transmission without bending or snapping the shaft. That’s the purpose of a U-joint, and there are too many designs out there to list them all here. Analyzing the photographs taken by the owner with the damaged universal joint, it’s likely that a pre-existing crack in the yoke from a manufacturing error or from mishandling is the culprit of this catastrophic failure.
“Ford Customer Service has been contacted, and as of this time, neither the dealership nor my dad have heard any specifics on what they intend to do,” concluded the GT350 owner. Lawyering up and asking for a buyback may be the worst-case scenario for russellharral, but nevertheless, he would get all of his money back to buy something that doesn’t break after 200 miles when driven by a dealership employee.