Golions said:
I wouldn't necessarily call 250 people, many of which have just jumped on the wagon, a "common problem". Of the 250, reduce the number by people who may have over-modded or abuse their trans. The 250 number drops further. How many Mustangs has Ford put the 3650 in? Maybe 100K per year? After you answer that, come up with a percentage. I think it is pretty small in Ford's eyes when it comes to contemplating a recall.
I think the "blinders", as you say, are on you and many people in this thread who constantly hear of only problems with the 3650. Anyone who posts anything positive is told not to post. When you read something over and over you start to beleive it is truth. That is what is happening in this thread. That is blinders my friend.
I am not saying that the 3650 isn't problem free. Obviously there are people with issues. I just think working within the dealer warrenty service realm will work the best. For every person on this forum who has been "denied service because the tranny is acting normal", there have been twice the number of people who have found dealers to do the service work. If one dealer won't look at it, find one that will. If you happen to live in an area with only 1 Ford dealer within a 60 mile radius (compalints which I have heard here before), maybe you should have not chosen to buy a Ford. If you knew you had limited Ford services in your area and chose one anyway, it was your decision and you need to travel excess distances for service. By the way, this is just my opinion.
GiddyUp!
Ford makes approximately 45,000 Mustang GTs a year. About 40% of these have 5-speeds. The T3650 started in 2001 model years... so we're talking about 3yrs * 45,000 cars * 40%, or 54,000 cars. Add in the Mach 1s, Bullitts, and Cobras and you probably have 70,000 cars, total. This is not 100,000 cars per year... but what you posted is still true. The same concept still applies.
I would be willing to bet that most people with a T3650 have made it crunch a few times. It's possible to shift this transmission very fast (at least compared to the T56 or the T5). There is a school of thought among some people that whatever you do with the shifter while the clutch is down ought to be OK. When you're dealing with big torque, and a relatively lightweight transmission, that school-of-though is not necessarily correct, IMO.
I guess the most honest, helpful thing I can say is this: my T3650 has crunched about 1/2 dozen times in the cold, usually speed shifting into 2nd or 3rd. At the time, it pissed me off. I figured, "WTF? the clutch is down." If I had seen this thread at the right time, I probably would have been among the loudest complainers.
What happened to change my mind? 1) I took the car to the track and it performed flawlessly, 2) I realized the car would be slower, heavier, and more expensive with the T56, and 3) I saw the practical, easy suggestions I was making on these threads being ignored. I posted some quotes from old service manuals about avoiding speed-shifts and about checking drivetrain alignment... completely ignored.
You want a class action lawsuit? Fine, go for it... but there are easier ways to address this, which
people are completely ignoring. Ultimately that's why I'm not joining in with the complaints here. You want me to admit the 3650 is a little flimsy? Fine, no problem. But I'm not going to blame Ford for the cases where people are going through 2 or 3 transmissions and messing them all up. In cases like that, I have little doubt that the driver is at fault. And I'm not going along with the T56-mania that seems to have taken hold here.
