If any readers have a certain spec of Blue Oval workhorse in their fleet, they best pay attention to a recent recall from Ford. The company is recalling 223,628 Super Duty pickups to deal with an issue of faulty powertrain components. At fault are driveshafts that can apparently fracture under a specific set of conditions.
According to the NHTSA, certain F-250 and F-350 models equipped with gas engines and aluminum driveshafts can suffer problems with underbody thermal/acoustic insulators which may loosen over time and eventually make contact with the driveshaft. This could score or otherwise damage the shaft, potentially leading to failure due to localized overload condition caused by a reduction in material thickness. In other words, the insulators could gouge the rapidly spinning driveshaft and weaken it to the point of fracture. Inadequate adhesion of the insulators to the underbody is pointed to as a root cause.
The NHTSA spells out what could happen in such a scenario, saying a fractured driveshaft may result in “loss of motive power while driving” or unintended vehicle movement while the vehicle is in park if the parking brake is not applied. There could also be secondary damage to surrounding components if things hit the fan. It is also noted that a fractured driveshaft could contact the ground, a circumstance which may cause havoc while driving in addition to the loss of power to the driven rear wheels.
Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group apparently dug into this problem last December, conducting samples and studies to determine the specific problem. Ford is aware of 40 reports received between July 2017 and November 2021 alleging busted driveshafts potentially related to these faulty insulators. Ford is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition. New trucks currently rolling off the line do not have this issue thanks to a rolling change in December which replaced the offending insulator with an under-carpet thermal patch.
Owners of affected vehicles, which were not produced in a sequential group of VINs, will be notified by Ford in early April. Dealers are already in the know, so check with yer friendly service department if you don’t want to wait until just before Easter. So you’ve all ducks in a row, the NHTSA recall number is 22V-087 and the manufacturer recall number is 22S09.
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That famous Ford quality strikes again. Bold Moves indeed.
What job is quality at Ford?
“Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group apparently dug into this problem last December, conducting samples and studies to determine the specific problem. Ford is aware of 40 reports received between July 2017 and November 2021.”
Been happening since 2017. Ford finally got around to looking into it in December of 2021.
Ford was fast on this one…only took them 3.5 years.
I worked at a software company in the early 90s, about 100 employees, which had a contest to come up with a new slogan. Being software people, we suggested the obvious “At XXX, quality is job number 0.” It was not accepted.
Where I come from, 98% is a solid A. You guys are way too critical. :-)
Ford recalls trucks; brodozer owners affected most. Details at 11.
My truck doesn’t seem to be affected for some reason, so I guess I can afford to idly wonder how long it would actually take an insulation shield to wear through a driveshaft….
On our dirt bikes something as simple as a nylon tie wrap will eventually cut right through a MUCH thicker swingarm.
You would think the aluminium would destroy the tie wrap but this isn’t the case.
On the half tons, which had the same issue, the underbody insulation was only included in the higher trims.
“…eventually make contact with the driveshaft. This could score or otherwise damage the shaft…”
Serious question – Wouldn’t this make some noise? (Before reaching the point of failure I mean)
From the report: “Operators may… hear a rattling, clicking or clunking noise due to a loose underbody insulator contacting the driveshaft.”
Scraping against aluminum can produce some horrendous noises. What kind of material is the “underbody insulator” made of?
This is one time that Ford truck owners are begging Ford to give them the shaft.
I’ll try the veal!
Seriously, I’d hate to see what happens if one of these starts pogo-sticking at 75mph in heavy traffic!
“What kind of material is the “underbody insulator” made of?”
Tool steel, apparently – with the transmission and differential acting as the headstock and tailstock in a lathe.
Good on Ford for saving at least $.23 per truck on that driveshaft insulation adhesive.
On “late” Corvairs, the ’65-’69 models that use the rear suspensions with halfshafts with two u-joints – similar to the C2 and C3 Corvette (except Corvairs used coil springs instead of the Corvette’s transverse leaf spring), the heater duct hoses run above the halfshafts, from the lower shrouds on the engine, to the heater box located under the package tray.
When the duct hoses deteriorate, they can split open and sag (there’s a band hanger on each side, that holds the hose up away from the halfshaft), and the spring steel reinforcing wire in the hose can contact the halfshaft. It’s spring steel vs. a mild steel tube, so the harder wire can wear a groove in the softer shaft, eventually cutting the shaft in two (I know of at least one documented case). The ’66 I owned years ago had bad duct hoses, and before I replaced them, the left one had worn a shiny ring in the halfshaft.
So, I wonder if the fix will be to pull off the thermal shield underneath, then pull the seats and carpet, and install the thermal patch under the carpet? That would mean more labor cost, but would be a permanent fix.
The repair will be 99% labor, 1% parts, and I can’t imagine what the tab will be for a quarter million trucks.
Maybe they’ll just install a couple self-driving screws (or rivets) from the bottom.
They’ll rivet them up, and that’s a future rust issue if not correctly treated and sealed by the knucklehead sorry tech. Just remove and toss if you ask me.
That’s exactly what would happen if Ford just rivetted or screwed them back in they would rust. That would lead to future recalls and a blackeye for Ford.
Is the cab floor aluminum like the body panels?
I can picture Ford rolling each truck over a pit containing a hapless employee armed with a Hilti gun.
“Only three shots per truck, New Guy! If I hear four the last one had better be sticking out of your neck!”
Related: “Slow down, New Guy! Farley says there are too many of us.”
As your heading so aptly puts it:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sem non luctus. Ut dolor nisl, facilisis non magna quis, elementum ultricies tortor. In mattis, purus ut
I think level heads are also understanding that there is an extreme EV bubble right now and if Ford spun this off, it probably would eventually would pop and probably wipe out 90%+ of its value.
The concept that Lucid and Rivian have several times the market cap of established auto companies like Ford, GM, Honda, etc is absolutely ludicrous.
You’d think they’d use a more robust driveshaft on a HD. I bent a driveshaft offroad on a 3/4 ton I owned. I was on vacation in a remote part of the world and was able to drive 500 miles home.
You don’t like the military-grade aluminum in the driveshaft? Check out the HD fan blade material choice.
@ToolGuy – aluminum is fine as long as it can hold together under abuse.
I did several combat missions in an aluminum skinned vehicle that never failed to get me home so I don’t think the toughness of the metal is the issue here.
Surprising that the driver wouldn’t hear the insulation grinding on the shaft if it’s enough to start machining the tube. FWIW my 99 Sonoma has an aluminum driveshaft and it’s the cleanest looking part on the underside of the chassis. Not sure what they use for a coating (if anything) but it looks like new. Good work, Am Axle Three Rivers! Gone but not forgotten.
Maybe Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group should look into the fuel in oil issue with the Ranger. Ford is denying they have a problem even when Ranger owners present independent lab analysis of the issue. My Ford dealer even refused to document my request for it to be looked into. They refused to do an oil analysis. And Ford Customer Service refused to do anything unless my engine blows up under warranty.
There are over 150 pages with this discussed at https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/fuel-in-oil.4803/page-150
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