Weekly excitement!
The quickest way for me to get onto the freeway in the morning is to go up over a big hill and down the backside to a little known onramp. Right as I get to the top of the hill I downshifted from third to second to keep the car from lugging at around 20mph. After doing so the car just dropped revs like it was in neutral, so I made sure it was in second gear, and it did the exact same thing. Then I tried third. Same issue. None of the gears worked. For those who have never been in a situation like this, it is not a great feeling. At. All. Luckily I was able to coast to the bottom of the hill and call AAA for a tow truck. Even with the car off and in gear, it wanted to roll downhill. I was looking for any visual sign of damage and couldn't see anything. After an hour the tow truck had arrived and loaded up the car. Off to Best of Show we went. When we got there Dick was cool enough to throw the car up on the lift right away to have a look. We were both a bit puzzled as to what the issue was. Nothing seemed to indicate a clutch or transmission failure. No, clunks, leaks, or crunching noises were ever heard. With the car in gear and up on the lift we were able to spin the rear wheels freely. Not a good sign right?
Here is what we found after taking the center section out of the car...
Yes, those are all of the bolts that are supposed to hold the ring gear in place. Over the last two years they slowly managed to all "fall out." My apologies for the poor photo quality from my aging cell phone, but I think you can all see those mangled and pinched bolts. Apparently the last bolt worked its way out right at the top of the hill. I'm not sure I have ever been so lucky in my life! It could have happened at speed while I was at the track, or it could have happened in stop and go traffic during morning rush hour if I had gone the other way.
I understand that these cars need a nut and bolt check on them periodically, and I always go over suspension and other critical parts of the car before driving on a track, but I'm betting none of you guys take your 9" assemblies apart to check over. I wouldn't be that upset about it, but I purchased this part from DSE who uses a Moser Assembly. I think the idea here is that both myself and DSE are putting our trust in Moser. Maybe it is just me, but I don't think something like this should ever happen. Those bolts were a little on the short side, but most of all, they had zero evidence of any type of thread locker, nor did they have washers. It would be one thing if I pulled the housing apart one day and one bolt fell out, but all ten? What if one of the bolts had fallen out and been kicked up into the gears while I was driving? This could have been disastrous. I haven't even called Moser up. Anyone thing it is worth while? I'm sure all I will get is a typical, "we've never seen that happen before," response...
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
It's like a ball of yarn unwinding, that has no end... Author DKz Garage
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