Hi there
So Friday I drove back from Bedford, car was fine, parked up, check oil on Sunday, no use, coolant on max no used. Dropped car off with wheel refurbishment company on Monday to have new tyres and wheel colour changed as most of you know I am not fond of the stock silver colour. So went with a sparkle dark silver whilst I wait for my FS02 wheels in brushed in arrive, due end of August.
Wheel company call me today, car is ready to collect, OK I respond I shall come in a few hours. They call me an hour later to say when they moved my car they noticed a pool of oil, so they looked underneath the car and noticed subframe covered in oil.
So instantly I am thinking what have these idiots done to my car, no oil leaks on my drive, never used a drop. Anyway I stay calm and go to collect the car and they show me the oil and yet car is covered in oil. I check the level and it is just over minimum its lost nearly 1l, I check mileage and it seems they have not driven the car, I check engine and no holes in it leaks from up top. So thankfully I have the 1l Castrol 5W-20 green stuff in the boot, I throw it in and back on max.
Starts up fine sounds fine so I risk driving it to Ford as thankfully only 1-2 mile down the road and engine is cold, so I set up keeping revs under 1500rpm. I get there and as parking I can smell oil, shut off, get out and I can see oil dripping fast from the car. Re-check level it has used just shy of half a litre in that short distance.
Ford rush the car on the ramp and stop other jobs there and then. Check level and say OK its above minimum but not on max, they start up for a few seconds and its coming out again, so shut off. Also notice coolant dropping too and mayo forming in the tank and water is coming from under the car.
So it looks like oil cooler, get a tiny mirror and yep a pin size hole in the oil cooler that has water and oil seeping fast from it, they say not to worry as the oil in the engine is not mixing and is normal for water and oil to come from oil cooler blah blah.
They say there is nothing the wheel shop could have done to cause this because the oil cooler is shielded so it must have being defective from factory with a weak spot and to be really thankful they spotted it otherwise the first sign I would have got would be engine low pressure warning or level at which point damage could have possibly being causes but as the oil level has not gone below minimum so still over 7l oil in there no damage.
They will change oil cooler, change oil and filter and do a coolant flush and change. The bad news no idea on leadtime for oil cooler and they never done even an oil change on a Mustang yet let alone such warranty work.
So left it with them, they are going to fix and do the other warranty work such as scratched glass, paint defects and broken puddle lamp whilst with them, but it could take a week or a month, no one knows right now.
So real bad luck but purely coincidence and not caused by wheel fitters as no damage to parts surround the oil cooler so not like they took it out amd crashed or hit something and no way a stone could flick up and hit the cooler as it is surrounded and protected by trays.
I have NC500 July 21st so now might not be able to attend in the Mustang to a Mustang NC500 event, will have to go in the BMW and I can see some people objecting to that but hey, a car is a car, four wheels and a steering wheel, so what does badge matter, about having a good time. But seriously I'd far rather do NC500 in a nice comfy GT with all the toys rather than a stripped out M3 with no toys.
Anyway on a positive note I far prefer my new wheel colour:
Shame I can't enjoy the MPSS I just fitted all round and yes did all four in the end due to worrying about time running out due to NC500, so 1k on wheels and tyres and cannot even drive it.
