Brad Clayton

This job totally sucks on the first one you do. After the first one you definitely get the hang of what to unbolt and not to. The problem is you have to do more than one to get back what you lose on the first one. I was flabbergasted when I saw my time sheet for the first one I did. And yes the pre 11's are still under 4 hours from key to key.

I especially like the "visible flame" code.......wait a tick mr. customer, I think I saw a tsb on that!

Has a concerned customer been under the hood degreasing the engine?

Amen, I still pull the trans.

These units are equipped with a scroll style compressor and the pressures will fluctuate under normal operation. However, if you are seeing the pressures you mentioned and it cools with higher rpm and doesn't cool at idle, then the compressor is shot. You can't beat a piston compressor for cooling capacity at low rpm's!

I'm not really bothered by the fuel injectors coming out, it's the exhaust valves dropping into the cylinders that seems to be of some concern. Hearing lots and lots of these types of failures.

Quote: Seniors on fixed incomes (I will be one of those all too soon) BTW....Happy Birthday!

Long before Katrina came along, South Carolina was hit by a little 'ol hurricane named......Hugo. It is amazing what we as "civilized" people take for granted until we are without. Now I am not talking about power and running water, I mean the really taken for granted items......ice and toilet paper. These fucking assholes and bandits were scalping toiletries and ice for lots o cash back then. Don't even get me started on the complete fucking degenerates who sexually assaulted all the women and possibly some men at the make shift shelter in the New Orleans super dome during Katrina. Those were truly bad times on the plight of humanity.

Our ideals are definitely aligned. We had a retired car jockey come in the other day with a skip on his Expedition. So he retired and became a driver for the dealer and now he retired from that......check. The rig he drives should have been retired along time ago. I looked at it and it needed quite a few coils and I just happened to have a 5.4 I was scrapping out. He is once again motoring down the highway and I took care of the parts and the dealer took care of the labor.

Uh, and all this time I was worried about the valve seats...pfft.

ATTN: to anyone using my 6.4l short block PDF. Ford has updated the body removal procedure and cab bolts are no longer being replaced. I will update the document to reflect this and it will be available soon. From the shop manual: Quote: Prior to reusing the body support mounting bolts, use a wire wheel to clean all thread lock material from the threads. Apply threadlock and sealer to the threads of all body support mounting bolts prior to installation.

Speaking of work....is anybody actually working today?

With that said, I don't think I could handle being in a cubicle all day. I do like the amount of freedom we have with our job. I am always driving a vehicle before and after repairs and I don't know of any other job that I could work at were I could drive all the latest and greatest Ford products out there. Just a small perk in my opinion.

How bout snail mail!

I was going to be an architect.

Ditto on the torque convertor, forgot all about that scenario, haven't seen one like that since my last 7.3 with no power. I take them over to this parking lot down the street that has this really steep grade, to test them from a stop. Every once in a while we get a '03 that needs a relearn and yes if we get in a hurry we beat the PCM to the punch and it will exhibit no power and is very difficult to initiate a relearn once you screw it up.

disregard my post then.

Quote: I've got an 04 F-350 ambulance Is this an early '04 (ICP in HPOP cover)? If so and it has had the PCM reflashed at anytime in it's life, then you will have to do a turbo relearn. This tsb covers it extensively: 9-15-6 6.0L - BUILT ON OR BEFORE 9/29/2003 DTCS P006A, P132B, P0401 OR P0402 - LACKS POWER, SURGE, OR FLUTTER AFTER FIELD SERVICE ACTION 06E17 IF this applies to you, then you will not have any power off the line until a relearn is performed.

Quote: Some have given up. When I started at the dealer I am at now in 2003, we were running 15 techs in a 15 bay shop. We are now at 9 techs and they have just given up hope and accepted that. 2 or 3 are actively looking to get out now (myself included). Shop could fold at any moment with that outlook.

Saturday was a busy day by design. I had to work from 8 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon at the dealership. After work I needed to drive to Keene NH to pick up parts for my motorcycle. Keene is a quaint little college town and is located about 20 miles east of Brattleboro where I work. Next I had to drive all the way back through Brattleboro and continue on to Whitingham Vermont which is about 45 miles southwest and just above the Massachusetts border. I do an occasional side job for a dairy farmer there. This trip involved a no start on his 2006 Super-Duty equipped with a V-10 and I needed the numbers off a rear end tag of his 2000 Super-Duty so I could order parts to re clutch the rear end. After a long half day of changing oil and performing state inspections added to my list of also installing a 5.4 in a 2006 F-350, I had worked up a bit of an appetite. There is a Mobile gas station across from the dealer on the other side of a rotary (traffic circle, roundabout, or what have you). This Mobile has a chuck wagon deal in the parking lot that sells Thai food. Now I enjoy Chinese food (American-Chinese that is) and I enjoy Japanese food even better, but I absolutely crave Thai food. When a person lives in Vermont, Thai food is a little hard to come by. My favorite menu item is the Thai roll. A Thai roll is about half the size of a spring roll but they pack twice as much flavor. So I am gazing out across the dealership at the gas station and contemplating lunch when I notice two sport bikes in the parking lot under a shade tree. These two blokes must be taking a much needed break from a long ride. I love sport bikes but they are uncomfortable as hell. I head down to the bank and get cash; it seems most food trucks are still clinging to the old ways of doing business. The Mac truck drives right into the parking lot and takes my debit card, so what gives? When I make it back to the Mobil, the bikes are still there. I put my order in for 2 Thai rolls and 2 chicken thingys on a stick and head over to the bikes to give a little better look while my order is cooking. Well it seems the riders are taking an unexpected mandatory break. The bike I was really interested in was hung up in second gear and the trip was over for one of them. The bike was a KTM (Austrian) RC8-R. Now I didn’t even know KTM made a sport bike and this thing was bad ass. This bike was much nicer than my common gutter trash GSX-R although, uh…….mine runs flawlessly. I didn’t attempt to offer any mechanical assistance because I don’t even work on my own bike. So instead I offered logistical assistance and help with the unfamiliar area to them. The owner of the bike resided in Boston and driving home in second gear was not an option. By now its 2 o’clock on a Saturday and the town is closing up tighter than a drum. No rental car places are open including Budget, U-haul and the like. Added to this, no tow companies will come for the bike when they find out it’s a full fairing sport bike valued in the neighborhood of $25k. The owner is less than impressed and starting to come unraveled. I offer to put the bike in the shop next to my toolbox; I state it will be safe over the weekend until he can sort it out. After a few more last ditch efforts he takes me up on my offer. The bike gets stored safely and now we are off to the bus station to get him a ticket home. The only problem with that is the bus station closed up [literally] and is in limbo until July. Next we head over to the Amtrak station and find out they only make one run a day from Brattleboro and that is at noon. The guy is trying not to get his wife out of the house because they have a new born and he had to beg to go on the ride to begin with. I offer to give him a ride home. I mean why not? By now it is past 4 o’clock and all my plans have fallen by the wayside. I call my wife and see if she is up for a road trip, which she always is, and it’s settled. Dane [bike owner] is grateful but can’t accept. We argue back and forth like two guys trying to pass a 20 dollar bill back and forth for helping each other out and finally agree on meeting half way. We drove to Holyoke Mass and his wife met us at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. We exchanged info and parted ways and my wife and I had a nice meal and visited with family two blocks down the road. The trip was well worth it and we killed a couple of birds with one stone. Monday turned into Tuesday and Wednesday brought rain, a lot of rain on Thursday and Friday. Around lunch on Friday, there was a dry spell and Dane’s buddy picked the bike up. Man was I relieved to get that thing out of my hair. It was kind of like trying to keep a Lamborghini in a grocery store parking lot. Dane was extremely appreciative of my hospitality and I would have done it again the same way to help anyone out. Well I was sitting around the house today and Fedex dropped off a package addressed to me. I didn’t order anything at least that I knew of. I opened the package and it was a brand new tail bag for my sport bike. The item was a gift from none other than Dane, the fellow I helped out a week ago. As we were talking, I casually mentioned that I ride with a backpack to keep my gear in and hate it. I stated that I had my eye on a Kriega us 20 tail bag but didn’t have the funds at the moment to get it. I tell you this guy must have one hell of a memory because I would have never remembered a bit of info like that in idle chit chat! I was completely blown away and it beat Christmas, my birthday, and Fathers Day hands down as far as surprises go.

I'm thinking I need a.......nanny to read to me. Oh, somewhere in the 22 year old range with nice long legs and short skirts, you know someone you can take out in public. Having trouble getting the Mrs. on-board with the idea though.