Jim Warman

We had an early build a long, long time ago that had a strange "flutter" kinda off idle.... I wasn't working on it so I'm unsure of all the details... turns out that repalcing the check valves was the eventual "cure"... Here is post 667 so everyone can breathe a sigh of relief... I was informed that we got an e-mail and an ESP inspector is NOT coming to view this trans... However.... they have requested date stamped photos of many, many things (IIRC, about 30 lines). These include pertinent things like a photo of the trucks licence plate.... a photo of the VIN decal.... a photo of the odometer.... a photo of the transmission tunnel.... a photo of the left exhaust manifold as close to the passenger compartment as possible.... a photo of the failed parts (this will be good since the rear over-running clutch doesn't <look> broken... it only acts like it...). The freakin' thing needs a transmission - give me a break... So... my first day of vacation is nearly done... I am about to go outside and hook up my holiday trailer - you guys will love this - IN THE RAIN /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif I will drive the 15 minutes to the lake and set up camp - IN THE RAIN... and then I will get pleasantly snoggered /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif L8r....

The question that bears asking.... and I relaize that there has to be a "cut off" point.... For fuel pressure - what makes 45 PSI "good" and 44 PSI "bad"... When we compare EOT to ECT... what makes 23F good and 26F bad.... How far are we expected or allowed to go when making judgement calls? The manuals are chock full of poor test procedures and specs... yet, if we follow the procedure to the letter and don't fix it, we might have a claim denied and if we don't follow the procedure (even though we fix it) we might have a claim denied...

I have a house that desparately needs siding... and I can justify a new Li-Ion 18 volt drill this way... At the same time, I think we made it through "month end" so there should be no more warranty stories to "fix up".. One point for me... But a warranty inspector doesn't believe what I found in a 5R55... I'll have to come in for that one when he gets here....one point for "them". The sad part is that I will never pass up the chance to "play with my toys" and, if the opportunity arises (and it hasn't for too long) I'll be there. I'm going in today to finish putting tools away.... I decided I would lock the "tool crib" this time.... first time in 5 years - I hope I can find my keys. Maybe some of those deadbeats will buy/manufacture" their own delights for a change. This will also give me a chance to drive the new to me car that I am not allowed to drive (even if it is raining and I can't put the top down). And, I have to lube my hoist up for the two weeks of abuse it will surely see.... Something I don't understand.... as a tool necessary for my job and my SAFETY, I am anal about my hoist.... Other techs wont listen to me until after something "happens"... After all the times I mention that a truck is just a machine... I can't even get techs to look at a hoist as just another machine....

I'm top heavy in apprentices, right now... I am lucky we are listening to the station we have.... It could be much worse... As for the "antics".... My DP is trying to "knacker" me citing my need to retain "credibility".... WTF is that? If I see too much "visiting", I speak up. The scariest thing is to realize that two apprentices have been helping each other for 15 minutes or more.... what are they busy trying to hide? Me? I "explode" on occasion - it don't last long... it is to the point... and I harbour no ill feelings after the deed is done. The reasons are simple.... you don't lie to me - you don't dare expect my customer to accept shit - you don't dare "not" learn from your mistakes (we all make them). Even though we are having a real time trying to attract techs, the shop asshole is expendable.... (we have more than one). I simply let them know that if anyone in my shop is going to be an asshole... it is going to be ME!!!! My DP doesn't need to agree with me.... all he needs to do is look at our CSI and our production.

Failing to think about the plugs at the back of the heads is truly embarassing..... I hate you, Bruce /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif Even more embarassing since I did have the doghouse off... did I mention I hate you, Bruce? And even worse since our mechanical fuel pressure test kit has a wide range of banjo bolt adapters that would probably have been the cats Meow.... Oh, yeah... I hate you, Bruce.... At the same time, the next time anyone has the heads off a 6.0, take a hard stare at the banjo bolts/check valves and the miniscule area that is present for the passage of fuel.... I have to believe that the engineers have considered BSFC and that these little GEMs are more than adequate for the task - in a stock engine. During the fuel crossover thread, I had a PM from one guy that was asking my opinion.... To my way of thinking, if there IS a restriction in the system, it will be these check valves. Adding a crossover isn't adding volume, per se.... but it is defeating part of the purpose of the valves. Now.... we know that Fords fuel pressure spec is 45 PSI. By and large, we rarely see anything over 42 PSI on a hard pull on the flat.... one in particular captured my imagination.... all the testing in the world, all the new parts they'd let me throw at it.. and several different gauges later.... 42 PSI (55ish in the bay). If the check valves are a restriction, would I see less than 42 if they were removed? I think we are about to embark on another learning experience - there is the chance that some of us (hi, guys) will have egg on our face.... But this is the first day of my vacation... and I have to go in to work /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif .... Oh, yeah... did I mention that I hate Bruce???? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

Bruce, I also spent many hours trying to get a fitting into the test port on an ambulance.... Finally gave up and went in line with the FCM and added "fudge factor" for the secondary filter (new). IIRC, the test port on the E-box points a different direction than on the F series... putting something on the inlet manifold directly in line with where the fitting wants to go....

I've never even heard of detorquing the heads for this..... and I'm pretty sure that Ford will tell you to replace the gaskets after something like that. We came a cross a broken rocker arm before they came up the the rocker arm tool - the tech that did the repair and hotline talked for a long time about detorquing even one headbolt to get the rocker arm support off.... It worked out OK in the end but it shows how anal we have to be about head gasket seal with this type of gasket... Kudos, however, for considering the ductility of the block when removing any fasteners.... Too many consider this large lump of cast iron to be immovable, impregnable and indestructible.... when, in truth, the internal dynamic forces must be whipping stuff into a frenzy.... just my opinion....

In our shop, we set up internet radio... Our station of choice is an Edmonton station.... the Bear 100.3. Each weekday, during the afternoon they have the "Yukon Yap...". Clicky is what they played a couple of days ago.... and it reminded me so much of some of our customers and most of the people on a public forum.

Dwayne..... I turn 29 for the 28th time next week.... cougars can be good when you get this old... I figured you'd be more like Tow Mater than cooter.... Besides, I don't think anyone can get more sarcastic than one nobody picked up on.... You may have seen it (if it didn't get pulled)... "there is a section in the WSM - how about that?" I start my holiday today.... the world, as you know it, could change.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

Undo the nut first... then spray it after....

Drafting up an "owner notification" document was something our sales department did early in the game... before we even got our first 6.4. It doesn't make the customer promise not to do anything, but it lists out the salient points that the saleman needs to discuss with the customer... The customer signs it to indicate that all the points have been declared... after that, he can sign up on TDS....

Squirt the exhaust manifold next to the head and see how long it takes for stuff to evaoprate....

We "used" to have one.... There's this guy in our shop (he used to live at my house for a while) that I would dearly love to be rid of.... But I don't know who he is.... Every time I ask who left on/shut off/bent/broke/lost/put away dirty/didn't put away/lent out/took home/gave away/misused this <ITEM>... everyone gives me a blank look and says the perpetrators name.... You all know him, too.... His name is "Not Me"....

I had one with the EGR cooler totally pooched.... this was way early in the 6.0s life.... Degas bottle was empty and I added a gallon of water.... and then another and then another and then..... Sometime during the 4th gallon, I started getting very suspicious.... It was still leaving the degas as quick as I could put it in and there was no puddle on the floor.... But about then, a drip started.... water... water leaking from the right side of the engine..... from the exhaust manifold. Every cylinder on that side with an open exhaust valve contained water... This, BTW, was on the truck with the melted oil filter standpipe... Kieth knows where the pic is... I sure don't....

Usually by the time I put the spray bomb on the work bench - occasionally, they will "play 'possum" and wait for you to climb up there with screwdriver in hand. It's not an exact science... but then neither is the 6.0 engine management system /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

After the PTO option is ordered, the customer comes to realize that all he got was a hole in the side of the transmission with a cover plate over it.... Now we can add the PTO itself and decide how we are going to drive our device.... pump and hydraulic motor? driveshaft? And then the PTO and <what-ever> comes with it's own baggage in terms of servicability and/or installation woes... A PTO mounted pump, the hydraulic lines, the transfer case and the front driveshaft are all competing for the same real estate... And something I very nearly forgot.... a lot of our 450/550 trucks have both an underhood compressor and a PTO mounted hydraulic pump to run the picker. The oil patch can be a unique place to work....

Mounting one of these compressors on the engine has its purposes... Driving one of these units off the PTO would add about $2G to the cost and expose the compressor to some nasty landscape. Driving one of these units off the front of the engine reduces the number of things the operator needs to remember.... This is the oil patch. Many of it's workers could fit everything they own in the back seat of their clapped out 15 year old Camaro - and some of these guys are approaching mid-life. If some of these companies wanted to be smart, they could just get a gas powered compressor and stick it on the deck... unfortunately, these things can become beer money in a heartbeat. A very good friend is district supervisor for a service rig company... He can often be heard uttering "Give 'em books and all they do is eat the pages...". I guess you have to experience it to appreciate it.

Lew.. I just get real defensive with this trade, any more.... I don't know if we can ever "fix" it since so many things have become accepted practice... I can set the expected standard in my shop... but I can't do that in every shop. The best I can do is offer "food for thought".... I am just abrupt enough that some folks can take me the wrong way.... FWIW... in my shop, I use what I learned both in my years in the trade as an entrepreneur and what I learned taking instructor courses with our fire department... "Fail forward". Mistakes are there to be made. Good judgement comes from experience.... unfortunately, experience comes from poor judgement. "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" - Jessica Rabbit

Don't get me wrong, flmmaz.... When I open my mouth, the very things I am thinking fall out. No animosity, no anger.... no uproar.... A long, long time ago, I tried a very short stint of selling Wynns Extend. I was taken in by the presentation in the shop and thought this stuff was the best thing since phone sex. Once they showed me how to present the product, I fell out of love. They did go through great pains to tell me how to handle nay-sayers. It was about that time that I started to doubt some of the claims made and, as a salesman, I failed miserably.

Diesel repair is so easy even a caveman could do it? I've probably got more hair on my back than that guy has on his face /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif BTW... that's not a push broom (that pic was taken after I trimmed it....), that's a "clam duster". Occasionally, I get asked if I'm related to Lanny McDonald.... We'll see about the photo....

I tried posting this in "site hub and member involvement" but. like so many other places I go, I don't have permissions (this is my first "dig" at Kieth}. I see that entering the portal page, we are treated to a handsome devil brandishing a precision implement.... Is that you Kieth? I can show you how to grow a real moustache, if you like.....

The V-Mac on a 6.0 is a cake walk compared to the 6.4. For your sake, I hope the installer thought about servicability when he did the deed.

flmmaz.... I invite you to spend a winter where I live.... The biggest concern with diesel owners at this point in time is the number of owners that bought a penis extension rather than the car they needed. These guys will be plagued with these concerns for the life of their truck. I get the feeling that your shop sells a lot of flushes of various kinds.... not my cup of tea and they go a long way towards instilling distrust in our trade.... I have made my stance clear with my bosses.... I will not abide chemical solutions (flushes) to concerns that cannot be corrected. (In our area, using a diesel as a grocery getter). Wynns, BG and others come up with things that look good in the sales presentation but have little value in the real world. All these services are designed for is to generate revenue. I firmly believe that each time we do a "flush" we lose that little bit more of our credibility... we aren't helping our customer, we are padding our nest.

I'm not against gain time.... depending. If a tech finds gain time by working smart, I'm all for it.... Too many techs find gain time by screwing somebody over - and this is going to become a repeat repair.... and an unhappy customer. A quick look at TDS indicates that there are techs out there that just don't get it..... Listening to the tech time broadcasts shows that there are techs out there that just don't get it. We can't deliver this shit to our customers. In our own store, I have some "menu" prices that I would reduce... except for the fact that we are cheaper than our local independant stores for the same service. However, I <AM> against raping the customer... can anyone justify getting paid two or three times what a job is worth? It's not about US.... We should be grown up enough to take care of ourselves.. It is about our customers.... For the first three years, they nearly "have" to come to us.... This is our opportunity to make them feel like they "want" to come to us after the warranty period has expired. SHIT!!! Why are we even having this fucking conversation??? What do we deserve as "gain time"? Why is there "gain time"? Who amongst us deserves gain time? Did we fix it right? Did we do it the first time? Did we change a rear main seal that was dry simply because that's what we quoted for some misbegotten reason? It's not about <US>.... it is about what we send out the door... it is about our customers and what they think of us.... Fair wage for knowledge/performance = yes.... raping customers = no.

I dunno... I've sat through countless miracle demonstrations for all manner of automotive chemicals... even been "wowed" by them the odd time..... until sanity settles back in. If I look into the intake manifold and see it is clean, I start to wonder about the EGR cooler.... As it is, my skeptical side is vibrating like a mad pimp. So let's analyze the process a little. First, we know there will be an "up front" cost in tooling... Sorry, my experience has shown this is usually cheap crap in a glitzy case.... overpriced, for sure, but this cost needs to be amortized into the price of the service. Cost of product for one service is in the neighbourhood of a C-note.... remembering that the parts department is probably going to purchase this for less and sell it to the shop at a profit... the cost of the chemical pack being amortized into the cost of the service. Now... the tech gets paid between 3.0 and 4.0 to do the deed. How much real time is actually spent on it? I'm getting the feeling that there is a lot of "gain" time in this process. "Some" gain time should (after study) show us techs that work smart... methodical, disciplined.. maybe they break a sweat. If there is "a lot" of gain time, I have to wonder if the customer isn't getting raped.... As you can tell, I don't abide flushes easily. Yes, I like to earn money (notice I said "earn" and not "make"). All too often, we will see department managers resort to some unique methods to improve the numbers they show to their boss.... To make the tech feel better (and to encourage the tech to sell the service), the gain time can be "significant". For me, that is bothersome. One of my dreams in life is for this trade to earn the respect, trust and admiration it deserves.... I guess the bottom line is "Would you pay someone that kind of money to do that service on your truck?".