mchan68

Now I don't feel so bad. I think I might keep that in mind next time FoMoCo wants to give me a "free gift".

I got T4'd $700 for my attendance at the Summit in 2010.

This thread is the perfect example of why I refuse to perform engine swaps on vehicles where the owner elects to source the engine from a boneyard, unless the donor engine came from an identical model year.

I have replaced more than my share of fan clutches for P0528/P0480 and for failing to reach >2800 RPMs when active commanded to 100% @ engine RPMs of 2500.

Awwwwww c'mon guys. You mean to tell me you'll all be dickheads and tell the customers to leave their trucks if you get a 2003 truck needing an ICP sensor after they've just driven it for two hours on a hot 95*F day??? You mean to tell me you won't let them wait for it to be changed out? You guys are mean.

A 2011 E-350 6.8L V10 with 20,000 kms. with cylinders #1, #2, #4 and #5 with spun connecting rod bearings. A 2005 F-350 needing the "6.0L tune-up MAJOR" leaving a white coolant trail the moment it's started up, EOT pegs at 240*F and the coolant bottle just balloons up from driving around the block. A 2004 F-250 in on the hook that another shop tried re-installing the FICM they sent out to be rebuilt, now needing a FICM harness and cylinder #8 injector because they were too aggressive with the connectors. And last, but not least, a Brazilian 2008 F-4000 with a 3.9L inline 4 Cummins engine in for a service.

Oh I'm well aware of the cost. Trust me. I'm one of those idiots that doesn't mind paying, as long as I get what I pay for. And about the oil changes, I do mine every 5,000 kms. RELIGIOUSLY just like I used to in all my other previous vehicles.

Do you guys feel that 5W40 is worthwhile to run in these engines, over the 10W30 I use for oil changes all year round?

I remember one occasion where our previous coffee truck truck driver came in with a dead cylinder #8 injector. He couldn't leave it, to cool for me, so I ended up laying one of those used placards on top of the engine (since he had driven it to China and back before bringing it to me), to lay on top of, while I changed out his injector. So yeah, Matt I can relate very well to having the oil rail too hot to touch. Even with the placard on the engine, my back was completely drenched in sweat by the time I finished. Too bad he got out of the business when his cylinder heads finally lifted off the block shortly after.

When you guys say "right side pipe", do you mean the EGR cooler and exhaust manifold up-pipe (which to me is the PASSENGER side), or the actual Y-pipe (which to me would be the DRIVER side)?

THIS from a man who NEVER does cab-offs?

Keith, c'mon you're a tech. You should know better than anyone else that it's time to ditch the Explorer. A boneyard with a tow truck will give you more money for it, than it's worth for you to even fix just ONE of the problems on your list. If being down one vehicle is such an issue, perhaps it's time to see the boys in the front door. Yes, it sucks just getting out of payments on one vehicle into another set. But you need to ask yourself, what's more costly to you. Taking up your WORK time to fix YOUR car, or biting the bullet to get yourself into another?

Brad, you took the words right out of my mouth. They DID discontinue CVTs for a reason. BTW, remember the co-worker I told you about, that was hot and horny about making his '97 4.0L SOHC Explorer a 5.0L? Well, he finally went out and bought himself a high mileage '99 for the cheap. He's been playing around with it for the last two months. He actually went to the trouble of yanking the engine/trans for a full overhaul.

It sucks doesn't it, when our own rides break? Yet, our own rides are always the last ones to be fixed, aren't they? I guess after wrenching on others' rides day in, day out, the last thing we want to have to deal with is having to repair our own rides. You know Keith, I just got rid of my '95 Crown Vic that I put 450,000 kms. on it back in November. I Bought it when it was only 2 years old. The main reason for getting rid of it (besides the age) was mainly that the body started to rust at all the quarter panels. If the body was still half decent, I probably would still be driving it today. I guess New Jersey winters have taken their toll on your 12 year old ride. BTW, are you near Parlin or Plainsboro?

It's good to see I'm not the only one who thought of the method of air testing an early 6.0L like you described: The nice thing about doing this, is your taking the HPOP and IPR out of the equation and very quickly determining if you're going left or right. By the way, since you have it off, have a look at the under side of the HPOP cover. Does it look like this? Because if it does, you may want to replace with a new cover that looks like this: The purpose of the machined groove in the updated cover is to prevent the discharge tube from contacting the cover and eventually rubbing through, creating a high pressure oil leak source.

I've come across a couple of those. Mind you not very many. It helps when you have a P02XX cylinder X contribution fault flagged in memory, but it sucks when you have no DTCs flagged. I'll assume that unplugging cylinder #3 injector was how you managed to restore it to a running status.

And that is exactly the whole point of me telling my story. Getting back on topic, HE is definitely the kind of manager that will take one of these trucks in on a trade, with emissions devices tampered with, or removed and expect me to sign off on it. At least that's the sense I get. So what would YOU do, if you were in a situation like this, and the manager told you to sign off on the vehicle but you refused? What if he oversteps you, and goes to your manager or even the dealer principal? This is the same manager that screwed up an order for 100 new Ford Focuses for our local parking control outfit, and ended up with all manual transmission Focuses on the first batch of the order that arrived (some of which we are STILL stuck with). Hence how I nicknamed him "Manual Tranny Manny". This is the same manager that is trying to bring trucks from other dealers that need WARRANTY work done, and onto our doorstep, whether the truck really needs repairs or not. And the real point to all this is, how do I handle a situation like this? I have thought about expressing my concerns and to put into writing to hand to our dealer principal regarding this man's tactics, but have held off. But for how much longer, I don't know. I just know that sooner than later, .

Since we're on the subject of viral videos, you guys are gonna just love this one: ....and the thing all those involved in the above are going to remember for YEARS, is it was all over $5.

Well, not to stray too far off topic, here's a situation that I would love to hear Jim's opinion on. My Fleet Sales manager (who also happens to be in charge of truck sales, what a joke that is) approached me about three weeks ago with an unusual request. A 2011 F-350 truck came in on the hook as a no-start/engine runs rough complaint about six to seven prior to said "request". After a very brief pre-liminary inspection, I quickly determined the truck to have been fueled up with GASOLINE (the truck is a 6.7L). At this point, I started a Hotline contact just to make sure I have a "paper trail" to back me up on the quote I was about to submit. As you can imagine, the reaction of the truck owner was less than pleasant upon being presented with the quote. I am then informed that the customer denied fueling the truck up with gas. Soooooo, at this point I noticed the truck was left in a bit of a pig sty. I happened upon a bunch of fuel receipts lying around the interior, so I grabbed the most recent one with the pump number and date as well as address info. A quick phone call to the station CONFIRMED it is a gas pump. Upon being presented this information to the customer, now the story is changed to, "well I lent my truck out to a buddy to move his fridge. HE must've been the one to fill it up with gas". I don't give a rat's ass WHO filled it up, the bottom line is, gas is in it, and that's why it doesn't run (or run very well). Such a shame too, it was a fully load Lariat with less than 5K on the clock (not even due for it's first oil change yet!!!). Here's where it gets hairy. Said fleet manager comes and approaches me, and asks me, "Mike, how can put this through under warranty?". ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL?!!!! That's when I explained to him very briefly what warranty is supposed to cover and what it won't. And WTF was it his business anyways? Well, apparently it was one his buddy's truck. AWWWWW, too bad so sad. So, the truck ended up sitting on our lot for another three weeks before it ended up being towed away to another shop after I was paid for my diag. Fast forward to about three weeks ago. This fuckhead approaches me, and reminds me of this truck. He goes on, to inform me that the owner now wants to trade this truck in for a '12 or '13 model year truck. Apparently, he managed to get the truck "fixed" at Summit Ford for $2000, and now runs with no issues. But since, there was a CuDL file opened, with it fully documented that the truck has been filled with gas, and the customer declined to proceed with the needed repair, the "manager" is now concerned about having this information in it's history, and asks me to remove it!!! Before I go on, I'll wait for some of your opinions ......

That has got to be the most classless bitch I have ever seen in my entire life!!! Almost worse than trying to imagine even any half decent looking woman let a fart rip or take a dump in the middle of the street for everyone to see.

Holy shit. Just ONE new cylinder head alone from Ford could cost you that much, never mind the rest of the parts.

Just curious, why would you NOT want to lift the cab? Even more so, is if you're doing a complete engine, which I assume you mean includes turbos and engine harness, correct?

How much did those cylinder heads and engine harness set you back if you don't mind me asking?