DieselD

Finally the SSDs are becoming affordable in larger storage sizes! I upgraded on old 2009 Macbook Pro SSD recently to keep her alive for a couple more years. Also my Dell XPS I use for work got specd with a 500GB ssd and it was a wise choice. 

We have alot of 6.2s in the fleet and only one has lost a valve spring. I wanna say it was around 60k miles. WE have some 6.2s starting to close in on 200k with zero issues

at least its not a 6.4 like the old ones I had to work on

Its about damn time! 

I absolutely love the TA-31 silicone ever since discovering during the 7.3 days. I use it for everything! and I mean everything! I once plugged up a hole in the shop wall that was pouring water in from a rain storm that had flooded the drainage ditch next to the building! 

 

How much a pain is it to get the hood off?

 

Not a pain at all other than you have to put it somehwere which could be a problem if your shop has limited space. 

 

One electrical connector, two hood props pop off, one safety cable and then the four hinge bolts at the bumper. Two people or three can safely move it off the truck and set it down. If you work on a lot of these I can see this becoming a common occurrence. And it is the first step in the WSM as I mentioned.

 

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Look familiar?

 

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That sure makes it look easier to work on. Currently we only have two of these and both are located out of state. However we will see more in the fleet sooner then later

How much a pain is it to get the hood off?

Yes cab and chassis vgt turbo. We thought it might have been a bushing turbo as well which is why it had us stumped.

That's number 4 engine failure this month. 2 6.7s and 4.6 gas and 4.8 chevy

Nope turbo bearings, pulled a core apart today and sure enough that's where they came from

Size reference

2012 F550 with about 112k miles Motor is very hard to turn over by hand and will not stay running. This was found in the pan but I can't seem to place where these bearings would have come from. It just had a turbo and dpf replaced due to a broken compressor shaft. These seem to be too big to be bearings in the turbo? The other debris seem to be bearing material.

The truck is at a trust worthy independent shop out of state so I have not personally seem it myself but the tech and I had a lengthy conversation about it and we both are stumped. Any ideas ?

 

It sure doesn't help that Ford has lost their everflippin' mind,,,,,,anybody seen the buzz on the message boards about all the new labor cuts and labor justification video?

 

But don't worry, EFC05852 2017 Recall Incentive Program will make it all better! (see attachment) EFC05852.pdf

 

Can we refuse to perform recalls? I mean it's not like we are under contract to work on their vehicles are we?

 

Things like this make me very happy I do not work for a dealer any longer! Between fomoco and the dealership they are going to run any and all smart techs right out the door! 

 

Wow Joe, that was an insightful look at it and from a different perspective than most here have. I hope Brad has something to add now that he is teaching as well.

 

Thanks Keith.  I used to work as a Tech too.  I started as a dealership tech (mostly GM stuff), and spent some time in independent shops too.  The problem is certainly not isolated to dealers.  It exists in independent and fleet shops too.  My buddy runs a high end shop in NY ( www.cantechautomotive.com ) .  Try finding guys that are qualified to work on Ferraris and Porsches!  

 

I used to teach with a guy that instructed since the 60s.  He was a pretty quiet guy, but spoke up one day when we were having the exact same conversation at lunch.  Fran said "The difference in students today is that they need step by step instructions on everything."   He said years ago a truck could come to the shop to deliver an engine.  You could tell 2 kids "Get that engine off the truck for me, please."  They would:

Go find the fork lift.

Grab the engine off the truck.

Uncrate it.

Unwrap it.

Find the cherry picker.

Find a chain.

Find the right bolts to mount it.

Hoist it and,

Put it on a stand.

 

Today, you'd have to tell them every single step, and they'd stand around doing nothing until you instructed them on the next step.  

 

Of course, any time you make general statement like this, you are making errors.  There are a lot of good kids around, and some with excellent talent.  I have a shop at my house, and I've worked with 2 youngsters over the years.  Both of them were very talented. Both of them went on to become techs, even though that wasn't my intention.  

 

If you think things are bad in the dealers, you'd be shocked at what it looks like in the heavy duty fleet shops.  I couldn't begin to tell you what is there without you thinking I was making it all up.

 

Joe

 

Agreed! I have one of these very examples in my shop. 20yrs old and has a hard time finding lunch without instructions. He shows up on time and is reliable coming to work but thats about it. He will walk in the door, change out and sit in the shop until given instructions. He will not come to me and ask whats on the books for today, or take it upon himself to take out the trash or give a guy a hand thats already working right next to him. Once given instructions he will do pretty much whatever is asked but once thats done back to idle he goes. It took me a good part of a year to teach him to do oil changes and battery replacements on his own without instructing him every step of the way! Common sense skills do not apply with him and it seems alot of this generation is the same way. Then what makes it worse is they have the guts to ask for a raise because they think they are doing such a good job showing up to work everyday! I can teach them if they are willing and have some common sense mechanical skills but I fear thats a dyeing breed. 

Being in the fleet industry now we have the same issues as the dealers with finding good people. The lack of good talent out there is ridiculous! Most good techs I have known throughout my career have moved on to bigger and better things, either opening their own shop, working for an independent/fleet shop or ditching the industry all together. They get tired of being taken advantage off, not paid accordingly and zero options for advancement. Having turned a wrench for a living having to put up with the BS at a dealer I would like to think this gives us some advantage to our fleet shop. We make it a fun environment to work in, pay according to skill level and work ethic and recognize those that go above and beyond whats required. We want to hold on to those quality people since without them we can not function as a business.  

Being a father of a 2yr old son with another one on the way I hope to be able to teach them as much as my father did me. I wasn't one to be coddled while playing video games all day, He always encouraged getting out in the garage with him and working on whatever he was messing with. I was not taught to expect someone to hold my hand or show me how to do something without trying first, and never taught to expect to look for approval from anyone except myself. I was never pushed towards college from my parents but they did pay attention to my skill set and help with finding  a vocational avenue to get me started. If I had followed what high school told me I would not be where I am today. Again common sense goes along way. 

Glad you figured it out. We have this issue from time to time and its always related to getting new tires on it. Bed type and load also play a pretty big part. We have about 70-80 F550s ranging in model years 2004 to 2017

yep do those without pulling the dash

AC work in every bay! oh and a 2008 F450 with plugged DPF and dead lift pump

is anyone actually using a WDS anymore??

Looks like the explorer did its job and took care of your wife! 

hope you had some gap insurance incase its totaled and worth less then the owed value

Apparently I like living on the edge with a  2011 Job1 build 6.7. 136k and still running strong! Have not had any of the early build engine gremlins.

I run PM-22 every tank but we have some crappy diesel here in AZ

the 15s do have a different injection pump and injectors along with the turbo. My dad has an identical truck but a 15MY and its has noticeably more power especially pulling a trailer up a grade. His will walk on mine all day long

I agree with keith, I would suggest posting a link to this site instead. I do not agree with how facebook manages any of their content posted to their site. 

I still get dealers trying to sell me 30k transmission flushes. Uh look at the book for any late model F150 or 250+ and they are all 60k, 100k or 150k. I call them out on it and reference the service manual, they then say well that is what they sell them at and if we dont do it they will not warranty it when it fails! Uh last I checked the recommended interval from FOMOCO is what we all live and die by! Its amazing what these writers will fleece an uneducated customer on! 

Had a similar concern the other day. Ended up being the connection within the IC that the main wire harness plugs into . It was doing all kinds of weird stuff! 

I have fingered that press on more then on occasion, however I quickly it down when I remember how expensive it is. If I needed on more then a occasional basis I would consider one but no way to justify that cost otherwise

Excellent. It will be one of the best decisions that you ever made! (As long as you don't cave to the people who think you should work for $30.00 hourly cause you work from home).

Yup, This is the biggest challenge with having your own shop especially when its at home. People think since its not a big place or a dealership you can work on their junk for damn near free. 

That would be easy to make!