jimmy57

The issue is with consumers. When presented with a car and an SUV/CUV in the same relative size class they leave owning the SUV/CUV in so many more cases. Sports cars are an exception and so are the smaller hatchback/wagons. I do think $4 fuel will dent the big SUVs but the MPG of the smaller CUVs is not much worse than the comparable size sedan but the CUV carries more luggage and you usually have a more comfortable seat so those will likely flourish in higher price fuel market. The hundreds of millions it takes to develop new vehicles to remain competitive can't be repaid if rebates are needed to move the cars. In China and in Europe the move to SUV/CUV is eating sedan sales. That means a "world" car still likely will not pay for its development cost.

I think the DRB's of the automotive engineering world need to be recognized. I suggest the Dirty Rotten Bastard Wall of Shame. I nominate the turd that put the pressure port for the power steering pump above the bolt that holds it to blocks, timing covers, etc. Especially when it has to be removed for access and adds complexity for NO reason. I nominate the turd that placed the back turbo bolt on first gen 6.0 turbos. I nominate the turd that controls heat shield bolt placement. There are plenty more, please nominate more.

I don't know the guy other than phone contact when I send FICM's to be fixed. I quizzed him abut the repairs to be sure it wasn't just a resistor re-solder. He said he changes caps that are at their limit for the purpose in circuit. The caps and some upgrade resistors give a crisper voltage build that has a better chance to move spool valves in less than perfect bores. He says he does not increase voltage. Some people I referred delivered and picked theirs up and said he takes time to answer questions. I have one that is on a truck for 5 years and something around 120K miles and it has not had an issue. OEM originals and Ford half shells never go that long in TX heat.

There is a guy in north DFW Texas area that is an EE and does circuit robustness improvements but not voltage changes. His FICMs last and have no codes and seem to do what he touts. He has FICM tunes he sells too. I have no idea if the tuned ones set codes or what they do or don't do. FICMFIXER.com

How about replacing the starter as a PCM protection mode? Starters are cheaper and don't require so much freakin' download and profiling. Oh, excuse me, I had a moment of common sense. I'll try not to let that happen again.

They (truck owners) will withdraw from lawsuit when they find out that a lift kit, a delete, and a perf programmer aren't legal remedies possible through the courts.

Is the part where someone needs to say liars figure and figures lie? These days so many vehicles only use the tank sending unit for specific level sampling and other ranges the PCM consumption info is the basis for fuel level on gauge. Not so much for regular shaped truck tanks but very common on all those tanks that fill up all manner of irregular shaped space under back seat.

The guy in the video I'm sure had to go take a shower after making the video. You can't talk crap like that and not feel very dirty afterwards.

Not yet, but you might use the Uber app one day and instead of a self driving Fusion or Volvo you might have a John Deere 8360R show up driverless to take you to the bar.

BMW has been using the telematics stuff already too. Some of this stuff is not too far off for the mainstream volume brands.

Give it a couple or three years and we will put out to actually have to slide a connector into a diag plug. Wireless, already mostly scanned when it gets to the service bay is over the hill. Then telematics link where you might be able to call a customer and ask them to come to the dealer as their truck is alerting you that their DPF is too often carrying too high a soot load. The vehicle will time stamp ROs based on contact time with the vehicle chassis. Then we'll get to cars that drive themselves to the shop after they drop customer at work. No more loaner cars and porters will become obsolete. Then the robots will come and start doing the repairs. I want to see that. The robot will rotate to its plasma cutter tool and cut a hole so it can start those $%#&&@^ nuts and bolts. No, I have not been drinking and have not taken anything but my blood pressure drugs.

I didn't post the article as union promotion though lack of care for the employees is where unions come from in most situations. If you are being treated well you need no union. Flat rate is commission, commission is me no money-you no money in the eyes of dealer owner. FR needs the least management as workers will figure out how to make money. Manufacturers will push down times and your dealer is the one to address that. They would fire or jail you for stealing jugs of oil but they will let unclaimed money get left on the table due to poor claim submission. They let money fly out the window when dealers do not take issue with factory pay that is unreasonable. If part return is required then the tech needs at least .1 hour as it ill take at least 6 minutes to do that on tech's part. The mark up allowed on parts never reaches techs and in the case of recalls the part prices gets cut to lessen the pass through payments anyway. It is never OK to pay shareholders money robbed from the least represented in the process regardless that it is one of the most often used ways it is done.

Things are not good here: http://jalopnik.com/striking-mechanics-say-dealership-left-their-tools-out-1797548330 I am unsure of Jalopnik's credibility but a co-worker from that area and the story is true according to him.

In this job every once in a while something puzzles the $%%&^$ out of you until the light bulb comes on. I had a big burly active duty Marine that I thought was going to throttle me over his car going through brake pads all of a sudden to metal on metal and his complaint of pedal to the floor. On the third time in and his wife leaving for church and running through a stop sign down the street. I for some reason found cleaning stuff in trunk. This car was spit shined spotless every time I worked on it. My nosy ass had to dig around and in the cleanining kit was some military labeled mil spec cleaning acid. His wheels would have these spotless streaks on inside when removed and ZERO evidence of brake dust. I went to trash and pulled some pads taken off something and poured this stuff on the pads and let it sit for 30 minutes. The cleaner acid dissolved brake pads. The pad material could be brushed off metal backer like a pile of dirt. AH-HAH! Clean car on Saturday and momma drives out Sunday AM and applies brakes and pads disintegrate, pedal to floor, run through stop, metal on metal, scored rotors. I did the acid demo for the Sergeant and that was the NICEST guy from then on. We had gotten warranty assistance on his brakes 3 times due to his lifting supplies from the base and using aluminum tank cleaner to get his wheels spotless with no elbow grease. He then said that thinking about it, every time was the next time the car moved after he did the full on clean up for his wife. I got the acid but I never had anyone f--- with me where I needed to dissolve their brake pads.........

How about this. When the warranty, goodwill, extended warranties all ran out then they can do this since they incur no obligation to pay for it on the repairs but can now charge an upcharge with some additional profit in the pricing. NO WAY that would ever be the reason. What was I thinking?

I have gotten used to it and it bugs me the most if I haven't used the truck in a couple or more weeks. I think the complaints would be greater but some people wouldn't notice or drive like crap already and the vehicle runs all over the road they way they drive in something with no issue.

They need to hire someone from the aftermarket chemicals business to come up with a REAL retention/appreciation program . Turn in chassis hole plugs for $1 apiece from recalled vehicles or send a selfie with a master cylinder harness with the door mfg label with VIN to get your dollar. Tech with the most gets a 2018 Mustang GT. Techs with poorest response gets 25 Windstar rusted axle recalls to perform.

These V6 timing chains make timing belts seem WAY more reliable.

I've only ever seen the warning for this for the sensor leads only. Some brands have had oxygen sensor poisoning repeatedly until they figured out the heated PCV nipples were allowing oil to travel to sensors via wire. All that sealing of connectors and shrink wrapping of splices made for a nice path to let the oil migrate. And what is the lowest parts in a fuel system and the item that doesn't like oil. I have never seen any explanation of why vents on the sensors as originally done was abandoned in favor of the reference air going remote through wires.

If the reference air sampling comes through wires, which is common, the grease can poison the ceramic bits in sensor tip. The wire insulation will hold it in and the stuff will travel. High temp DG shouldn't become liquid so maybe it is a low or even no risk.

I have a 2006 F450 4x2 crew cab. I have lived with that driving on ice shit since I got the truck with 1600 miles on it. As tires wear it gets decent, new tires and it sucks! I bought Michelins last round and they are as bad as Sumitomos and the OE Continentals and the replacement Contis. Traction treads on rear had to get more miles before they settled but those were Sumitomos and had deeper tread siping than the other brands so the issue may not have been the tread type. ZERO wear or lost motion in steering. Zero yield of track bar. Toe settings more and less than spec. tried. Tire pressures increased and decreased. I increased caster. No looseness in rear leaf spring eye bushings. The problem is negligible when heavy trailers are on and that is what it is for so it stays hooked to a trailer most of the time. When I drove it back from tire store after getting the Michelin highway treads on it I could prop knee against the wheel on a decent road and it would do it with NO motion of steering wheel. It reminds me of my motorcycle riding days and riding over a bridge with grating deck. I have had someone drive this truck and I followed and watched and it sure looked like the rear was wiggling on pavement with no motion of tire/wheels relative to body. It is odd that some never mention it. I have driven customer vehicles as bad as mine and it was not a concern on RO. Side note: The caster increase did make it generally drive better and seems to give a touch more steering precision.

This topic has never seen much activity here I guess due to the diesel nature of this place. Has the TSB for full chain, tensioner and phaser change seemed to be the long term fix? I have one that is clean and has had oil service history of 5K changes and at 140K it is start up rattling with the primary chain tensioner extended too much. They indicate that the truck will not be getting traded away any time soon as they want it be the daughter's in a couple of years. I think the full meal deal is the way to go if the extra cost is buying longevity. Any thoughts?

I'm waiting for the makers of these door motors to buy out a company that makes the plastic used for blister packaging. If those little gears were made from that tough shit then the teeth wouldn't strip.

But why do easily driven highway queens leak at the bottom corner and have unharmed mud dauber nests built in the cells of the rubber rad mounts? I would think others see rough and tumble truck leakers where flex could be it and the ones that are pristine in the wheel housings and frames with seams leaking and have no discoverable issues with t-stats also leaking.

Just wait till they water cool the DEF injector nozzle, the calipers, and the side object detection modules. Then there is the diesel plug in hybrid with yet another cooling system for the battery with a refrigerant chiller and another radiator. If the truck ever wrecks good there will 11 HAZMAT clean up trucks just for the coolant.