Mr.Meanwrench

My personal opinion on ambulances is this, If you do not have the proper manuals,diagnostic equipment or knowledge of the vehicle, let it pass you by. It's not worth someone's life if it fails. I fix ambulances exclusively. A majority of my fords have been replaced (14) leaving me with no choice but to start over buying subscriptions, training, GM scan tools and specialty tools. But it's what has to be done. These are emergency vehicles and i take it very seriously. I agree with harness replacements and pigtails, unfortunately I replace more harnesses than pigtails. The heat from idling all day kills them quick.

I understand that most of the folks are dealer techs and I respect all of you. We are all on here because we give a shit. I wish more people industry wide would take pride in what they do.

I agree on SOME of fleet shops being hacks and butchers. I have had some shit break down in my area i have had to fix. I see even more of it coming from dealerships. I refuse to take a truck to the dealership. We prefer to make any repairs out of our pocket and get the truck back in service as soon as possible. The dealers up here leave them sitting for weeks before looking at them. I was told by our closest ford dealer that i was better equipped to fix these than he was. I apologize if anyone is offended, I just being honest with what i am seeing in my area.

I inspect the lifts here at my shop and have them inspected yearly by an outside vendor as well. My techs are welcome to inspect and report anything that they find and it will be addressed bfore the lift is used again PERIOD. I'll close the fucking doors before someone's life is put at risk. That is pure bullshit. Be careful your employer does not use those inspection sheets against you if something were to happen. I had a 14,000# drive on lift here that was 30 years old that had a concrete floor poured around the anchor points and the platforms and cross beams would flex with a 12,000# truck on it. Lift co failed it due to flexing and anchor points that could not be inspected. Took 3 years of failing inspections to replace it. Made copies of inspection reports an left them in my home safe in case something were to happen. I was a fucking idiot to even be under it. But I needed to feed my family. NEVER AGAIN! and i would never do it to my techs.

I have experienced no start conditions from o-rings rock hard an split leaking profusely performing an air pressure test. you have to watch carefully, it can mask itself as a blown out injector seal. Try looking at these in an Econoline, a real bitch.

The actual tool and o-rings are available from Moonlight Diesel. I have used 8 sets of these and have had no issues. See Link below. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-6-0L-Oil-Ra...=item2ebaf951ca

Very fortunate here in Syracuse as the storm tracked west of us. Was originally coming up the interstate and would have hit my work then home. Spend alot of time at work on stand by as parts of my work are not on auto standby generators. Our sewers will come up a manhole and fill my shop with our power for the sewer pumps. I hope things get better for you guys in jersey. If you need an extra generator im a bit away from you but willing to meet you half way to help out- Stay Safe

Much better than the dealership. Equipped much better too.

+1 I work with some sick bastards like these 2. Makes for an interesting day!

Bought one of those nautral gas standby generators because the power would go out at least one a month leaving my sump pump dead....Fuckin' power has not gone out since I installed it a couple of years ago. Not complaining, just strange. As far as snow goes, sorry to hear you are in the dark and cold, that really sucks! I'll take whatever snow you don't want though. Love the snow..

I only have 11 years invested in my employer, yet I feel I am in the same boat as Keith. The corporation I work for sold out to a privately held investment firm. The future is uncertain and I have had offers from a couple local ford dealers but at this point,I feel compelled to hold on and see what the future brings. I am also in the group of folks barely keeping everything together as far as finances go....Good Luck to you Keith....

I started working on cars and construction equipment at age 12 by following my dad around. He was a chevy dealership tech for 20 years before moving over to heavy shit. I went to our local BOCES for Heavy Equipment repair for a couple of years to find out that I liked the light duty shit. I have been doing ambulances for about 15 years and my body is telling me to find another line of work. There is a program in a local state college that allows you to earn a Bachelor's in vocational education in two years by demonstrating your expertise in your profession. I would LOVE to teach automotive classes! I'm only a couple weeks in, I have my practical exam coming up in a couple weeks.

+1

That sucks! I feel horrible for everyone affected, especially the techs. I lost all of my tools about 15 years ago at an indy shop that burnt down. Young and stupid, I had no insurance on my stuff and the owner did not have enough coverage for 3 of us. Could not imagine starting over again.......

I have had some bad luck getting these connectors out as well. Major pain in the ass trying to get that tool in and get any type of leverage or back and forth motion on the right side of the e vans. Have not tried the PB though, gonna try that on Monday on the one in my bay. Thanks for the tip!