Matt Saunoras

The caster in my 15 F-250 was bare minimum from the factory and with the OEM LT275/70R18 tires my front end felt way more death wobbly than my 06 . I was quite disgusted by this.  Then when I added the 1.5" leveling kit my death wobble got really bad.  Mind you this is on a basically brand new truck when it was happening.

I added a heavier duty (read more expensive) steering stabilizer and that did basically nothing.  Then I checked my alignment and was shocked to find my left caster at .7° and right caster at 1.0°.  Way under the min 1.5° spec.  I wound up rolling the upper balljoints back with adjustable shims to get up to 2.7° 

This helped a bit but with the OEM Michelins I still have more steering feedback than I'd like.  Ultimately the fix was to ditch the Michelins all together.  Right now I'm running load E Nitto 35s and I have no wobble whatsoever.  I change a lot of trac bar balljoints and bushings, basically any time they have play I recommend them but that isn't the only thing, just one of many that can cause this. 

I will add one other thing.  I have had 3-4 death wobble complaints caused by badly chopped unrotated BFG all terrains in the factory sizes.  It's another tire that sticks out in my mind as being highly prone to causing this issue.   

I put some valve cover harness wedgies in a low miles 7.3 today.  Got it all back together and #1 doesn't buzz.  Somehow the valve cover when wiggling it back into place unplugged the injector.  My original problem was on the left side and I upsold the right!

I've got a ton of stuff outside waiting to come in

Got a '14 F-450 with a leak between the trans & transfer case. Anybody done or have any advice on doing the rear seal on a 6R140? Dealer said I could borrow the spanner 307-649. Do I also need the installer? Updated seal is a kit BC3Z7052B

I did one seal 5 years or so ago and honestly I don't remember a damn thing about it.  The only reason I remember it is because the truck I did it on shouldn't have been lifted on the rack I lifted it on. 

If you look at the auto trans tech to tech boards I think have a solution to my problem.  I must have put the intermediate piston return spring upside down causing no resistance when the clutch applies.  This makes the most sense since the harsh shift is all the time regardless of temp, load, etc.  I know something didn't seem right when I put it in but damn it if days didn't go by between teardown and reassembly. 

I did pull the main control out today and found no issues with the solenoids or VB.

I'm ready to up end this place and head out too.  Being the main guy might seem awesome but when you have no support day in and day out it gets old.  I'm beyond being mad, I'm basically depressed anymore.  I've dedicated the last half of my career to truck repair and anymore they use that like a dangling carrot in front of a mule.  Here are some diesels but first you do all this other garbage we scheduled for you. 

Our shop is going down fast and there's also rumors of a dealership sale.   

Got a problem with this 11 escape 6F35 I inherited.  Total disassembly and overhaul to clean up from failed planetaries.  All back together and I've got something wrong with intermediate.   1-2 and 5-6 are harsh all the time.  I did put a new SSC in (along with all the other solenoids) but I guess I'm gonna take the main control back out and have another look.   I can't imagine what is wrong unless I mixed up SSC and TCC and they're different band numbers. 

No, I saw one like that on a tow truck one time, the upfitter did it.  They rotated it to clear the low tow body fenderwell.  I'm not sure about yours though

I'm running motorcraft 5W-40 in my 15 and changing it every 5k miles.  That's the interval we recommend at the shop too.  My old 6.0 I ran the same oil too.  It's too convenient to walk to parts and get oil for 10% over cost.   

Put front brakes on this 90 GMC G30 motor home today

Ouch! I keep trying to quit but they won't have it.

Got a 11 escape here that's been around a while. The other guy, before he left, put a torque converter, valve body and TCC solenoid in it because it was lurching and stalling out at a stop in gear. After the roadtest it was intermittently not engaging and had a noise.

The whole rear planetary is welded to the o/d clutch hub. The center planetary is destroyed also. Nothing left of the No. 3 bearing

As far as I know only the 03-04 6.0 pickups ever came with a dual mass flywheel. I've never seen one or any symptoms caused by it

I got nothin. The whole shop is empty for now. I was supposed to clean up my area today but ultimately said fuck it

I've had the same issue multiple times now. I get these little rolled up sanding bits from harbor freight that seem to work well. You can just use your fingers to spin them in the hole. Either that or maybe some sandpaper wrapped around an Allen wrench

I know one thing, never try to draw the tube in with the bolt. I removed the threads in an upper pan once.

I've driven a few other MD trucks but never with an automatic or air brakes. It's dumb stuff like that you could never know until you jumped into one.

We have a very mild climate here.  We don't get the lake affect snow like the north or the coastal stuff of the east.  I'm not complaining that's for sure

Well I may have over repaired this one.  Along with the output shaft, extension housing, forward clutch cylinder and forward clutch hub I also replaced the coast clutch cylinder for good measure.  Don't tell Ford, the coast cylinder wasn't exactly cracked yet

The good news is all seems to be well with this bus for now.  I drove it over 25 miles tonight, 10 of which were on the highway to check the vibration.  Nothing so far, all shifts are good.

They're pretty relaxed there and it's the same instructors I had back then.

Look what stopped in today for a visit. This is pretty rare in this area, only the second one I've ever seen.

It was the first truck I've ever driven with air brakes too. No park on the selector lever which I though was neat

I'm still laughing about this one.  Seriously what are the odds though!?

I just happened to spot one on the last fuel system I did.  The truck was a 12 F-550 with over 100k miles.  I had the upper rad hose off and just took a peak down in the housing noticing the torn seals. 

Yeah there is defintely a bad batch of standpipes that have shown up in the last few years. I've never seen it myself but I have seen this same thing posted by others on different outlets. 

Our ASSET kid went back to school this week and he sends me this pic today.

Apparently about 9 years ago I wrote my name on a test I shouldn't have

The front output shaft bushing is totally wiped out in the forward clutch cylinder. I had quite a bit of bushing material in the pan and filter. No idea if this is cause or effect.

I know for sure someone changed the front most driveshaft u-joint. Did it fail and hurt the trans or did they change it trying to fix this problem?

I've got some more investigating to do.

This tranny has a fixed flange and not a slip yoke style extension housing. I can hear a growl from the rear in that area. I'm not really sure what the deal is but it is powertrain warranty.