They have the Ford Rep coming down tomorrow to look at my truck's situation. They still have NOT fixed the rear-end. They said that by putting in the clutch pack and fixing that problem, it might have made the howl more noticeable which there is "No Fix" for.

They are also going to ask about the fuel economy. I set the truck at 55 mph and drove for about 1 hour. Average mpg? 9.81.


That's just plain pathetic! They said that if my PCM was bad and giving out bad info then the truck would not even be able to run. So it's my driving characteristics.



INPUT Please!!!

 

setting the cruise at 55mph?

that definitely can't be your driving habits.

You need to let the service manager drive it for an hour and see what he/she gets for mileage.

 

I'll give you one better than that! Let the Ford rep drive it around for a day or two ON HIS DIME and see if he finds a fix. I still can believe your gas mileage. Do you have a hole in your gas tank????

 

I like that idea a lot! I will call the service manager and ask him to do that.

 

YellowFx4-The only way they will fix the howl is by putting in new bearings and a ring and pinion in your rearend. You said it was not there before. Mine is a 4x2 but it has no howl. IMO your dealer did not do the clutch pack replacement correctly (they put in the clutch pack ok but did not get the proper backlash on the ring and pinion on reinstallation) and you now have the noise. Ford only pays a dealer to do a warranty repair once and now the dealer is balking as they won't get paid anymore unless the Ford rep oks it. Be open, nice, and honest to the Ford rep.. He can get more done than anyone. The gas mileage I have no clue. Good luck and tell us how it works out.

 

When they did the clutch pack, they said that they did NOT install the bearings properly. Said they were off by about 1/4 to 1/8"...We'll see what happens.

 

YelloFX4, I would also figure up what you have spent on gas because of this. Divide your miles as of now by your average MPG (what maybe 10) then multiply that by average price of a gallon of gas. Then do the same for what you ahould have been getting (maybe 15 MPG). Show that to your dealer and see what you can get for it. I think at least some accessories maybe....

Example using 3500 miles, 1.80 for a gallon, 10 MPG on your truck, 15 MPG, what your average should have been.


YOU
3500/10=350 gallons of gas x 1.80 a gallon=$630 spent on gas

All of US
3500/15=233 gallons "x1.80=$419 on gas for a differance of $211 you have had to pay because something is wrong with your truck.

Just an idea to help out.

 

Yellow,
Sorry to here you're still getting the runaround on this deal. At least you have the Rep to look into now. Most people seem to have better luck getting something done with the Rep. Is this the only Ford dealership in your area? It doesn't sound like they have much of a policy of standing by their work.

 

I don't know what will happen. I had contacted the Service Manager last night (On Tuff Ford's Idea) and they haven't gotten back to me yet.

The Ford rep, Mike, attempted to call me at work twice but left no return number. He said he would try back before I go home at 8 o'clock tonight. I hope he has some good news; we'll see.

I'll post tonight or tomorrow once I find something out.

 

Ford Rep guy called. Very nice guy, but no help.

Their $10,000 machine WDS (I think) is right. "Can't I show you ALL of my fuel slips and odometer readings at the time of fillup?"

They said that those don't mean a thing and warranty won't authorize any repairs based of of a gas slip.

As far as the rear end howl. He said "All trucks make that noise." BULL!!! Mine didn't before they put in a clutch pack.

Well, they ahd to supposedly find a happy median between the rear end slipping and the howl. My rear end doesn't slip and the howl is quieter. It sounds like I'll have to live with it and the 10 mpg.

I would have loved to have owned this truck and been totally happy with it. Instead I will always be thinking of the poor mileage and howl.

Disappointed a little. Other than that, I still believe this is an awesome truck!!!

 

Sorry, you ask me that is a bunch of crap. Did you have him drive it and see what mileage he got? Drive your truck with the service guy and then drive another ony they have on the lot, compare the two and see if yours is louder. Who's head can you go over now to get this fixed. If you give up you wil kick yourself for years and always have a bad taste in your mouth.

 

If it means anything, I don't hear a 'howl' or anything like that from my truck. It's very quiet inside except for a little exhaust growl when you step on the gas, which is nice

I'm hoping for better milage as I get more miles on it. I've got just over 2,000 now and my last fill-up gave me 13.7 MPG. 60% highway and 40% or so back roads at 45 or 55 mph, not being overly aggressive in my driving.

 

I concur, no howl here at all. The only I am going in for soon is to get the PCM updated and some lube on the shaft splines to quiet a shudder from standing start (already have clutch packs in).

My last two fillups gave me 13.38mpg and 13.59mpg (mathematically; i don't have the cool little computer readout). That's fairly agressive driving, 80mph on highway home from work, and moving pretty quick from stoplights. 60/40 highway/city.

I can live with 13.6mpg with the way I was driving. I attribute that to my frustration from being couped up at work for too long lately.

I could probably easily hit 16 with responsible acceleration. \

EDIT: Yellow, you should def. not settle for such a load of crap. Visit another dealer, or force the techs to drive the truck to verify the poor fuel efficiency. And ask to drives multiple trucks on the lot with the tech and get written or at least verbal agreement that the other trucks on the lot do not exhibit such characteristics, therefore cannot be classified as "normal".


- Justin

 

I agree with you guys...There was NO howl before they did the clutch pack.

I will be taking it to another Ford dealer and seeing if they are able to find anything.

 

I don't have a howl in mine at all after the clutch packs were replaced. If you can't get results from another dealership I' d look into whatever process is available to go over their heads. I think there is something in the owners manual about what to do if not satisfied.
I'm pretty sure your service records are networked in their computer system so the next dealer may be able to see whats been going on. If they're any good maybe they will be able to see what to do about your problem from your history if it was input properly.

jmvdigital,
When you refered to the splines needing to be lubed are you talking about on the drive shaft or what? I think I may have the same thing happening on mine.