Quintin,
That's my truck you are talking about and I gotta tell you that I really appreciate the work y'all do over there! I really have not had anything to complain about with y'all and I have been coming there for a few years now. You have probably done some work on my wife's mustang too.
I have dealt with the two local FORD dealerships you are talking about and I think they totally suck!
I actually drove across state to Augusta to pick up my wife's mustang and my truck!
I am actually going to bring the truck back in tomorrow morning as my a/c is not working now. I am hoping it's nothing major.

Thanks again and I am glad to know my truck is in good hands!

Thanks,

Gary

 

Gary,

Your rack and pinion should have came in Saturday, so we can take of that for you tomorrow too if you're gonna leave it.

And edited to add: The stuff for the butyl patch recall has to come direct from the supplier, I think parts told me it might be a week or so before we see that.

We'll see you then.

-Quintin

 

The cutoff date for the revised rack and pinions per TSB 03-20-8 is April '03, so it's possible your truck could have gotten a rack that slipped through the cracks before the latest revised part. Gary's truck was built in December of '03, well past the cut off date for that TSB, but I was still instructed by Ford engineers to replace the rack and pinion. And for the record, the rack in Gary's truck has the green dot on the bar code too.

Hope that helps some.

-Q

 

Thanks Quintin! Would you know where to look for this bar code on the rack? Is it visible from under the hood or inside the cab? I'm just curious.

 

Gotta crawl underneath the truck, the label faces forward and is towards the center of the rack and pinion.

 

Thanks Q. I'll do some investigation tomorrow.

 

Quintin,

I noticed my nibble right after I took delivery of my '04 in November. The dealer balanced the tires (not roadforce) which lessened the nibble but its still there. Comes and goes. Its better but not gone.

I checked the build date for my truck which is 10/03 -- much to my surprise. I thought that I was at least buying an '04 that had been built in the spring or summer of '04. Also crawled under the truck to see if I have the green dot and I do. Haven't been back to the dealer again to give them another shot at the nibble. Seems that I might be a candidate to have the rack replaced, too? Should I insist on this?

Thanks for the great info you provide!

 

I replaced the rack in Gary's pickup today. I drove it and thought it was a lot better, maybe he'll chime in and give his opinion about it.

HWK, it's a good chance. My April '04 build truck tracks straight as an arrow when the tires warm up after about 3-5 miles or so. 10/03 is only two months past the cut off date for the questionable steering gears, that's not to say that some plants still used that gear in assembling trucks.

 

I gotta say that the truck is riding 100 times better now.
I pretty much drove straight home after picking up the truck and the few miles of in town driving produce no vibration whatsoever. Once I hit the expressway, I noticed a very slight nibble at around 65 to 70 MPH but I was kind of expecting it as Quintin informed me that the vibration was still there at that speed.
I don't know if that is normal for these trucks as I have always experienced a nibble in the steering column for as long as I can remember and I always wrote it off as a tire / road issue.
At any rate, my truck is riding pretty near perfect and I expect I will put at least another 20,000 + miles on it this year,especially if this fix holds out!

By the way Quintin, it was good meeting you, even though it was brief. I am sure you wil see me and/or my truck around the dealership every 5000 miles or so for routine maintenance. I for one am glad to be able to put a face and name to the person who works on my truck. Plus, knowing that you visit and contribute to this site, I can be sure you will always give it your utmost attention and treat it right! After all, we wouldn't want me saying anything bad about you now would we!
Just kidding!

Thanks again for your work,

Gary

 

Gary, it was good meeting you too. I think whatever vibration you have left is in your tires; I'll check and see what we can do about that, you should have gotten a letter in the mail regarding updated warranty coverage for your tires due to vibration or abnormal wear concerns.

And hell, people say bad things about me daily, it's nothing unusual.

 

Please explain "steering nibble". I thought I knew all the young kids new lingo, but I guess I am wrong

 

yep, i received the letter you are talking about. I will bring it in when the part for my A/C comes in. It'll be interesting to see what FORD will allow you to do if it is determined the tires are causing the remaining vibration.

Thanks,

Gary