Did you ever try a different Key ? My old Navigator would start and run for a short time then die with the wrong key in it.

 

Well believe it or don't!!

I was driving past the mechanic's shop this morning and the truck was still in the bay. A second trip this afternoon found my truck parked outside the front door. I called and asked if they got it running or were about to tow it somewhere else.

The mechanic says, "We got her running." "What was it?", I asked. "You won't believe it," he said. "The spark plugs were bad. We put a new set of plugs in it and she fired right up!"

Well I've never heard of a full set of plugs going bad all at once, and maybe that's not what he meant, maybe one or two were bad? At any rate they changed the plugs, 4 broke so he had to buy the Lisle tool, but I'm back up and running. Without consulting me on any of this they put Champion plugs back in it. I have mixed feelings about it all - as I'll have to pay that bill, since it wasn't related to the wreck it's not an insurance issue. Oh yes, the bill? $535!

Now at first that sounded steep - I had planned to have the plugs changed anyway once she came out of the body shop at a local dealer who'd quoted me $200 +$12 per broken plug - or about half of what the bill is. But, upon reflection I have to admit he also had a full day of diagnostic time into the job prior to arriving at the 'change the plugs' solution, and then the time to do that, including 4 broken plugs. So maybe the bill isn't that bad?

I'll pick up the truck tomorrow - had to go back to the body shop to have them put the tailgate on and then I'll settle up with the mechanic. I am tempted to ask if the charge includes the cost of the Lisle tool - and if he says yes, ask for the tool - I could always sell it elsewhere. Seems that IF I'm paying for it, it should be mine, not his to keep for future jobs, right? But I'd hate to PO the guy. FYI - I've never used this mechanic before - he's a friend of the body shop.

Bottom line, the truck is repaired and running and I got the plug change I'd planned to do anyway, at about double the price I'd hoped for, and with insurance paying for a rental the entire time.

So what's everybody think - did I come out OK?

(Oh yeah, I was at 82K+ on mileage on a 06 5.4L)

 

Let's hope they didn't flash your PCM back to stock. If they did, your Edge won't work anymore (at least, not until Edge helps you unlock it).

Edit: Oops... you returned it to stock. Glad that won't be an issue for you.

 

Yep, I returned it to stock and had removed the Edge before going nto the shop.

 

never heard of that either but nowadays you never know. glad its fixed the price he charged is the going price here and actually a little cheaper.

 

seems steep, and I'd be pissed that they didnt call you before the work was performed

 

This. None of the places I've ever been to have done work without calling me about it. It's usually because I tell them I want to know whats wrong before they start replacing something so I don't end up with half of my parts replaced and charged. Glad you're back up and running though, all that for plugs.

 

Picked up the truck and paid the bill today and in truth it wasn't that bad. He charged me 5 hours of labor at the $65 p/hr shop rate and cost of the plugs, hazmat fee and taxes. He really had more like 10 hours of labor time in the job start to finish.

When the body shop couldn't get it to start they told me they were taking it to the shop - and obviously it had to be fixed... so I told them to go ahead, take it to a mechanic and get it fixed... but I would have liked a call once they decided what had to be done - and to ask about what plugs I wanted put in. But, all's well that ends well I guess. The truck is lookin' good and running better than ever with the new plugs, so I'll just drive on down the road and be happy. (Next time I'll be more direct in my instructions though.)

Having met him, I do like the mechanic and as I didn't know one locally, odds are I'll go back to him so maybe that's some good to take away from this too.

 

good deal, when do we get to see the repaired pics?

 

Everything happens for a reason, now you have a mechanic.

 

Congrats Glen!

 

Let us know how well the Champions hold up, please.

 

I installed Champions about a year ago, 30K later and it still runs great.

 

Glad it all worked out for you.

 

Yes, please share your continued positive experience with the Champion one-piece, and whoever changes them again in 80,000 miles thanks you in advance!

Also please let me know if you have any questions or concerns with the Champion Plugs, I'll be glad to dispel any of the myths.

Regarding you paying for the tune-up, I wonder if you could argue/push the insurance company to cover at least a portion of the bill. Your plugs were 4 years old, and did have 80K, but they worked when you drove the truck in, sounds like the body-shop fuel fouled them, figure a dozen or so rich-mixture, cold-starts to move the truck around, in and out, etc. loaded up the already worn and dirty original plugs to the point of crank-no-start, the full loop grounds on the Motorcraft Plugs sure didn't help the matter any either, but I won't go there.........