I have a 98 F150 Supercab, 4X4 with extensive corrosion and rust on the undercarriage. Twice now in a twelve month span the connections at the starter have been corroded to the point where the truck won't start. The first time was a year ago and the Ford dealership service dept. fixed it by cleaning up the connections. The expense was picked up by my extended service plan. Now, yesterday it happened again. This time it's on my dime and it's costing me over $600.00! A new starter, wiring plus labor. This time it's at the Ford dealer I usually take it too. The service manager tells me this is a common problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to stop this from happening again? I live in the northeast and winters can be pretty tough on any vehicle with all the salt that gets put down.

What are my chances on fighting it out with Ford to have them pickup the bill since it wasn't fixed right the first time?


Thanks,

tjspiker

 

Not sure if you can argue about it not being fixed the first time around...after all you did drive away with a functioning vehicle and it did last you a whole year...(granted it ain't much)

If corrosion is a big issue, I'd suggest you spend some extra time under the cab making sure everything is properly protected (paint, grease, whatever) See what some di-electric grease gobbed up on the starter wiring lug nuts will do.

There isn't much you can do other then properly protecting the components from the elements (coating) OR replacing them with a corrosion resistant material (gold/silver/tungum)...not sure how stainless would do, but it's an option as well.

Tony

 

Thanks Tony! With regards to fighting it out with Ford I won't feel better about the issue unless I try to get something. At first they were going to replace the starter and wiring but opted to cleanup the connections and told me it should be fine from their on. My feeling is they new my extended warrenty was up in a few months and figured it wouldn't be their problem after that. We'll see but you are probably right!

As for protecting the undercarriage I bought a can of POR15 and will give that a try. I'll also give the di-electric grease a try.

Thanks again,

tjspiker

 

Update: I picked up my truck last week after being repaired. I had asked for any of the old parts just in case I needed them with pleading my case to Ford. Upon inspecting the cable assembly from the battery to the starter I found the original repair from last year under a mile of electrical tape. The tech cut the old connector off and used a hose clamp and an old connector cut off of something else. An absolute hack job! Beyond me how this was passed off as a warranty repair. Check out the pic in my gallery.



I called Ford corporate and logged my complaint. They told me to take it up with the dealer that did the warranty repair a year ago.
I went to see the Service Manager today and explained the situation and showed him the cable. He flat out denied that his shop did the repair and that he couldn't do anything for me. He became extremely annoyed and got up to leave his office saying that the repair lasted over a year and that they only cover there work for one year or 12,000 miles. The truck only has 10,000 since the repair! Didn't care, can't do anything for me!
I demanded to see his boss and was quickly ushered into the President of the dealership's office. I again explained the situation and showed him the cable and he agreed to help in the matter. He made copies of all my paper work and expired warranty and will get back to me by this Thursday.

I'll keep you all posted on how it turns out.

In short, Service Manager A-hole!
President, trying to help

 

What a hack job...this kind of crap gets me annoyed....you'd think by paying the extra money to take it to the dealer, you'd get better service. I'm gonna have to make a mental note to ask for (or at least see) the old parts.

Anthony

 

Well, I can finally put this post to rest! I received a call from the
President of the dealership on Thursday afternoon. Of the $603.48 that I paid out of my pocket Ford will re-imburse me $400.00. The re-imbursement covers the labor, wiring harness replacement and tax. They wouldn't cover the starter replacement since it was working fine when the original warranty repair work was done. Some is better than none!

So, what did I learn from this? Just because you go to a dealer for repairs and maintenance don't expect quality work or that they will do what they say there going to do. When I asked the President of the dealership if the technician would be questioned or reprimanded for this repair, he stated that Ford Corporate policy is for a fix rather than replacement on all warranty work. Only if it can't be fixed will it be replaced. So, I guess in his mind the hack job was acceptable? It doesn't make any sense, only that they will never admit any wrong doing even as they are handing you the check. Not even an apology for BS they put you through. So be aware, ask questions, demand to see any parts that have been replaced and keep them if you think you have some recourse on getting some or all of your money back. And above all if you are dealing with an A-hole Service Manager demand to see his boss.

A thanks goes out to Anthony and all that viewed this post.

TJSPIKER

 

EDIT...no longer needed...

 

I wouldn't settle on just the $400. I'd threaten to take them to small claims court is they don't eat the whole bill. You would definately win your case!

A repair like that more then likely gave your starter an early death. A new Starter motors last a long time. The bendix is what usually fails. It's worth the time to spend a few hours in court to make sure everyone knows what type of workmanship this dealer is letting go out the door as repaired. A quality dealer would just replace the whole cable assembly and write it up under warranty. I'd find a new place to get my repairs done after seeing that crap.

If you go to an electrical supply store you can get a product called NO-OX electrical paste. This product is an anti oxident that protects against corrosion and has conductive properties. It is great to use on single electrical connections that carry current like the battery cables and solenoid terminals. It's not to be used on multi plug connectors. Dielectric grease is used on multi connectors because it has no conductive properties.

 

Reposted for "Dan in MA" Starter cable connector Post. This should answer your questions.


TJSPIKER

 

I'd never go back to that dealership and i would let every person I know about it so they wouldn't go there either. Cob jobs like that p' me off and for the service manager and president to think nothing of it. If their fix lasted a year then my fix should last 5 years. At least i got a terminal that fit over the big cable crimped it the best I could and then soldered it the best I could. After looking at your pic it just really p's me off that people can do stuff half @$$ like that and think nothing of it.
Thanks for posting it for me.
,Dan