Well all I have to share this experience with you. As the post previously states that there was an apparent oil leak in my brand new lightning........well it turns out that one of the cylinder heads was completely shot......nice for a new truck huh? Anyways I put a call into Ford and expressed my feelings of having an engine rebuilt with only 440 miles on it and it looks like I am getting a new motor crated in from Ford or most likely a new truck...I think its going to be hard to find an 04 Sonic Blue lighting just sitting around these days but I guess I will find out come Monday. I was actually suprised that the dealership was standing behind me on this and will only fix the truck if a new motor is crated in.......So I guess it was a good thing that I didnt' keep driving it....and I must say that I probably really never felt the true power of a Lightning since the compression was bad........maybe that would explain 10 miles to a gallon....oh well thanks for all of your replies and I will keep everyone posted as to what lies ahead


Cya

Brian

 

max mitchell what gives? - I think you had a good point.

 

Good luck to you! I worked for Ford for 32 years and I'm not "nit picker", but I quite honestly expected more for the price as far as "quality" goes. As part of my job, I'd been to the Oakville Plant where they were assembled and met many of the houry and salary employees there. And I liked them and thought they were good people. I bought an brand new 01L in July of 2001, and mechanically wise, I never found anything loose, but the paint job is the worst paint job I've ever had on new vehicle - dirt in many places - an open sore on the boxside - what looks like a "hair" just painted right over on the roof, etc. All body panel "fits" were fair to medicore at best. A I did a lot of work in Quality Systems at Ford, I'm surprised it got out of the plant. I was so "enthusiatic" when I bought it, I really didn't look the body condition over well. And like Rob - I wouldn't take it back to the dealer for fear they'd make it even worse. I can tell you that years ago that "paint problems" were a big concern at Ford. If you get another - spend some time carefully looking it over before accepting it.

 

he did have a good point.

I read his post yesterday and wanted to respond, unfortunately I was at work and I didn't have time to give a decent reply.

I just woke up (6:45am excited because the gates for Fun Ford Weekend Richmond open in like 15 minutes!) and got back around to the computer and it has been edited/deleted.

I assume it was removed in the name of peace and harmony, which I completely understand, however I can take a little constructive criticism without getting my feelings hurt.

I think that the internet is an amazing tool. this forum is a very interesting place. it allows us all to ask questions and gather information and opinions from a large pool of people who share the same interest (lightnings) without the internet and this forum we would have never had an opportunity to meet or gain knowledge from all of the combined experiences of these people.

here is the drawback, you can't really tell what the other person is saying sometimes, you can't see their face, their expression, or their tone of voice.

sometimes you read text and take it in one way while it was meant to be taken another.

also, we are human beings. sometimes I post when I'm in a bad mood, sometimes I post when I'm in a smartass mood, sometimes cynical, sometimes confused, excited, happy, angry, who knows? but the thing about typing here is that nobody knows what kind of mood you are in when you post, however the words stay there on record for everyone to see. the reader often makes assumptions or judgements about what kind of person you are based on his or her interpretation of those words. sometimes that interpretation is incorrect. sometimes the posts were non-constructive and could have just as easily been left unsaid. but sometimes they were just posted out of boredom and you didn't really expect anybody to notice or pay any attention to them, much less have them quoted back to you weeks or months later.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NO FRIGGIN' IDEA WHAT I'M RAMBLING ON AND ON ABOUT... a post was made earlier in this thread. it had a few quotes by me. the theme of the post seemed to say that:
"People like me or rather Attitudes like mine are the reason that nobody wants to return to the dealerships for service and the reason that Ford Motor Company doesn't make quality products"

based on memory here is what I've got to say about what was posted.

one of the quotes was just that, a quote or a small part of my complete post. I feel that it was taken out of context or maybe it would be better to say it was just not whole. I'm refering to the axle post quote something like this:

If I interpreted it correctly, it was intended to illustrate that techs at dealerships don't perform their work correctly, or take shortcuts at the customer's expense, or just plain don't care enough to take the time to do the job right.

quite frankly, this is in SOME cases very true. IMHO due to the commission setup that tech's are paid (or NOT paid on for their work under Ford warranty).

HOWEVER...

what was NOT included in the post were the lines before and after that paragraph, nor were the THREE follow ups that I made in the same thread giving details and specs on a few of the steps and things needed to PROPERLY perform that repair.

here is the thread started by tallimeca, read it for yourself if you care to:
swapping rear gears......who has done it?? How hard?? Special tools??

next quote:
was intended in a joking manner. as indicated by the smilie at the end. if anything I was agreeing with the general consensus that you don't always receive the attention to detail that you'd like to get when you visit the service department for warranty repairs. I was poking fun at the whole situation. even the original poster of that thread (djc cobra) understood that I was kidding based on his reply in the thread:warranty almost up..

and as for the quote that triggered the whole thing.

well that of course was my post at the beginning of THIS very thread in which I stated that maybe the thread starter should spend more time driving his truck and less time nit-picking it to death and taking it in for service to make it "perfect".

the post was my opinion at the time. I see alot of customers who have vehicles that anybody else in the world would be happy with, but this particular customer for whatever reason has decided that they don't like the vehicle and they want to pick it to death... each week they come in with some crazy new complaint, or worse yet, LIST of complaints that doesn't even exist. the vehicle spends it's days being dropped off for service instead of being driven.

I wasn't trying to say that the threadstarter (SonicBlueBolt) doesn't deserve to be satisfied with his brand new truck. I was just making an offhanded comment that maybe he should drive the the truck and enjoy it instead of constantly LOOKING for something to be wrong with it.

I understand that nobody wants paint flaws and they should be corrected, but in many cases, dealing with a body shop give results far worse than dealing with a dealership service dept.

many customers storm in demanding paint repairs only to get their vehicle back with sub par work. it has been my experience that if you can keep your vehicle out of a body shop, then by all means do so. I guess you could say I have the same opinion of "MOST" body shops as many of you guys do of your service departments.

paint: legitimate concern.

now the vehicle needs carpet. he says it's got a huge tear. fine, easy fix. take it in for carpet replacement, no problem.

torn carpet: legitimate concern.

now the vehicle needs a new motor??? mind you the vehicle only has 400 miles? sheesh people, he's barely put a tank of gas through the truck and the whole thing is practically in need of being rebuilt?

he may very well have a legitimate concern, but from where I sit, things are starting to look "a little" suspicious.

(editor's note: the fact that the guy wants to install YELLOW fog lamps on his truck makes me EVEN MORE suspicious of him! )

(that was just a joke people.... well sortof)

but again, where I sit, is far away from the customer (thread starter) and his/her vehicle. I'm not passing judgement, just giving my opinion for what it's worth (in this case , jack squat, it's just than, an opinion).

Please understand that if SonicBlueBolt's truck really needs a paint job, new carpet, and a new engine at only 400 miles, then I think he got a "lemon" in the common sense of the word and should get a BRAND NEW REPLACEMENT. I wouldn't want to spend 30K and have all of these repairs done at only 400 miles.

anyway, I'll shut up now, since probably nobody knows what I'm talking about anyway.


let me just close with this...

SonicBlueBolt you are indeed welcome here. and we're glad to have you. BTW, you chose the fastest color! just be aware that as they say, opinions are like a...

oh forget it, you know what they say...

I hope that I didn't give you a negative first impression of this board and the Lightning community. there are a great bunch of people here and I enjoy visiting these boards regularly.

I sincerely hope that you get your truck fixed (or replaced) to your 100% satisfaction.

good luck, and once you get everything with your truck straightened out, trust me, you'll love owning a Lightning just like everybody else around here. these trucks are TONS OF FUN.... literally.

good luck.

sincerely,
chris haynie

SORRY FOR THE LONG POST. I'm off to Fun Ford Richmond!

 

Welcome to the boards,
I saw a sonic blue getting off the turnpike on okeechobee last week thursday. Seems to be alot of us around the west palm area.

 

Yes indeedy, we have a very deverse group of people here.

Welcome, new guy!

I think we all understand your having some tuff times right now Chris. Hang in there buddy. Hope you get your L back up and running soon.

God Bless us ALL

Peace VROOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM as the Black L disappears in the distance with that new Bassani Sound

 

Thanks guys you really made me feel welcomed.....Thanks Chris for your post and just to follow up.....I really do miss my truck already.....I am really down in the dumps right now because of all that happened yesterday at the dealership....but one good thing I get to look forward to is the power that I was lacking due to compression issues when I get it back...whether it be a new motor or a new vehicle.....never in my wildest dreams did I think that the truck would need a new motor...maybe a new gasket but a new motor????? wow.....and just so you all get a good laugh at my expense.....I was granted a rental car.....and its a 2004 Chevy Cavalier......woo hoo....look out all lightning owners as this car has some serious power.....LOL.....I am so embarrased to drive this car just because of what I just got done driving....04 lightning....no offense to any Cavalier owners but when you go from almost 400hp to barley 120hp.....its just a comical matter.....oh well...its better than taking the bus system I guess....

Hope everyone has a great weekend....and does anybody know of any gatherings in the South Florida area anytime soon.....

Let me know

 

Hey pal, thats 140 HP on the '04 Cavs. My daily beater Cav has over 167,000 miles and still gets 40 MPG on the highway. It will never die! Hope you get your truck back soon and in good condition.

 

Keep an eye out for standing water at the stop signs

 

SonicBlueBolt -
I'm new to so I can't really welcome you to the forum, however, this is my 2nd Lightning purchase. I had problems with the alignment on my '01, but that was the only thing. Other than that, I drove the crap out of it. Now, my '04 - i've gone 1 step more on the mods - i have a race program via my SCT programmer and a 4lb lower Metco blower pulley - don't know why it works yet since I can't get the blower belt back on - awaiting on some suggesstions from the group.

You will love the truck, plain out - it is an awesome piece of work from Ford's SVT Team.

Have fun and enjoy - don't let the few little things frustrate you, lots of good times ahead!

 

Crap 40 miles per gallon.......I dont think I have ever driven a car that gets that......

 

They have a gathering down at tower shops but I dont go often. The next gathering will be at moroso when the first cold front comes to town.

 

Chris -

That's a good response.

I posed the question to max mitchell "what gives?" not necessarily because I agreed with him, but more so because I wanted you to have the opportunity to respond. Luckily you read his post before it was edited.

Have fun at Fun Ford Richmond.