fordby4,

I don't know if your neighbour got his truck fixed or not but I hope he went elsewhere to get it done. In case you were wondering the shop manual does not instruct one to lift the cab for both valve cover removal nor cylinder head removal. I have done body lifts on the new model Fs and I would never remove the cab to change these two items. Yes, it is tight in there but it is not necessary.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

Neal--the reason i ask is we all need good competent tech's out here!!!!!

I am glad you found happiness and a better payroll...The reason we have forums like this is the bad dealerships and techs we have today...its a shame to lose a good one....

I still will stand to the side that if you have to take the compressor off of the engine to get to the front spark plug easier then sometimes this is the way to do it....

Some people take the fuel rail off when they change plugs!!!!

Is this wrong???no its just a different approach on a way to do a job easier/better...

My whole point(which is different for this topic) is to be open minded enough to accept different ways of doing a particular job..
what is right for me may not be right for someone else...

Lets be open minded here and who cares if he drives a chevy,,he still owns a FORD!!!!

 

I'm not as mechanically inclined as many of you are so my views are not that of a mechanic or someone who does his own engine work.


I agree with Neal. Why? Because I cannot see Ford designing the truck and engine to require cab removal to get at parts. Ford knows that their gaskets are cheap. They also know that they have to pay for the work to replace it. They also have to pay for the side-effects of a cab removal (bent panels, scratches, squeeks and rattles etc). What do these techs do with cars that have far smaller engine bays with less room to work?


The other thing being, what if a smaller dealership isnt equipped to pull the cab? Obviously, they have to do it the old fashioned way.


So lets stop fighting. Neal has a fast truck, just watch the videos. MN4x4 has apologized twice and we all love our trucks and would not want to see them screwed up by an incompetent tech or mechanic.

 

im not sure what they do or how they do it, but this thread has been very interesting

 

Neal when you go to grand bend let me know so i will be there.
i just got a set of gt-40p heand f8 what are these heads like??? i'll be running then on my new motor in the ranger.

289 30 over 509 cam or more flat tops single plan intake and a 500cfs 4 bbl,3500stallcon,c-4 ad 373 grears all in a 88 ranger how fast do you think it will go

 

Neal you are truly a moron. I've worked for a Ford dealer for over 15 years and yes I pull bodies off trucks and Expeditions, it is without a doubt the fastest way to perform a major engine repair without damaging the vehicle. You brag about doing heads in your driveway in 4 hours. I find this hard to believe, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I can and do pull bodies it it usually takes less than 30 minutes! and once the body is off everything is easly accessable. Your 4 hour head job is easy to beat when removing the body. I have never damaged a vehicle removing the body. It is really shocking to see how little is actually removed to pull a body. Neal maybe if you had opened your eyes to new ways of doing things you could have made the big money has a tech. I've worked with several guys like you, you think you know so much your pride won''t allow you to admit someone has a better idea. People wake up and smell the coffee most Ford dealers I know off pull cabs, it is easier and causes no damage to the truck

 

HI!... MXRACER514 : 1ST off if your going to start name calling then you can leave this site NOW!!!!! We here on F-150 ONLINE don't tolerate name calling. This proves to me and everyone reading this that you ARE truly the "MORON". I've worked at 2 FORD dealerships in the past and it surprised me a lot on how much most dealership techs no *****! lol! Just with this truck alone I've had to fix several thing tha the dealership broke or screwed up in pure stupidity. I went to 5 dealers around here just to see for myself and none, yes the word NONE of them remove the cab to do head gaskets. I don't see the problem in doing them with the cab on. Fairly easy if you ask me, but I am very tall so that could be it. I am one of the 1ST people to do something the fastest and easiest way there is. I just think and 5 dealers around here that removing the cab is a waste of time and a problem waiting to happen in the future. I made good money as a tech, let's just say more than most. I made a career change and that was up to me, not you. We had guys like you at the shops that I used to work at, they did'nt last long with your kind of attitude or they got taught a new one behind the shop. Thanks for your opinion but it was not necessary.

 

Ain't nobody lifting my cab!.....Watch, now after saying that my valve cover gaskets are going to start leaking!

 

Mxracer,

I don't mind learning a thing or two so if you don't mind here goes. As I stated before the manusal doesn not instruct removal of cab. Now, how high do you raise the cab? Do you move it to one side and completely expose the front clip? What do you use and where do you put the lifting mechanism.
When we do a body lift in the yard, we use a 2x6 across the cross members of the cab. Only one side is done at a time. We do the box first, one side then the other side then one side of the cab then the next. 6 bolts for cab, including fenders and 6 bolts for the box. I don't see removing the Cab for valve cover gaskets but it would make sence for the heads.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

Neal, the only reason I joined this forum is dispute what you have stated about cab removal and to clear the air about this procedure. I have worked for 3 ford dealers since 1984 so you can't say I won't last long and to this day I haven't had anyone take me out back. I have seen quite a few techs come and go over the years and I must agree that not all dealer techs are the brightest but they have some of the best support possible. Every dealer has its share of strong and weak techs, I dont happen to be one of those weak techs. I don't envy the independent shops they have got to attempt to repair all makes and models. Has you know at most dealerships the techs specialize, therfore we make the same repairs over and over again, so we get pretty good at it. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I have had to redo the work of someone who claimed to know what they were doing. Am I perfect? No I get a recheck from time to time no ones perfect. I like many other dealer techs take pride in my work and I am really tired of getting bashed on forums like this by people who may or may not know what they are talking about. Maybe some of those dealers in your area like doing things the hard way You should judge someones way of making a repair unless you've tried, you dont know what you are talking about. Would I pull a cab to do valve cover gaskets? No Way! I would however pull a body to replace a engine or make a major engine repair such has a head gasket.

Pulling the cab is easy. It takes me less than 30 minutes to pull a regular cab truck a expedition takes about 45 minutes. It may sound scary but it is really no big deal most every thing stays with the cab.

 

JMC, If you don't have a 2 post lift I would not recommend pulling the body. Its really quite simple, the bed stays with the chassis, you pull all the cab body mount bolts the rad hoses remove master cyl from booster and support , battery cables, e-brake cable , fuels lines, 1 bolt on lower steering colum be careful to not let to steering wheel turn or you will wipe out the clock spring ( i did that once) ps cooler trans cooler lines and a few wire looms and hoses. lift the body off the chassis using your lift and roll the chassis out from under the cab or coolant will drip on your head I can't really explain the spot to lift it from.

 

HA, HA, HA!
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
NEAL,you're the one that started all the name calling!!!!
I guess when you go to the doctor, you tell him how to operate on you.

This started out as a good topic of discussion, 'till you came along.
[B]

 

This debate seems to be going nowhere fast. I have looked for where it says to remove the cab (in my Ford factory service manual) for any engine repair, I could not find it.
To the reletive newcomers. Please take into consideration the fact that you are only seeing a few posts from the actual "senior" members. People like NEAL, who have been here since the beginning. Take a look at his post count. This should tell you something. NEAL is a highly respected member of this site. In the year that I have been a (daily visiting) member I have seen NEAL, and countless others give great advise, information and opinions. No I don't "know" any members, but if you spend enough time here you figure out where people are coming from. You who become a new member and start off arguing, and trying to discredit long standing members are, in my opinion, starting off on the wrong foot. I'm only a member like everyone else, so it really dosn't matter one bit what I think. Think about it though.

To many of us who are not tech's, lifting the cab for any engine repair sounds odd.
I think the next time I have to replace a circulating pump on a hydronic heating system I will remove the entire boiler and bring it back to the shop to install the circulator. That sound ok?

Tom

 

HI!... HOME SLILLET : I just read this entire thread again. Where exactly am I calling anybody names??? Are you reading between the lines? Is there invisible ink somewhere I don't see!LOL! I bet your the one that goes to the doctor and actually likes getting his PHYSICAL done!LOL! By the way there was no discussion when I came along. I was the 2nd to post!LOL! It seems most of the problems accured when you came along and we all did'nt bow to the mighty FORD TECH.

 

HI!... mxracer514 : I know where your coming from exactly. I've seen mechanics come and go, some terrible at the trade and others fantastic. I also take great pride in my workmanship. That's one reason I got out of the trade. Working for a dealership they are consistantly rushing you and rushing you wanting production. This is when mistakes are made and the quality goes to hell. I think that is one of the main reasons why you see so many people these days complaining about dealership work. Life goes on I guess. The way I look at it, sometimes a hard way of doing something for one person is easier for another. I guess it's different for every person. It's a difference of opinion. If we all had the same opinion on everything then the world would be a dull place. I prefer to do head gaskets with the cab on and you and others prefer to do it with the cab off. So be it. It's whatever YOU are comfortable doing, because you are the one doing the job at hand at the time. No matter what way it's being done the whole point is it's being done and done right. Hope to see you around F-150 ONLINE more often.