Neal, although you didn't refer to Home skillet or myself directly, you did say the dealer were morons and butchers. Thats the kind of attitude that forced me to join and voice my opinion. Has I already stated I 'am tired of this mind set towards the dealer techs. I read posts like this on this website and others all the time and it really gets old. Its real easy for people to bash us on this forum and pick up the phone 10 minutes later and beg us for info.

For everyones sake, The Ford manual does not state to remove the body, nor do we has techs do everything the ford manual says.

Lifting the cab off does sound bizarre to alot of people. I was the first to try it in my dealership and most all the other techs thought I was nuts but now they too all pull the cab.

You've never done this before I assume so you should'nt make statements like the one I quoted

Lets put this to rest

 

This does need to come to an end, however there are a couple of important points here---1st being I believe everyone has thier rights to express their opinion here, as long as it doesnt infring on ours rights....

I dont believe in this neal should be treated with the upmost respect...I believe everyone should be treated fairly and with the upmost respect!!!!!(sorry neal, no bashing intented)

If you had 100 people doing head gaskets, then you would have 100 different ways of doing them.....

My priorities are: the job being done right the first time with quality as a priority!!!
If this takes removing additional parts, then yes I am going to..

I repeat that I am open minded enough to listen to what everyone has to say...

I know that alot of you people out there have never been a tech, can understand about pulling the cab to do a better job...

No it does not say in the manual, but there is a lot of knowledge that is not in the manual!!!!

I hope that some one out there should have learned for this thread...I have....

I know for a fact that when I have to pull an engine from the f150,,I am going to pull the cab...maybe even head gaskets...

 

Look, I have been to the two dealerships here in Windsor and both of them didn't do half the job that my dealership (1 1/2 hours North of Windsor) does AND they have cheaper labour rates. The 1st dealership cost me $187 for a piece of wire and a connector ($1.87) that replaced a broken wire going to the fuel pump relay. They even had to put the truck on the computer to find the problem when I told them not too. They even wanted me to let them do a tune-up on the truck that was done not 6 months before they seen the truck. Now what do you call that ??? I call that B.S. !!! Plain and simple, tring to get money for something that didn't need to be done !!! To me a good dealership can take the information from the customer and relay that to the tech. They inturn check things over and go from there. The computer should be the last resort. I asked my dealership what they thought the problem was with the information I gave the crooks (1st dealership) and they had the answer in less than 5 minutes. The other dealership didn't come good with a safety that they did on the truck just two weeks and about 500 kms since the check was done.

Now you wonder why people don't like dealerships and start the name calling. If the people who work at the dealerships knew what they were talking about and how to do the job while listening to the customer, things would be alot better. I really hate to be some of these old people who beleive everything that these dealerships are telling them. Hopefully Ford will fix this problem quickly. Since you are a tech, why don't you learn from other people on here and help from the inside since Ford has done a whole lot in this area yet. You want to help, then here is your opportunity !!!!

Have Fun & Keep on Truckin'
Dean

 

Izzyeddy, If you knew what was wrong why did you even bother to bring the truck to the dealership? Its pretty normal procedure to hook up diagnostic equipment to verify the diagnosis and look for other problems. If the dealer had done what you told them to and there was another problem you would have been posting how the dealer didn't fix it the first time.





Just what problem are you talking about? What do I need to learn? Cars and trucks have gotten very complex over the last ten years and your high and mighty independent repair shops struggle to keep up with the technology, I realyze there are alot of quality independent repair shops out there, why aren't they bashed like the dealer is? The dealer I work for I feel is honest has well has the other dealers in my area. You talk about dealers ripping people off, I am not going to sit here and tell you that doesn't happen from time to time, but it also happens at independent repair shops has well. It is the nature of the business because there is not really much regulation to prevent it from happening. The best way to prevent being ripped off is to ask for the old parts, ask to see the published labor time, ask to see the new parts on the car if possible. and give the service advisor correct information. If they can't provide you with these things you have reason to think they may be hiding somthing.


I've never stated that all techs are honest, it's just not really fair to blame dealer techs only. I started on this post because Neal was bashing a common repair method that in my opinion he knew nothing about. My feelings are if you can't repair your car yourself don't try and tell someone else how to do it. I don't tell a Dr. how to perform surgery, which I know nothing about.


Automotive repair techs are very underated it takes years and more training than most people realyze to master the skill and the truth is no one ever masters it. Give us some of the respect we deserve.

 

mx,

You get what you paid for and the advice here is free. There are many unwritten short cuts that never see publication. I at first found it strange, but after careful thought it would be kind of neat to have the cab out of the way while doing head work.

It is funny that that on the 4x4s it is easier to remove the battery and tray to access the 10mm bold that holds the connector to the PCM. Yet with the proper ¼ drive socket you can get around the vacuum solenoids that are in the way. The person that suggested this method was not chastized so in fairness to you, you should be accorded the same respect.

Regards

Jean Marc

 

Thanks for your support JMC.

 

HI!... TO ALL : I stated my opinion and that was it. If some were offended by it, OH WELL, that's life deal with it. There are a ton of things said on this site and others that really **** me off and I don't get involved with those threads because I know it turns into threads like this. It all come down to, that some people have different ways of doing things. Hey, if the job gets done, and done right, who cares! I'm comfortable doing the heads with the cab on. Some are more comfortable with the cab off. So be it. If I offended anyone by stating my opinion then I apologize for it but I still beleive in what I said. Well I think this thread definately needs to die now. I was hoping it was going to die 2 pages ago but some people don't know when enough, is enough. Let it die!!!!!! We have discussed everything there is, about this subject and got different opinions on it. Some for, and some against. PEACE!!!!!!!!!!


I hope to chat with some of you new comers in other threads in the future and mabey sometime we can help eachother out.

 

I did look under the hood of the truck and I missed the broken wire. I was in that area and didn't move it enough for it to pop out. After the job was done and the next time I was back up North was when I was talking to my dealership. I have yet to go to that dealership and have them tell me that I NEED to put the truck on the computer to find a problem. There was only one time that my truck ever went on the computer and that was to verify that the O2 sensor that had less a year's worth of mileage on it was bad. That is it AND I told them to do it because I didn't believe that the sensor was bad !!! If left up to one of the guys here in Windsor, it would have been on a computer every other time that it was in the garage. That is what I am talking about !!!

The problems that I was talking about you helping to fix is the fact that not all dealerships are the same regardless of location and ownership. If I go into a dealership here in Windsor, 1 1/2 hours North, in California OR one in Texas. My treatment and the procedures should all be the same. I or my truck should not be treated any different due to location OR the size of the dealership. The two dealerships here in Windsor are much larger than the one that I deal with up North. So you would figure that they should have better customer service than a little guy. Why's that ??? It shouldn't matter.

Have Fun & Keep on Truckin'
Dean

 

Does it really matter if the cab is removed. If it's warranty work the dealer is responsible for the task including any related damage. How about doing the job yourself---Does anyone own a lift capable of a full body lift, probably not. If I had to pay out of pocket, the cheapest way would be the best way. It's a shame to see nice people being offended by such trivial stuff.

 

Well, boys, all I can say is nothing suprises me about mechanics and how they approach repairs.

I have this friend who can fix anything. This guy thinks nothing of taking a junker Dodge and putting a Ford rear end on it. The guy works on anything. From earth movers to ricers to boats.

Anyway, my friend claims that he can do a clutch job faster if he pulls the engine out. He said in one of the shops he worked at, they did a test and found out they saved a lot of time by pulling the engine instead of doing it the traditional way.

So, pulling off a cab doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen cabs off of trucks often enough at my dealership that I asked about it and as others have said, they do it because it saves time and there's less chance of damaging the body.

 

Neal its great that we can post our opinions in a forum like this my point started out was to correct the negative mindset of pulling the cab for engine repairs, and it ended up getting off the subject, has a former tech I think you could agree that it gets a little old being bashed all the time.



Izzy, I really can't honestly speak for the dealers in your area. I also can't solve what you think the problem with dealerships is. Dealerships are individually owned businesses that operate under Ford guidelines. Ford does have some means of making life difficult for dealers that continually have bad customer service. If Ford had there way I think that the quality of repairs would drop. A dealer is no different than any other business, I would be willing to bet that every McDonalds you've been to was not run exactly the same, yes they had the same golden arches. I don't think anyone really wants Ford to take over its dealerships.


Dealerships and their techs are not all the same, some are better than others. No matter how good or bad the dealership may be nothing changes the fact that dealers have the best technical support around which goes along way when it comes to fixing your vehicle right the first time. I would also willing to bet that most people out there would also get somewhat offended if they were constantly called crooks and morons.

 

Amen Neal! This thread definitely needs to die out now...everything that can be said has been said. I dont hold anything against you, hope we can help each other out sometime. Catch ya on the flip side.

MN4x4...signing out.

 

I agree with this thread dieing about neal and mn4x4, they have kissed and made up good for everone...

But there are some VERY good points being brought up here, about techs and dealerships...

Maybe I need to start another thread...

The general public doesnt realize about the techs, it is a demanding job and reqires years of training, both mecanical and electronics....I am a tech and have my own shop, I also work making the worlds fastest Micropressors...

When the general public takes their trucks to the dealer, do they talk to the tech---NO, they talk to the service writer(who I must say knows absolutely nothing about vehicles)..I believe Ford has realized this and now they are not supposed to sepulate on matters...This is a problem because the tech does not talk directly with the customer...I have to talk with the customer for several minutes to understand his problem, No body knows their truck better then the owner.....

Problem #2--Flat rate..The tech gets paid a certain amount of time to perform a task...This is where pulling the cab comes in, its easier, faster and you can do a quality job this way...
This is a major problem area because quality can be comprimized for a reduction in time spent on repairs..Also if Ford pays you 10 minutes to dianose something, you cant spend a day driving the truck and trying to find the problem...

Problem#3--independent Garages, are not set up to work on everything, but cant sepecialize on just Fords either..Its costs alot of money to buy dianostic equipment..But if it weren't for the independent then Ford would have the monopoly and you would pay triple what the dealer gets today...

Point in case---You can go to the Ford dealership and get the worse mechanic, or you can go to the corner gas station and find the best mechanic there...You just dont know...Finding a good tech(and this name is accurate) is like finding a good dentist or doctor....Once you find him/her you better hang on to him....Thats why we have these forums---to learn from each other---And I make it a point to learn something every day!!!!!!

This is my make/opinion on the subject...

 

Well here it goes....I was looking for the specs on the cranking amps for a PSD, the reason is my girlfriends turbo diesel vibrator just died and I cant get it started, any ideas....lol

This thread needs to end......


End...


End...

5.4

 

I have no opinion or experience with the body on/off debate, but I thought this was interesting. I found it at www.blueovalnews.com


http://flatratetech.com/navigator1.htm