Keith Browning Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I'm surrounded apparently and this is really a sad statement about our industry. This morning I had the pleasure of working on a 2009 E-Series ambulance with a 6,oL that had a lack of power and a hissing noise on acceleration. Root cause was a mis-placed and over tightened CAC tube clamp at the turbo that cut the tube. On the way in to access the tube all of the retainers for the upper plastic sheild were missing. Hold down bolt for the A/C liquid line missing and the high pressure connection was resting on the battery power connector, cap missing. All of the small screws for the harness bracket along the cowl are missing. De-gas hose from the intake manifold folded under the intake tube. The oil filler tube clamp left locked in the hold position (loose). The degas bottle covered with coolant stains, coolant on the air cleaner lid, coolant 3/4 gallon low. New FICM half shell - old calibration in the PCM and FICM. Here is the best part - the VGT actuator connector was destroyed so the technician decided some RTV silicone would hold it in place. I stopped working on it after replacng the connector- imagine if I dug deeper. The vehicle was at another dealership 3 weeks ago for head gaskets, oil cooler and EGR cooler. Still hard to start, still pushing coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Yikes. I have ran into a couple of those down here, but it's usually from back yard mechanics or used car jockeys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 On an ambulance. Lovely. Shakin' my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Not that that's OK on a regular vehicle, but you can only hope that if you butcher an ambulance it isn't the one that comes to pick you up from an emergency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselD Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 This was a very common sight in my bay unless I was lucky enough to get one that had not been apart before. Whats worse if you would get one that had been hacked on by one of their own ambo techs then it got real ugly.... Seeing under the hood of some of these ambos makes me fear ever getting a ride in one. I could be missing a arm or leg and be laying there worrying about the hacked together 6.0 running me to the hospital.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I think it's pretty common. A lot of people hate working on 6.0 E-Series... So corner cutting and butchery happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saunoras Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I've been servicing a fleet of 9 here and suprisingly haven't found too much hacked up. Lucky for me the tech doesn't get too far into these things or I can imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Clyde Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I have seen them in various conditions that rank below pathetic. Some that come from fleet garages, the ones that are retail that have been elsewhere, and even some out of our own shop. My favourite is when they show up on the hook already in a state of disassembly. I agree, some people don't care because they don't want to work on them. Me personally, I don't mind them at all, but then again, I didn't mind working on the Wheel Trans buses either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 but then again, I didn't mind working on the Wheel Trans buses either. That makes one of us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Originally Posted By: Jeff Clyde but then again, I didn't mind working on the Wheel Trans buses either. That makes one of us! Mikey's favorites! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Meanwrench Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I agree on SOME of fleet shops being hacks and butchers. I have had some shit break down in my area i have had to fix. I see even more of it coming from dealerships. I refuse to take a truck to the dealership. We prefer to make any repairs out of our pocket and get the truck back in service as soon as possible. The dealers up here leave them sitting for weeks before looking at them. I was told by our closest ford dealer that i was better equipped to fix these than he was. I apologize if anyone is offended, I just being honest with what i am seeing in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Eric: I have heard many similar stories and I think the problem is industry wide, on both sides, dealer and independant. May I politely remind you that your audience here consists mostly of dealer techs. People may remember statements like that when you ask for help someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Good thing about the audience here is that we know we are not hacks. I work at a dealership and I hear stories about other dealerships. Sad really. Just today I had interactions with a customer who had an oil cooler on his 6.7L replaced and was curious about the EOT/ECT numbers. He told me he phoned over 20 dealerships and no-one would give him any answers or told him they really didn't work on diesels and didn't know. We have a 6.4L getting a HPFP 3000km after having the engine replaced, AT A DEALERSHIP. It has the fuel line bracket at the oil pan missing, the small bracket for the vertical EGR cooler missing( but the clamp is there, holding nothing) and the DOC pipe to the EGR cooler is also missing the support bracket. All the HPFP heatshield bolts were loose. I blame the Service managers more than anything for allowing this crap to go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Meanwrench Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I understand that most of the folks are dealer techs and I respect all of you. We are all on here because we give a shit. I wish more people industry wide would take pride in what they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Okay, I'll bite. For the record, I hate working on 6.0L E-Series which most of you already know. BUT, I will not refuse to work on them by any means. As most of them are now well out of warranty, I will quote the labour cost of the repair accordingly depending on level of difficulty, and still come out ahead despite having my chest and arms all scratched up to ratshit by the end of the job. And I'm no big guy either. But at least at the end of it, I can sleep at night knowing that I executed the repair to the best of my ability routing every last little connector, part of wiring harness and tube back to their original locations, in an attempt to make it appear as though it had never been apart. And I'm no speed demon or star tech by any means either. And in all fairness to the other techs from indy shops, I and all the other dealer techs wrench for the most part exclusively on our brand. Indy techs wrench on different makes and models everyday, therefore they don't have the luxury of knowing where every component and fastener goes back like we do. As far as silly snotting wiring connectors go, if it were me, it's either getting a wiring pigtail or harness, or I don't do the repair at all, plain and simple. The unfortunate truth here guys, is that for every one of us that are regular visitors/posters on this and many other forums who actually do give a rat's tail about the workmanship in every repair we put through, how many other techs are there out there who don't come on forums, seeking assistance and posting do you think DON'T? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Meanwrench Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 My personal opinion on ambulances is this, If you do not have the proper manuals,diagnostic equipment or knowledge of the vehicle, let it pass you by. It's not worth someone's life if it fails. I fix ambulances exclusively. A majority of my fords have been replaced (14) leaving me with no choice but to start over buying subscriptions, training, GM scan tools and specialty tools. But it's what has to be done. These are emergency vehicles and i take it very seriously. I agree with harness replacements and pigtails, unfortunately I replace more harnesses than pigtails. The heat from idling all day kills them quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 ^^^ What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbudge Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 In the end, it is not the shop that is working on your vehicle, it is an individual human being that is working on your vehicle. The shop may have policies in place that encourage or discourage good workmanship, but it is up to the individual if the job is done well or a hacked up mess. It is too easy to be an anonomous hack hiding in the shadows with no consequences for doing a bad job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saunoras Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 The anonymous part is the problem. Too many guys hide behind their managers. I prefer to talk to the customer myself and let service personnel handle the numbers. I work in a shop that up until 3 years ago never had a truck customer and never even sold an e-series 6.0. You pretty much have to win over new customers and it doesn't work with flat rate repairs. Now I know 4 diesel techs at the areas largest dealership and they are so damn spoiled it's not even funny. All but one has the mentality that they own their customers. It's really a shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Bingo!!! Every tech has a different thresh hold for what he might consider "hackery". Cross threads, over torques, galled threads -didn't use loctite , used red loctite where blue would do.... and on and on and on. Some of it happens because someone is in a rush, some of it happens without it every entering someones mind... let us face it, stercus accidit is part and parcel of the human condition. But how much of it happens because someone doesn't care or someone doesn't care to learn. Who here has read the WSM to see the "proper" way to install SuperDuty wheel nuts? Who realizes that letting an impact wrench rattle on a wheel nut and then "torquing" it will only tell you how loose it isn't. (no, I am not going to comment on torque sticks - but if you feel good about using them, I will not try to change your mind - allow me the courtesy of not trying to change mine). Forgotten (loose or missing fasteners...) hackery? Or brain fart? or rushing? I'm fussy... very fucking fussy. I find and fix a lot of mistakes in the course of a week... sadly, there are still some of my own. And before we are subject to a large round of guffaws, some of them might be yours. Yes, there are a lot of intentional hacks out there - but you don't generally find them populating arenas such as this. Consider this - what is a "career" and what is a "job". Where do they split, where do they converge and how does it play in your existence? And if you see someone obviously doing something wrong... what can you do? What do you do? And how, in the name of Yahweh, do you do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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