Brad Clayton Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 My recent Aerostar reminded me of past incidents with customers who threw in the towel after many repair attempts. The first one was a doozy. It was a 2004 Explorer with the auto engaging 4x4. The customer came in with a complaint of a skip/miss/engine misfire while cruising. They had replaced the spark plugs, spark plug wires, ignition coil and were getting ready to tear into the engine. I got it and went for a ride with power balance up. Sure as shit it had a perceived misfire but the power balance was steady. I locked into 4x4 and problem gone. I measured the tires and they were way off. The next one was a 2002 Mountaineer with AWD. This one would come to a complete stop when turning the wheel in a parking lot. The owner replaced the transfer case, both front and rear differentials, front wheel bearings, and front driveshaft. I got it and measured the tires and batta-bing-batta-boom. I would love to see the customers face when they get that call from the service advisor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseldoc Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 This story does not have to do with 4x4 but does relate to your tire size issue. I had a W900 kenworth come in, the customer wanted me to "replace the steering sector, theres one in the cab just put it on". Ok. . . so I put the sector on and bled the systemm. Took it for a test drive and on the highway, I hit a bump and it about ripped the steering wheel out of my hands. Called the customer and he stated "damn it, I was hoping that would fix that problem" Talked to him further and the alignment shop had been dealing with this issue on this truck for months over 4 visits. They put new king pins, tir-rod ends, steering shaft, springs and bushings in it, than put a whole new axle assembly in it, and realigned it 3 times, and just couldnt get it to go away. I asked him what happened just before it started, "well I had new tires put on all the way around" I checked the tires and found it had two different size steer tires on it, we are talking way different size tires. Needless to say he was unhappy with the so called alignment/tire shop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Had a customer bring an F-150 in, complaint of "binding up" in 4x4. So I jump in, start rolling it down the road, and at about 20mph, I flick the truck into 4x4 hi. The world came to a screeching halt, as well as the front tires. It was like a bull ride, try and hold on to something. I click it back into 2wd, and it goes away. I flip the work order over, and look at the repair history, and OASIS. About 4 or 5 repairs previous, in the summer, it had the rear axle ring and pinion replaced at a dealer about an hour from the one I am working at. Sooooo.... now it's winter and we have issues. I check the warranty history, and the rear gear ratio in the axle according to HVBOM is quite significantly different than the ratio of the gear set installed in the rear axle during the course of the rearend repair. Put the right ring and pinion in it, presto-change-o lockup/binding gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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