Yet another job that got OUT OF CONTROL!!!!

[run6.0run]

Hey guys,, So a truck came in on the hook,, no start. 04 with 225k mi. Pulled IPR, ran air test,, Leaking at what appeared to be the j tube or the pump itself. Put a known good in and she fired. Hmmmmm. This truck needed 3 injectors, fan clutch, tstat, n an upper rad hose. So I caulked it to another IPR. Got that job done and his bill was about 2400. I went ahead n drove it home to confirm the no start was fixed. The next morn it had an extremely long crank. Well crap!!! I had to call and tell him his pump might be going,,, or the j tube had rubbed through. I pulled the IPR again the next morning and the screen broke off. So I got my phone and was videoing to get the screen out. It was then I noticed there was a clean, rust free section under the IPR bore on the cover. Then I looked closer in the bore itself,, there was about 1/4 of the threads that were smooth,,, I mean not stripped,,, smooth!!! I pointed this out to him and said we need to disassemble to inspect further. Did I mention I ran a degas gauge on my trip home?? Yup,, blown. So as we were discussing options and costs,,, he decided to go ahead n get the hg's buttoned up. This took him into the 7-8k range. Actually high 8k range cause I sold him on a y pipe n the hpop (no matter if its not the culprit due to miles). Remember the first 2400 bill? So we got the cab up n got to it. The machine shop called n said the seats need redone. Another 1000. So he's in the 9k range. THEN IT GETS REAL GOOD!!!! The customer was at the shop,, I had the block ready for reassembly and I yelled at him to come here n let's spec his block. I got the straight edge and a .0015 feeler. He was sitting there watching me. After about twenty spots,,,, the feeler slid right under!!!!! OH CRAP!!!! He was watching too (thank god). I showed him how n let him check it. By then this customer is feeling like a train just ran over him. He knew what it meant. I stopped all work n we shut down for the night. I talked to him the next day after emotions are a lil calmer and told him that there's no way I can warranty the hg's. so he's now on for a full on rebuild. An overhaul kit is only available in .010 over. Not standard. So we had to bore and deck the block. We should be firing it tomorrow and his bill is just north of 13k!!!!!! Oh man he wishes he could tell the future. We did a rebuild a while ago that was 13k,, and he got all new injectors n a hpop and both harnesses.

 

Back to the hpop cover,, I will take a video of this job and show the cover. It is obviously a manufacturer defect. The bare spot in the bore is too clean to be stripped. He also got a hpop cover. Life is rough for him these days huh??? He mentioned a Craigslist reman a couple days ago. I told him my experiences with them and he opted not to do that. Most people I get in this situation say they have no plans to ever get rid of the truck. I always ask when the job gets this deep to see where their expectations are. We finished building the longblock and put it in chassis and Julie told me he is in the 13k range. I was expecting 11k range. I stopped then and waited for the customer to come by to give him the option to do a reman from one of those engine builders. I told him I will gladly keep the engine we just built. He said "HELL NO". Lol. I just didn't want him to feel trapped into our engine. Oh I didn't mention the crappy spot on one of the cam lobes that warrantied cam replacement. At least the crank was good. Lol. That's about it tho. I'm gonna shoot a video to show pics of all the broken crap. He came in for a couple injectors n a no start,, n is leaving with the kitchen sink. Lol. What do you guys think?? I'm all ears for suggestions on how you all would've handled it.

[Aaron]

Personally I would have put an FQR drop in complete in there.

 

Exceptional warranty and it's good anywhere, and if there's any problems Ford's on the hook, not you personally or your shop.

 

I don't know what you guys are paying for them there, but a buddy of mine is in the Chicago area and is paying 14-15 for a complete drop in 6.4, I can't imagine the 6.0 being more.

[run6.0run]

His bill would've been crazy high tho. We weren't about to walk from the labor he already owed us. Only after the heads were done, and 3 injectors were bought, installed, n ran. Did we see the block needed to come out. This is the first time I've seen a block not check out, so in turn I wasn't very concerned about it UNTIL I checked it. He was 3500 into it before the block. Not including any R&I labor. He'd be paying almost 15k with a 6007. And personally,, I've had quite a few of those all black engines in,, and I'm leery to sell them. Although the warranty IS a major selling point.

[Aaron]

Thought the deck spec was .003-.004.

[Chad_Kelsoe]

Per PTS, cylinder block flatness is .004 across the total area,  .002 across a 5.9"X5.9" area, and .001 across an .98"X.98" area.  Spec for the cylinder head is .004.

[run6.0run]

Yeah I was aware of that,, he had about .0018 across about 1 1/2" area. Little too close for my warranty. Lol

[scott1984]

Ouch man should have at least long blocked it with a ford remain.

[run6.0run]

I hear you all on the ford long block. I will still have to remove the heads to stud it. I just can't go that far and hope swapping bolt for stud actually holds. My cost on a long block is just north of $9k. So that leaves 4k for everything else. Including labor. With the fan clutch, studs, 4 injectors, hpop cover, oil cooler, and hpop,, I'd be starving if we went that route. I just got home from a couple hundred mile trip in this truck and its all done. He only owes about $2k more to pay off the parts,, but he's bringing almost $8k. I like those numbers.

[Chad_Kelsoe]

Not sure on swapping the head bolts for studs one at a time, but I do know that the Ford long blocks coming with new injectors, high pressure pump, pump cover, oil cooler, etc. All you swap over is turbo, intake, and EGR cooler.

[run6.0run]

That's the 6007 "full dress". I can't sell those. I'd be out of business very quickly if I let trucks leave paying $13k without studs. Or I could charge $14+ to buy another set of hg's, the studs, and I'd be replacing the rocker box gaskets as well. And Id also be reringing the injectors to install the studs(unless the heads are clean enough to leave injectors in, hopefully they would be). I haven't found anyone that likes that deal. I'm better off buying the shortblock for $5k, then two heads for $2100, and assembling it myself. But the shortblock only has a 12/12 warranty. I think it's one of the only parts that didn't get the 2yr warranty extension. Ford doesn't want to sell shortblocks. I did shoot a video showing this truck. He only got 4 injectors, hpop n cover, fan clutch, ect.