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Proof of a Tuner?

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Ok, I saw in a caption under a pic here that a specific "star" shaped pattern on the tops of the pistons in these engines is "rumored" to be a sign of an aftermarket tune..

 

My question is, what is the credibility of this statement? I'm curious as to what proof, if any, there is to back up that statement. I'm just curious, as I've probably had the heads off of 20 or so 6.0's and a few of them showed very similar markings. One of them was on an '06 that was actually in for an oil leak, but the vehicle only had like 2,000 miles and I personally konw that the vehicle had never seen a tuner..

 

But this raises an eyebrow for me, as we've had a number of vehicles in with trashed heads that I was suspicious of having a tune, but with the popularity of hand-held tuners that allow you to change programming whenever you want, it's getting harder and harder to prove from a dealership level. There are other signs that some mods may have been made, but Just because someone has a 5" exhaust, doesn't mean that they're trying to squeeze 40psi and 800ft/lbs out of it either. And I'm not going to tell a customer to bend over and eat a $6,000 bill when his $50,000 truck is blowing coolant all over the ground, because I said that we won't warranty the repair due to an air filter change and larger exhaust.

 

Dave

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First, Dave, let me welcome you to the "house" that FordDoctor built.... Unlike Ford, there is no "censorBot" and those of us on both sides of the 49th get to compare notes.....

 

I think it's going to be tough to make or break someones warranty on a combustion chamber pattern.....

 

My take.... seeing "evidence of" power adders is a lot different from seeing a power adder physically attached - of course the little knob marked "Banks 6 gun" or the Edge control panel are pretty much enough - we can't really fly on hunches.

 

But... consider this.... Let's say I have a customer that bought from a dealer 200 miles away because he didn't like "our" price... He has "some" mods. Compare him to a customer that buys 10 or 20 trucks a year from us.... yes, some people are a little more equal than others.

 

If that offends anyones sensibilities, I am truly sorry. My job is to repair trucks and to repair them to the best of my abilities. I can only ever make recommendations to the powers that be.

 

The bottom line.... consider that some of the things we do... some of the things we say.... these have the chance of becoming "legally significant"... If we say something "bad", we best be "sure".

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