WDS, IDS Required or not?

[dieseldoc]

This is just a question. A friend was in to his local ford dealership with his 96 F-350 with 7.3, He took it in for running really rough. They replaced the cam sensor and charged him $800. They said it was for diagnostic time. He asked why it took so long. They responded with there is no scan tool available from ford or anyone else that will work with a 7.3 powerstroke. I found this rather odd being it was an authorized ford dealership. I would think that it is required as being a dealer that you purchase a necessary tool like WDS, or IDS. Am I wrong?

[ErickBaker]

I would be very worried about an $800 bill for replacing a cam sensor. Is that all he had done? I'm fairly certain that every Ford dealership is required to have a WDS or IDS. Cam sensors are a very common failure on the 7.3 and very simple to replace.

[DieselD]

someone is blowing smoke. if they had no scan tool how did they come to the conclusion that it needed a cam sensor? guess? is that worth 800bucks? they should be about a $400 repair on average.

 

To answer your question there are several scans tools that will work with the early PSD. the NGS, NGS+, WDS, PDA and of course the IDS. I would really hope a dealer would at least have a couple of those. they can not perform repairs on late model vehicles currently without the IDS now anyway

[Jim Warman]

This is the kind of crap we desparately need to curtail.... If this trade is ever going to be taken seriously, we need to get rid of the idea that a pair of coveralls with our chosen name on the left !@#!?$! and a box of tools makes us all "techs".

 

Your friend should, at the very least, have gotten a kiss.

[Alex Bruene]

I don't know about 1996, but 1994 and some early 1995 were still EEC IV... NGS or SuperStar II work just fine on those.

[Jim Warman]

And that is part of my point, Alex.... Even if we have to resort to a test lead and an analog voltmeter.... We're the freakin' Ford dealer! If we can't fix a Ford, who can???

[Keith Browning]

We're the freakin' Ford dealer! If we can't fix a Ford, who can???

I am starting to sense that there are a few dealers that are having trouble. In this case it almost sounds like someone got bent over.

[DieselD]

I don't know about 1996, but 1994 and some early 1995 were still EEC IV... NGS or SuperStar II work just fine on those.

on gasers yes but with the indroduction of the powerstroke mid year 94 it was EEC V. depending on model EEC-IV ran up to 95 before going to EEC-V

[Alex Bruene]

on gasers yes but with the indroduction of the powerstroke mid year 94 it was EEC V. depending on model EEC-IV ran up to 95 before going to EEC-V

Some of the early Powerstrokes were EEC IV.

[DwayneGorniak]

You are correct Alex. They only became EEC V after they had been reprogrammed up to EEC V for driveability issues with the good ole SBDS. Weren't those the days, hugh?

[dieseldoc]

That is exactly what I thought. I have worked on powerstrokes for a while and would in no way say I am expert. But I know that there is scan tools available to work on it. The dumbest part of the whole comment they made was that FORD did not offer a scan tool that will work. For christ sake they built the damn pick-up, and purchased the engines. They would have to provide service tools to repair the vehicles they built and sell. I told him to go back and try to get some of his money back. I am not saying that it shoul be free. They did fix the vehicle,who knows how but they did.