Keith Browning

I received some awesome news this evening! Our fellow DTS member Bruce Amacker has been named Educator of the Year at the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) 2007 Conference held recently in Long Beach, CA. Bruce is not only a DTS member but was the first supporter of the DTS web site including sponsorship, interacting in our forums and providing me with words of encouragement. (and an occasional file or two) It is nice to be able to share good news and positive things happening around us. Congratulations Bruce! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif Quote: Mitchell 1 Names Bruce Amacker 2007 Educator of the Year Bruce Amacker, owner and instructor of TurboTraining, has been named Educator of the Year at the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) 2007 Conference held recently in Long Beach, CA. Each year Mitchell 1 recognizes one of the nation’s top teachers for excellence in automotive repair instruction. As Featured in AutoCarePro:News. "Mitchell 1 is proud to join with NACAT for another year to honor those who have demonstrated a commitment to educational excellence in the automotive repair industry," said Karen Wagner, marketing manager for Mitchell 1. "Bruce Amacker has an outstanding reputation as an instructor and trainer and we feel he is an outstanding choice for this award. Everyone at Mitchell 1 would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to Bruce for winning this prestigious award." Amacker was presented with a check for $500 along with a recognition certificate, courtesy of Mitchell 1. Since 1998, Amacker has been the owner of TurboTraining, where he provides instruction and training for PowerStroke/T444E/ DT466E Engines, School Bus Fleet Maintenance, ABS Braking Systems, Multiplexing, Automotive Fuel Control, and other topics across the United States. He has more than 25 years of repair experience. From 1977 through 2003, Amacker was the owner and operator of Fleet Plus where he employed three full-time technicians under his management, using state-of-the-art diagnostic and repair tools. At Fleet Plus, he specialized in light- and medium-duty truck repair for small businesses. He has also attended ASE writing workshops as an evaluator and editor. Amacker is certified as an ASE master Automobile Technician. Selection criteria for the Educator of the Year award requires that a master automotive technician excel on all ASE automotive tests, including A1 – A8 (Engine Repair, Automatic Transmission/Transaxle, Manual Drive Train and Axles, Suspension and Steering, Brakes, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Heating and Air Conditioning, Engine Performance) and the L1 (Advanced Engine Performance Exam).

You mean good 'ol Jacques the Knife?

Also, if you use an older keyboard that doesn't have a Windows button, press the "Ctrl" & "Esc" buttons simultaneously to make the windows start menu appear.

/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rofl.gif

Try a WINDOWS keyboard and hit the key with the Windows logo on it. This will bring up the start menu. Worked for me. You can identify a Windows keyboard by locating the key with the windows logo. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/scratchhead.gif I know that seems obvious but for some reason I thought it was necessary to... you know.

Transmissions are not major failures? Or was that the new preventative transmission maintenance replacement program? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

Not E-Series but a lot of desiccant bags going on Super Duty's. I have three in the last two weeks with parts ordered that I cant get installed until our AC flusher arrives. ( TSB 06-17-12 )

A funny side note, Bill Ford applied to become a member. He used is Hotmail address which I thought was peculiar as he has his own web domain. I declined that one immediately. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/icon_crazy.gif I hope I was right in calling that one out. It would have been pretty cool having him login. I just don't know if Jim Warman could have contained his joy though! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

The short answer is no. To access this FORUM you must fill out the registration form and submit it. The form then sits in my control panel until I approve it and unlock the account, then, and only then can you log in here. I verify people based on who I invite and I call the dealership and ask for you! Now, there have been times early on that I was a little relaxed about it and somebody could have lied and snuck in. It is possible. There are many members that have never made a single post despite visiting at least once a week. Yes, I can see who logs in and when when I need to. Nobody has made a post that has raised suspicion yet. If you know of anyone who has, or claims to have and wish to report them or discuss it in private, please send me a PM or an email. We aren't disclosing any trade secrets anything of importance so it's not a big deal any way. There are techs I know were declined because they didn't think filling in their full name, dealer or company and work telephone number was necessary. I don't think its asking too much. No info? No access. For the record, this forum is intended for: FORD, INTERNATIONAL technicians, all other dealer personnel, ALL Ford Motor Company employees from top to bottom, ALL International employees from top to bottom, Blue Diamond Truck, ANY training instructor OEM or private, Ford part suppliers, like Siemens, Raycor, Visteon... ...and like I mentioned, a few select individuals I invited. We have members from the U.S. military, serving abroad and at home and a few Ford techs from abroad.

Then there is my current situation. I have a new service writer, who does not know our computer system and is for now, creating a lot of leg work for me. He has a great attitude and should shape up nicely as long as our customers don't make him quit.

There are several web courses you would have to take. One or two are updates and there's a new one for the 6.4L. Then you will need to take the classrom course for the 6.4L. All this after you are re-entered into STARS.

Since I have access to the info I went looking... everywhere. The hard start/no start diagnostics state: "The 8 volt specification represents the minimum battery voltage required for engine starting." This is the only mention of a minimum voltage and the 8 volt spec is good for both the PCM and the FICM. Now, we can assume that the modules simply wont work with less voltage than 8 volts and that would be correct. We can make an educated assumption that the memory in the PCM is just like the memory in other modules which draw milliamps with the vehicle shut down suggesting a very low power requirement. But thats amps, not volts... which brings us back to the question of, at what voltage do we lose KAM? It is an interesting question. Somebody ask a HotLine engineer when you have one on the line! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eeeesh.gif

How about run down batteries? Often when wee see a truck towed in because the STC fitting let loose some idiot kept thinking just 30 more seconds and maybe she will start! There seems to be a crank it till it dies mentality that is more common than you think. Exactly how low does a battery have to go to kill KAM? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif All the way or is there a minimum voltage threshold?

Quote: Have none of you guys membered-up on that site to join the discussion yet? I actually recently signed up. I regularly view the statistics for this web site and I see when, and where visitors come from by domain name and I.P address. I have always thought that PowerStroke.org was a more refined site. Don't ask me why. I know, its stupid but I did. A recent spike in hits coming from the site got me to go looking at what was generating the sudden traffic... it was the 6.4L flame video. (I wish I could thank the guy that shot that!) Boy, was I surprised that that site is the biggest gathering of, um, no comment. Oh yeah, I have twice started writing a response to posts on that particular topic then I realized I would either get flamed or ignored.

And this is one GOOD reason to finally get everyones head out of their asses and start doing things the way they should be done. This encompasses training, work ethics, job performance and the way we treat each other, from the top of Ford Motor Company all the way down to the tech in the service bay.

...in case the link stops working in the future... (you guys may post articles as long as you do it like this) Quote: Dealer Magazine | July 2007 Another Problem for Ford Dealers by : Rich Sox Just when you thought things were tough enough for Ford dealers, Ford’s warranty dispute with Navistar over the 6.0 liter diesel engine is spilling over onto Ford dealers. We are representing eight Ford dealers in Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas who have been sent a subpoena by Navistar requesting thousands of pages of warranty documents. For those of you who are not aware of this dispute, Ford has sued Navistar for failing to reimburse Ford for warranty payments made to dealers for work done on the troubled 6.0 liter diesel engine built by Navistar and put in the F250 and larger trucks. Ford has sought a whopping $800 million in warranty payment reimbursement from Navistar. What’s the big deal with Ford dealers being asked to produce documents, you ask? To answer that question one need only look as far as the counterclaim filed by Navistar in response to Ford’s complaint. Navistar claims that Ford’s request for reimbursement is made in bad faith because 1) Ford dealers did work on the engine that was unnecessary in order to fix the problem; 2) Ford dealers claimed to have done work on the engine that was not actually done; and 3) Ford dealers did not follow proper repair procedures. Thus, whether they like it or not, Ford dealers’ warranty practices are being put on trial in this lawsuit. Our main concern is that if the judge in the Ford v. Navistar case makes a finding that Navistar does not have to reimburse Ford for the warranty payments made to dealers due to the dealers’ inappropriate handling of the work on the 6.0 liter diesel engine, who do you think Ford will turn to for reimbursement of the $800 million? You got it, the dealers. If dealers produce the year’s worth of warranty documents that Navistar is seeking, Ford will have access to warranty records that go well beyond the limitations provided for in many state motor vehicle franchise laws. Massive chargebacks could follow! Of course, we have to be careful how we object to these subpoenas. It would not go over very well with the judge to argue that the warranty records shouldn’t be produced because dealers may have done something wrong. So, we have thus far objected to the subpoenas on other very important grounds. First, dealers should never produce dealership documents to a third party that contain customer information without insuring that confidentiality protections are in place. In the Ford v. Navistar case, we were surprised to learn that no confidentiality agreement is in place and, thus, we have told Navistar that no documents can be produced by our Ford dealers until, at a minimum, such protections are in place. Dealers should never expose themselves to Federal and state claims of mishandling customer information. Another very significant problem with the subpoenas is that Ford has much of the information Navistar is seeking from the dealers. However, Ford’s deadline to produce those documents has not arrived as of yet. Thus, we have told Navistar that it is totally inappropriate to inconvenience dealers before they see what Ford has available in the way of warranty records. Last, but not least, Navistar’s request for documents from dealers involves thousands of pages of material. The time and expense involved in gathering those documents is immense. We have objected to Navistar’s subpoenas based on the fact that the number of documents requested is so voluminous that it is unfair to ask the dealers to produce them all. We have also made it clear that whatever documents are ultimately produced, Navistar will have to reimburse the dealers for the time and expense of gathering those documents. Thus far, 24 dealers in California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas have received these lovely little presents from Navistar. We believe that if Navistar can make hay with any documents ultimately produced by these 24 dealers, Navistar may send out a second wave of subpoenas. If you are in receipt of a Navistar subpoena now or in the future, whatever you do don’t put your head in the sand and hope everything will be all right. You should retain experienced franchise counsel to object to the subpoena and protect your dealership. Absolutely nothing good can come out of producing warranty records to Navistar in their dispute with Ford.

What's a choke? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rofl.gif

Wow, a 6.4 with melted pistons. No idea what caused it? In the 6.0L over boosting was the primary suspect but a HotLine engineer once told me it was caused by "fueling issues." I don't see how something in the fuel system could cause a bunch of #3 & #5 pistons to melt. On a 6.0 those are the cylinders I usually find melted. Fortunately I haven't seen much iron lately... knock on wood.

And look what they gave us in the process... the STC fitting. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/boink3.gif

Kevin, you mention that the pistons melted - on engines I had with melted pistons they knocked as well. Looking at the pistons and cylinder heads, it appeared that the piston crown on most melted pistons was hitting the head. I assumed that was causing the knock.

Sell the owner a full service. It has obviously been neglected. The 7.3L will stop running when it gets low on oil, typically 7 quarts plus. When the engine is low on oil the crankcase can run low during operation as the oil in the engine is returning to the pan slower than the engine is using it. Once the level is low, the oil pump can start sucking air and the resulting loss of high pressure oil will cause the engine to stall.

you can use our PhotoPost Gallery to upload images to use here on this forum. Click on PhotoPost in the menu above, select upload photos, then upload your image. To add an image to a post, click on the thumbnail of the picture you want and it will display. Scroll down below the picture and you will see a button below the address that says "Copy to Clipboard." Click it and the address is saved to your clipboard. Go back to the forum and start a new post. With your cursor on the edit box, right click your mouse, then click "paste" from the menu. The address of the photo will be added where you put it and will show once you submit the post.

No, NOW its up! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rockon.gif

Fortunately, XXX web sites are not allowed by Google. ...like you need any help finding any! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif