Keith Browning

I am not that broken up about it. The truck is USED UP and literally rotting away. But I am totally happy with it and definitely got my money's worth.

This is not a sad note. Today I am trading in our 2001 explorer with 132,000 miles and 15 years of faithful and fun service. I admit to running her into the ground but she keeps plugging along. Me and the wife decided it was absolutely necessary to replace it and have been mulling this over for a couple of months. Since wifey just went back to working full time after 14 years of being a stay at home mommy this is now possible. She landed a job at a local Ford dealer close to home as their warranty administrator. Oh, the new car? 2016 Fusion Energy in Titanium trim. Lease deal was stuuuuupid good and I plan to use it in plug in mode for commuting as the dealership provides a charging stations for employees. Needless to say I wont be spending $120 on gas every month any more. After all is said and done, figuring in fuel savings I will be driving a new car for the next 3 years for a little under $100 a month. Could not turn that down! Anyone considering a similar purchase the rebates on Fusion hybrids is just over $10,000 at the dealer on top of your D-plan pricing.

As I recall, 33 MPH was/is the industry standard. My thinking on Ford using 25 MPH is that it is probably more accurate for these vehicles due to their usage. Remember that the industry standard is based on an average of all vehicle types and usage. As with all averages, something has to be at the low end of the spectrum. I think we touched on this in the past but I have also read that new vehicle warranty will soon specify engine hours along with mileage for engine and powertrain warranty coverage just like we now see on ESP coverage on OASIS now. I think this is way past due and I hope Ford also includes other vehicles in their line up to include police cars. We have seen a few police Explorers and Taurus cars with low mileage sludged up engines. What kills me is that NJ has a 3 minute law prohibiting idling of diesel engines yet apparently some of these vehicles just sit and run alllllll day long.

HELP! I am changing a set of spark plugs. EEEEEEEEEW!!!

I think, well I know... that this $15K bill has prompted some changes in that town's maintenance program. The thing that bothers me is that they have two more trucks juuuuust like this one.

It's a 2012 F450 with 3172 Idle Hours Mike.

Here is what you get when you run your 6.7L 37,000 miles and 4861 engine hours and perform 3 oil changes. The back of that crank was moving and grinding around like the hips of a stripper... just not as smooth. The machining of the engine rear cover and transmission are amazing in that there was at least a quart of oil trapped in the converter housing. Warranty? Nope. 24 oil changes would have been much cheaper in the end eh? And this was a township truck. So sad.

An ambulance fleet near me has been putting something "red" in the cooling systems of their E-Series ambulances. All of them have recently had their radiators replaced and three of them had to have that degas hose with the 3-way junction replaced. The plastic was eaten away and brittle. Coincidence? Maybe. Most things in the engine compartment of a diesel van tend to get crusty but this was one customer with multiple vehicles. I am almost sure that they did not perform a proper flush of the system before changing over either. Just mention it and they look at you like you are an idiot. Ssssssssigh.

I thought we were discussing DRILL guides? Just sayin.

Slacker!

My dealer was willing on a competitor's product but it was priced quite a bit higher. We even had a demo. Since I have a set the "offer" was bypassed.

Yes, I have been very pleased with them too!

Heh - when they can get to work with Siri and I can ask her how to fix trucks then I will be impressed.

Turns out it was two "baby" squirrels. Of all the places to build a freakin nest!

LOL! Been watching two of the young techs in our shop trying to extract a squirrel from a fairly new Escape that has made itself at home in the fenders and front bumper.

Lefty loosey rightey tightey?

Aww geez, a good body shop can compound that paint right up and touch up the rest. Here is a check for 200 bucks.

Well, the good news is that truck #3 was towed right back out when they were told it would be at least 6-8 weeks before the truck saw the shop. And, I don't care. I am becoming bitter as time goes on. All I do is transmissions and engines it seems like.

None. All are F450/550 chassis cab trucks. #1 a F450 municipal dump which is apart and I am at this moment swapping parts onto the now long block. While the truck is under warranty, this engine is not covered due to insufficient maintenance. it has 38000 on the odometer but 4068 engine hours with only three oil changes. Engine is heavily sludged, crank bearings are gone. $15K customer pay. #2 is a flatbed F550 with a reman engine in it that sounds like it is in the process of locking up. Customer just put a turbo on it... I'll bet he did not change the oil before starting it. #3 is another municipal F550 dump truck that just came in on a hook, Oil dripping from the engine. Locked up and wont crank at all. After I finish engine #1 I have a Torqshift 6 I have to pull and figure out why it wont move. All of these jobs require the only heavy engine stand we have so they are just stacked into a holding pattern and I will get to them in order.

I have... not one, not two, but three blown up 6.7L engines. I think am ready to get out. I cant take this shit any more.

If that had been DEF contamination you would be rinsing it with water and drying the fuel tank. That takes a little longer.

I've done 6. Not hard at all but as mentioned it takes time. The cab definitely does not need to come off which would be extreme overkill. Remove the EGR cooler and everything is easily replaced.

With all due respect, Pintos needed help to burst into flames. Apparently, this auto ignition feature has been engineered into Fords in recent years. Just sayin.

Makes a mess doesn't it? We had our shop out of action for a week when a duper Duty went up.

I don't see how any of this information is new... or news.