Jim Warman

Awww, Larry... we haven't even pulled the tarp off the Charger this year and the two new ones still have everything hooked up... I'll help a guy hotrod the piss out of a toy.... but his daily driver?????

Ooop... I just posted that over on the 7.3 forum... You won.

1203 - SOME 1997 THROUGH 2003 MY 7.3L VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A PHANTOM P0284, P0281, P0278, P0275, P0272, P0269, P0266, AND/OR P0263 DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE (DTC) SOME 1997 THROUGH 2003 MY 7.3L VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT PHANTOM P0284, P0281, P0278, P0275, P0272, P0269, P0266, AND/OR P0263 DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) WITHOUT DRIVABILITY SYMPTOMS IN CYLINDER CONTRIBUTION TEST (CCT) ON VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A NEW STYLE (GRAY) CMP SENSOR. THE NEW STYLE SENSOR WOULD HAVE BEEN INSTALLED UNDER SAFETY RECALL 07S57. ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON A RESOLUTION TO ELIMINATE THE PHANTOM CODES. Perhaps... one day in the far and distant future, they might finally succeed at doing something right... I have, however, decided not to hold my breath while we wait...

Not yet, Alex.... If you noticed.... that little pop-up window is gone - thanks to me... It was full of links that didn't work so, instead of fixing it, they took it away.... Now, if they'd do that with the.... oops, never mind - we wouldn't have anything to do.

I am continually amazed (amused?) when I see techs talking about emissions "crap".... These devices are required by law... These devices are meant to ensure that our grandchildren have clean air to breath and a planet that might sustain them... We are paid to keep these devices operating properly.... With the word "paid" firmly in ones mind.... and the idea that disabling or tampering with emissions controls is against the law.... we can start to adjust our way of thinking... and we can adjust our appearance so that our customers will see us as professionals (rather than hicks and hacks that don't understand the beasts we work on). Emissions crap indeed.... this is the stuff that feeds my family and pays my taxes.... (and, hopefully, keeps your air that little bit cleaner....). Welcome to Kieths little corner of the web.... You have already met me... The rest of these guys are a bunch of pussycats... Look for me on InFord... I'm the guy that gets kicked off...

Just to add to what Brad said.... If we contact Mr. Peabody, I'm sure he'd allow us to use the WABAC machine... and we could trundle back into history to look at ATF... Used to be that there was only one "ATF" - and that was "Type A".... And then, one fine day, we discovered "Type F" - along with dire warnings that we shouldn't allow these fluids to "co-mingle" nor should we put the wrong fluid in the wrong transmission... What was the big difference between the two? The co-efficient of friction... As the speed differential between friction elements approached zero, one fluid gave "softer, smoother" shifts - the other fluid gave "firmer, more robust" shifts. Let's remember that, at the time GM was still flogging the PowerGlide while Ford was busy selling the FMX, the C4 and the C6 (all of them 3 speeds as opposed to the 'Glides 2 speeds). And, if we put the wrong stuff in the right place - the world wasn't going to come to an end... But we get dragged, kicking and screaming, back into the 21st century... and we get that nagging feeling that Mercon V is being used in transmissions that use valve bodies - and that Mercon SP is being spec'd for "electronic" transmissions. Before I pause and let some of this stuff sink in... let's consider that we know what bad clutch packs in a limited slip feel like (and maybe we shouldn't overlook them in this concern)... and we know that the trans has been serviced with the wrong fluid - and now all of the frictions in the trans are suspect....

PPT??? How bad do we need them? More precisely.... how bad "should" we need them. Let's look at different kinds of codes (and I'd love to find a definitive list of code suffixes - you know, like P0404-60F or what have you)... We can have a code that is an electrical failure... should be fairly easy.... We can have a code that is a "range/performance" failure... a little tougher because an "unexpected" sensor reading could be electrical or mechanical - no biggy, we can manage... we can have a code that signals a mechanical failure... or we can have one of those damned "informational" codes.... Ford tries to publish a PPT that goes from least intrusive to more intrusive... honorable... So - why in Gods name do they insist on using inappropriate tests when they could as easily publish a description of volt drop testing... or at least drop ship some sort of a variable load tool for proper circuit testing. (I'd love to see things from their point of view - but I can't fit my head that far up my ass....). Will these guided diagnostics results ever make it back to Ma Ford? If you are using the on line manuals.. there's a real good chance.... If you are using OASIS Quick Start.... How will we ever know if big brother is watching? The big deal is that there will come a point in time where you wont need to be smart... and, since you wont need to be smart, you will get paid as much as the kid whose eyes light up when the french fry machine goes "DING". The consumer will get used to service that is even worse than what he gets now... They (we) always do. I'm a bitter old f@ck, ain't I?

Hmmmph.... All I get is my loving bride saying "You ran out of beer already?".... not a good thing to say to someone that hasn't had a cigarette in nearly three weeks. I ran out of soffit and fascia so I'm back to siding... Slow going without a scaffold. I'll be happy when my holiday is over - being back at work will be like a rest /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif

Yes.... a happy and safe Canada Day to all.... FWIW... this is the flag I grew up with...

??? Dave.. is this like a separate forum or just another subforum? On InFord we have technical, remote starters, non-technical, diesel and transmission... Same page but different section has (warning - memory thing and I'm on holidays trying hard to stay away from message board) as section on tools and equipment, SYNC and I vaguely recall something else.. Or did I miss the boat altogether?

Just make sure no one has ever used that vac to suck up brake lathe shavings. Assuming the shop vac has a filter in it, the air exiting the vac is actually filtered...... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Ahhh... but the hose.... the hose can be home to any manner of interesting objects... "Be afwaid - be vewy, vewy afwaid...." - Elmer Fudd.

You might recognize this from another thread.... <As for us, there are many techs who have been mis-diagnosing, replacing good parts and abusing the policies. Not all of us but enough to cause problems. Now, we all have to suffer because instead of addressing the problem directly by going after the dealers/technicians who are the problem Ford has changed it's approach entirely.> Enter the "interactive diagnostic process". Why train people? For many, the training wont "stick" anyway but everyone will want a great wage (commensurate on their skills - or not) because they have a "certificate". Now - with "interactive diagnostics" we can take trained monkeys and have them fix cars.... well, maybe kinda.... and save ourselves a bundle... We wont have to worry about FIRTFT because the new "dumbed down" wages will only attract people too stupid to know what "scapegoat" means. And the customers will believe nearly anything we are bold enough to state. Whether this is an experiment or a bold move forward.... it worries me.... It is cause for concern for both "us" and for our customers.... Like John DeLorean or Lee Iaccoca, I'm sure I could write a novel about this trade... not with the "insider" view of the aforementioned movers and shakers... but with the jaundiced eye of an old fart that has seen things come and things go - and while some of these comings and goings were big deals in my world - they were ho-hum for Joe Consumer. What it is boiling down to - the consumer is simply one member in a flock of sheep.... He will be fleeced when it is his turn. Years ago - I would back my car into a parking spot and turn on my headlights.... A sweet young thing in a mini-skirt (barely below "see" level) would come out and take my order. At this point, we would light a cigarette (something I haven't had in over two weeks, I might add) - when it was about done - the sweet young thing would reappear bearing tray. On this tray would be a chunk of dead cow... REAL dead cow.. cooked and decorated to my specs.... Back then "I" mattered.... Today... they pull a shingle from under the heat lamp - this is the way "everybody" eats them - sorry, no substitutions and no special orders... If you fucking customers would stop expecting special treatment, we could make some healthy profits here.... Life would be so much better without customers.... So... where is the old guy going with this tirade? Think, boys and girls... we only need to think. The psychologists and behaviour analysts are in control of most peoples lives... Many of you don't stand a chance against a well placed, well constructed advertising campaign.... and it doesn't stop with consumer goods.... If you don't excell at your chosen craft... if you aren't honest.... if you lack insight and foresight.... you may, one day, be replaced by "interactive diagnostics".

Sorry 'bout that, Kieth... I just started my vacation and reached over and flipped the switch marked "BRAIN" to <OFF> /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif After we log on to InFord, one of our choices takes us to the main "ProTech" website. From here we have the most used features like "e-toolbox", "Training", "Message Board" - not sure how it compares to FMC dealer any more... Anyhoo... Along with the Protech page comes a little pop-up window with some semi-pertinent message... perhaps a recommendation to read ones training planner because some changes have been made or Rotunda is have a tool promo (we can still buy tools - we just don't have the benefit of RTTP) or there may be some other announcement. In this case, Ford is telling us they are re-instating an old rewards program for submitted GCRs (I would imagine that they regret axing the few bucks a month the old program cost because GCR submissions most likely dried up). Clicking the link in the pop-up takes us to three new links. "Submit a GCR" works. "Tips on submitting a GCR" takes you to a messagfe that indicates you don't have permission to see tips on submitting a GCR. And the third link - "Details of the new awards program" also takes you to a message that indicates you don't have permission to view this pages content. This comes at a time when I've had it up to here (makes a slashing motion with his hand about 70 or 80 mms above his forehead) with bullshit. I have Ford kicking back warranty claims at a record rate.... one of my core guys turns in his two week notice... my efficiency has been in the toilet for three weeks (been in the toilet = worse than usual)... and I have to go in next week (vacation - remember?) and finish a job that involves a fucking carburettor. Ford wants us to be perfect... and they can't even get a pop-up window right...

better get your asses over to InFord and read my thread "You don't have permission...". I'm not sure how long this thread will last and I'm not sure if I will, once again, become personna non gratta. Ford expects us to live up to their preconceived notions.... the least they could give us in return is a fucking website that works....

Most of us know how this pap plays out in the trenches.... We all know that Ford is going to have us check powers with a voltmeter and an open circuit.... We know they will have us check grounds with with a freakin' ohm-meter.. And we know that there's going to be a lot of self-fulfilling prophecy... Ford is going to take their limp dick circuit tests and cast them in stone.... and they are going to elevate the guys that can't tell these tests are limp dick to better than you are - simply because they can follow orders and come up with bad answers... Guided diagnostics... this is Fords way of telling us we are idiots that can't fix a sandwich. There is a bigger story here... If you need some of it,let me know....

Brad... I can't find mnetiuon of this anywhere on our Canadian server. This could mean that they are only waiting to translate it into French - or it could mean that we will have to wait a while for this to be available in Canada. Quite some time ago, we were chatting about "OASIS Quick Start" and I think I mentioned than that we would most likely see diagnostics get "dumbed down". With this announcement, I find myself running my fingers ever so lightly over the surface of my crystal ball and thinking... here we go.... There is every chance that we will soon see "techs" that do nothing more than replace parts at the behest of some nameless, faceless big brother located on the far end of a computer connection....

Steve... those that realized that Zeidlers wasn't prepared to roll over for the union either found work in other industries or simply quit the onion and went back to work as "scabs". Today, what used to be called Zeidlers is owned by West Fraser Timber. Some of their current employees were on the picket line back in the 80s....

A recall on 7.3 head gaskets? They want us to install ones that fail or what? The very , very few times I've ever had a head off a 7.3 - it has never been because a head gasket failed. The best engine Ford ever made? This is going to take some thought.... Navistar made the 7.3.

Steve... these were all local, recognizable guys... None were ever really in my circle of friends and all one could ever do is shake the head and wonder what these guys were thinking. There comes a point in time where there is nothing left to be proven (other than how stupid some people can be). Somebody is going to have to explain to how communism = bad and onions = good when they are one and the same.

A long time ago, during one brief sabbatical frim this most beloved of trades, I was "managing" a group of companies.... we were a bulk fuel and lube dealer, we also sold bulk propane, logging supplies (musical instruments, holiday trailers too), and various paraphenalia inherant to the patch/logging industries. We also did light oilfield hauling and hotshot work. We got a call from a toolpush on a rig operating north of us - We were to send one of our small trucks to Nisku to pick up a downhole tool. The following instructions were quite explicit for brands and quantities..... Canadian Rye Whiskey, cigarettes, magazines and newspapers.... The driver was to meet the helicopter at a particular forestry tower. The appointed time came - the helicopter landed and the toolpush loaded the whiskey, cigarettes and reading material aboard the chopper and left the driver with the instructions.... in one week, we were to return the downhole tool to Nisku. Life in the patch can be tough... this is man against mother nature... For those used to more urban surroundings, there is no way to explain how wonderful it can be to be "down a back road down a back road down a back road".... or to exlain how deadly this situation can suddenly become when we introduce machinery into the equation. The waste, through stupidity and or inexperience can be horrendous... but there ain't nobody else gonna do it.... Most of those that wont work in exploration - are too smart to work in exploration. And they didn't earn the name "rig pig" without good cause....

I am surprised that a tech would say "I am surprised about <this>". We live in a world of absolutes.... they can be strange... they can be gnarly... they can be extremely hard to isolate... but it will always be "cause and effect". Back when I was 20something, I knew everything there was to know... Now? I am old and STUPID.... I can usually be heard to utter "show me".... A guess is a guess (and this includes guesses that EXCLUDE things)... A guess with evidence is an assumption.... I hope we are all familiar with the ass/u/me conumdrum. An assumption with evidence is a diagnosis.... We have a LOT of hours into a late build... What I am seeing currently defies description.... I'll post more when I have the empirical evidence I desparately need.... Back to topic.... never, EVER discount any possibility... While we didn't take journalism in school, we still ask who, what, where, when and why an awful lot....

Steve.... your situation reminded me of a strike in an unaffiliated industry back in the 80s... This was at a Zeilder Lumber plant near Slave Lake that made veneer for laminating into plywood... The veneer was bundled and shipped to a Ziedler plant in Edmonton where it was processed.... Anyway, the employees (members of IWA - a steelworkers onion, no less) held a strike vote and the die was cast.... The strike dragged on... and Zeidlers brought in "scab" labour (I hesitate to use the term "scab" - working people are better than people that don't... no matter why non-workers are non-workers) to fill the positions... happy to earn the wages that the onionize types didn't like... except that many of the scabs were those that "quit" the onion (something about knowing what side your bread is buttered on... something like that). The strike dragged on for 8 (yes, your saw it EIGHT!!! OCTO-fargin' years!!!!) when the Zeidler family sold out the business. If you are trying to make a statement using "solidarinosc" (oh, damn.. I didn't mean that commie, pinko shit... honest)... ermmmm, "solidarity" (dang... commie, pinko shit in English)... a day might be "fashionable".... a week will be overkill and EIGHT FARGIN' YEARS will leave even the youngest man with little chance to recoup in raises what he has lost in folly.... Onions... I have some rather unattractive thoughts about onions (except for maybe vidalias and bermudas)... perhaps I'll get some people mad at me someday when I espouse my ramblings....

Well.... you guys must admit that the onion has done what it promised... and that is keep some unemployable cretins employed... well, up until the strike action.... But nobody ever said it takes brains to pay onion dues. Me? I enjoy making my own mistakes rather than having a "committee of my peers" mandate my mistakes for me.... Plus I get to put the onion dues in MY jeans.

Came across THIS on youtube and thought some of you might like to see what it's like where a lot of my customers go to work every day....

Dwayne... there is far too much common sense rolled into that simple act for me to actually use it.... If I did that, there would be one less thing for me to bitch and moan about... If that kept up - then there's be more and more things added to the "can't no longer bitch" list... Then where would I be?