Jim Warman

Speaking of TDS... some wiener has posted a link to fordtechservice along with a user ID, a password and his freakin' Stars ID... It's in the 7.3 powertrain forum in the "ZF-6 disassembly" thread.... I wonder what in God's name was running through that guys head when he did that...

Your buddy can take a look at this

Like Bruce and Kieth.... this isn't a good time for any manufacturer to be complacent... and there's no way we can depend on any "loyal following". Customers can be fickle and change brands in a heartbeat.

It's not my job to drive the train, The whistle I can't blow, It's not for me to decide, Where the train can go, I'm not allowed to pull the brake, Nor even ring the bell, But when the damned thing jumps the tracks, Just see who catches hell.... Author unknown.

I can only wish, Larry... my toys are pretty tame.... but I do get to play with other peoples toys.... We're building a 500 inch RB Dodge stroker destined for a tubbed and caged 69 Road Runner....

Five days, Aaron... FIVE glorious days..... neener-neener....

Everything I've ever seen - diesel - not diesel..... Ford - not Ford... has a main bearing web in the way..... It's all part of getting everything into a package that is as short as possible.... Now.... if we were talking Offenhauser......that's a whole 'nother deal, again....

You Ontariario guys are nucking futs, anyway.... You live way too close to having to say Joyeaux Noel... FWIW... back in the latish 60s (I went to Expo 67), we lived in Montreal.... Where we lived, there were more people that spoke Hebrew than French... It was rare to see a house that didn't have presents colourfully wrapped, laying under a gayly decorated Hanukkah Bush.

Lew... I have to admit that I left the old reading specs at work.... thanx for the correction.... 8.0 for HGs... I can still dream, right? FWIW... the job offer is still open to any and all.... I have a Mexican starting on Jan two. I NEED experienced guys (Jeez, what do I have to do to get some takers.... swallow?). We have a shop about 1.5 hours from us... one tech there says 9.0 for HGs.... but I've had to deal with some of his "work".

All is forgiven, Larry... you don't have to sit in the corner any more.... You're probably unfamiliar with TDS.... TDS is full of all of the things techs fear and loathe.... "I read on the internet that you should change my <PART>....". "The none certified, untrained guys I talk to on the internet say that this is a 15 minute job and you want to much....". "You guys at the STEALERSHIP are a bunch of bandits... how can I hide my tuner/get cheap factory shop manuals/get free information?". I get the feeling that I could start talking about the base plate made of prefamulated amulite or the delicate relationship between the spurving bearings and the lunar waneshaft and some of these guys would swallow it whole (sorry, I can't seem to find a good playing copy of "turboencabulator" at present). Some of these guys would even accept "the bull gear has probably jumped the hiefershaft" as a plausible cause for a concern... Ohhhhh, but they can be "fine sport" if someone doesn't twig on to you.....

8.0 for head gaskets? Please e-mail your resume employment@slford.com - you wouldn't believe the earning potential.... Three diesel techs (including yours truly) and all the up to date equipment - we have more scanning power than a lot of shops three times our size.... But watch out for the shop foreman... he can be a gnarly old @sshole.

Well, can't say I saw it coming... but neither am I surprised... Not sure what the site might be worth but it sure fell into Jays lap.... All those advertisers and all those willing consumers wrapped in one handsome little package.... <SIGH>... should I start the bidding at a buck85, Kieth? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

You are going to love this one, Bruce.... remember I'd said when bent one tang on the phaser? We were about to pull the valve cover to check phaser to sensor clearance.... Our shop is piled up and it would take a long time for us to make a definitive judgement on our results. This customer is a "keeper" so we released the truck for him to assess... But the apprentice did take it for a lengthy road test.... none of the symptoms re-appeared... not even the trans concerns. In a failure.. the torqueshift should give reverse and second gear.... there is one clutch that is common to both positions and, without my chart, I am lost.... but unplugging the trans connector proves that the concern isn't in the trans. And I'm left scratching my head.... how could a bent phaser affect transmission engagement.... Stay tuned......

Jeff.... a lot of us are in that same boat.... Reading some internet forums (and seeing some of the previous repairs that come through our doors), it's pretty obvious that there are many diesel certified techs that shouldn't be - guys that are just plain in over their heads. Our guys are good and that gives our shop a good rep (except for the backlog we always have - but there is more than one story in that statement). Add that we are in the heart of the oilpatch.... we always have a lot of transient workers in the area and most of these guys drive diesels... When they have a concern, it is the closest store that they will find and pin their hopes on. All they want to do is get back to work... Now.... let's take a giant step back and look at "the BIG picture". We techs only ever consider the shop.... Ford doesn't. The sales department is where Ford makes money... and that is the department that Ford is worried about. They don't give a rats ass if the shop is doing well or not.... as long as the shop isn't costing them too much money - and that is the key. Your shop, my shop, Kieths shop.... none of us will ever make Ford any money. Sure, we can be good and have an influence on a customers future purchase... But, in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't mean too much and I'm off on another tangent..... A good tech is going to be a good tech wherever he goes.... toolboxes do have wheels. We can take our knowledge and experience.... that, along with a little brand specific training, will have us being "the man" at a Dodge store, a GM store or anywhere else we choose to go. There's a great big blue oval on the front of our store... but there isn't one on the front of my toolbox. Techs are "wild cards" and both Ford and their stockholders don't like wild cards... we can take all of our goodness and be gone in a heartbeat. So.... we can see that Ford is in the business of selling units. And that selling units is the only thing they are in to... and that brings us to one very, very sad realization... and I'm not sure anyone is ready for this.... If your diesel techs are shitty... so shitty that no diesel owner will ever darken your doorstep again - Ford will like your store because your numbers are lower than another store. If your diesel techs are good... provide accurate diags and repairs that work, you attract business. If that business you attract is warranty business, your "numbers" go up and the red flag starts waving and Ford puts us under the microscope... And - yep... another tangent. The dealerships service department exists only because Ford says we must service what we sell. They don't like broken units and they don't like paying to fix them. If we consider flat rate and the "redesigned" SLTs, we see a very real need to cultivate retail work... we see a need to assign "preferred customer" status (Ford really hates that)... Ford bases success on "units sold". Our store bases success on "net profit" at years end. Be it on a personal level or a dealership level... we can't ever hope to please everyone at the same time. So we are given the task of pleasing customers... but trying to do it in a way that doesn't ruffle Fords feathers... It is a very fine line to tread - but that's where your shop foreman should step in and "fine tune" what happens between you and Ford. By all means... continue to be the best you can ever be.... this is how you determine your success and sustain your earning ability... but there is so much to the equation that doesn't meet the eye. The needs of your store are not the needs of Ford - and that is a conumdrum we will live with forever.

You got it, Larry.... combustion pressures can be very, very high - especially in high boost conditions (to oversimplify - a 6.0 litre engine under one atmosphere of boost (14PSI) thinks it's a 12 litre engine.... not accounting for any pumping losses and such). These gasses are going to be very hot and could carry particulates with them. The gasses can also displace any fuel in the rail leaving the injectors to "dry hump" themselves to an early grave.. Hope that helps clear the waters a little...

Like Dwayne, I only get 5 days off but somebodies sons truck needs ball joints and an alignment so that makes 4 days off..... but someones new livingroom is getting it's new couch on Sunday and I still have to finish drywalling and taping first... so that's three days off... and then there's.... Ahhhhh, to hell with it - where's my glass? Wishing EVERYONE a safe and merry Xmas....

Sledding? SLEDDING???? There's a Harley in my buddies garage that hasn't been ridden for far too long..... We've got a few ski-doo guys at work and I can't understand them.... "Hey... it's cold out - let's go 80 miles an hour until we freeze".... The "around town" film clip will probably take some searching... I'll see what I can come up with.

Diesel is almost all that ever comes knocking on the door.. so high diesel numbers are???? One thing we see ALL the time.... we're a small town dealer. We offer red carpet service for loyal customers and it shows in our out the door new truck price... A lot of our locals feel that the one or two thousand bucks they can save by going to Edmonton (2.5 hours away) and buying from a high volume dealer that basically says "Here's your keys - now f@ck off and bother your local store" is worth the frustration of waiting two weeks because.... well, just because. Working on trucks you didn't sell is always going to make you look lop-sided. All we can do is dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s.... and take one for the team....

I gave up on the shovel.... blowing snow today.... Crustier than crap... It's hitting the ground almost as fast as I can get rid of it. I think it's time to beg the boss for the keys to the company bobcat. I'm told I have an extra guy coming after the first of the year.... might give me a little more time for actually saving and posting stuff.

Brad... I'm trying to get the guys to run OASIS on everything.... multiple times, if necessary and with any and all symptoms. There are some TSBs and SSMs for some really off the wall stuff... And any of them could generate more cash flow or more productivity for the tech if used wisely. Let's not forget the open recalls we can find.... easy money for many of them... The one that get's me.... a tech is three point four in to a diag and discovers a TSB that reduces the job to a .3 no brainer.... There just isn't any reason for not using these kinds of resources to the max... Keep up the good work...

I know all too well what you're talking, Bruce... Years ago, I had my own machine... an old Sun and I could ALMOST use it blindfolded. When I started at my present store, I tried the WDS and got a few giggles out of the cartoon that it showed me... especially the little green guy running his ass off (Run, Gumby..... run!!). The IDS/VMM looks like quite an improvement but I was smart enough to try different arrangements on the test leads... One of my patch cords reduced the amplitude of one trace by almost half... A little juggling and I sorted that one out What I wound up with (sorry, no captures.... I've been to damned busy) was one very good trace for bank one and a trace with one slightly low and one very low sine.... Looking through the CMP hole showed me one tang with what appeared to be "curvature of the spine". I went in with an old GM headlight spring tool and pulled the tang a bit more in to alignment - very slight gain on the very low peak but an improvement in the VCT concern. I "assume" (gotta love that word) that we are closer to some threshold meant to filter out transients. In the "what does it mean" department.... it is enough info to make me want the valve cover to come off so we can measure the clearance between the CMP and the phaser tangs... What it may have to do with the transmission concern is yet to be seen... Thanks for the heads up, though... it's good info for any guys that are considering giving the lab scope an honest try.

So.... I get the feeling I jinxed this one.... Apprentice disconnected the alternator and the truck ran great.... in retrospect, I didn't ask for how long or how many key cycles (did I mention that it sucks to be me?). A new alternator went on this AM and..... yep.... remember, at this time we are concentrating on the VCT problem. And we are still unsure if this is one concern or two. Hotline says "try" a phaser on bank two.... I feel good now.... Ford is telling us to throw parts at the problem. We don't use our VMM to it's fullest capabilities... and it's been several years since I actually used a lab scope for anything. So... I stayed late and played with my toys some more... Indications are a concern with CMP pattern on bank 2 - possibly a bent or misaligned phaser.... More testing in the AM and I'll have the chance to jinx myself even worse.

Larry, your post made me suddenly remember (no "old farts" jokes, guys) a steering column harness replacement (the short one that goes around the tilt mechanism to the multifunction switch). The apprentice replaced the harness and didn't check to be sure everything worked.... crossed wires right out of the box.... Naturally, the customer wasn't what we can call "satisfied". I screwed the pooch on the alternator deal though.... check out my original thread on "5.4/5R110" in about a half hour.

Bruce sent me for more popcorn and a beer....

Has anyone seen the new. high-tech ESSTs that Ford has sent out for this program? The extended warranty coverage is to 192,000 kms..... but it still only covers 05 trucks.