Jim Warman

And that is the about only reason I'm civil with the guy... The wheels have a lot of reverse offset to them - you can imagine what it handles like. The tires rub on even mild parking lot manoeuvers. And, without running boards, this old guy can put on quite a show getting into it... especially on a 4 post hoist.

I can't tell you.... I'd have to kill you if I did /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif Need any more hints /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif

And there lies the BIG problem, Steve... the guy bought the truck from us with about $12G of add-on toys (including this God-foresaken lift kit).... All I can do is grit my teeth and smile pleasantly at him. Stress is that condition when the mind overcomes the bodies urge to choke the living shit out of someone that desparately needs it...

My bad... sort of.... I am currently in a "turmoil"and rarely even have time to wipe my dupa.... let alone call hotline..... Big meeting this coming week.... we may see Jimmy redefined. And calling hotline lately hasn't yielded a lot of satisfaction or direction for any of our guys..... But then, I got the scooter home and it has snowed twice since.... so it could boil down to cabin fever.... I dunno... maybe I need to take a Midol.... I get the feeling that Ford is becoming unfriendly to many mods... limiting programmable parameters wont stop them, but it might make them "less popular"???? Unpopular moves in the marketplace are always interesting... everyone wants (or even needs) to do "it"... It's just that nobody wants to be the first.

Reply attempt #4.... I keep winding up with a diatribe instead of a reply... If Ford is making a turn-around, I think they are setting themselves up for some "situations".... Mullaly gets a big bonus and then Ford announces they are closing daycares for plant workers.... Let's see how the spin doctors manage that one... Nassar tried cutting warranty costs by using slash and burn techniques. What should have happened was an INCREASE in SLTs to allow run of the mill techs the time to FIRTFT without rushing into mistakes and misdiagnosis (now, this would also assume that all these techs have integrity and scruples). When I was on the bench (we still aren't sure where I am right now) and earning flat rate, I was never a clock-watcher. I know 90% of my customers socially and I could never be proud delivering any of them anything less than the best I have to give. I think Ford has a pretty good product as it stands... Every manufacturer has quality or design issues somewhere in their product and Ford is no different.... But Ford has always had a readily identifiable helmsman (aka, a family member) and that makes the company a media target. Maybe the switch to a hired gun might deflect some of that. Does anyone believe that changing the name of the Five Hundred is going to make a difference? Flip side... Would anyone have trouble telling the difference between an "old" Taurus and a "new" Taurus? Digression.... I need a grille and bumper for a 97 F250 - whaddaya mean confusion? As for an in-house diesel.... The DuraMax has had over 20 years of in-house development. Corporate knowledge gained over years and years of production. I don't know if Ford has that sort of a "brain trust" to work with and they only have about 5 years left to prove anything. Have they been working on something in the back room? The dealers service department is the most visible part of Ford Motor Company. This is where we meet customers at their worst - they are frustrated, they are stressed and they are angry. Invest more time and funding in this area - appeased and assuage these owners. Make the stressful times as pleasant as possible. Do well, and you will soon be forgotten - do poorly and they will remember you for forever. I'm not a good businessman and I was probably born 100 years too late for my outlook on life... Some of what Ford is trying just might fly in todays world. It's like watching a cooking show.... you can dress up the mashed taters with a sprig of parsley.... but that wont take out the lumps.

Several days ago, I finally had the chance to watch a rerun of the Diesel Time broadcast regarding the inductive heating strategy.... While it appeared that none of the on air participants prepared themselves for the event and everything about the broadcast (including the broadcast itself) was, at best, amatuerish.... I felt that the information was stated pretty clear - Now, I will admiot that I listened to it with the intention of being educated.... not with the intention of getting paid for a "course". I listened to several minutes of the phone in questions... Does anyone else get the impression that there was a lot of guys watching that spent more effort using oxygen than they did listening? Pogo Possum (you young guys missed this) once said "I have seen the enemy.... and he is us....". Yes... my loving bride is watching !@#!?$! Garden TV again..... and I have too much time on my hands... Special note to Kieth.... if things get real slow, I might make a post to see what words will make it by the censor..... like !@#!?$! milk.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/poke.gif

Well.... I've go a 10,000 km old FQR in my bay right now with what is probably bent push tube or bad rocker on #8, I have to wonder if top brass in the glass house are a flock of flaming masochists, then. I still firmly believe that (in the right hands) the 6.0 is a marvelous piece of machinery.... Given that many owners had a choice between a !@#!?$! implant and a SuperDuty (and chose the latter), Ford can only continue to bleed in buckets with a warranty extension. I could, however, see them offering a longer warranty period on the new engine to woo customers that might be a little gun shy.

An 08 F350... six inch lift (now, ain't that gonna be fun some day) and 37 in Mickey Thompsons.... Can't find a revs/mile listing anywhere so I do the measurement - do the math - and hook up the IDS.... I see 7 tire size choices (of course none of them are 37/13.50R18) and no way to play with the aspect ratio.... Did I miss something? Did I forget where to look for the screen? FWIW, this customer is a dick and he deserves a ticket, anyway....

Not all provinces are "green" provinces.... At this point in time, I have seen no anti-tampering legislation. There is no requirement in the "Out Of Province" inspection for CEL status or emissions compliance.... Calling Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation will give you the reply "you can't tamper with.....". No one can cite which section in which act covers this. Dig further- ask what the penalty is and you will be told "you can't tamper with....". I have been urging this department to propose and enact (at the very least) anti-tampering legislation, if not mandatory testing... this would be simply DLC testing on OBD2 vehicles. At least this would put us on an even footing with those shops that have no scruples....

Jay... I believe that that is a Chinese curse....

We remove the mushroom can from the vent (the larger valve with the rollover valve in it) and add a length of hose - running it to a "safe" area. We find that the top of these tanks can pack with mud, snow and/or ice. This trap water and allows it to seep into the tanks. TSB 07-03-12 deals with water in the tank... There is also some message regarding fuel tank delamination that I can't find at the moment.... IIRC, fuel additives and biodiesel were a couple of things mentioned in the message.

While damned near anything is possible, Mike, I think that this may be just someone misunderstanding an early request by hotline for us to disconnect EGR valves as a test step.... I try my best to retain faith in human nature.... But if there is a warranty auditor trying that sort of crap - I hope he lands on my doorstep.... I'm not bashful....

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???

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.

All I ever see are Mystere and Crestline.... I have heard that E-one in Red Deer (used to be Superior Fire truck) may be getting into the mix.... So far, electrical problems haven't been the big deal for me... our roads eat the busses long before electrical gremlins can get into the works.

For those that didn't notice, broadcast message had the part numbers for the upfitter switches for 08 SD........ Q157 should be up on the body builders advisory service website in the next day or so... This should be good exercise for the guys that don't normally use these resources but, if you still can't find the numbers, I'll post them. I am still amazed at work when the fiftysomething dinosaur is showing the 20 year olds how to use a computer... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/poke.gif

Alex... my son was born in 1988..... FWIW, both the 5.0 and the 5.8 had a nasty habit.... the corner bolts on the intake manifold could rot off and allow coolant leaks.... but this was only on those with the aluminum intake manifolds. We never saw that problem on those with the cast iron intakes.... Suddenly, I feel so very, very old....

You guys just joggled the old memory card..... Somewhere around my house, I have a cable that patches my LG phone to a USB connection... this cable and the software that goes with it cost very little from my cell service provider. Never did have the chance to use it before my wife "put it away" for me.... ("put it away" usually means it is going to be in an "odd" spot keeping my "junk" well away from her valued possessions).

I see you've had several views to your post but no suggestions. I have no solution, but I do have some suggestions. Years ago, I tried doing "field work" and found that I never, ever took what I needed for tools and/or parts. I soon gave that up - I either need a fully equipped service truck or a tow truck..... There is no middle ground.... well there is, but we'll leave that for the iATN crowd (how can I fix this without investing in training and tools?). On site, there is the chance that you can hi-jack an unsecured wireless internet gateway.... Without getting into the morality of this, let's pretend that this gateway is a door. This door has been left unlocked. It becomes a question of "am I allowed to open this unlocked door or not?". When I go to school in Edmonton, I can always find an intenet gateway..... heck, drive around your community and you can find lots of them. Another option is for the site you are visiting to allow internet access - one way or another. Your IDS should seek out the proper URL given the access to the internet - either through dial up, broadband or wireless. If you have the savvy (and I don't doubt that you do), all they need to do is show you where to plug in and supply you with access info.... From my first intenet connection in the early 90s using a 9600 baud modem and "SuperKermit".... not to mention exhorbitant long distance charges - I currently find it hard to discover anywhere that internet access isn't easy to find. The few timnes I bring my laptop home from work, it tries connecting to the neighbours network rather than my own.... HTH

You had me going for a minute, Kieth... NETS is a NAV only thing?

Jake, I can understand your trepidation and what I suggest isn't a course of action to be taken lightly.... diplomacy (something I just don't possess in great quantity) is a key element. Here comes a little dissertation and I pray it doesn't get too "windy".... Some back ground..... I'm 29 years old (and I've gotten good at it since I've been 29 for a total of 27 times, so far.... that's 56 in mechanic years).... a grade 8 drop out and was self employed for about 15 years (which is when I finally discovered I'm a lot better tech than I am a businessman). I'm lucky enough that I found a DP looking for a crusty old bastuhd that wants happy customers more than anything else - first we make the customer as happy as he's gonna get with any given circumstance - then we worry about the "in house" crap.... Now... if you are going to go on the attack.... you need some ammo..... Product knowledge.... #1 in my book..... little stuff can be good stuff ( I turn on RDS when I do PDIs or a radio replacement.... customers like it because they never knew it was there... our local FM ststion displays "PLAYING ALL KINDS OF STUFF" ).... but that's not all about remembering details. It is about learning how to use the resources we have. Not one person in our dealership can navigate the manuals well - I think nearly everyone has commented how "bad" they are. But they aren't... and, with a little study and practice, you can become "the information guy" in your shop. "Go ask Jake... he'll know". Already, you will stand out from the crowd. Similarly... getting to know FMCDealer and Powerstroke Central will help. There's tons of info to be had... we only need to be able to find it. Broadcast messages.... I read them every day and I know what is happening long before most others around our shop. The new Escape recall - that one actually was a message at least one day ahead of the news media for a change. I started saving them in MicroSoft Office (a simple copy and paste operation) which makes them "searchable". SVB bulletins are recommended reading, too. Eavesdrop at times.... There are many times you get to drop an Easter Egg in someones lap "Oh, yeah.... there wa a message about that concern...". I like to get personal with my customers - it's a great source of necessary diagnostic info - they feel like they are more than just an RO number. When I come across things like "leaked" documents or the flamethrower video, I often (but not always) burn them to a disk and drop them off for the DP or sales staff to enjoy. Pretty soon, you stop being a valuable member of the staff and become an essential member of the staff. Might sound like "brown nosing".... but there isn't one single thing I've described here that isn't something we should all be doing.... We have the same sales dept./service dept./parts dept. crap going on that every other store has.... I simply refuse to become involved. Spend 15 minutes of your day helping another department... be frank but not brutal if you are out of "help" time.... There is a pecking order. I sign the back of the cheque..... There is a guy that signs the front of the cheque.... it is important for him to know that I know where he gets the money from.... our customer.... This is the "glue" that binds the store together. Forget the crap... concentrate on the customer. I keep saying "make the customer happy" - when, in reality, it often turns into making him "less unhappy". Let's make a last comment on our toys.... and I am certainly pleaed for those that have stuck it out this long.... Starting with ESSTs (essential special service tools). These are dropshipped to your store. We use the MicroSoft spreadsheet software to catalogue them - good if you have a "geek" or two on staff. Tool crib is good but still requires a certain level of "geekiness" to keep up to date. The idea is to know which ESSTs you have, where to find them quickly, and to recognize when they will save time or effort. Moving on to scan tools.... this is where we absolutely need to "play with our toys". An IDS can be the worlds most expensive code reader - or we can almost make it jump through hoops (and I am still learning this tool). Used with the VMM, the labscope can become a valuable tool. I'm not sure what the engineers were thinking when they added the "#" sign to some actuators but learning to use these active commands to our best advantage is of prime importance. Sorry to turn this into a classroom lecture.... Obviously, there are those of us that desire to advance in this trade and I hope I have given food for thought. Long story made short.... we have the ability to make ourselves into "value added" employees. This adds clout to our statements and desires. Avoid confrontation (big words coming from me). Hidden assets..... I am one of threee diesel certified techs in our shop. I am the only tech licenced for ambulance inspections, commercial vehicle inspections or bus inspections. I am one of two techs licenced for out of province inspections. I am the only tech in our shop that can adjust an automatic choke (hell, I'm the only guy in our shop that knows what a choke is). I'm the only guy in our shop that understands the relationship of wheel alignment angles and will actually "stoop" to performing alignments (this is damn near a licence to print money and I'd do it all day, if they let me...). And we have only grazed the surface of "intellectual property".

My sentiments are pretty much an echo of Kieths.... If you are confident in your abilities and have a track record that backs it up, then blow your own horn (to a point....). But let's consider some things your SM has overlooked.... like "technician competency". Having a diesel cert attached to your technician ID doesn't come easy... and it certainly doesn't come cheap considering the investment that your dealership makes in training costs.... Our local McDonalds pays kids 10.50/hr for full time work.... they have no tools to buy and all they need to learn is "DING.... fries are done...". My son is 19 and makes about $25/hr in the oil patch running a wireline truck - his work boots, gloves, cold weather gear - all supplied by the company... As his experience grows, so will his wage.... Faced with that.... does your SM truly believe that anyone willing to work for a pittance will have the ability or the talent necessary to learn these complex systems???? Look at the techs around you.... sure there are many that insist they "wont" work on diesels..... how many of them and how many others "can't" work on diesels because they lack the (for want of a more politically correct term) "smarts" to understand them? Alberta is crying for techs... especially diesel certified techs, right now. Low paid shops seem to start at about $28/hr and most have perks..... Our shop gives a 50 cent raise for each bubble on your plaque.... Book a hundred hours in a two week pay period and get a $2/hr bonus - we have two techs with full plaques that usually make $38/hour (including the bonus). Ever wonder what it's like to earn 6 digits a year???? Am I blowing my own horn? Damned right.... I work in a shop that isn't afraid to pay good wages to good people. If your zebra wont change it's stripes, it might be time to look around for a new zebra.... Life is too short to spend it being miserable.

A lot of smoke while cranking should indicate adequate fuel.... A couple of things that I would consider checking are cranking rpm and crankcase pressure.... Low cranking rpm can keep these things from firing up as can low compression. Both of these are quite easy to check and I would definitely look at these before I went to a compression test (mostly because they are so easily done but partly because both are checking for some fairly common problems....).

Might as well get used to it.... we are seeing design and assembly techniques that are meant to offer more strength and dynamic and thermal stability with less weight... This is making our repair techniques, especially during reassembly, more and more important.... Bed plates.... unheard of 30 years ago.... stud girdles were race car exotica. Ever notice how far into the block the head bolts on a modular V8 go??? So many engine parts (and even transmission parts) are designed to add rigidity and stability to the engine block in modern designs that just bagging stuff together with an impact has become a practice we need to rethink and apply carefully.

I e-mailed that vid to our Edmonton instructor..... his only comment "if any of those guys had brains, they would have shut the truck off...." Somehow, I might tend to agree with him....