Jim Warman

Alberta, quite probably, is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases in Canada.. Pretty shameful in most respects, but the abundance of fossil fuels makes their consumption a no-brainer. I don't see plug in electrics being the be-all/end-all for our fossil fuel addiction by a long shot, but it is still (most probably) a step in the right direction. As the popularity of wind farms and research into tidal forces being used to generate electricity (and I'm sure they will improve the safety of nuclear energy - in my view, all ready very safe as long as we can keep cowboys away from the controls). The conspiracy theorists will always claim that global warming is a fabrication of the NWO/illuminati/whatever, it is still considered in scientific circles to be fact. Lastly, I still feel that Alberta has dropped the ball on vehicle emissions. We have no anti-tampering legislation and I find that to be immoral and unconscionable.

Imagine an army of commuters getting home and plugging in at a time when nearly every stove or oven in town is turned on. I can honestly see these things catching on in our town. With no local transport system and short distances from home to shops.... Households with two or more vehicles far outnumber those with one making a plug in electric a viable consideration. In our area, at least, domestic electricity appears (IMHO) to be the cheapest energy source at present. Important to consider electricity production. What little research I did do shows conflicting data with Alberta being from 45% to 74% dependent on coal fired generating plants with natural gas coming in second. The last point indicates that even going to electric cars, we are going to be dependent on fossil fuels.

So I do actually get an eclectic mix of things to do on a regular basis... and today was no different. Now and again, along with trailers, motorhomes and ATVs, we sell boats. Not enough to warrant any full time boat guys - but enough where my modest success rate makes me the "boat guy". So - I have this 2009 Mercruiser 5.0 with a leaking lower water distribution valve. With little more than a cursory look at it today, I am reasonably sure that I am going to be replacing this valve.... But I would really like to know what the hell the knob (this is a remote actuated valve) does. I see the valve has a separate drain plug for winterizing and I see that the valve can be a source of problems.... One of the things you can't see is the valve -even standing on your head.... Any help, suggestions and criticisms welcome and accepted.

Waiting for parts for a 1999 Fleetwood Bounder - 37 footer. Landing gear parts for a 39 foot 5th wheel trailer and furnace parts for an old Coachman 5th wheel..... Did I mention that we currently don't have an RV tech?

You mean they aren't? Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean Im not being followed....

50 to 60 F is on the warm side of "comfortable"... At about 28 F, you find a coat. At about 0 F, you actually do the coat up .... a bit. -20 is a little brisk and you might think about looking for your gloves. If it snows, consider putting the scooter away for the winter. FWIW - I know what I look like wearing shorts.... I will not inflict myself upon innocent people in that manner.

It is 25 christly degrees out there (that's 77 F for the uninitiated) and I am sweating like a pig!!! How do you southerners handle this shit? And I forgot - my kid just drove in from Red Earth Creek for me to change.... hmmmm, for me to watch him change a tensioner on a 6.4.

So... how come you sound surprised?

This is going to be a difficult thing for Keith because I'm perpetuating a fucked up thread. The hoist thing, to me, is a very real concern. I have to wonder how many guys are doing exactly what you are. HERE is a link to something that isn't so much as a faulty hoist (though improper lifting adapters could be called a faulty "lift" - using it as a verb rather than a noun). The hoist guy says "nothing can be done". This says to me that the hoist is unsafe for continued use. I can't speak for the US, but here in Canada my employer can get in a lot of trouble for insisting that I work in an unsafe manner. From the tome of your reply, I get the feeling that you are resigned to working under an unsafe hoist.... And I am left totally amazed. You may also want to look at the Automotive Lift Institute website. You are absolutely no fucking good to anyone (especially your family) if you allow yourself to be all gibbled up because you decided using a faulty hoisting device was a reasonable course of action. It is time to display your testicles, young sir. As for either of your 550s... if they wont act broken they have entered the manual time world. If they insist that you continue, get a pledge for a finite amount of diag time (with no assurance that a fault will be identified) or turn the truck loose with a VDR. The 11 with the smash harness should be a no brainer. What smashed the harness?

If a hoist is unsafe, the smart money says "don't use it". I don't want to harp on something, Matt, but if we don't step up to the plate and say "This is fucking wrong", then things aren't going to change until somebody gets hurt or goes to jail. Using unsafe equipment can only be described in one word... and I hesitate to use it because it just isn't a compliment..... We are adults and we are professionals - it's time we acted like it.

Ah, yes... Ford loves the ohmmeter. FWIW, the ohmmeter is overrated, overused and nearly worthless as a diagnostic tool. Use this as a good reason to learn to properly perform and decipher voltage drop testing. Once you get the hang of it, you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

I would suggest that Ford gets things straight... especially if they are going to "reveal" stuff to the public that they aren't filling us in on. I did find this quote - "ENGINE OIL DILUTED (diesel engine only) — Displays once the engine oil has become diluted and needs to be changed. Refer to your diesel supplement for more information." - in the owner guide for 2011. I was sent to this by the Diesel Owners Supplement. I haven't come across anything in the WSM yet. So far I see no mention of how dilution is determined. Those of you with access to message board might start a series of threads about how "knowledgeable customers with internet ideas" are affecting your service departments. I know that whenever I hear "I see on the internet...." that life is about to become interesting.

2WD or 4WD?

This car has the 4R75E. I'm going to assume trans fluid is at proper level with good colour and no odour?? Engine runs well (though most engine concerns that affect shift quality/timing will give a late or no upshift). Anything I can think of should, at the very least, set a code - but I'm not old enough to say "I've seen it all....". I'd start with making sure that the 1-2 and 2-3 are being commanded and that the trans can perform them. PIDs to watch would be GEAR_RAT and TRAN_RAT. GEAR_RAT is the gear commanded by the PCM and TRAN_RAT is the gear ratio computed using TSS and OSS inputs. Probably an idea to monitor TSS,OSS and MPH PIDS just for shits and grins while a guy is at it. TRAN_RAT should read should read 2.84:1 in 1st, 1.55:1 in 2nd, 1.00:1 in 3rd and 0.70:1 in high. At rest, in gear, tran rat will look goofy. What this will do for us is to help identify if we are going to look inside the trans... or outside the trans. Just for grins, let's make sure that the PCM hasn't been changed out recently for any reason, too.

Cool catch... 6.0s are getting to be almost rare around here. Looks like the next popular repair is going to be 6.7 EGR coolers????

+1 on the dust ingestion - not just turbos that die a slow and painful death. As for an air filter supporting "horsepower"... one consideration is going to be BSFC. In an ideal world, fuel consumed is going to be directly related to air processed. This can be computed (by someone better at math than me)into a cubic feet per minute or even a cubic feet per rpm per pound of boost number. What race is he trying to win and how much is the paycheque? Of course, there are always going to be those who insist on "rolling the coal". For these ijits, I would suggest a requirement that a hose be fitted to the exhaust to redirect the object of their desires into the cab of their truck. If you are defeating emissions controls, I really don't mind as long as it is only you that is being affected. If you have a swimming pool in your back yard, you can piss in it all you like. It is when you piss our shared swimming pool that it starts to become personal.

With the booster connected, try starting a new session. In extreme instances, you may need to restart IDS. We have no idea how often some of these things are sampled. How many times does IDS tell us to turn the key on or off and provide the tick mark to show that IT CAN'T TELL? IDS is not going to check system voltage if it's programming doesn't tell it to. A couple of FWIWs... there was a broadcast message about the "incomplete data" message. Second is the ability to recall past sessions - while reviewing code history might provide valuable insight, can we be sure that the previous tech identified the vehicle correctly? Session hopping or indicating a vehicle has NAV or IVD when it doesn't (or vice versa) may affect test readings or network test indications in a manner that could be misleading. Above all else, we desperately need to keep an open mind and question each and every indication the system returns. This message brought to you by the king of digression....

Nope.. not gonna freak at all... However, the egr delete kit will come with a disclaimer that reads something like "This product is designed for off-road, legal racing/competitions use only and may not be legally used on public highways, streets, or other." A person will be judged by his actions and people will assume the substance of ones integrity and honesty based on those actions. We all call a politician a crook is he abuses his office and the trust we place in him. What shall we call a mechanic that violates the public trust placed in his hands? We can all use the argument that "if I don't do it, the guy down the street will". But the sad reality is that the buck has to stop somewhere... The best way to avoid more new laws and more draconian laws is to obey the ones we have. If we don't, government will just keep on getting bigger and bigger and stick their nose into more and more of your business.

Leon, out here in the sticks, a truck isn't officially broken until it wont start or move. One of my last "big" jobs was an 08. "Customer states it was running rough and now it wont start" Oil/fuel was weeping out of the dipstick o-ring (a tad overfull), the engine wouldn't crank faster than about 60 rpm even with two cat batteries to boost with. Three obviously bent rods and 4 bent push tubes... it got a short block and a head. While some guys are anal about their trucks running right, others wont bring there's in until they need a tow truck.

Don't misunderstand me, Keith. The "taxable benefit" angle of my diatribe wasn't levelled at you or your post..... But I see an overwhelming number of techs that blame Ford for the T4. Ford isn't a bunch of squeaky clean prima donnas, but let's waggle our fingers at the people that need finger waggling. Some techs say that Ford should pay the taxes for us... t'would be nice but not all of us are in the same tax bracket. Not to mention that the tax component of the reward now becomes a taxable benefit... For the voting part.... this is one of my standard arguments. I don't care if you vote "wrong".... study the facts/propaganda/rhetoric/public opinion and vote with whatever body part you can muster (brain is better than heart... but we'll take what we can get). I nearly agonized over our last provincial election. The party I "wanted" to vote for did some things and said some things that caused me to vote for my second choice (read that as I wanted the party but not the candidate in our area). Life ain't fair and I think I'm living proof of that (forget the "poor little Jimmy" shit - It is what it is and I don't look for sympathy). A few years ago, I entered some contest or another (everyone in the service department was entered in this contest - even without any knowledge of it) and actually won a set of barbecue tools in a fabric carry case. Two of us actually won these tools. Yes, they were cheaply made- quite obviously in some third world sweatshop. But the overwhelming thing with both of these tool sets was the smell. The wood used in the handles stunk to high heaven!!!! Talk about mixed feelings.... As I recall, I left the pouch open in my garden shed and once the smell subsided, I think my loving bride "regifted" them. As a side note, oil patch companies favour many "standard" perks - BBQ tools are popular. Some companies do not spare any expense. My favourite set of tools is one I was given from a well servicing outfit... if I could find where they got them....... Fuck... I can ramble when I want, can't I?????

We have the American Express "myRewards" card and we get a T4 for however many "points" we earn. There is no store in our town where the card is accepted though I have used it for nick nacks at FutureShop. My latest was a tripod for my new camera... I wouldn't spend "my own" money on a nearly $200 tripod but I am kind of trapped into using this thing to provide toy kinda stuff. My last purchase was a USB turntable to convert a few hundred albums to MP3s. Notice I said that we pay tax on the points we "earn" rather than the points we "spend" - yes it is a buck a point. A couple of random thoughts... it would be nice if this was a full on spendy card (prepaid credit card) that could be used any fucking place we want for any fucking thing we want. Second - I am willing to bet the farm that Ford is buying these cards for about 85 cents on the dollar.... if not less. Still, it is a LOT more than we got back in the 70s (read that as NOTHING) so I'm not sure a guy should complain. Let us remember that these "rewards" are there simply to try and get us to be doing stuff that maybe we should be doing anyway (that pesky "professionalism " is going to get in the way again). I sure wouldn't recommend that guys group together, renounce any reward program and push for better SLTs... FRT proved that wasn't going to work since nobody else would step up to the plate save for a very few. (I think this is a by-product of techs that worry about their jobs). If you win something because you're lucky... good on ya - I wish it was me... but good on ya all the same. If you win something because you're good... That is great!!! Good on ya.... Just remember it ain't Ford making the tax laws. And that means "If you didn't vote in the last election... STFU".

All I did was restart the laptop.... I do recall a broadcast message about it but it has disappeared from the system already.

Not sure what the cowboy is getting excited over... after all, he can go over to the monkeyhouse where the REAL exspurts live.

I have no idea what gawd you are sacrificing medium sized mammals to... but every one of those helicopters I have ever been the proud recipient of have needed camshafts.

Here, in Alberta, there is a near legendary tale of a 6.0 that had at least two sets of head gaskets and a pair of heads before the owner put the truck into meltdown (catastrophic failure). I am told that someone finally looked at the face of the radiator to see it blocked off with crap.... I understand that it took a bit to decide liability.