Jim Warman

Hey!!!! If you were a delicate electronic module, you would LOVE to live in that location.... You should see what they look like wrapped in muskeg. Hmmmm, you should smell what they smell like wrapped in muskeg.

I was looking at a list of celebratory dates to see when you guys "do" Thanksgiving this year. I thought it interesting that "Cinco de Mayo" (I often wonder if some people don't consider this a celebration of mayonnaise) is both included as well as possibly thought of as happening on a day different than May 5th. Anyway.... I see your Thanksgiving is on November 25 this year.... and that puts it a little too close to the next turkey dinner at Xmas. Of course there is always ham..

Y'know.... this is a little reminiscent of the early 6.4s. We had several that the TCMs expired on while reprogramming. They'd erase OK from the seem of it but then they'd get more stupid than they were supposed to.

So... tonight I am cleaning the turkey, getting ready to stuff him into the oven tomorrow AM... This year, we have a lot to be thankful for... a grandson on the way, a promotion at work for my boy... I've survived to see one more Thanksgiving. The oil patch is picking up (my son has to work this weekend... night shift no less as they have a rig running 24 hours right now. For all the Canucks on the boards - have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. And for all you more southerly gents - have a safe and happy Columbus Day.

Our old machine was a Bear Pace100... Differences? Ohhhh, yeah. I've done a half dozen alignments and the more I use it the more I like it. Since the Edge is labelled a 'crossover', it get's lumped in with trucks in the specs. That threw me for a bit. Speaking of specs - Some readings appear to turn "red" before they should. Today a 2010 Exploder had a left side caster reading of 3.75 which is right on the low edge of the window. This flagged the reading as bad and, looking at one of the screens I'm not used to yet, it looks like it would have flagged it all the way to 3.85. Meanwhile, I recall that the low edge of the window was declared properly at 3.75 deg. Other than that, I love that you can work around the front of the car without having the cameras in the way (the front wheels get targets). And the youngster in the next bay had a problem with the flashing LEDs on the old Bear. The best part... the Bear would often leave me with a steering wheel off center meaning an extra trip up the hoist to get clear vision. This machine has had me bang on with the steering wheel every time. There is a feature called "EZ Toe". For rear steer cars you can turn the wheel and access the tie rods without raising the hoist... this is NOT as convenient as it sounds. There are at least a couple of different printouts you can use to make it easy for an SA (with a little coaching) to explain to a customer what we did and why. The wheel clamps fit up to 24 inch and, while I haven't yet encountered any of the really gnarly rim saver type tire/wheel combos, I haven't had any real problems getting a solid mount for camera or target. If your store is looking at a new aligner that won't bend the budget real bad... this is definitely worth a peek. These things list out at about $20G CAD... SnapOn sells them as does Rotunda but we picked ours up through our local NAPA store (you know - the guys with the shitty PSD oil filters)for under $17G.

Sadly, you are correct about the "wedged" part. And, considering the alternator thread, where do we draw the line with diagnosis? Do we have the right to make expensive guesses to avoid a diagnosis that has a better than even chance of being the same as our guess? What I see as something that drives us.... Cambodian Tire - whoops, I really meant "Canadian Tire".. Pep Boys... all the big box creatures practice something so close to "bait and switch" that it clouds the line. They quote low, get the wheels off your car and drop the hammer. The SA that phones the customer is under pressure that you and I cannot imagine. The consummate salesweasel, he will quote fantastic warranty offerings on brake pads.... spark plugs... ball joints.... all manner of parts. The labour will NOT be covered. In the case of brake pads, you will need rotors, hoses, a brake flush, an ABS service and hardware. None of this is covered under the warranty. Fuck... people are sheep... Dealerships quote high. It is driven into us that we need to "fix it right the first time". The only way to do that is to replace parts that are even remotely suspect. Big box stores operate on the "Barnum and Bailey" principal.... "There's one born every minute". Big box stores get to blame you and me for their inability to repair your car... (research "right to repair" stuff). Fuck... did I digress again? Sad old men with opinionated old lives.... Who needs 'em when you have someone like me?

A 2008 F250 - 5.4. There is a dedicated V_REF to the TPS and two dedicated V_REFs to the APP. None of these V_REFs is available in datalogger. There is "a" V_REF in datalogger but it has little do with what I phuqued up. I am trying to justify what I thought was a righteous diag... and, since hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20, I can't. Once the situation is resolved, there is a tale of woe to be shared... A consideration... highly paid professionals operate under strict rules... lawyers have rows and rows of books - and precedents - and popular opinion... Doctors have some pretty strict rules but they have a way of dealing with "comebacks" (I think the process is called a "funeral"). If your accountant fucks up, chances are it will be you being a guest of Her Majesty or the republic of the USofA rather than him (he will be in a nice place with no extradition treaty enjoying the fruits of your labours). I have come to the realization that even the worst of us is still pretty good in the "figuring it out department" compared to the people that disparage us. Ya screwed up - "Baliff, whack his pee-pee". Shamelessly stolen from an old Cheech and Chong skit

One of the key things going on is the intermittent nature of the concern. If there is something moving around inside the cat or the muffler, I would expect a rattle when I caress it with a rubber mallet. Now... Are these readings being captured when the "concern" is present or when things "appear" to be running good. At face value, this would be an ideal situation for the VDR.

One thing I see a lot is blocked off air flow through the cooling stack.... You HAVE to look at the radiator since everything else will look good. Overheating under a pull can have only so many causals.... Stephen... I recall you sayng something about a picture?

When you do the VVT test, pay close attention to the "shoulders" of the steps....

I can think of many reasons why Ford doesn't advertise that dealers do repairs. The one that sticks out the most in my mind is that you are asking the Ford spokesman (announcer, actor, whatever) to say "When your Ford breaks down......"...... 'Scuse me? When my Ford breaks down? It fucking better not.... It's a nearly new car. Doctors don't talk about their mistakes... lawyers don't talk about lost cases and car manufacturers don't admit to broke down cars.

I had one guy come in several months ago with an oil analysis (ever notice you can't spell "analyze" without "anal")that showed high levels of (IIRC) aluminum. No running concerns... no noise concerns, nothing odd happening. I finally convinced him that Ford was not about to pay for a witch hunt. Told him to come back with an identifiable problem... and his service records....

We'll get you there sooner or later.

I knew you'd love the piss out of that At least we're keeping it in the family....

After reading this thread, I feel so inadequate.

The guy that showed up to demonstrate the aligner featured English as a second language. Cool Adam was supposed to train on the machine too.... Not in this life... more cool. For your listening pleasure....

Weeeeeelll.... dad is a certified (certifiable?) diesel tech. A lot of the problem vanishes right there. If push comes to shove, "we" can always take a green SuperCrew to work, right? There are times when you just have to shake the dice and then let them go. If it hasn't burned down by now, will it burn down? Look around you, young sir... Dwayne is proud to not own a 6.0 and Kyle is more than happy to have one.... My kid has me for a Dad (something I wish I had ). Look at it this way - tomorrow morning that little spoke polisher you call a dog could run out the front door. You'd chase after it and get run over by a Deuce disposal truck. There you'd be laying in the street all gibbled up in your DC boxers. It's called "the luck of the draw". I buy lottery tickets. I buy them because there is a chance I might win... not because there is a chance I might loose. Gawd.. you make being old more fun!!!

If this truck is going to be parked in my boys driveway, we will hit all of the major issues from the git-go. The price I can get this truck for is just far too attractive. Thanx, Brad

So... I'm off to work on this fine Sunday AM to check out a used truck for my son. Soon to be a Daddy, his Ranger is too small. He earned his BOP ticket this week and that will make him a Driller. For the uninitiated, a BOP ticket is a certification in the use of drilling rig blow out preventers. As far as certs go, this is the big Kahuna when it comes to moving up the food chain to become a driller (the rough heirarchy is grunt - roughneck <some of you Yanks might call these guys roustabouts> - derrick hand - driller - rig push or tool push. With this move up the food chain, comes what most see as perks. You take your truck to work (which may or may not be good for the truck) and you get paid by the mile to do it, quite handsomely, I might add. If your truck is a diesel... you can even fuel up using you rig card. And that is why this post is in the 6.4 forum. The truck I am to inspect used to belong to his area boss. I have done most of the service work on this truck. It's a 2008, with something over 200,000 kilometers... Yes, that's a lot of clicks in a short time.. and this is part of what makes it an attractive deal (I'm old school and I firmly believe that the biggest killer of a motor is cold starts) The other thing that makes this an attractive deal is the price. Slated for the auction because of it's miles, this truck can be had for cheap (to me, at least). Soooooooo, aside from brakes, ball joints and such, I will check fuel trims, crankcase level and CAC for fuel concerns. Other than that, I can only assume that this truck (all we have ever had to do is a radiator about a year and a half ago) is one of the good ones. Oh yes... (Dwayne will have a field day with this statement ) I feel that for every truck we see with constant problems, there are 5 with few if any problems. For mods... I expect, if the kid buys this truck, that we will install something with a reasonable <Economy> program. Wish me luck.. and God grant me the wisdom to make the right choice.

While your experiences with aftermarket warranty companies may have been pleasant... mine have not. Unlike you, I have turned away "paying" customers.... "How much to do <this>?". "About $150". "But the man down the street will do it for $95". "Fine... make sure he uses good quality parts and that he performs a safe, reliable repair and has a fair warranty period". "You do not understand". "Understand what?". "I want you to do the repair". "I want $150". I have complete control over the repair process.... I'm not about to become a prostitute to get the job. Nor am I about to relinquish control of that process to someone more concerned with his costs than my reputation. The topic of "customized" labour charges appears to be becoming a popular discussion on many forums... Curious.

Tony... I am desparately trying not to sound like a real turd..... I always fail miserably at it and prove to the world that I am, indeed, a superlative turd.... I'm struggling with the fact that the truck wont start if the key is out of the tumbler.... Is there something we need to know or does you mind work (much like mine) too fast for your typing skills? Start with a code scan... pay close attention to the SJB and the IC (I like to start with a "all CMDTC" scan and work up from there). F36 in the SJB is hot in start and run... check to see what is happening there when the problem occurs.

Another way of describing some used parts........ "known good". Think about it.

Aftermarket warranties... There is one <best> way to deal with them and many terrible ways to deal with them. Back in my entrepreneur days, when someone presented me with their aftermarket warranty paperwork, I would gently.... or not so gently, hand it back to them. The aftermarket warranty agreement was between them (the customer) and the company. I refused to become the middleman in a pissing contest. Bad enough that Ford is trying to tell me what I can and cannot replace... why would I let a disinterested party dictate this shit to me? I don't mind insurance work.... With insurance work, I make a bid and it is either accepted or denied.... but at least I am comfortable with my estimate. If someone else underbids me... the laws of the jungle apply... Their low bid may gain them a job..... or their low bid may becaome their worst nightmare. With an aftermarket warranty, the warranty company is in the catbird seat.... or so they think. They will try and manipulate the repair so that their exposure and costs are low.... you, on the other hand, will get thrown under the bus in a heartbeat. Sidebar..... good judgement comes from experience..... sadly, experience comes from bad judgement.

Assuming this is TBC, are there any codes in the TBC module or the SJB? If the trailer brakes work with the hand control, we can safely assume that the wiring from the module to the trailer plug is OK and we should be able to infer that F5 in the BJB is OK. If the trailer has electric over hydraulic brakes ( not hydraulic surge brakes ) then I do not think that the TBC controller will activate them <noway - nohow>. (I've been wrong before but TBC output is TBC output... no matter what commands it). Other questions that go begging... Was the system factory or dealer installed (does it have the correct master cylinder? Is the ICM configured for TBC? I would think it is if you can read the TBC gain). I heartily recommend reading "Diagnosis And Testing" in section 206-10 of the WSM. There are several pertinent messages that may or may not be displayed in the message centre - seeing them or not seeing them may help determine your course of action. If you can, the WBT course will offer some insight into the system. FWIW, I really, really, really recommend checking out the 2011 TBC system....

I'm glad they didn't make it longer.... imagine the condition the male terminal might be in if it would reach the stud on the positive battery connector? Imagine the number of idiots that would force this burned nub of a connector together and now it is in your bay? I connect my remote starter button with patch cords... anything else is small scale arc welding.