Jim Warman

It's been too many years... perhaps it is once again time.... A friend and I have brewed many batches of beer.... somehow, we always seem to wind up with 15ish percent "good stuff". What makes things better is our bottling process... We introduce CO2 as part of the bottling process - you can drink our beer the day we bottle it and we use a wine filter (meaning you don't have crap in the bottom of the bottle...).

You don't remember those oil filters by any chance, do you? The taxi drivers used to love them up until the inevitable happened.

You're right, Alex.... you don't realize how this stuff works... People want a big assed TV so they can sit a foot away from it... they pay money.... People want a lage pizza with little dead fish things (oops, I meant anchovies).. they pay money.... People want information... they want to hear what they want to hear (in this case, they want to hear that they can add toys to their truck rather than having to do dreary things like operate it properly - it's a fucking phallic symbol, not a machine!!!!!)... they will pay money. Now, the problem with Keith and DTS is they will be forced to hear many truths... and the truth is something they are not willing to pay for... When that website first started, I called them a bunch of spammy bastards... after that, they even let me join (I forgot I was a member until you rubbed my nose in it.... ). I said it before... I say it again.... the world is filled with charlatans, pretenders and thieves. We need to drum these guys out of business. They are popular with the masses because they tell people what the people want to hear. And THAT is what will make it hard. I turn 60 this year.... I don't have to put up with this shit for too much longer (no, I wont retire... retiring is simply the beginning of the end)... but most of you guys are looking at another 30 or 40 years. You can follow your career or job (your choice) wherever it takes you..... or you can study the ways that you can take your "trade" andf elevate it to a "profession".

I will bet that the W16 is a lot higher strung than anything Ford has to offer and takes more maintenance than a driveway full of 6.4s... This is probably one of those cars that gets worked on for two hours so you can drive it for one And even this lack of perfection is going to cost you aver a million USD...

For Toyota... they've done remarkably well in the past about down-playing and spin-doctoring. There was the engine sludge recall and the "silent" recall on Tercel control arms - probably a few I'm missing, too. In this age of mass production, I don't think there is any manufacturer that has had to announce a recall and I don't think there are any that will avoid it in the future. Humans are involved - there will be a problem. As for the industry as a whole.... I think the working term is going to be "collateral damage".... cars - infrastructure - people. When that human involvement becomes a problem, we will have collateral damage. Back in the 60s and 70s, there was a concept/program/movement/whatever dedicated to "zero defects" The idea was that our brave new world would be perfect and those of us living in it would be just as perfect and all the marvelous new products would be perfect as well... (imagine a hammer that wouldn't let you hit your thumb). Unfortunately, we can't afford perfectionism, yet.... we're probably closer than we've ever been.... (kind of an oxymoron given the complexity of todays offerings). But, if they could build the perfect car, I don't think anyone could afford it.

Mike... this guy reads like a rolling disaster area... "2 filters (which were long overdue for replacement)"..... "Then I wrecked it.".... Other than that, it appears that most of his problems are with inadequate techs rather than the 6.0. Bottom line.. the guy is a fucking plumber... does he need a diesel to haul around a couple of pipe wrenches and an invoice book? You wanna stop going to them sites... you'll get cooties....

I was just going to send it direct to anyone requesting (much like I did with "The High Speed Internal Combustion Engine" by Sir Harry Ricardo... This stuff is some pretty dry reading (not like it was Tom Clancy or Dean Koontz or summat) and I'm not sure if you'd want to host it... especially with some dubious public domain credentials or possible copyright stuff going on.

I have a *.pdf copy of 'Engineering Fundamentals of the Internal Combustion Engine' by Willard Pulkrabek. I have no idea which edition it is... If you want a copy, the line forms -> here. FWIW, it's a little over 6 MB.

Part of the deal is that putting red or green coolant in isn't grounds for denying warranty.... Ford will have to prove that a particular act (adding the wrong coolant) or an omission ( i.e. failure to act - either in not replacing a filter according to schedule or something similar ) is the progenitor of the failure... Now, however, we appear to be entering a new phase in both technology and warranty awareness (see the thread on TSB 10-02-06). It actually began with the TorqueShift (5R110) trans and we can see it growing and (apologies to Calvin and Hobbes) transmogrifying before our very eyes. The TS could identify nonviable friction components or selections and then simply avoid using those ratios. Thus is born "self preservation mode". The machine is trying to save it's ass... Along comes the 6.4..... for many failures, it enters "self preservation mode"... Oh, yeah... there's the wiener that will visit NADP (that used to be Northern Alberta Dairy Products when I was a kid) and come away with a DPF delete .... but you are going to have a fuck of a time trying to correlate a base engine failure to removing an aftertreatment. Anyway.... the 6.4 has this rudimentary failsafe mode and I think we will see this carried even further with the 6.7... Getting back to the TSB, we can pretty well bet that the EcoBoost will try to save it's own ass real hard... until the wieners do the tune thing. Lately, IDS has been reporting aftermarket calibration levels. On the screen where you are to verify if IDS has identified the vehicle correctly, you might see "49 States", you might see "California Emissions" or you might see "Aftermarket". Bob Dylan once crooned "The times they are a-changin'....". Shit... now I'm going to have to go listen to a bunch of 60s and 70s music.

Several years ago, a shop owner I know was backing out of one of his bays and turning sharply to one side at the same time... he felt a solid <BUMP> and the truck stopped... he pulled ahead and gave it another try.... <BUMP>..... and one more time, just for luck.... <BUMP> - he finally got out and took a look... there, in the blind spot was another car... a customers car... with three large dents in the side.... Bone head moves? Maybe ask Dwayne how his noggin is doing lately (at least he didn't need stitches this time).

That's a nice link, Aaron.... but I have to wonder how much of this stuff comes from "this is a real life behind the scene" angle.... and how much comes from a "this is what we are feeding you" angle... Some info is better than none but I have to wonder how much psychology Ford is applying to us....

The only mistake I have made this year is to put on my pants.... A simple act, indeed.... but, I put on my pants so I can leave the house. I leave the house so I can go to work.... When I get to work, there are ever so many days that, if it weren't for things going wrong, nothing would be happening. Ergo.... using common logic.... going to work = bad stuff.... not going to work = no bad stuff..... putting on pants = going to work = bad stuff. We can extrapolate this to understand that, if I do not "install pants", I will stay at home... If I stay at home, I will be broke but error free.... The only bonehead thing I have done this year is put on my pants.....

Thanks Steve... I think you've posted that before... but you have to remember I am old and subject to CRS....

Talk about two ships passing in the night (or is that fog?).... Not what I hoped but perhaps this is a harbinger of things to come... FWIW, there was no indication of what motor or line was affected in the broadcast message. Note to self... Ford didn't press too hard on ITEC engines.. the 6.7 is all Ford

Considering the subject of the TSB, I really would like to have at least an idea of what it says... Broadcast message 3148 simply states "AFTERMARKET POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE CALIBRATION, NON-FACTORY MODIFICATION OR AFTERMARKET COMPONENTS". Be nice to see if Ford is growing some 'nads (at least giving us a forcefully written document we can wave under someones nose) or if they are going to throw us under the bus....

I can't see us Canajuns waiting all weekend for Ford to translate this into froginese. Can someone copy this TSB for us? Better yet... can someone e-mail it to mechanic@telusplanet.net Thanx

One of the things that bothers me about our model.... actually it is a cluster of things... First.... any subsystem lights must prove out properly.... brake, ABS, SRS, traction control, check engine light... Next, I have to scan each and every module individually... I MUST establish comm with any of these modules. Now... they finish this particular section of the manusl up with "Any other OEM installed safety system that relates to the safe operation of the vehicle (If required contact the Department for clarification.) *There is no requirement to maintain TPMS systems*". So... taking this to "the letter" - if the vehicle has a PAM - it has to work.... TPMS doesn't have to. The TPMS lamp is NOT mentioned in the list of warning lamps that have to function correctly - meaning that, if push comes to shove, there is every chance that I could be "chastized" for trying to sell such a repair based on the findings of an Out of Province inspection. If one is goofy enough to contact the department, you get one of their "non-answers".... "What do you think it means?".... "Use your best judgement.". Both of these are bureaucratese for "Don't ask us... if you get your silly ass sued off, we don't want to be anywhere near you...". Oddly... I would think that more people might suffer dire consequences because of a faulty tire pressure warning system than a malfunctioning back up aid... But that's just me. In the end, the manual was written by a committee. FWIW, we should remember that the camel is what a horse would look like if it was designed by a committee.

I had to have Warren reset mine... worked like a charm. Maybe give him another shout. FWIW, Greg Roddis says that Dominican Republic isn't hurting anywhere near as bad as Haiti... Odd since they are the same friggin' island and all.

Who?

Yep... sounds like it was shut down from lack of interest. I will say that most of the guys that moved over from FRT haven't worked at a Ford dealer for many years...

Entirely possible... last time I was there would be about three weeks ago and there were very few new posts... and those were from the usual gang - Stabb, Mulcahey, et al... Haven't "spoken" to Weatherman for a while either. S'funny... flatratetech.com was down for a couple of weeks but it turns out that it took longer than planned for their "facelift". I'll see if I can fimd anything out...

Blinker fluid available here....

Up until the apparent loopholes in the legislation allow owners to install load range D tires on a SuperDuty. For those that have tried, the regulations can be a morass. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (and, in Canada,the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards a nearly carbon copy of the FMVSS) appear to overlap with (and almost appear to contradict) other regulations and acts. Our new, revamped, rewritten Out of Province Inspection criteria specifically states that there is no requirement to maintain the TPMS system... excuse me? There isn't one single time I go for a drive and I don't see at least one low tire driving down the road... And we just said "that's OK". And I guess it is because the message "low tire" is a bit more than many customers seem to be able to comprehend. FWIW, I can see properly inflated tires as helping with fuel consumption... but I don't think emissions is going to be greatly affected.

Rick... is this a Crestline, E-One, Demers or???? When the concern happens, does it matter what position the battery switch is in? I'm not a fan of those diode battery isolaters a diode has a 1 ohm resistance... this mimics a fully charged battery. What is the load at normal idle presented by the package? Are you measuring the charge amps at the alternator feed? What are the volts you see at the B+ terminal?... at the alternator terminal?.... When the problem happens? when it don't? I feel that T2 and T3 are inappropriate in that they don't account for a circuits ability to cope with a load... I cannot say that this will or wont affect your testing. Gen 2 wont excite until the glow plugs turn off... at the same time, a concern with Gen 2 might affect gen 1... You have tested the batteries? I test them "both ways" with the Micro 490 as well as a high rate discharge test. Last, but not least.... you are the benefactor of everyone that worked on the bus before you.... and we all know where that can go....

Generic shit is going to be cheap... this is the "emissions critical" stuff... the stuff that EPA and inspection stations look for. How many states in the US do a dyno/sniff test? With the systems we have now, I firmly believe that it wont be long until we have a visual/code scan test and we are done... Where the coin is going to get spent is on proprietary type stuff.... Active commands... I can't think of any aftermarket tools that feature active commands (other than injector buzz test). Active commands is an underused feature as far as I can see... but now, with some of the new technology we are seeing (especially in terms of lighting systems), that may change. Using a DMM correctly and accessing active commands is going to be a valuable skill in the time to come. The VMM... well, it's kinda good but not so good. Certainly it is better than the cartoon we got with the WDS but it is still "run, Gumby, run".... I'm not sure I like the conversion algorithms (seems like some info can "get lost" easily) and it isn't as user friendly as it pretends to be (or am I just that stupid ). If you want a scope, I think something like Bruces Pico might be a far better choice... it will lack dependancy on the IDS, it appears to give a better representation of volts/time or amps/time... it may lack some user friendliness but it is time we understood some of this stuff a little better, anyway... Bruce? From where I sit (I don't have a steady diet of diesels and that puts me at a disadvantage for some stuff) I see that information technology is changing... Traditionally, the PCM has been the "gateway" module... To communicate with any other modules, we would first need to establish comm with the PCM... Today, it appears that the APIM is the new kid on the block.. Today - we see that we are dealing with two networks... HSCAN and MSCAN.. and the APIM is one of very few modules that is "bilingual". I don't know why they do stuff the way they do... this is reason enough for concern. I expect that one of the reasons that the VCM will expire is because we are going to experience yet another change in baud rate. My first computer connection to the outside world was using Super Kermit at 9200 baud... That would be 1992ish.. I can remember being amazed at my first 28.8 modem. I spent too much time "being amazed".. I am now permanently jaded. If Ford only makes software for scan tools, you can bet your sweet ass that you will either choose a "supported" device or suffer any consequences.. real or imagined... Did I forget? Any changes to software... be it diagnostic (did anyone say "interactive diagnosis"?) - be it measurement or intuitive - you can bet your boots that the goal is going to be to "dumb down" the skills and knowledge required. One of these days, you... me.... anyone reading this... we will all become "redundant". In the movie 2001, the computer HAL9000 said " I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.". In the next generation scan tool... is this a possible response? We want more money... Ford wants to spend less.... with the right software... what might happen? Moral of the story... I wasn't with Ford for the STAR or the SuperStar or StarII... I do occasionally use some of the older tools even though I would prefer not to. I've used the NGS and the NGS+ a lot... and the WDS and the PDS and the IDS... My Monitor2000 was "the last scan tool I would ever need" as was the 4000 and the 4000E and the MT2500. As a human being (aka "meat thing")... once I have entered this world, the only thing I MUST do is die.. Everything in between is optional. If I were a scan tool... my greatest accomplishment would be patiently waiting to become obsolete. And that WILL happen. Technology happens... HERE is a link to a simple computer. I have been dragged, kicking and screaming, from the dark ages.... You youngsters only ever see the next generation of computers as "better game graphics". Step one.... learn your history... Step two.... learn FROM your history. At best, I have ten years or so left in me. You guys have the rest of your lives... it is important that you come to grips with your career... your future... and where your future may carry you. HoHum... Windoze 7.... How I pine for the days of MS-DOS 3.whatever. Are you shaping your environment? Or is your environment shaping you?