Jim Warman

Tony, health care is hurtin' and we are well on our way to a two tier system... It didn't used to be like that - universal health care was universal health care. But the nick and scratch attitude of far too many people placed unreasonable loads on the system. This would be those that merely needed a bandaid or a cold compress or "take two aspirins" yet felt some overwhelming need to spend hopursin the emergency room. Health care still works, not as good as it used to and now we are forced to pay for extra coverage but a surgical procedure or chronic condition isn't going to rob most people of decent living conditions. One down side (and one of the things spurring a two tier system) is flat rate. Doctors are paid on a flat rate system - a consult is worth this, an injection worth that and a "procedure" worth the other. Now - it looks like these doctors are paid well for their efforts - perhaps not handsomely but I have never seen a doctor that lives from paycheck to paycheck. Still, many of our best doctors had fled (or are fleeing) to the US - where they are free to charge or overcharge as much as they feel they can. Free enterprise at work. Since we have this "brain drain" we import alot of medical staff... Today,it is rare to visit a hospital without meeting a doctor from South Africa. OK... so universal health care isn't real fair to doctors... But these guys have to remember that it is my tax money that has funded a good deal of their edification.... Being sick isn't real fair to us and having some charlatan cash in on my misery isn't a dish I care to be served. (FWIW, my wife has had Crohns disease for over 36 years... without universal health care, I have no idea where we would be... Even then,in the mid-90s, my retirement savings were wiped out. As an entrepreneur, I didn't qualify for many social programs and we slipped through the cracks in the system as I sold out my business and sold my house. Without universal health care, I doubt I would have a keyboard to type this on nor an internet connection over which to post it.) Just touching on how doctors work "flat rate" opens up other avenues of discussion, other ethical considerations and other reasons to rethink our own stances. I can think of more than one tech who would love to be rid of the flat rate system... but the idea of losing universal health care to deregulation of doctors would be unthinkable. No system is perfect.... but you can't have your cake and eat it too....

This also requires the outlay of <GASP> cash.... BACK IN THE DAY, if you could remember points at about 0.017" - plugs at 0.035" (with a very few exceptions at 0.028") and timing at 8 BTDC give or take, you could have the world by the short and curlies.... Today...you will spend money... depending on what you have for a target, you can spend serious money... for information. Twenty years ago, I was telling people that the tech of the future wasn't going to be rich in "I remember that".... he WAS, however, going to know where to find the info he needed and how to use that info.... Gentlemen, we ARE there. The Rex Umneys of the world are those that cannot see the forest because all them fucking trees are in the way. Lamp flash codes - especially in a system whose primary function is to fire explosive squibs - may be just enough to get someone into real trouble. If someone isn't prepared to invest in the tools and manuals to do a job properly, they are cheating themselves and their customer financiallyu, they are endangering everyone involved and they are making the rest of us, those that truly desire to excell at our work, look like assholes.... The automotive industry is in a great state of flux.... Now is the time for those that feel the need for change in the system to speak up.

I don't see where this cooler is "legal".... The website has no indication of any blessings from EPA or ANY air resources bodies (the one we see talked about most often is CARB - California Air Resources Board). The device appears to be a very robust construction but, as Keith points out, what about heat transfer? When you are hard on the throttle, is the recirculated exhaust being sufficiently cooled? Or are we getting set up for some unforeseen catastrophic failure? Think about this... it looks "stock"... it will pass a visual inspection... It allows exhaust gas to recirculate - it will pass NOx testing.... But I don't see anything that says this device has actually been submitted for EPA or CARB testing or certification.... And that,to me, suggests that perhaps things are a wee bit "underhand" as far as any R&D may be concerned. Definitley better than deleting the EGR system, but what of long term effects? Afterthought.... if you have one of these devices installed and are into some serious pedal.... could reduced cooling effect have a negative impact on NOx production? Are we waiting for an intake manifold to go into meltdown? (Indications are that aluminum has a melting point of 1220F - an exhaust temperature that isn't hard to reproduce in a turbo charged engine. Whenever we answer one question, we usually pose a half dozen new questions.FWIW.... I still firmly believe that the 6.0s biggest flaw is bad owners rather than bad design.

Robert, I have a couple of guys that scare the piss out of me.... Their attitudes towards SRS systems is so friggin' cavalier it makes my eyes hurt.... The workshop manuals are likely overkill as far as the dangers of these devices.... But the workshop manuals deal with systems that aren't compromised by "enemy action" or a motor vehicle accident. Come to think of it...could some SRS systems have been compromised by a stereo or Nav system installer? Or an "Automotive Fluid Systems Technician"? Naw... we all know that those guys are "professionals".....

Balls.... Cojones..... Testicles..... Bollocks..... It isn't any good to have them if you aren't about to use them. Your front end people think the world is about to end because they have a paper cut.... You macho fuckers are going to -lace yourselves in danger of injury of one sort or another.... If you are not prepared to perform a task and suffer in silence - do not perform that task... state why in clear terms... be manly and firm. If you are going to whimper about anything real or imagined that you have been inflicted with - do not perform the task. There is no shame in stating that "the motor needs to cool down before I can do <that>". The shame comes from doing it against your better judgement and then whining about it later... to people that will not change the way things are done. "Yeah, I know how you feel... I did it too....". What the fuck has happened to common sense????

Dwayne... one of the many things I've been prattling on about for several years is demographics.... Walk out your back door... you will see different things than others... climate being one of the over-riding factors.... Picture this.... airborne pollutants and contaminants.... temperatures (temperatures that differ enough to affect chemical and photometric reactions).... who sees salt or calcium chloride on the roads in the winter and who doesn't... Ask somebody in the southern states what "cold" is.... I'm happy because my loving bride isn't saying "roll up that pneumonia hole" and some guy in Arizona is bitching because his AC isn't efficient... Where we live and what we see on a daily basis has a profound effect on what we see as failures and as what we see as pattern failures - specifically in regards to where in the trucks time line we are.... You and I are dealing with temps around 70F... I am having some difficulty with this kind of heat - but I always have (I'm from the north of Owd Blighty). Daytona Speed weeks see temps in the 70s or better and the stands are full of Floridians wearing fucking parkas!!!!! Yes.... mechanical failures are dependanton climatology, demography, local financial considerations - Gawd knows what else. Picture this.... In Edmonton, some commuters spend almost 45 minutes fighting rush hour traffic each and every day (each way). We have a partsman that spends almost that much time on his commute to work.... but he is going 110 KpH for most of his trip.... All we need is to open our eyes..... and we will see.....

I know just as well as anyone else that things are tough.... Ford is doing some wierd shit.... And we are bound and determined to prove that Ford is right... We ARE a bunch of thieving motherfuckers that will resort to fraud to make a point.... Somewhere - somehow - someone is going to have to show me how two wrongs will make something right.... Sounds like integrity and honesty is about to take a vacation... Some of you Einsteins are going wind up having Ford right where Ford wants you....

Is this a crew cab, regular cab or a super cab? Crew cab and regular cab are similar, supercab is different. Worrysome is the statement "locked up again". I think you'll want to depower the system and install the dummies before you do much testing. ESPECIALLY if civilians have been working on the system.

Speaking of dikes....... The lesbians down the street got me a Rolex for my birthday.... I think they misunderstood when I said "I wanna watch..."....

Ours is that wonderful clay/concrete - I often use my chipping hammer for "finding" things...

I would also hazard a guess that the chambers are kept warmer promoting more complete use of the fuel delivered into the cylinder.

Is the front cover showing signs of cavitation?

Wheelbarrow? We have a shop Bobcat!!!

That's what I love about you guys.... always ready to jump in and make a guy feel shitty better

It usually goes in the dumpster... Depending on the time of year, a transmission R&R may generate up to three wheelbarrow fulls. It is rare to see a two wheel drive pick up in our area... the usual mud is a big reason why. Our little corner of the oilpatch can be a unique place... And mother nature always makes sure that we have a plentiful supply of undercar work... Grit in your hair, grit in your eyes and grit in your shorts usually equates to cash in the bank... Once you get used to it, you will find yourself thinking "My God, I hope they DON'T pave that road...".

We recently purchased the Wynns Extend intake conditioner... I am.... errrrrrr... I have my own view for these sorts of services... I don't think the engineers intentionally design a system that is going to require that we regularly dump strange chemical concoctions into various orofices on our vehicles. However, when we buy a "penis enlarger" (be it a diesel pick up or a performance car) and use it for something other than what it was intended for, we will create concerns that weren't anticipated. Add.... "back in the day" most things were "overbuilt"... The bean counters and engineers joined forcesand decided that "purpose building" would save production costs.... You could get a 272 cherry red (well,nearly) and use a hubcap to top off the radiator with ditch water and there was every chance that the engine would survive... today, get a motor "warm" and, at the very least, the heads will be toast... Remember the GM 2.8 V6? A bad rod bearing would destroy the cylinder block.... Today - engines, transmissions, third members - all of these are so very close to self destruction under "normal"conditions. Ideal condition service intervals have been extended - but how many of us drive in ideal conditions? Yes...some of these "wallet flushes" serve a purpose... but, if we did what was smart, there would be no purpose.

Clark, I'm not sure where the Ford packaged rebuilds come from.... but they don't even make decent door stops.... We have lost customers because we were forced to use these in warranty repairs (service part warranty).

What did you see for crankcase pressure... Not trying to be a knob here, Mike... but is the impeller easy to turn today? How many clicks were put on the truck in between - sometimes some amazing things can happen in a short period of time.

You've gotten some good advice thus far... Was there any sign of dusting? Don't forget that relative compression is just that... "relative".I can't speak foryourregion but, out here in the land of red clay dust, 100,000click is more than enough to waste an engine. Even with the batteries charged up, pay attention to the RPM PID. Had one just the other day that sounded like it spun good but still needed a boost. Is the turbo impeller easy to spin by hand? I've been stung before.... fuel looks good, passes the sniff test and is still crap.... known good fuel is THE way to go...

Dwayne... shouldn't be long before you see some REALLY neglectedbrakes... The ones where the rotor looks like a turbo impeller... Mud season is here...let the fun begin...

A team can be a complex entity when it comes to winning a ball game.... It gets worse when that team has to win several ball games all at the same time... The "win"in the showroom when the sale is made... the "win" in the service department when we FIRTFT... the "win"in the parts department when everything comes together as intended... All it takes for an endeavour to fail is for one person.... one individual.... one team member.... to perform at less than optimum.... Sadly, in todays world it isn't "if" it will happen - it is when and how often.... Brad... it sounds like your boss got himself into a cash flow dilemma. This isn't a good place to be - especially now. But he cannot afford to forget the need to "police" what is happening in his departments... When times are tough, we desparately need to impress our customers... It is loyal customers that will save our sorry asses... Not pinching pennies.

I haven't seen this bus.... the tech has either a Solus or a Genysis (suffering from CRS) that works well on anything else it get's hooked up to (6.0s and 7.3s included). Neither of these will identify a vehicle without operator input.... It would make it easier if I could hook the IDS to it - but, at this time, nobody is willing to spend the money...

An acquaintance has the contractfor our towns ambulance service.. given that this is a "difficult" customer (unrealistic expectations as to "ready" times, unrealistic demands as to 'line jumping' and 24/7 service, and unrealistic demands as to deep discounts for Cadillac service), I would personally prefer that this man keeps this contract and spare us the pain. He has an 03 7.3 that has a recurring P1729 - 4X4 low switch failure... WSM sends you to PC/ED... PC/ED sends you to WSM.... This is if you access the F350 manuals. However, this is a 2WD E350.... Yes, the OCS light starts flashing and yes, the shift scheduling is affected. Anyone seen anything this goofy before I hit up hotline?

Yep... I think we have close to 8 inches of "new dirt" so far today (that's about 20cm for the inchamacallitly challenged)... and more dirt is still falling...

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