Jim Warman

I have had SnapOff look at a torque wrench or four.... It usually means I am buying a new torque wrench. I don't want to say anything ugly, but once, when I asked for the old stuff back, I got someone elses junk instead of my own junk.

Actually (he said as he watched himself drag the toe of his boot in the dirt), that is where I found it. I try to read tech tips whenever the come with updates... sometimes I'm like the butcher that backed into the meat grinder - I get a little behind in my work.

I just found out that IDS will now load under Windows XP Home... Ford doesn't offer any tech support for this.

My personal take... Ford is desparately trying to "direct" our diagnostic efforts... Step 9(?) in the FICM TSB addresses three possible scenarios but misses the one scenarios that we 'usually' see. FICM_LPWR and FICM_VPWR at B+ with FICM_MPWR at much less that 45 volts.... At this point, the TSB becomes superfluous.... Yet (from memory) the TSB doesn't specifically allow us to deviate from the TSB when this situation arises... Your name is Yossarian... and don't you forget it..... (read Catch 22). We are being hung out to dry on technicalities.... To make matters worse, the FICM TSB directs us to fool the PCM into thinking the oil is cold.... "Let us close our eyes and pretend that the oil is cold". PHUQUE me... let us close our eyes and pretend the motor runs good.... Let us close our eyes and pretend that the mnotor actually started... Let us close our eyes and pretend that Ford is actually trying to help us, here. This past week, one of our techs dropped the pan on a 5R110 to reveal significant metal deposits.... Prior approval now insists on a tear-down... It ain't hard to cost cap this SOB, so why bother? You know that the tear down will be half hearted and is nothing more than a waste of time. Yet we will insist on wasting time, resources and money in hopes that somewhere, the tech will make an identifiable error in procedure.... and the whole kibosh can be charged back with a hearty "fuck you - fuck you very much". Bottom line - we will be trapped in the middle and, by association, we will take the customer there with us... In our society, it is not uncommon to shoot the messenger.... and Ford will appear blameless while we will look like SellC.... Coming soon to a theater near you.... Fords explanation of how, if the dealer had done things "right" to begin with.... the problem wouldn't exist.... So... let's close our eyes and pretend that the oil is cold.....

I'll see what I can do Monday....

The paper trail is getting sickening... think 08-25-09, 08-25-08, 08-25-07 and 08B07. Did you reprogram under a TSB or the FSA? Does it matter? Should it matter? Will it matter? FWIW, I did a 08B07 last week and the TCM ran away from home on me... "Save your existing session" and "Open a new session". After you replace the TCM do a PMI on the PCM.... WTF is that? Dot your "I"s, cross your "T"s and wipe your ass from front to back - the warranty cops are after blood - yours.

This is the thing, Jeff.... the concern was the oil consumption. There is no way to mistake that the turbo shaft and bearings had failed... FAILED!! The claim was submitted as a base oil system failure. The condition of the compressor fins was never considered. Here's the deal.... Ford denied the warranty claim on grounds that had nothing to do with the customer concern. Where does this leave us? Let's say we have a failure in the base oil system that costs a short block. Ford looks at the old block assembly and decides that there is evidence of cylinder dusting and denies the claim. We are now trapped in a conumdrum.. we will be the ones bearing the brunt of the customers wrath... we will be the ones waiting to see what "hidden treats" might be found in any claim. Think - "my radio wont receive FM stations". Reply... "There is a homemade CD label stuck in the player". Think - "I know... but I want to listen to the radio... not CDs...". We are entering a time where it matters not what the customer concern is... The turbo is pissing oil into the exhaust - that is the customer concern. Ford can abuse this system and it will be us that pays the price.

And the second link <Im going fucking nutz ovvva-heee -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Man there is some crazy shit going on at the shop, just had a 12,000 job go belly up, now I am stuck with this enormus 2003 F-250 Super Duty that will not for the life of me go away. I mean this thing has been a thorn up my ass for over a year now! Keep hiring and firing people because they cant complete a job, and I hate paying people to show them how to fix cars. To make it worse I went out and got myself stuck in the mud, cost me $290 to get pulled out by a semi wrecker, plus I lost a tire, and some fucker shot out my windows and stole my vanity plate! WTF What a fucking week!

Shit... I forgot they were for the "V8 cafe"... <2003 Ford F250 Super Duty with 6.0 Turbo Diesel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We have recently taken in/purchased a 2003 F250 with a diesel engine. I must admit that the rumors of the 6.0 liter engine being plauged with problems is well founded. I do not think that a person whom has purchased one of these vehicles without an automotive background could deal with the sorts of problems this format will give them. Ford seems to have worked most of the bugs out of the 7.3 liter diesel engines however you would think there would be a very close relation between the 7.3 and the 6.0 but there IS NOT. Next to nothing can be interchanged between the 7.3 liter and 6.0 liter engines. The 6.0 liter engine appears to be equipped with an internation fuel management system. I am still working on details to find out if International made the engine as well. What I can say is that with any diesel engine being stuffed into a truck, its very tight. The 6.0 is known for the following problems- No starts in cold weather - Due to serious AMP draws from electronics and GP Injector problems - They get clogged or simpily quit working and cost $300 ea. Exhaust manifold probelms - The turbo tubes have flex pipes $280 Expensive fuel, oil and air filters 15 quarts of oil is needed for this engine Many reported problems with power loss Many reported problems with excessive smoke from tail pipe While I have done much in the ways of repairs I will be working to document these repairs in more detail as time goes by. While the F250 that we have is somewhat of a slug its very fun to drive and has lots of torque. 560 foot pounds and 340 horsepower stock to be exact. Gas mileage is better than that of a 7.3 but with all of the expensive parts the gap soon fills. Feel free to ask questions about this or any other truck motor. We will do our best to help.>

I have way too much time on my hands.

http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=91042&p=3&topicID=16059145 <snicker> It gets better http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=91042&p=3&topicID=16056449

Dwayne had replaced a turbo on a 6.0 - it was pumping oil out, the bearings and shaft obviously toast. The ends of the compressor fins were severely worn from contact with the housing.... The turbo (and the warranty claim) were sent back because the fins on the turbo were dusted- even though the customer concern had nothing to do with lack of power or lack of boost. We need to keep in mind that while we may see a failure in one way, warranty will see it in a much different light. Warranty acknowledged that the dusted fins make the bearings fail - but dusted is dusted and that's all that mattered. I wonder how many customers this new found initiative is going to piss off? At a time when Toyota is re-affirming their desire for a diesel pick-up...

Pogo Possum has been granted access to the V8 cafe..... If it looks like shit... smells like shit.... and tastes like shit.... there is a pretty good chance that it might be shit.....

Alex, what I have (the one I use the most) is a two page affair. Page one is the good one with a graphic that indicates tread depth, PSI, rotor thickness/drum diameter, lining thickness, pushrod travel.... Page two is a pass/fail checkbox for everything from soup to nuts. I'll see if we can't scan them for you.... or drop me a number and I can fax them.

Alex, I have some CVIP (commercial vehicle inspection program) sheets I can fax you or an ambulance inspection sheet - not sure what you are after or if these would be what you want.... For out of province inspections, I use the CVIP forms and disregard the commercial requirements. None of the forms are really good without the guide manuals and they are usually pretty hard to get... Let me know a bit more about what you're looking for and I'll see if I have anything close... FWIW, I do ambulance inspections, commercial vehicle inspections, out of province inspections and insurance inspections (anything over 10 years old gets a government form - so very close to a waste of time and paper). I also do accident inspections for the RCMP - these are mostly a formality to make sure some slick assed lawyer can't deflect an idiots blame onto a broken car.

Justin... some friendly words of advice.... I often get vehicles that other techs have already checked "that". When you get something that has defied other repair attempts, the wise thing to do is start back at square 1. There will be a test or an assessment that someone, somewhere has decided is "good enough" or has been overlooked (I don't need to check fuel pressure because it drove into the shop...). It isn't luck that makes a tech good... being thorough does....

There's a fair bit of missing info... but, I am usually the guy that creeps out on to shaky limbs... Would the affected cylinder be on the right side (passenger side)? How bad was the EGR cooler leaking? A hydrolock is a "relative" thing... depending on the severity, it can be a minor "blurp" or it can be a motor stalling "oh my Gawd". To a witness is unfamiliar or inexperienced, what some of us would consider "significant", may appear innoccuous. If some artifact (a chunk of carbon would be considered as an "artifact"), fastener or tool had been lost in the motor, one would expect witness marks.... If something physical had been lost in the motor, one would expect noises to be at least as much of a concern as missing. Any witness marks - especially those in the top of the piston, should be inspected closely as their shape and placement may give clues to the cause. Without knowing the nature of the damage... the SSCC.. it's tough. Now... I hope you are open minded.... If I enlist the aid of an assistant, it is important that I assess knowledge, skill-set and talents when I assign tasks to him/her. It is equally important to supervise their actions and progress to ensure that they are learning good working habits and improving their skills. Apprentices are NOT "set and forget" machines. They rely on our oversight to teach them work ethic and other skills that will improve their performance in the years to come. I sincerely hope this youngster will not become a scapegoat.

Just found Broadcast Message 2021 - 2021 - UPDATE TO TEST STEP 7 OF TSB 08-26-3 WHEN DIAGNOSING FICM MODULES ON 6.0L DIESEL EQUIPPED VEHICLES USING TSB 08-26-3 AND PERFORMING 'STEP 7' FOR ENGINE OIL TEMPERATURE (EOT) SIMULATION, USE A REVISED VALUE OF 32F (0C). THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY SETTING THE INSTRUMENT GAUGE TESTER (TOOL #014-R1063) TO 100,000 OHMS. SETTING TO THE REVISED VALUE WILL PROVIDE MORE ACCURRATE AND CONSISTANT TEST RESULTS WHEN COMPLETING THE REMAINDER OF THE TSB TEST STEPS. ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY IN PROCESS OF UPDATING THE TSB. MONITOR OASIS FOR UPDATES. Do ya know what you get when you put lipstick on a pig?

We have seen more than one engine with a valve train concern on #2 that causes the power balance to flag #4. If the spent gases from #2 can't enter the exhaust, they will infiltrate the intake manifold and dilute the fresh air charge...

Years ago, I was the (sort off) proud owner of a Sun Interrogator (and later a Sun MCA3000) which performed relative compression testing using starter draw as the comparitor. No, I must assume the PCM uses the CKP as the comparitor (is that even a word?)... Ford says 4% is THE number.... the fat old man thinks this test is only good at finding holes that are very, very close to comatose - for anything else.... too many variables. We still have a significant number of other tests that are as good as a manual compression test or will serve to discover things that a manual compression test can't. Wet and dry compression tests, cylinder kill test (interestingly, both the MCA and the Interrogator automated this test... to the point that NINE cylinders would be killed to ensure that every cylinder measured had a killed cylinder precede it - and it would include gas bench measurements in the data) and my particular favourite, the cylinder leak test... this is accepted practice with both piston powered aircraft engines as well as top alcohol drag teams. One thing that I am having a real hard time dealing with is the insistance that so many have that this is a base engine concern.... It don't feel like one and I can't say it acts like one. Let us not forget what a fuel washed cylinder can do for compression testing.... More to come after the next round of testing.

OK.. so I took a truck with 75 kms on it.... and I checked compression on 2 cylinders (numbers 1 and 3). Rolling the engine over 6 or 7 times gave compression pressures in the 280~300 range. Rolling the engine over until the gauge stops moving yields closer to 360 psi... The engine was warm but not hot. How much is related to altitude and how much is related to the gauge, I can't say. All things considered, relative information is all I will infer from a compression test. Running relative compression tests on the subject truck is futile - walk away from the truck for a half hour and repeat the test - there is little, if any, relation to any other test. Tomorrow, we will repeat a course of relative compression testing with the "control" group.

The problem with the info (or lack of it) on an RO has been around since the SA at "Ogggs Igneous Wheel Company" chiselled "#00001" in the top corner of a stone tablet... And it has defied each and every attempted cure. First thing in the AM, SAs can be a harried lot... knee deep in customers (customers that INSIST that the tech "can't miss the concern") that wont offer enough info, despite every effort at coercion. SAs are no more than their title implies - some are, for various reasons, better than others - but they lack the familiarity that we share with these vehicles... But is that their fault? If they became as familiar as we are with the mechanics of being a mechanic, they would no longer be service advisers.... they'd be working in the bay next to us. Customers... if I could actually talk to a customer by dialing the contact number he left, I might be surprised. Even in this day of cell phones, calling a customers contact number might make the horn on his truck honk.... Go figure. Interpretation.... the human animal is NOT a good interpretor... no way - no how. Being offered too much info is no better than being offered insufficient info. Our brains will put a "spin" on everything it hears. And, since the English language has to be one of the most ambiguous on the planet, the spin will usually lead us away from the truth rather than closer to it. (if you don't believe that, please explain "wind, wind, whined, wined" and "ware, wear, where" to me). So... what can we do to ameliorate this ever present problem? We may have to do something distasteful - like talk to a customer. Or go for a drive with him/her... this "personalization" will set us apart from other shops and add to our "curb appeal". Any little thing we can do to make ourselves look better to the customer is not a bad thing. Lastly... each and every one of us works on a different level of comprehension... from using primarily single syllable words to trotting out a whole bevy of $5.00 bombshells... attempts to focus on a specific meaning for a phrase may create a certain amount of obfuscation as the listener reaches for his "Funk & Wagnalls". OK... Now that you've hung on for this long.... What I was trying to say is that the problem has been around since the beginning of time. For the most part, we can deal with it on a daily basis... sometimes, though, we will need to take extrordinary steps (talk directly to the "patient") to deliver an effective and timely repair. This is where the professionals can separate themselves from the gresae monkeys....

"I'd like a coffee... without cream, please..." I'm sorry sir, we're out of cream... you'll have to have it without milk..."

Bruce, on a really "good" day, we may see as high as 13.7 PSI but 13.5 would be closer to normal..... If I suspect a dusted engine, I can perform a crankcase pressure test or a cylinder leakage test. FWIW, there are caveates to consider when performing a crankcase pressure test on a motor with any non contributing cylinders. I feel there are too many other conditions that can affect compression readings to use this as an "absolute" test. It's not that I don't use compression test data - I just don't try to read too much into it.

Bruce is quite right... we are at about 1900 feet above sea level... This affects manifold vacuuon gas engines and it also affects absolute compression numbers... We have never had our compression gauge read anywhere near 400 PSI (that I can recall, anyway). FWIW, I don't like to rely on compression readings in terms of "absolute" numbers - I do prefer to look at compression test reults in terms of relative numbers. As it stands, the engine runs very smooth when it wants to, it starts very easily - even in -30C without being plugged in. The left head was just off and there was nothing abnormal on the cylinder walls... but the concern(s) is/are intermittent - and this is going to limit any possible mechanical concerns pretty much to "sticky shit". It is going to be a matter of looking at the right stuff at the right time....