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Old 10-25-2008, 07:40 PM   #11
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Good luck. It makes you wonder, if the rig is going out of warrantee will they do a poor job? I'm stuck with the locals. The best thing might be to get on a more personal level with the best mechanic and hope you don't get Gommer. I have had problems with both our local dealers. They lied about testing my batteries, almost replaced the turbo when all that was wrong was a sensor wire off and now finding out the shoddy work they did on my alternator gives me real confidence. All this was done well before the warrantee was up. I dread any major engine work that needs to be done in the future. I have yet to find a trustworthy shop that is equipped for diesel work and all my mechanics buddies shy away from anything with a dog house. I need to find the best mechanics and where they go to drink beers after work. Infiltrate.

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Old 10-26-2008, 10:30 AM   #12
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bryanlaws...

You might give Jay Minto a call at Towne Ford ((650) 562-2225) in the Bay Area...Jay is the Fleet Manager for Towne Ford and they sell SMBW their Fords, which is a LOT of Fords; Jay has also been attending the SMB Rallys to help out.

Jay is a great asset and has helped me out a couple of times. He has gotten their Service Manager involved in one minor issue and called my local Ford Service Manager another time to ensure that replacing our transmission would/should be covered under the warranty. He can talk to your Service Manager if that would help (of the dealer owner). If your Service Manager is a real problem, he might also be able to recommend another Ford dealer who will work with you.

Good luck...
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Old 10-26-2008, 11:08 AM   #13
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bryanlaws,
I see you are in LA, CA. Which dealer did you take it to so I can avoid them. I wonder if it is who I think it is.

steve
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Old 10-26-2008, 02:12 PM   #14
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I've had bad experiences at both Vista Ford (Woodland Hills) and Kemp Ford (Thousand Oaks).

Herb,
Have you had any luck at the Ventura dealerships at all? I haven't gone to them at all yet but one of them is a pretty big truck shop so maybe they would be better.

Jack, thanks for the tip on Jay. I'm going to take it in and just wait and see what they say first. I have zero confidence in these people ESPECIALLY if it involves dropping the engine. I'm still hoping beyond hope that it will come out OK and it just needs some TLC on the oil filler tube.
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Old 10-26-2008, 03:12 PM   #15
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Go to Sunrise Ford in North Hollywood. They have a separate truck/fleet service center and are very familiar with the PSD vans. They have also seen a fair number of SMBs and seem to understand and honor the warranty. All reports I've heard about Sunrise from SMB owners have been positive.
Good luck.
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Old 10-26-2008, 03:27 PM   #16
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I've used Barber Ford in Ventura. They replaced the turbo (under warranty) with no questions asked, even with an aftermarket exhaust system.

With my '02 F250, we tried to deal with Vista Ford in Oxnard. Bad experience. I made an appointment with them because of an oil leak at the bellhousing, which I explained over the phone. I also told them I had never been to them for service before. When my wife took the truck to them to drop it off, they explained that the appointment was only for the service advisor to look over the truck to see what was wrong, and THEN they'd make an appointment to fix it. Boneheads.

We finally convinced them to take it on the spot, and even talked them into a loaner. Within a day they had come to the conclusion that the crankshaft was probably bad, and that we'd need a new short block (under warranty). They went ahead and pre-ordered a new short block in case that the crank was the problem. A few days later they told us it wasn't the crank, it was just the rear main seal. Then they tell us that it will take a week to get in a new rear seal. So they can order a new short block just in case, but they don't think to order (or stock) a rear seal? They ended up fixing the engine just fine, but the service department management was incompetent.


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Old 10-26-2008, 04:25 PM   #17
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After all the research folks do to ensure what is and what is not covered before we buy these modified vans, it is an insult to then have to go through these hoops each and every time we go in good faith to a dealer. And the anticipation of the difficulty sets us up for disappointment.

The warranty needs to be looked at like an insurance policy: "How are they going to get out of this commitment?"

Service Manager Kyle at Fritts Ford (a Quigley stocking dealer) in Riverside is good.

At any dealer, even with a good service manager, you are at the mercy of a random mechanic. It could be his first time doing that job as training!

Do you think we all could be too picky? Hell yes we're picky! Or we'd be driving Chevrolet!
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Old 10-28-2008, 11:13 AM   #18
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I've got an appt. at Sunrise Ford in NoHo. I'm hoping agasint hope that its all good and they'll be able to just pop that sucker in and have no problems. <Fingers crossed> Will let you know what I find out.
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Old 11-05-2008, 10:28 PM   #19
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I picked up the Death Star from Sunrise Ford this afternoon. Nice folks. They did have to replace the entire oil filler tube from the connection at the valve cover all the way up (cheap plastic). They also had to remove the valve cover (it turns out they can get it off without dropping the engine) and "fix" the metal bits that grip the oil filler tube.

They even covered it on warranty which frankly I wasn't expecting.

I'm going to pull the doghouse tomorrow and take a look. I think the DH didn't go back on 100% sealed because it sounded really loud.

On a separate topic, I'm seriously considering ripping out all of the sound/heat insulation from the doghouse and re-installing some of the dynamat - dynaliner stuff. I used it on the fridge and I am pretty impressed with it. Expensive though but I think it might actually help more than the asbestos foil-lined stuff that's sitting on top of the soundproofing.

Anyway, looks like I got off easy.
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