As a new member to the Sportsmobile Forum, I am reaching out for potential advise.

I have been monitoring a lot of what what has been contributed (under numerous topics) for the past 6 months, all of which has been very useful!!! Its obvious that many of you have a considerable amount of insight and practical knowledge, so I'm hoping to tap into that with my new purchase.

I just acquired a 2006 Sportsmobile which is need of a new engine (2006 6.0 Powerstroke turbo diesel). Which brings me to my dilemma; I'm on the East coast, and the vehicle is located near Napa California. I have a line on a Shop that will perform the work, but have no idea if they are the best choice.
A new engine will cover me on all the "bullet proofing" suggestions associated with these motors, i just want to make sure the right group is handling the challenge.
Does anyone have any suggestions (or recommendations) that may help instill some confidence in my selection process? (Currently I'm considering a company by the name of "Left Coast Diesel")

I appreciate any replies.

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TwoXentrix
"AWOL"

Ah, so you bought that one! It's been discussed on here off and on. See the classifieds forum for a thread or two on it.

No input as to a shop on the west coast, but if it were me I'd get it back to the east coast via transport somehow and get the work done locally (or reasonably locally). That way if there are any issues you can get them fixed more readily.

You might want to contact UJoint Offroad in NC. I know they do work on diesel vans and they have a good reputation, and the owner Chris is active on this forum.

My first thought was to ship to someplace that is huge and well known, the cost of shipping is probably only a minor portion of your total cost. The problem is, if there are problems you're looking at 800-1000 miles maybe to get them resolved. So considering that, I'd want a place around the corner- one within AAA towing distance.

I don't know if a Ford dealer would be a better option, because even if you could take the work back to another dealer, it's unlikely (in my mind) that dealer B will handle anything dealer A screwed up. No, I'd take it to the best diesel place you can find (including a Ford dealer who will take it on) and put at least a few thousand miles on the new engine before you exit the AAA towing range.

Price aside, dealers are familiar with ambulances and other emergency and line equipment and can deal with the SMB conversion, whereas a local diesel place may specialize in rolling coal and not realize that the SMB is not as simple as popping the body off to get to the engine.

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it was good to be back

I agree with having a shop closer to home do the fix. Having a motor replaced is a pretty big job with a decent amount of things that can come up after you pick it up and put some miles on it. If you're 2500 miles away from the shop that did it, you may be SOL as far as having the shop take care of anything that may be under their warranty.

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2005 E350 Chateau - V10 - Agile Offroad 4x4
2012 CTS-V Wagon - For the baby...

Yeh, having the work done locally is what we anticipated from the onset (because of the warranties associated) - my judgement became clouded with the $1,900 - $2,300 transport bids we received. We budgeted for that initially, but its tougher than I thought when actually taking it out of the wallet.

looked for the "thread" in the Forum associated with the van, but have not been able to locate anything - went all the way back to Oct 2014. If you are familiar with its location, would you mind pointing me in the right direction?

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TwoXentrix
"AWOL"

I assume it's the 2006 6.0 in need of a new motor discussed in these two threads. The first is from last year and has more posts, the second is more recent.

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=15120

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=15422

You might consider a replacement engine from Ford. All the latest upgrades, new injectors, etc. And a 2 year/unlimited mileage warranty from any Ford dealer.

Mike

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Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper

Flatbed it to Ujoint in Fletcher, NC. We have had them do everything on our van, Chris and crew are stand up guys. It's an 8 hour drive for us, will be the same for you, totally worth it.

-John

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2001 7.3 E350 Ujoint 4" w/ SMB Penthouse
johnandmandi.com

If you are able to source a new 6.0. I would go that route and ignore the ford warranty and bulletproof it before installation. Pm me and I can give you a pretty complete list of what to do. I wish I did this as I did it in phases and now am finally pulling the engine for completion. Huge $$ savings to go this all at one time approach. Congrats on the van and welcome to the forum. I also would not be more than 8 hr drive away. I bet there are diesel 4x4 mechanics in your area who are knowledgeable to do quality work.

Try calling Devil Mountain Diesel...
www.devilmountaindiesel.com
The owners used to be heavy duty diesel mechanics
at Walnut Creek Ford before opening up their own shop.
They aren't too far from where you van is located!

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2006 Ford 6.0 PSD EB-50 SMB 4X4
2009 Honda Pilot 4x4
2008 Toyota Tacoma
2004 Ford F350 Service Truck
2006 Peterbilt 320 (hence my forum handle)