Idaho (Boise Area) Ford Dealer Recommendation

DUKCSUN · 12-16-2010, 06:44 AM

Hey guys,

We recently moved to Idaho and on the way out we noticed that there was a new "sound" on the SMB. Similar to the "whooshing" sound that several people have reported. I would describe it as sounding like someone poked a hole in the turbo and air is escaping. I monitored the vitals and while it seemed a little underpowered, it runs fine otherwise.

I'm wondering if any of the SMB bretheren have had good (or bad) experience with any Ford dealers in the Boise area?

I need to take it in (I have the ext warranty so its got to be a dealer).

Any help is welcome and don't forget to look us up when you're coming through Idaho.

Bryan Laws

Rapidz · 12-16-2010, 07:15 AM

Hi:
I've been dealing with Lithia Ford's Diesel people and they have been great. I needed a power steering hose replaced last summer and then a radiator hose last week. They did a good job.
I've been taking my rig to them for oil and lube services, too.
They are at the corner of Maple Grove and Fairview.
Of course, you pay dealer service prices, but my Sportsmobile is my baby and I want it to get TLC.

And, if they have the parts, it is usually one day service.
Rapidz

DUKCSUN · 12-16-2010, 07:43 AM

Rapidz,

That's great news. At the very least, they won't totally freak out when they see the SMB like so many dealers do.

Is your rig a diesel?

saline · 12-16-2010, 06:26 PM

I also had a good experience with Lithia in Boise. I only went there for regular service though.

That noise sounds like it could be a CAC tube either loose or has a tear in it.

Rapidz · 12-22-2010, 08:17 PM

Yup, my is diesel. I've had oil changes and lubes. I haven't had major tuneup type stuff yet.
Rapidz

DUKCSUN · 12-27-2010, 12:04 PM

Well, as it turns out I will be able to tell you how they handle major operations. The "whooshing" noise was, in fact, a CAC tube. Easy fix for sure.

However, it appears as though I also had a gusher of a bed plate leak. So we are going for open heart surgery (again).

I have to be honest, I'm super glad I got the extended warranty. If nothing else it is worth the piece of mind taking the thing in and them seeing it has the warranty and not freak out on the van.

I know there are a lot of comments on the forum here around the bed plate leak and how much of a PITA it is and this guy commented that there is a new procedure on how to put the new gasket in, etc that makes the fix more durable. Anyone have any detailed information on that tidbit?

Light a candle and pray for me. They say I'll have it back in one day which is at least better than Sunrisre Ford where I had to wait two weeks to find out they had jacked it all up.

Bryan

stikine · 12-28-2010, 08:07 AM

Please keep us informed how the bed plate leak replacement went. From my research they have to pull out the engine from the front to replace it and it takes about 1 week - very interested in what you think of Lithia Ford in Boise, as I might need to head up there for the same.
Good luck - Scott in Poky

jage · 12-28-2010, 11:32 AM

My bed plate leak magically became something else when I inquired about getting top-engine work done during the procedure. Shady! Just FYI.

DUKCSUN · 01-01-2011, 11:48 AM

OK, so I had the CAC tube replaced and the bed plate leak fixed at the same time. Total elapsed time time from dropping the van off and being completed was 1 1/2 days. He showed me where the bed plate was leaking and apparently they now replace a whole host of gaskets during the procedure but I didn't get details.

The van seems to be running better than it has for a VERY long time and, not surprisingly, is quieter than ever.

I grilled the service advisor fairly hard before I decided to do the bed plate leak fix since I know there are others that have been putting this off for some time due to the complexity. They seemed confident in their ability to do it well and quickly. I actually think that the people that can do it quickly might be better at it since they've done more. Just MHO.

Well, they were done in basically a day and a half of work and double checked everything so I'm fairly happy at this point. I'm no expert but the van seems to be running well, quiet, and the dealer was great to work with (which means a lot to me quite frankly based on previous experience in LA)

I will be able to report more as we get out in the van over the coming weekends but so far I'm happy and they seemed extremely knowledgable.

Regarding the dealer, the guy I worked with (Brad), was fantastic. He was nice, up front and didn't seem thrown off AT ALL about the van. We talked a lot about the whole "coming in the front vs. lifting the cab" which was a lot of the other dealers prefer. IMO lifting the cab on our vans is a disaster and experienced technicians don't need to. I watched one do my HPOP by ripping the whole engine out the front in a day so I know its possible.

Anyway, Brad and I chatted and I was lamenting the fact that I don't have Hubert to do my AMSoil changes, and general maintenance and he said no problem bringing in the filters, oil, etc and they'll do the labor. Like $30 bucks or so. Genius. Its totally worth it to me.

I would suggest that if any of you want to get the details and are more knowledgable than I, call Brad at the dealership and ask him. He definately didn't seem like the clueless service advisor and actually knew a lot about the vehicles. Feel free to mention me as a reference since I managed to not piss him off (unlike other service reps). - Bryan Laws with the big van.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I can answer them here. Happy/Merry.

saline · 01-01-2011, 07:37 PM

Glad to hear it went well. Like I said I had a positive experience at Lithia in Boise. They even charged me $30 less to do the oil change than my dealership in Grand Junction. I even asked my service advisor about it and he basically said, "well we charge $90 and I don't know how they set their prices." Thanks for nothing, I'm in Boise a lot so maybe i'll just get my oil changed there.