Attention: Please Read (Beware of mechanics working on your 3v's)
#1
12-24-2010, 01:51 AM
Attention: Please Read (Beware of mechanics working on your 3v's)
Hello everyone 
I must say this is a frustrating story to tell I've learned so much about these trucks since I have been on here and I want this truck to last forever. Now I have been planning my maintenance on here and reading as much as I can. First off, I can't do it myself, I don't have the knowledge yet or tools available in case something goes wrong. So after doing immense amounts of reading on the Plugs, injectors etc, I decided I would be making the plunge to have the plugs and TB cleaned as the first step. Now a local member on here (mjb) recommended a place in his town called May's tire and auto which he said did excellent work and was one of the best places around. I am not knocking mjb here, he had a good experience, I did not however; but anyways. So I decided to take a trip to the shop one day after school/work and I scoped the place out. It's a very clean and nicely set-up building in a good location and very professional looking. He has been in business 21 or so years. I pulled in and went inside and the owner son greeted me and said he liked my truck. He said it looked well taken care of and liked the grille. I chatted with him for a few and told him I had been recommended by Marc (mjb on here) and they knew of him immediately. Before I even went here I searched the shop online and found these which looked promising. I saw Marc's on there and they knew of it and even showed me more. I know they need to show me things like that because after all, they are testimonials to their business. Both son and father/owner Bob were very pleasant to talk to. They were very aware of the issues with the 3v's and said the plug breaking is bad if the porcelain goes into the head. After more talking a made an appointment for 21st of December which was this Monday. They were going to use all Oem parts and the price was $300-$400 which I could easily cover. I was pretty impressed because they were aware of the issues and the price was fair I thought and it seemed like their approach was a good one.
Well my gf followed me this past Monday to the shop and I drop the truck off. I just made sure once again they were going to follow the TSB and I was told that he was going to "Take care of my chariot!" and I left excited and confident that my truck would be running like a top. $1100 later it is.
Why? I get home and two hours later my cell rings. It's Bob. He said my truck is all ready; they cleaned the TB but one of the plugs just spun BEFORE they even touched it with their tools. Hmmm. My brother took me down to the shop and I went in. They said it appeared someone had been down there before (Nope, never) and if they started the plugs they might break and fall into the head. I was kind of scratching my head wondering, "Isn't that why the TSB exists?" My dad thought it was weird as well because I called him before we left to get the truck. Anyways, I asked if I was going to have any issues since the plug had been touched and they said no. However, they did say the TB was quite dirty. (My truck has 597xx on it - bought it with 362xx on it so many of you guys should get on that btw
)
So we talked for a few more minutes and he said he had talked to the Ford dealer up the street (Bay State Ford) and they said it could be problematic to have the plugs done and that they said i would need to sign a waiver up to $4k. I never heard of that but w/e. Bob also said it is better to hold off in hope's that the 3v's get a recall on the plugs. I do agree, but it's been going on so long I don't see that happening at this point. So I leave and start my truck. Roars to life but idles rough, which I know can sometimes happen after a TB cleaning. It never leveled out though. I only live 5-10 miles from the shop and it through a code. P0301 (IIRC) which said Misfire on Cyclinder 1. I get it home and another code is thrown and that said random misfire, first 1k rpms or something like that. They I start smelling gas. My brother was right there and I asked him if he smelt it and he said yes. I called my dad he said to call the shop asap and get the thing fixed because they must have screwed something up. I call Bob he says that it is an issue (No, really?) and to get it over so they can take a look. My brother follows me yet again and Bob's son takes a look at the truck. He said the plug was on there good and that the plug they touched (claimed #2) was not the same as the cylinder misfiring. They said they would call the Ford dealer and give me a call.
HUH?!?!
So you are essentially throwing me out of your shop with a truck running like **** you piece of crap?!
I head home make it half way then pull down a side street and my brother pulled up beside me. I shut my truck off and called my dad. He was rip****. He said to call the bastard and tell him to fix the truck or we will send him the repair bill from Ford. I finally called Bob and told him my truck was running fine before I sent it to him and now I have CEL's. he tried to blame my Gryphon, said someone had touched it before him, said they didn't touch that plug, yet I was smelling gas. My brother took the phone and pretended to be my dad and basically asked how he could send a truck back worse than it came in. He asked Bob if he touched a plug and he said he but realized it was starting to break and stopped. The guy messed up my truck and left me out to dry. Who does that? I got back on the phone with him and kept asking him that ( not yelling or anything) but I showed by frustration and even told him I showed my knowledge on the truck to prevent this and make sure he was equipped to handle these issues. He said he didn't have the equipment to do it. Then proceeded to literally scream at me and say "I'll do the 1 or 2 plugs and I never want to see you in my shop again or I'll take it personally!!!!!!!" He also said right before that to the people in the office "I don't like the way he is handling this." The guy is a lunatic. How can you even treat a new customer like that. Guys I swear, I am so easy going, some of you can probably tell by my posts on here and the light nature I try to keep. This guy clearly did something to my truck and left me stranded. I NEED my truck. I am on winter break from school and had the time to do it and could work this around my work schedule. When he was all upset at me on the phone he said I had said I had no money. I said that I couldn't afford $4k worth of work, but the $300-$400 was what I could handle at that time.
I get home and park the truck AGAIN and I called Ford. Got an appointment for 8am the next day. My dad said strip the truck to stock so I programmed it back to stock and put my snorkel back in my intake. The jackass calls me asking where I was because he thought I was coming home have him change out the one or two bad plugs. I said I have an appointment with Ford and the truck will be serviced there. I thanked him for the Tb cleaning and said have a good day. He said I was going to get ripped off. Yeah, he already took care of that for me.
I dropped off the truck that night and got it back yesterday. They kept me updated on the diagnostics (bag plugs and bad coil #3 I believe) and said the FCM should be changed and said I could possibly have a bad cat. They noted they were aftermarket. My dad told me plugs and coil and call it a day. $1100 dollars later, (Bob charged me $50 for the Tb cleaning which was fair I thought and 1066.48 from Ford - 5 plugs broke on the way out) my truck is running like I've never seen. I do all MC 5w20 oil changes with MC FL820s filters and a MC fuel filter once a year and I noticed a big difference. There are no codes and I think the cat is ok as my dad said that it was probably from the diagnosis since it COULD HAVE been an issue with the bad coil.
Guys, sorry for the long *** post, but please be aware of these shops. I am still amazed that this *** clown basically told me to screw. Why would he be calling a Ford dealer? He took a 3v, he should be able to work on it. So I guess his business practice is just to assume it will go perfectly and if it doesn't say screw you. One thing I didn't like, is he did make some cracks about some of his customers saying how tough some of them were to deal with and how he threw some of them out. Some came back apparently and they ended up with a positive experience on both ends, but I can see why he can be tough to deal with to be honest. Like I said, I am not hard to deal with at all and he flipped out on me when my truck is running like crap after he "serviced it." I would stay far away as possible from this shop. Ford costs a bit more, but I will most likely stick with Rodman Ford for my service. Also, this should be a lesson to some of the people on this forum, change those plugs fairly early especially if you bought you're truck used. I only put Shell in my truck, but you don't know what the other person used nor do you know what types of filters were utilized. I'm below 60k and 5 plugs broke and they said they have pretty good success with the 3v's.
Merry Christmas Everyone
I must say this is a frustrating story to tell I've learned so much about these trucks since I have been on here and I want this truck to last forever. Now I have been planning my maintenance on here and reading as much as I can. First off, I can't do it myself, I don't have the knowledge yet or tools available in case something goes wrong. So after doing immense amounts of reading on the Plugs, injectors etc, I decided I would be making the plunge to have the plugs and TB cleaned as the first step. Now a local member on here (mjb) recommended a place in his town called May's tire and auto which he said did excellent work and was one of the best places around. I am not knocking mjb here, he had a good experience, I did not however; but anyways. So I decided to take a trip to the shop one day after school/work and I scoped the place out. It's a very clean and nicely set-up building in a good location and very professional looking. He has been in business 21 or so years. I pulled in and went inside and the owner son greeted me and said he liked my truck. He said it looked well taken care of and liked the grille. I chatted with him for a few and told him I had been recommended by Marc (mjb on here) and they knew of him immediately. Before I even went here I searched the shop online and found these which looked promising. I saw Marc's on there and they knew of it and even showed me more. I know they need to show me things like that because after all, they are testimonials to their business. Both son and father/owner Bob were very pleasant to talk to. They were very aware of the issues with the 3v's and said the plug breaking is bad if the porcelain goes into the head. After more talking a made an appointment for 21st of December which was this Monday. They were going to use all Oem parts and the price was $300-$400 which I could easily cover. I was pretty impressed because they were aware of the issues and the price was fair I thought and it seemed like their approach was a good one.
Well my gf followed me this past Monday to the shop and I drop the truck off. I just made sure once again they were going to follow the TSB and I was told that he was going to "Take care of my chariot!" and I left excited and confident that my truck would be running like a top. $1100 later it is.
Why? I get home and two hours later my cell rings. It's Bob. He said my truck is all ready; they cleaned the TB but one of the plugs just spun BEFORE they even touched it with their tools. Hmmm. My brother took me down to the shop and I went in. They said it appeared someone had been down there before (Nope, never) and if they started the plugs they might break and fall into the head. I was kind of scratching my head wondering, "Isn't that why the TSB exists?" My dad thought it was weird as well because I called him before we left to get the truck. Anyways, I asked if I was going to have any issues since the plug had been touched and they said no. However, they did say the TB was quite dirty. (My truck has 597xx on it - bought it with 362xx on it so many of you guys should get on that btw
)So we talked for a few more minutes and he said he had talked to the Ford dealer up the street (Bay State Ford) and they said it could be problematic to have the plugs done and that they said i would need to sign a waiver up to $4k. I never heard of that but w/e. Bob also said it is better to hold off in hope's that the 3v's get a recall on the plugs. I do agree, but it's been going on so long I don't see that happening at this point. So I leave and start my truck. Roars to life but idles rough, which I know can sometimes happen after a TB cleaning. It never leveled out though. I only live 5-10 miles from the shop and it through a code. P0301 (IIRC) which said Misfire on Cyclinder 1. I get it home and another code is thrown and that said random misfire, first 1k rpms or something like that. They I start smelling gas. My brother was right there and I asked him if he smelt it and he said yes. I called my dad he said to call the shop asap and get the thing fixed because they must have screwed something up. I call Bob he says that it is an issue (No, really?) and to get it over so they can take a look. My brother follows me yet again and Bob's son takes a look at the truck. He said the plug was on there good and that the plug they touched (claimed #2) was not the same as the cylinder misfiring. They said they would call the Ford dealer and give me a call.
HUH?!?!
So you are essentially throwing me out of your shop with a truck running like **** you piece of crap?!
I head home make it half way then pull down a side street and my brother pulled up beside me. I shut my truck off and called my dad. He was rip****. He said to call the bastard and tell him to fix the truck or we will send him the repair bill from Ford. I finally called Bob and told him my truck was running fine before I sent it to him and now I have CEL's. he tried to blame my Gryphon, said someone had touched it before him, said they didn't touch that plug, yet I was smelling gas. My brother took the phone and pretended to be my dad and basically asked how he could send a truck back worse than it came in. He asked Bob if he touched a plug and he said he but realized it was starting to break and stopped. The guy messed up my truck and left me out to dry. Who does that? I got back on the phone with him and kept asking him that ( not yelling or anything) but I showed by frustration and even told him I showed my knowledge on the truck to prevent this and make sure he was equipped to handle these issues. He said he didn't have the equipment to do it. Then proceeded to literally scream at me and say "I'll do the 1 or 2 plugs and I never want to see you in my shop again or I'll take it personally!!!!!!!" He also said right before that to the people in the office "I don't like the way he is handling this." The guy is a lunatic. How can you even treat a new customer like that. Guys I swear, I am so easy going, some of you can probably tell by my posts on here and the light nature I try to keep. This guy clearly did something to my truck and left me stranded. I NEED my truck. I am on winter break from school and had the time to do it and could work this around my work schedule. When he was all upset at me on the phone he said I had said I had no money. I said that I couldn't afford $4k worth of work, but the $300-$400 was what I could handle at that time.
I get home and park the truck AGAIN and I called Ford. Got an appointment for 8am the next day. My dad said strip the truck to stock so I programmed it back to stock and put my snorkel back in my intake. The jackass calls me asking where I was because he thought I was coming home have him change out the one or two bad plugs. I said I have an appointment with Ford and the truck will be serviced there. I thanked him for the Tb cleaning and said have a good day. He said I was going to get ripped off. Yeah, he already took care of that for me.
I dropped off the truck that night and got it back yesterday. They kept me updated on the diagnostics (bag plugs and bad coil #3 I believe) and said the FCM should be changed and said I could possibly have a bad cat. They noted they were aftermarket. My dad told me plugs and coil and call it a day. $1100 dollars later, (Bob charged me $50 for the Tb cleaning which was fair I thought and 1066.48 from Ford - 5 plugs broke on the way out) my truck is running like I've never seen. I do all MC 5w20 oil changes with MC FL820s filters and a MC fuel filter once a year and I noticed a big difference. There are no codes and I think the cat is ok as my dad said that it was probably from the diagnosis since it COULD HAVE been an issue with the bad coil.
Guys, sorry for the long *** post, but please be aware of these shops. I am still amazed that this *** clown basically told me to screw. Why would he be calling a Ford dealer? He took a 3v, he should be able to work on it. So I guess his business practice is just to assume it will go perfectly and if it doesn't say screw you. One thing I didn't like, is he did make some cracks about some of his customers saying how tough some of them were to deal with and how he threw some of them out. Some came back apparently and they ended up with a positive experience on both ends, but I can see why he can be tough to deal with to be honest. Like I said, I am not hard to deal with at all and he flipped out on me when my truck is running like crap after he "serviced it." I would stay far away as possible from this shop. Ford costs a bit more, but I will most likely stick with Rodman Ford for my service. Also, this should be a lesson to some of the people on this forum, change those plugs fairly early especially if you bought you're truck used. I only put Shell in my truck, but you don't know what the other person used nor do you know what types of filters were utilized. I'm below 60k and 5 plugs broke and they said they have pretty good success with the 3v's.
Merry Christmas Everyone
#2
12-24-2010, 01:53 AM
#3
12-24-2010, 03:07 AM
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12-24-2010, 10:00 AM
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12-24-2010, 11:45 AM
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WOW....You should see if you can start gathering up tools, slowly over time, buy a set here and there and learn to do it yourself. Not only is it gratifying experience when stuff goes smooth, but also when things go south you don't have to pay 110$ per hour for your truck to get repaired because of a known issue (this still chops my *** - I break your bolt due to neglegence and design flaw, you pay for it) Good you got her back to 100%!! Happy holidays!
#7
12-24-2010, 12:00 PM
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I know what you mean TG. Shops are getting more and more lazy and charge more and more these days. I went to Higgins Motorsports on Monday to have them change the pads, rotors, install a hub/rotor conversion on the front, and flush the brake fluid. It was originally going to be $240, but when I said the words "hub" and "conversion", they tacked on another $140. I took one look at the price sheet, gathered all my parts and left.
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#8
12-24-2010, 08:27 PM
Thanks guys
Yeah someday I'll turn wrenches on this truck, but only when it is not may daily. It's just so aggravating. They made a poor design and we pay the price and jackasses like May's screw you over when it becomes a problem. Just screwed me up big time. I owe my dad 500 bucks because of it. I could have covered it, but he doesn't want me to take that much out of my account thankfully and I agree. And that sucks punisher, they sound like a bunch of morons
Yeah someday I'll turn wrenches on this truck, but only when it is not may daily. It's just so aggravating. They made a poor design and we pay the price and jackasses like May's screw you over when it becomes a problem. Just screwed me up big time. I owe my dad 500 bucks because of it. I could have covered it, but he doesn't want me to take that much out of my account thankfully and I agree. And that sucks punisher, they sound like a bunch of morons
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12-24-2010, 10:49 PM
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12-25-2010, 03:08 AM
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12-25-2010, 03:46 AM
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That seriously sucks man. Sounds somewhat like what happened to me. Took it to my local mechanic, the guy is super nice and does a lot of maintenance for me and my family. I had a lengthy conversation with him about the engine, the known plug issues, and the TSB, and that my truck had 103k on the stock plugs, etc. He told me he was aware of the plug issues (lie) and that he had done them before (lie), and that he would take good care of me (lie). Dropped my truck off, didn't get it back for TWO WEEKS. During that period, they broke half the plugs, 2 of which were in the back cylinders. Couldn't figure it out, didn't have the right tools, considered pulling the heads....I told them not to, told them to call Ford. They did, Ford sent a mechanic over to their shop with the proper tools, had the change done in a day because they weren't capable to do it themselves (I replaced with the Champion plugs). My bill was larger than yours.
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12-25-2010, 07:22 AM
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#14
12-25-2010, 08:19 AM
