Yeah, after the BS at Mac Haik Ford in Georgetown TX (The Service Dept. offers very poor, unprofessional service if anyone is looking) and all the stuff I've read on the forums as well as your '03 issues, I think I'll be looking at the '04 Pontiac GTO (aka Holden CV8) from Australia. My '01 is still for sale, not rushing the sale either since the GTO won't arrive in the states until end of the year. Plus I'll be moving to the new house in a couple more weeks so the L will again be handy. It's pretty much back to stock, running 'ok', although it's nice to get 300+ miles to a tank of gas once again.

Good Luck with the L Jerry


Rick
2001 Red Lightning (For Sale)
2004 Yellow Lightning maybe?
2004 Yellow Pontiac GTO maybe?

 

I think That Wes guy was the one who voided my warranty...

 

 

Double post

 

You think it would cost them more to put the truck back to stock.

Jerry - don't let them put it back stock. Like Marc '01 L said, find out whose installing the motor and take care of them.

It's great that they're covering the warrenty, but this is just little knitpicking. Like I said, shouldn't it cost them more to put the truck back to stock, thats just idiot thinking IMO.

 

Man, i've got to vent on this one.

Quit crying. Period.

F*&# the warranty.

If you dont like it build a race car.. drive it.

Do you want to go fast or what?

If not leave it alone.. its fast enough for the street as is.

Then you wont have any issues (stock)

Unless #1 You race it

Etc,etc,etc...

Blah, blah, blah warranty etc,etc,etc..

And above all... FORD

 

heard labor is pretty high for those.

 

High, yes, But not 1600 dollars high

 

Jerry, hang in there, it's almost over...get the truck fixed and sell it. There are other vehicles out there...that Z4 is a good choice. Those that the L and Ford won't understand, until they've been there.
I've been there, and it's not going to happen again. This will be my last Ford, and my family's owned Fords for as long as I can remember. I love my L, and will drive it until it causes me problems, but unless something drastic happens before it falls apart, Ford won't be getting my business again. To the best of my recollection, in the last 25 years, I've owned about 15 Ford vehicles, and bought 9 of them new. I'm only one person, but when you lose your diehard customers, you've done something wrong, and I'm not the only one.
Ford, if you're reading this, I've got a suggestion:
1) Stop offering 3K discounts on your vehicles.
2) Take the first 1K of that, and give your engineers a budget to work with. It shouldn't take 6 yrs to redesign a head that is obviously a crappy design. Oh, and fire the idiot that designed it, because they've cost you millions. Design a good product.
3) Take the second 1K and put it in training your factory techs and tightening your quality control. Stop subcontracting everything to save a few pennies. Take control of your manufacturing processes. Manufacture a good product.
4) Take the last 1K, and pay a decent wage for warranty work. Cutting the dealers to the bone on warranty work isn't going to help your image...you get what you pay for. I've never before seen dealers that are so quick to distance themselves from Ford, and pass the buck to you. Stand behind your product.

For those who are flaming Jerry:
He's been honest and up front with Ford, and has paid to prove that his mods did not cause his engine failure...Ford just has to try to get one more dig in before they let it go. I have a feeling that most of you fLamers would have taken off the mods and lied, a few would be glad they had an excuse to get a built engine, and a few would just grunt and take it in the keister, or maybe grab the truck without paying. Regardless, you've got no reason to flame a man that's played the game all the way through, and has stuck to his principles.

 

Hold on a sec:

I think the only reason you've been asked to return the truck to stock form is because the tech gets paid a flat rate for an engine remove/replace. If you've changed things, it will take longer, therefore the dealer is going to get screwed out of money...

They aren't trying to void your warranty, just to cover their *** when it comes to tech labor.

Coldie

 

The labor rate for the warranty is already set. Jerry said he'd pay the extra to install the mods. What does it take to install long tubes instead of the stock manifolds? 1 hour at the most. It takes one hour to install the headers period...

 

Coldie,
You do not understand. This is NOT the dealership saying the truck must be returned to stock. It's the Ford Rep that said if I want a warranty on the new motor then I must buy a new PCM and remove the headers and E-fan. I already told the dealer I would pay any extra cost caused by my mods.


Jerry

 

Normally I'd agree with you, but in this case this is Ford's screwup. The engine was not built right from the start so why should he have to pay anything to correct what he payed for in the first place, mods or not?


Coldie - really how hard would it be for a tech to install LT's and E-fan? The fan goes in just as easy as the shroud alone. The LT's already there, just need bolting in.

 

Jerry:

I misunderstood. That's just BS and you should call the Ford rep on it. They aren't allowed to void you warranty for mods, they can only deny warranty claims because of mods.

Everyone else:
Yes, I know how easy it is to do LTs vs stock headers and an E-fan vs. mechanical.

I also know that most of the time, a generic tech is following instructions. When the engine doesn't look right, it WILL take him more time.

Coldie

 

Aren't the long tubes still connected to the exhaust in your truck. Seems to me that going back to stock would take longer than just dropping the new motor in and bolting up the existing long tubes that are there waiting. That is unless they took the long tubes completely out when they pulled the motor. It sounds to me like the rep is just being vindictive since you got his decision overturned.