What did you do to your truck today?
Tommy
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Greenville, North Carolina
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I wasted over four hours taking it to the dealer today. It was due for scheduled maintenance and I had a couple of things I wanted fixed. The battery has been losing it's charge for some time now and the moonroof tracks needed to be cleaned and re-lubed. There is a TSB for the moonroof creaking sounds so I knew that was a real thing.
The same day the service manager and I scheduled the visit by phone I sent them an email with the TSB attached as a .pdf file. I also gave them the part number for the special grease they would need for the moonroof tracks which was also listed in the .pdf file as well as the part number for the battery.
I spent an hour drive each way and sat in the lounge for over two hours (they also told me they don't have any loaner vehicles) only to have them tell me they didn't have the grease or the battery in stock. I get it that they can't just order stuff based on what some customer tells them but both of those things should be considered regular maintenance items and should have been in stock anyway and if they weren't it would have been a good idea to order them before my visit knowing myself or twenty other customers might need them. When I reminded the service manager of my email his only response was "Oh, I didn't see any of that stuff."
They also told me that the battery was unique to the trim level of my truck and is on "National Back Order" and yet it should be there within the next two days. Really? From my experience, parts that are on "National Back Order" are not even available to be ordered. When I checked another dealer's website where I could order that same battery by part number it listed 56 different Ford and Lincoln vehicles that use that very same part number and each of those 56 vehicles included multiple trim levels and engine options. Seems pretty damned common to me.
Now I have to wait for them to order and get the exact part numbers I had already given them a week ago and then make another several hour trip to have them installed. And, yes, I made sure they were aware of all that before I left.
As far as the scheduled maintenance, all of that was stuff I had already done myself. Change oil - did that two weeks ago. Rotate tires - did that last week. Change air filter - no need - I installed a cold air intake with a re-usable filter months ago.
If the battery wasn't covered by the bumper to bumper warranty I would just order the damn grease and a new Optima Yellow Top and do it myself. They'll probably screw something else up anyway.
The same day the service manager and I scheduled the visit by phone I sent them an email with the TSB attached as a .pdf file. I also gave them the part number for the special grease they would need for the moonroof tracks which was also listed in the .pdf file as well as the part number for the battery.
I spent an hour drive each way and sat in the lounge for over two hours (they also told me they don't have any loaner vehicles) only to have them tell me they didn't have the grease or the battery in stock. I get it that they can't just order stuff based on what some customer tells them but both of those things should be considered regular maintenance items and should have been in stock anyway and if they weren't it would have been a good idea to order them before my visit knowing myself or twenty other customers might need them. When I reminded the service manager of my email his only response was "Oh, I didn't see any of that stuff."
They also told me that the battery was unique to the trim level of my truck and is on "National Back Order" and yet it should be there within the next two days. Really? From my experience, parts that are on "National Back Order" are not even available to be ordered. When I checked another dealer's website where I could order that same battery by part number it listed 56 different Ford and Lincoln vehicles that use that very same part number and each of those 56 vehicles included multiple trim levels and engine options. Seems pretty damned common to me.
Now I have to wait for them to order and get the exact part numbers I had already given them a week ago and then make another several hour trip to have them installed. And, yes, I made sure they were aware of all that before I left.
As far as the scheduled maintenance, all of that was stuff I had already done myself. Change oil - did that two weeks ago. Rotate tires - did that last week. Change air filter - no need - I installed a cold air intake with a re-usable filter months ago.
If the battery wasn't covered by the bumper to bumper warranty I would just order the damn grease and a new Optima Yellow Top and do it myself. They'll probably screw something else up anyway.
Your truck looks awesome! I'm surprised by the need for trimming the crash bars too. I would think it would take some really serious suspension compression for the tires to even come close. Like jumping over a motocross ramp.
Oh, and I suspect that in this case what they are really up to is adding more hours to the repair so they can charge Ford for those additional hours.
Last edited by blksn8k; 10-28-2020 at 10:15 PM.
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llm_flyfisher (11-06-2020)
Added a Chinese intercooler. Easy install. You have to buy an elbow for the cold side pipe and build two upper brackets.
OEM on the left Chinese on the right
To get it to work you need a 45° 3.25" elbow with 10" legs from Siliconehose.com. You have to trim about 6" from one side and 2" from the other. Not a perferct fit, but close enough. I'll have a custom one made one day. Its a little larger than 3.25" but not quite 3.5" amd the angle isn't quite 45°. You have to heat the elbow in boiling water to get pliable enough to fit.
Stock plumbing and boots fit
You have to trim the rubber piece thats under the radiator
OEM on the left Chinese on the right
To get it to work you need a 45° 3.25" elbow with 10" legs from Siliconehose.com. You have to trim about 6" from one side and 2" from the other. Not a perferct fit, but close enough. I'll have a custom one made one day. Its a little larger than 3.25" but not quite 3.5" amd the angle isn't quite 45°. You have to heat the elbow in boiling water to get pliable enough to fit.
Stock plumbing and boots fit
You have to trim the rubber piece thats under the radiator
Senior Member
5th day ive had this truck, windows tinted! Really want to order the leveling kit soon, keep dragging the plastic snowplow on the bottom of the truck!
The following 3 users liked this post by Ranch:
Did you just tint the front or did you get the all the windows tinted? I have the rear tinted privacy glass and want mine to match in the front.
Senior Member
My back windows were already factory tinted at 18% I believe is what they are, I had him match the fronts and tint to 20%. looks identical to the rear windows, I think 20 percent is about right, that way you can still see okay at night time, even when its cloudy it is hard to see into the cab.
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2019MagneticScrew (10-28-2020)
My back windows were already factory tinted at 18% I believe is what they are, I had him match the fronts and tint to 20%. looks identical to the rear windows, I think 20 percent is about right, that way you can still see okay at night time, even when its cloudy it is hard to see into the cab.
Senior Member
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2019MagneticScrew (10-28-2020)
Wheels are Fuel Rebel's in 18x9, -12mm offset. Tires are Toyo open country RT in 35"x12.5".