I had the opportunity today to have the recall explained to me in detail. Its amazing how the media has warped the facts.
On the top of the fuel pump there is a connection nipple to the fuel line made out of plastic. This part is provided to Ford by an outside vendor, Ford doesn't make it.
When the nipple was being manufactured the QC on the plastic composition was not correct and the Ford build specs were not met.
The part was installed and the poorly made plastic nipple started to deteriorate as more fuel was pushed through the connection nipple. The higher your mileage, the more fuel is passed through the nipple, the quicker it deteriorates and your nipple cracks and leaks causing fuel smell.
Low use vehicles, pass less fuel through the nipple, the deterioration is slower and doesn't produce the cracks and leaks.
This was caught months ago and the newest builds had new parts installed. Not sure what the cutoff was but it was some time ago near the beginning of the year.
The pump sits directly under the second row seats in the Explorer.
There is little or no risk of fire as the pump is not around any heat source that can cause combustion.
To ensure the parts aren't confused.
Gray nipple is GOOD (new part)
Black nipple is BAD (old part)
So Ford takes the PR hit when it was actually another vendor making a substandard part that didn't meet the required specs.
Sgt,
I was just reading your response and I wanted to comment on the QC aspect of your comment.
As someone who has done QA/QC for over 20 years I would like to say something that I bet the Ford rep won't like very much.
As a QC person, when we inspect incoming materials, the raw materials used to make the parts, we put them through a series of inspection based on the stated specs. All specs have a plus or minus tolerance. If the inspection shows the materials are not within tolerance, per any SOP for incoming materials inspection, the QC technician is to flag and red tag the OOS (out of spec) material for further determination. this is per QS9000 and ISO9000 guidelines. QS 9000 was the governing quality system for automotive part manufacturing until it was absorbed into ISO9000:2000.
Now if the manufacturer making this nipple failed to have proper procedures in place for the inspection of incoming material, than I fault FORD for qualifying them as a supplier. However, I had worked for a Ford Parts supplier for many years and this was in the late 90's. I know when Ford approved our facility it was a rigorous process.
I do not know where this particular part is made, however, is what I do know is this had to be a management decision to allow these nipples to be manufactured with materials not meeting Ford Specs. Not ford Managers, but their supplier. However, this is where I fault ford.
Ford should have a Supplier Quality Agreement in place with the supplier and if the agreement was written correctly it should have included a provision for incoming material that is OOS. In that wording it should have contained the verbiage that Ford Must be contacted for defects or OOS events when the part can present a safety threat, which in my opinion this does.
So if Ford failed to have that verbiage, the supplier could simply use QA management discretion to release the materials into production.
Now you ask why would they risk this?
Well, if you do not meet a demand in your supplier agreement, and your demand causes a production line delay at a FORD Factory, you can be responsble for upto $1,000,000 a day in costs to the loss of production. most companies who make these type of parts are not cash rich like Ford and cannot afford that type of fine, so they will make a business decision to allow the material to be used and take their chances.
If Ford does not test the material it receives prior to installation into the final vehicle, it is on them to pay to the supplier the cost of the replacement parts. So this supplier will be paid for not only the defective parts but the replacements as well because Ford chose to pass the units and put them into the vehicles.
Kind of sucks huh, but that is the game in Supplier Quality.
just thought I would note that... and I have been a loyal ford owner for 28 years, but it still makes me sick what happens in these instances, but it is not just Ford... All car Manufacturers do it.
