Sad, pathetic, but true story | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Sad, pathetic, but true story

dogfriend

Human-Animal Hybrid
Joined
July 22, 2002
Messages
7,556
Reaction score
17
City, State
Carmichael, CA
Year, Model & Trim Level
'97 Sport 4x4
Just went to the Ford parts counter today to get two items: I want to replace the brake bleeder caps because they are about to fall off and I want to replace the positive terminal post clamp (the no lead type) because some of the plating is missing from corrosion that I cleaned off a couple of days ago.

I ask for the bleeder caps first. The guy doesn't know what I'm talking about, even though I explain it pretty well I think. After punching up the part drawing for the front brake caliper, I point out the bleeder screw for him, but no drawing for the cap. Strike one.

I've dealt with this guy before and he's no Rhodes scholar, so I just move on to the second item. I ask him for the terminal clamp and he points me toward a rack on the other side of the room which has the older style lead terminal clamps. I explain that it is the lead free type, and by the look on his face I can see that he has no clue. Then he makes the suggestion that I still have a hard time believing:

"Maybe you can find it at Pep Boys."

I'm speechless. I just say thanks and walk out. The guy at the Ford Parts counter has just told me that I have a better chance at finding a replacement part for a Ford vehicle at Pep Boys than I do at the Ford dealer.

Pep Boys doesn't have it either, I emailed Ford Parts Network and am waiting for a reply.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





If you bought a caliper from Ford it would come with the cap... if you bought a battery cable from Ford it would come with the terminal end. Not what ya wanted to hear, but that's how they sell those parts.
 






I understand that, but it doesn't make economic sense for me to buy the caliper just because the caps are cracked.

This isn't true for the Toyota that we own. I can buy virtually any part for it from the dealer. Sometimes they charge an arm and a leg, but at least its available.

The thing about the battery post clamp is that it is designed so that you can replace just the clamp without the rest of the cable. Sort of defeats the purpose when they won't stock the part most likely to be replaced.
 






Rick's right and I can see your point but that is the way of the future. My friend is the main Gas Engine mechanic at a Ford dealership in Dallas, and he tells me all the time when I ask him questions about my truck, "All we do is remove and replace the next higher assembly now." All of us that have SOHC engines, dealers don't do internal work anymore they remove and replace the entire motor. It costs us more money but it saves the service dept. time, and time equals money.
 






I got a reply back from Ford Parts Network: You have to buy the whole cable to get the clamp, but he is still checking on the bleeder caps for me. He does have another part that the dealer could never get for me (cupholder insert) so I will definately be placing an order with him.

Ive never liked companies who don't consider maintenance and repair to be important attributes for a product. It is wasteful to pitch something into the trash because a minor component is broken, but you guys are right about it being the wave of the future.

At work, I try to avoid buying equipment from companies with bad customer service and super high replacement part prices. It is true that it is the wave of the future, but there are still a few companies who make service a priority and don't stab their customers.
 






Have you tried Pep Boys or another automotive store for the bleeder caps?
 






I tried two different Pep Boys today and although they carry them in the little drawers with other assorted parts both stores were out. I also tried Napa, but they didn't have any either.

I gave up and decided to try Ford Parts Network because the Ford ones are a little different than the typical vacuum cap that you find in the auto store. The bleeder screw diameter is larger than most other cars and the Ford caps are spherical shaped.

No big deal, if I can't find what I want, I'll just let them fall off. After all, I can get a new set when I replace the calipers :D
 






How often do you bleed your brakes? Just put heat shrink tubing over them.
 






You may find the bleeder caps in those little red HELP boxes at some auto parts store, they have brake resevoir caps and other small parts.

A whole caliper for the bleeder cover... that is the wave of the future, less inventory. I heard they are starting to phase out caliper and wheel cylinder rebuild kits, they want to sell $100 calipers.
 






Yeah, I looked at two different stores which normally have the bleeder caps but they were out so I will try again later. Again, the Ford caps are slightly different than the ones on other cars, so I don't think the generic ones will fit the same.

The shrink tube idea is a good one, so if I get desparate I may try it.

Again, the original point of my post is that I think that it is sad that the Ford parts counter guy:

A) Doesn't know what either of the two parts I want look like,

and

B) Thinks that I might be able to find what I need at Pep Boys rather than at the Ford dealer
 






Was he a jerk about it? Remember it's a Ford Parts counter not an Explorer Only Counter; lots of parts for lots of Ford cars. At least he did make a suggestion for another source for you instead of saying SOL.
 






Originally posted by smashboxed
Was he a jerk about it? Remember it's a Ford Parts counter not an Explorer Only Counter; lots of parts for lots of Ford cars. At least he did make a suggestion for another source for you instead of saying SOL.

Actually, he wasn't a complete jerk about it, but he made no attempt to look up the second part (the bat cable clamp) even though I gave him the info on the Explorer already.

It is true that he might have known that they don't stock this part separately, but I don't think that this is the case; I think that he didn't know what I was asking for and didn't want to make the effort to look it up.

So, yes, if I have the situation correctly, he was a jerk for not bothering to look it up. If he had said, "We only stock the whole cable assembly" then I would have said "Ok, I'll pass, thanks anyway"
 






Lazy Parts Guy

Most parts store people are lazy. If it's not in the computer, it doesn't exist. We once went to the dealer for wiper arms for a 91 Taurus. they looked it up and came out with a different arm. They said "we don;t know were yours came from, Ford never made a arm like that". So we passed and went out to the lot. There were several cars on the lot with the exact same arm. So we went back to the parts counter and showed them. It turns out, Ford used leftover 90 wiper arms on our 91, no big deal other than they had to use a different part number and that they said it didn't exist. Again when my father bought a new ranger, he went to a couple of dealers. He asked one dealer (Town and Country) about side molding that he had seen at another dealer, they said it wasn't factory and must be aftermarket. So he went back to the other dealer (Bill Collins) where several truck had it and asked them about side molding. They said it was a option (factory installed), and even showed them in their catalog (it wasn't in the sales brochure. Needless to say that's where he ordered it from, 93 manual trans, tcase and hubs.

I get tired of some of these places. Some of the guys are good, Autozone and NAPA better than most, but some of them don't seem to know the diffence between a lugnut and a headbolt. One of my friends was told she needed a new water pump so I looked at it, it turned out to be a busted hose.
 






Re: Lazy Parts Guy

Originally posted by lonestar
. If it's not in the computer, it doesn't exist.

Yeah, I've dealt with this guy before and that's how he is: If it isn't in the computer, then it must not exist. He doesn't seem to be familiar with cars at all.

It must suck to work at a job where you aren't interested enough to try to do a good job and learn more about different things.
 






Back
Top