what to look for in a repair shop

[Robert]

Originally posted by DarkFox1
. . .If you thought something wasn't right.. and every person you asked except for a few friends you know told you it was fine, what would you beleive?

I would believe that there wasn't a shop near me that was worth the property they sit on. I'm persistant though and don't give up easily. Did you look at my suggestions in my last message (throttle cable, cruise cable, etc)?

 

[DarkFox1]

yes, but thats not the problem. I have taken a picture of my TB floored before, everyone said it was open enough to not warrant the need for the cable mod. However I sometimes do wonder if the cruise control is somehow linked. Whenever it enguages, upon initial enguage it practically floors the truck, then lets off, then floors it again, then lets off.. then eases into a cruising speed. Its impossible to use within any form of traffic.

the dealership of course told me this was normal and that all fords do this, so I thought nothing more of it. I dont use cruise enough to really dig into that anyway.

No, they are not going to do something like that for me, hell, I tried to get them to simply do a fuel pressure test, and they refused, telling me they would have to do their own diagnostics in their own way and would not take recommendations from any other shop because "they dont know what they're doing" I know if my dealer doesn't have the courtesy to treat me like I'm older than 10, then they dont have the courtesy to admit that they're wrong.

your PCM problem sounds familiar. I am wondering if thats whats wrong with mine too. I dont want to hold up the apten chip purchase, but I did look into getting one in hopes that its code could eliminate the bad code from my system.

 

[aldive]

As Robert and others have told you, you need to perform a scan while operating your truck under various conditions,

 

[DarkFox1]

the previous shop did that.. 4 times.. at idle, at cruising, at highway speeds.. they took it to lunch, they put 50 miles on it.. the computer came back clean

they even turned the ignition on without the maf connected to verify that the computer actually knew what a code was.. it has no history at all of ever having a code ever in its 5 year history.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by DarkFox1
the previous shop did that.. 4 times.. at idle, at cruising, at highway speeds.. they took it to lunch, they put 50 miles on it.. the computer came back clean

they even turned the ignition on without the maf connected to verify that the computer actually knew what a code was.. it has no history at all of ever having a code ever in its 5 year history.

The purpose of this exercise is not to find codes, it is to monitor operating parameters while under various loads.

Did thei "shop" send 2 ment for these tests? Impossible to monitor with just a driver.

 

[DarkFox1]

yes, I said they took it to lunch, it was 2.. maybe even 3 guys, they did monitor the outputs, they made notet that the computer had no record of errors, and when they looked at the data sheets on the scanner nothing came out as unusual to them. The guy said it drove fine to them, they took it up on I-20 and took it up to 70mph.. all the way down to cruising at 25 through a school zone and pretty much any speed in between.. they testd it for 5 hours.. they found nothing unusual electronically or otherwise.

 

[aldive]

Did you get a copy of the parameters tested? Post it and maybe our resident OBD II guru, Robert can further advise,

 

[DarkFox1]

they said their scanner does not have a printer, the information must be scrolled through on the scanner while its being done, I definatley asked for one... but they didn't have it.

 

[aldive]

Then they certainly wrote down the operating values, didn't they? You got a copy of THAT, didm't you?

 

[DarkFox1]

they didn't write down anything

 

[james t]

if they didnt write down anything, then they couldnt compare anything.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by DarkFox1
they didn't write down anything

Let me get this straight,,, they sent 2, maybe 4 men on a test drive and suposidly monitored the operating values from your on board computer? And they "said" nothing was wrong? And, further, they provided you no hard data?

What did this cost you?

 

[DarkFox1]

$99.90 they cleaned the TB after they did the final test drive, just so they could say they worked on something I think.

the pedal moves easier now.. and a bit more fluid like, but.. its still its slow self.. I think all they cleaned was the spring assembly where the cables go. That probablly had a good share of grime on it... but its not the problem

 

[aldive]

I am afrade they saw you comming, They presented you no data.

 

[DarkFox1]

well, I did try and talk to them, they mentioned that since they had no printer they had "no way" of giving me a readout.. so we asked to speak to the mechanic that drove it, and the one that tested the computer.

He said everything was in its legal limits, the FPR test came out fine, and all the sensors were functioning properly. I asked if it was possible that the entire computer could be bad, he avoided the question and somehow managed to answer about whether or not it would throw a code.

The codes are not the problem! if theres anything wrong, its either electrical in the sense that it doesn't know that its wrong, or its going to be mechanical.. in the sense that it cannot be detected by sensors.

Maybe I could have a compression check done, but I'm tired of throwing money in the trash.. I haven't gotten anything done with this thing except lost $200, and if every shop is going to find nothing.. then I'll juist have to assume that theres nothing wrong, or do whatever I can, with my extremley limited resources, to isolate the problem myself.

 

[aldive]

If you cannot aford to have it done,,, then you are gonna have to get your hands dirty.

Why would you pay someone to do a compression test? Do it yourself.

We have told you that we will help scan your system, but you do not appear interested.

Good luck

 

[DarkFox1]

I appreciate the offers, but unless you're willing to come here to augusta to do it, its not feasible. I would never be able to validate leaving the city to fix the thing... with my parents or myself

 

[Robert]

What were the minimum and maximum voltage readings from the TPS (throttle position sensor)? They can get that with an OBD-II scanner. Looking at whether or not the throttle body is opening up all the way gives a good idea if it is way off. However, if it is only like 5% - 10% off, you won't see it by just looking at it. A test you can do in your driveway is to have your father press the gas pedal all the way down and hold it there (with the engine off). Make a mental note where the throttle body linkage is. Then, while he still has the pedal floored, pull both cables off the throttle body and see if you can open it up any more. If you can, then you aren't getting the full range of the butterfly valve. The operation of your cruise control concerns me. My Ford certainly doesn't behave that way. When I hit "set" and take my foot off the gas, my Explorer doesn't speed up or slow down. It just goes on happily about it's business.

 

[DarkFox1]

yes, thats what mine USED to do.. and what my parents towncar does too.. I told ford about it.. but they said its normal, they tested it as well.. just like all my other problems.. this too is intermittant and tends to not show up when the truck is test drove.

I'm considering the apten performance chip, but.. as I said on that thread, gas prices just jumped 8 cent here, so I dont think I'm going to be able to afford to buy a chip thats going to require 93 octane..


I did a test run today beside a daily driving woman in a v6 95-97 X.. I dont know much about her car, I've neve rseen her before, but I know the model and year I managed to stay beside her from an accel, but I was working the car very hard (3500 rpm in 1st) to stay head to head, even then I was behind.. we weren't racing.. I was accelerating to see what I have to do to keep up with the avg. joe.. or in this case hte avg. jane with a car thats supposedly slower than mine.

maybe I'm just weird.. but I wnat my car to acccelerate comfortablly.. speed wise without breaking 2500 rpm. this means I should be able to keep up with and or pass most traffic on the road with 2500 rpm from any take-off. This is not the standard I put on my truck however, this is just what I'd like.. onna those "in a perfect world" kind of things.. if such a thing can be reached by a performance chip and/or supercharger.. then I guess I'll have to do that.. but at this rate shops aren't finding anything and I'm about through with dumping money into a problem that "Doesn't exist"

my dads town car is in the shop today getting some work done.. the battery is goin out on it.. when its done dad says he wants us all to have a talk to them.. perhaps I can get that damn odbII scan done like I've been trying to get.. WITH A PRINTOUT!

 

[aldive]

If all you want is a fast car, get rif of the truck and get a fast car.