ford service rant

[wadsymoo]

hey guys,i had a experience today with byrne ford service,been having a few issues with my AU2 xr8,the car is cutting out and felling like its running out of fuel, so i thought id get ford too look at the car as ive had no joy with a few other mechanics.

anyhow they said it took 3.7n hrs labour at a cost of $396.00 too put a scan tool on the car and diagnose it was the o2 sensors that needed replacing?problem is the car still not fixed and im feeling rather ripped off as i think its rather expensive.do i have any avenue too take with them over this?
just looking for opinions i guess,cheers jas

[FreddyDUZ747]

So the only work done was a scantool reading and oem sensors used as a replacemant,am I correct?

Was there any other time spent looking at other areas manually looking for issues?

[Jack960]

Yeah id be complaining. If they did not do anything else they have added like a 2 hour lunch break in there.

[wadsymoo]

scaned it,then cleared the codes,dont even think they took it for a test drive

[Donny]

You took it to a Ford dealer = Nuff said.. Forget going back, just find a decent EFI workshop that can troubleshoot your car properly.

There can be a lot of diffrent things that cause the problems your describing. The Oxygen sensors are usually the first and easiest part to replace to see if that quick fixes it.
Sometimes thats all it takes, but in my experience it usually takes more digging to find the true problem... These kinda faults can lead to checking over quite a bit of the efi system, so you really need someone who understands how efi actually works, not some "supposed tech" from Ford who cant do much more than only reads and clear fault codes..

[swanee]

so they diagnose you car... find the problem... advise you what to do... because other mechanics couldn't find the problem?

And also you think as simple as just plugging the scan tool in? You dont think or know if they took it for a test run?

So pretty much you are just speculating that they didn't. Did you ask?

[GreenR]

You just learned a $396 lesson

[mik]

seem to get more complaints from Queensland dealers than anywhere else for some reason, so it was running like a pos when you left the dealer??

[wadsymoo]

car only plays up under acceloration,idles fine,and if you drive it real easy its ok aswell,but when you put it under load its like its running out of fuel,if you shut it down and start it again while coasting it fine again

[johnno3]

Originally Posted by wadsymoo

car only plays up under acceloration,idles fine,and if you drive it real easy its ok aswell,but when you put it under load its like its running out of fuel,if you shut it down and start it again while coasting it fine again

My AUIII XR8 did the same thing & I took it back to the dealer (Jarvis Ford in Adelaide) & it turned out to be the fuel pump, which they replaced under warranty. I've never had the same problem since. Hope this helps.

Cheers

[XR6Runner]

Replace your leads and plugs mate

[wadsymoo]

hi,ive replaced leads,plugs,crank sensor,harmonic balancer,fuel filter,cleaned tb and afm.

[wadsymoo]

what also i thought was rude was they quoted me $280ea for a genuine o2 sensor,$150ea for a non genuine,which they get from bursons,and i rang bursons up and got them for $82ea lol

[Gobes32]

If they charged you $396 because they "fixed" your problem, can't you go back and get them to do it again for free, because they never actually fixed it, that would be my argument.

[Donny]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

If they charged you $396 because they "fixed" your problem, can't you go back and get them to do it again for free, because they never actually fixed it, that would be my argument.

That dosent work, because they will say the oxygen sensors were stuffed and they replaced them, and cleared codes etc.. They will say the car requires further diagnosis and they will look at the next thing it could be and on and on.. All that adds to the $$.

My first thoughts would be fuel pump, or a blockage in the fuel pickup sock. Another place to check is the fuel pressure regulator, that is critical to maintaining the correct fuel pressure in the rail before the excess fuel returns to the tank.. Wrong fuel pressure can result in poor injector spray pattern/volume or too far out of normal pressure limits can stop the injectors opening at all.. When getting fuel pressure checked, make sure the place also checks fuel volume. Iv seen quite a few cases of good fuel pressure, but poor fuel volume..

[J.C.]

Fuel pump?
Cam syncronizer assembly or the electronic sensor?

Ask them if they had a look at any of the above in their 3hr diagnostic "playaround". The cam sync assembly is an easy one to see. Removal of coil packs and the sensor unit is required, then grab the shaft and see if you have excessive movement which opens up the gap between chopper pin and sensor. If gap is to great, sensor cannot read and engine feels like it is running out of fuel as it reads, then doesn't shutting it down, then reads again and fires up again. This process happens until the engine losses power and mobility and shuts down completely (stalls).
Hope this helps somewhat.
Regardless of the dealership issue, let us know what you find. It may help someone out.
Cheers.

PS. If it is the cam sync mechanical unit that has to be replaced, ensure you replace the sensor also. Been there, done that.

[RG]

It's quite obviously a fuelling issue.

Does it do it all the time or only with a 1/4 tank or less? Best bet is to start from the back and work forward.

Is the fuel pump ok? Pull it out and inspect, especially the sock and the feed tube.

Fuel filter? Did you pick up a batch of bad fuel at some stage? Pull the filter again and check it, easiest way is to put your mouth to the inlet side and blow, there should be very very little resistance. If you did pick up bad fuel you can replace a filter only for the next one to clog with residual left behind.

Further forward check all fuel lines under the car, it could be that you drove over something that has flicked up and crushed the lines. If all that is fine and you still have issues then you need to look at the fuel pressure regulator and the injectors.

[wadsymoo]

ta guys,rang up byrne and spoke too the tech directly and he reckons the car is over fuelling itself,and thats why its is shutting down?so basiclly i have too take it back again and spend more $ on diagnosis.

[DJL351]

Originally Posted by Donny

You took it to a Ford dealer = Nuff said.. Forget going back, just find a decent EFI workshop that can troubleshoot your car properly.

You're so right!

Oh wait...

Originally Posted by wadsymoo

so i thought id get ford too look at the car as ive had no joy with a few other mechanics.

Others have tried too.



I've seen issues like this before too.

Pump (less than 10%)
Leads (20%)
Plugs (20%)
Foil plug lead insulators (30%)
Coil pack (10/20%)

One of the most common and overlooked issues I saw was the foil that can short against the headers. Most of the smart Techs would remove it before installing new leads.

[wadsymoo]

well did o2 sensors and fuel reg and still no good,got me stuffed. as soon as you give the car a half a bootfull it shuts down like its over or under fuelling and shuts down.

[pottery beige]

dont they have that odd random fuel reg thing that can happen..??
sorry thinking aloud.......

[jixel 78]

Fuel pump is a known drama. Funny how all the blame is with Ford and not your other mates who cant fix it.

[wadsymoo]

mmmm.i thought i was doing the right thing by taking the car too ford as they built the car and should have insight too problems that occur with the cars they produce,all i got was a shrug of the sholders and we think this is the problem and give us $400 bucks thank you.

i have no problems paying for a job well done,when its well done?

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by wadsymoo

mmmm.i thought i was doing the right thing by taking the car too ford as they built the car and should have insight too problems that occur with the cars they produce,all i got was a shrug of the sholders and we think this is the problem and give us $400 bucks thank you.

i have no problems paying for a job well done,when its well done?

The stealerships like to tell you how they are the best choice to service your car, then don't do the job you pay them for.

[gregaust]

Originally Posted by wadsymoo

mmmm.i thought i was doing the right thing by taking the car too ford as they built the car and should have insight too problems that occur with the cars they produce,all i got was a shrug of the sholders and we think this is the problem and give us $400 bucks thank you.

i have no problems paying for a job well done,when its well done?

Take the car to one of the good local dyno shops , Elite or Real Dyno. , at least they will be able to verify if it is rich or lean or whatever and hopefully set you right .

[wadsymoo]

yes,tah, i was planning too, just got the shi.s atm,but thats the next plan of attack

[ltd]

Fuel regulator. Had an AU2 LTD with the same problem, turned out to be over fueling. Have you noticed heaps of black soot on the rear of the car after you wash it?

[wadsymoo]

hi,ive replaced the fuel reg last fri nite and still playing up.

[ltd]

Originally Posted by wadsymoo

hi,ive replaced the fuel reg last fri nite and still playing up.

Bugger.
MAF sensor?

[flappist]

So what you are saying is your car has a complex problem that you have no idea how to fix so you take it to several others who spend time diagnosing but still have not found the final answer so you think you should not have to pay them for all the time they spent?