What have I done??!!

[Bob&Patty]

Sorry about your troubles. Maybe go test drive a Chevy. Then make up your mind. Bob

 

[superduty08]

Pete, stay with what you love and have the engine replaced. Any brand can have a defective unit. You'll love the truck when you get it back. Good luck!

 

[Peteandsharon]

I have a good history with Ford...... prior to this truck. I had a Chevy with the old 454 gas engine that was a piece of $#%$#%. It couldn't pull a 6500 pound trailer without overheating no matter what I did with it. So...... you'll find issues everywhere. I actually have nothing against any of the major three truck manufacturers. Everyone likes his truck with good reason. Fact of the matter though is that I couldn't own a Chevy. They don't make a short bed crew cab truck in a 3500 and a long bed crew cab doesn't fit in my garage. Pretty cut and dry.

I suspect that maybe I will go for the new engine but I'm not sure right now. I would go for that before I'd go for them trying to fix it - even if they could.

 

[sundancekid]

Wow, I was not hoping for the worst but in this case:

Here is what I would recommend. If your dealer is reputable I would make him buy it back or trade it for another new truck on the lot for full purchase price...... He should have no problem with this in these extremly rare circumstances.

I would not hesitate to purchase another one.

I would be a little unsecure having them replace it. Number one it would show up in the future if you where to trade it in to ford as warranty work. if you do not trade at the same dealer, depending on the car manager they could dock you a little for it. They should not but we all know car sales.....

Also THey now have to remove the whole cab to work on these new 6.4 engines. It is just not the same. This is a truck with 88 miles on it and definatly does not need to betorn down and wrenched back together.

Regardless do not let this get you downon ford. i currently own a dodge 6.7 after owning many fords and still love fords today! We run a few 6.4 fords in our fleet here also and I would never again give up all of the space and comfort of the ford.

Hope all goes well.

Good luck

 

[RVCamper]

Here is how I see it. 1st sorry .. big deflater.

2nd, Reality, speaking from experience (PM me if more info) Ford will step up and fix the problem. My recommendation is to get the International folks involved and get a complete engine from the assembly line fully dressed, rather than have them transfer parts from the existing motor to the new one. This way you get a job 3 engine in a job 1 truck, all the latest and greatest stuff.

3rd the lemon law does not apply, and Ford Consumer Appeals Board would recommend a engine replacement.

4th: Ask Ford for an Extended Service Plan - Prem Care full boat to restore your well being. This will pay for your rental car while the truck is in the shop. And if anything does go wrong in the future it would be coved on Ford's nickle.

 

[Peteandsharon]

Thanks guys for the input. First of all, though, there is no truck on the lot to trade to. The problem from day is that nobody has these trucks on their lot. They shipped this one up from TN to WI to get it to me. It was a 2008 and they were disappearing before my very eyes as the dealer scanned country wide for 2008's that met our criteria. You do make a good point about the effort required to remove and then install a new engine. I didn't know about the impact on the cab but it causes me a great deal of concern. I also suspect that Ford would step up and try to make it right. I simply don't know what making it right means. Again, this is a 2008 4X2. We started out looking for a F350 but then went for the F250 with a leaf spring upgrade because the 2008 F350's just couldn't be found in a 4X2. Anyway, thanks again to all the good input. I guess I'll speak to the Ford people tomorrow and maybe we can hammer out our options. Been a bad day all around. I'm coming home early today from a business trip because my father in law may be in his last hours. Little hard to focus on how I'm going to handle the truck right now. Take care, all. Pete

 

[boatto5er]

Pete,

Sorry to hear about your FIL. We lost my dad and FIL both last year and it really takes the wind out of your sails. Let Ford replace the engine and don't let it worry you. You have more important things to tend to.

Best wishes,

Gus and Debra

 

[truknutt]

Here is how I see it. 1st sorry .. big deflater.

2nd, Reality, speaking from experience (PM me if more info) Ford will step up and fix the problem. My recommendation is to get the International folks involved and get a complete engine from the assembly line fully dressed, rather than have them transfer parts from the existing motor to the new one. This way you get a job 3 engine in a job 1 truck, all the latest and greatest stuff.

3rd the lemon law does not apply, and Ford Consumer Appeals Board would recommend a engine replacement.

4th: Ask Ford for an Extended Service Plan - Prem Care full boat to restore your well being. This will pay for your rental car while the truck is in the shop. And if anything does go wrong in the future it would be coved on Ford's nickle.

Completely agree with this recommendation. I know from experience that the Lemon Law won't work here, yet. You have to give the manufacturer a chance to correct the problem and in our case it had to apply to multiple occurrences of a single problem. We ended up getting the regional service rep involved who made all the decisions for the factory.

In these economic times, Ford wants you to be happy and to be a loyal customer. Get the new engine & bargain for the extended service plan as RVCamper suggests. It's a frustrating and time consuming process but bear with it and hopefully all will be right in the end.

Good luck and don't give up the faith!

 

[Peteandsharon]

Currently, this is where I am at. The dealer that has my truck has spoken to Ford. Ford wants them to tear down the engine and actually look inside to see what is going on. At that point they decide whether it is new engine time or fix the engine time. That should take at least a week. Then the fix/replacement would take 2-3 additional weeks. At this point, I would probably accept a new engine. We have already purchased the extended warranty. However, if Ford decides that it can be fixed, I have a major problem. I will then be buying an engine that has roosted on a dealers lot for almost 2 years and then had major open heart surgery. I am supposed to accept that as a new truck. That won't work. I already put a word in to the dealer from whom I purchased the truck that I want to start looking at a third alternative. We might look at putting a different truck in play or I would consider bailing entirely on the deal. I don't think Ford can expect me to pay new truck prices on such an engine. I'm waiting for his response and also the two dealers are haggling over who will actually do the work - the West Bend store where I purchased or the Kenosha store where it is being looked at.

On a different note I wanted to thank you guys for the kind words about our situation with my father in law. He went home early this morning when his heart stopped.

Regards,
Pete

 

[trdeal]

Sorry to hear about the lose of your Father in law.I know this is a hard time for you and your family. Right now you need to focus on your family. The truck can wait.Terry and Renee

 

[boatto5er]

Pete - please pass our condolences on to Sharon. We are so sorry to hear of your loss. Take care of the family.

Gus and Debra

 

[sundancekid]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family!

God Bless!

 

[tmcran]

I talked with a friend whoes son is a Ford diesel tech. His feeling was that if Ford will come across with a new truck take it. He is not at all in favor of a tear down and rebuild. Removing the body and so forth is a major job and he felt you should inquire into the experience of the diesel guys doing the work. No gasser techs.The option of a new engine would be his 2nd recommdation. Best wishes to your family at this time.

 

[Nabo]

Our sympathy and prayers are with you and your family. God Bless!

 

[Ernie & Lettie]

Our prayers are with you and your family may god bless.

 

[creeper]

You will never know it is in regen except for a little noticeable dog in HP.

This is not true. All the new 6.4 engines will display a message that it's regenerating. For the older ones there was a update you were supposed to have done by this june. One of the things the update does is add the Regen message.

 

[creeper]

I talked with a friend whoes son is a Ford diesel tech. His feeling was that if Ford will come across with a new truck take it. He is not at all in favor of a tear down and rebuild. Removing the body and so forth is a major job and he felt you should inquire into the experience of the diesel guys doing the work. No gasser techs.The option of a new engine would be his 2nd recommdation. Best wishes to your family at this time.

Ford is VERY stingy about giving new trucks.

They no longer remove the cab to do rebuilds. They remove the front of the truck, grill and all the radiators.

 

[Peteandsharon]

Creeper, Regardless of how stingy Ford may try to be, I spoke to them yesterday again. I was very cordial and understanding with them. I told them that I understood that this was a freak incident and that they have not lost a fan. I'm still a Ford man. HOWEVER, I made it 100% clear to them that rebuilding (fixing) that engine was unacceptable to me. We will be in court if that is what they decide. I absolutely will not pay a new truck price for a rebuilt engine. Replacing that engine with a brand new one IS acceptable as is the new truck option. At least in principle, the sales manager totally agreed with me. That doesn't mean Ford won't try to take the easy way but I would be very surprised if they tried to push anything but one of the two better options. The sales manager even through out the possibility that they would offer up a 2009 for this 2008 but I guess that would surprise me even more than anything else.

 

[vangoes]

This is not true. All the new 6.4 engines will display a message that it's regenerating. For the older ones there was a update you were supposed to have done by this june. One of the things the update does is add the Regen message.

My 08 does not show the "Regen" message either. A friend with a 08 said he received a recall notice that had the reprogramming and a radiator mod. I have not received the notice so I checked my vin on the Ford Website and it said there was no recalls on my truck. If their website is accurate then the recall must not be universal on the 08's.

 

[Peteandsharon]

OK......... Here is the poop. They towed my truck back up to the West Bend dealer and they took it apart to diagnose. Apparently stuck valve guides led to a busted rocker arm and two bent push rods. I spoke to the service manager who said that this is about a $4000 repair and apparently Ford is authorizing them to go ahead with this as opposed to getting a new engine or a new truck. I reiterated to him that we will go to war if that is the case. He is just the guy in the middle so I didn't hammer him. This was not the official notification but I had simply asked him to let me know what they found when they took it apart. After I restated my position that I would not pay a new truck price for a "used (and abused) truck" he suggested that maybe in one way or another I would get reimbursed some money. Technically I would then be paying a used truck price for a used truck. Of course I told him that if I was looking for a used truck, I would have searched for a used truck or kept my former used truck. Again, he was not conveying Fords official response on this but I definitely see where this is going. Hot times acomin'!!