# Cleaned up the garage ,



## mmcmdl (Dec 2, 2020)

After I got hit with a $2146 .00 brake job bill , figured I would clean up a bit. Took 500 lbs out of the basement for scrap , moved the puter into the bedroom and hooked into the tv . Next step , it all gets hooked into the Carver system once again .


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## mmcmdl (Dec 2, 2020)

Hey Mike . I'm cleaning this crap out .


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## markba633csi (Dec 2, 2020)

Wow, expensive brake job- which vehicle(s)?

-Mark


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## Bi11Hudson (Dec 2, 2020)

Food fot thought:
[A neat desk is the sign of a sick mind]
.


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## cathead (Dec 7, 2020)

I thrive on clutter.......


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## Papa Charlie (Dec 7, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> After I got hit with a $2146 .00 brake job bill , figured I would clean up a bit. Took 500 lbs out of the basement for scrap , moved the puter into the bedroom and hooked into the tv . Next step , it all gets hooked into the Carver system once again .



Must be the season for this and other breakdowns. Had the front brakes down on my F350 4x4 dually. While they were in there, found the diaphrams for the 4x4 electric shift were bad and so where the shocks from dealing with the weight of the 7.3 lt IHC diesel. Total bill out the door was $2516.
Then the microwave/convection oven went out $700 and finally the pump bellows on our blackwater system decided to split and create a heck of a mess on the boat $350. 

I love my truck, but any time it gets into the shop for anything, it is well over $1000


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## Janderso (Dec 7, 2020)

Several years ago we decided to offer our shop customers a choice when possible, aftermarket parts or Ford factory blue box or Motorcraft red box parts.
What we found out was some of the aftermarket parts just don't have the quality our customers and our dealership demands.
The other interesting point was price, in many cases the factory maintenance parts were within 20% of lower quality aftermarket parts.
Example, brake rotors. Sometimes, the runout right out of the box was excessive. They required to be resurfaced or returned in hopes the next one would be better.
Or, 6,000 miles later the customer would come in complaining of noisy brakes or a pulsation when applying brakes.
We quickly went back to offering only one choice-factory parts.
Yes, labor is expensive. I don't know how it is in the rest of the country but here in rural Northern California our labor rate runs $120 and up.
My 2017 Ford F-150 4X4, has 70,000 miles on it. I have plenty of brake pad left and I have no noticeable distortion in the rotors. I pull a 5,000lb travel trailer about 15% of the time.
I think you will find aftermarket parts will not deliver the same result.
I did flush my brake fluid at 65,000 miles. ABS systems do much better with fresh fluid. Hygroscopic brake fluid needs to be changed. IMHO.


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## mmcmdl (Dec 7, 2020)

I found the source of the " smoke " coming thru the dashboard yesterday . After doing an oil change including the stiction treatment  , I went ahead and started a coolant flush . Drained the system and only a gallon and a trace came out of the radiator . Now being this holds 6 gallons I knew I had a problem . Filled with water and treatment to flush and found the de gas bottle had a few leaks . Not minor , but MAJOR . Being I don't drive the truck enough to ever get it up into operating temp , I never figured to even check it . On the two trips up to the property was the only indication of a problem with what I thought was smoke coming thru the dash . Turns out it was steam coming thru the leaks in the de gas bottle . As of now , the bottle has been replaced , I have another treatment dose in the system and will put the Rotella ELC in tomorrow . I figure I'm $2500 into this truck this week alone , not that it worries me , but I want to run this truck . Another $900 or so next April into the turbo back exhaust and hopefully this thing will give me a few years of dependable service . Next on the list for this years purchases is the Edge 3 monitor . I have the SCT tuner but I need to monitor the temps and stuff because I'm running an aggressive tune . Gotta love the 6 uh ohs .


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## Jim F (Dec 7, 2020)

Janderso said:


> Several years ago we decided to offer our shop customers a choice when possible, aftermarket parts or Ford factory blue box or Motorcraft red box parts.
> What we found out was some of the aftermarket parts just don't have the quality our customers and our dealership demands.
> The other interesting point was price, in many cases the factory maintenance parts were within 20% of lower quality aftermarket parts.
> Example, brake rotors. Sometimes, the runout right out of the box was excessive. They required to be resurfaced or returned in hopes the next one would be better.
> ...


I can back this post up, I turned wrenches at Ford dealers for 18 yrs.


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## Jim F (Dec 7, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> I found the source of the " smoke " coming thru the dashboard yesterday . After doing an oil change including the stiction treatment  , I went ahead and started a coolant flush . Drained the system and only a gallon and a trace came out of the radiator . Now being this holds 6 gallons I knew I had a problem . Filled with water and treatment to flush and found the de gas bottle had a few leaks . Not minor , but MAJOR . Being I don't drive the truck enough to ever get it up into operating temp , I never figured to even check it . On the two trips up to the property was the only indication of a problem with what I thought was smoke coming thru the dash . Turns out it was steam coming thru the leaks in the de gas bottle . As of now , the bottle has been replaced , I have another treatment dose in the system and will put the Rotella ELC in tomorrow . I figure I'm $2500 into this truck this week alone , not that it worries me , but I want to run this truck . Another $900 or so next April into the turbo back exhaust and hopefully this thing will give me a few years of dependable service . Next on the list for this years purchases is the Edge 3 monitor . I have the SCT tuner but I need to monitor the temps and stuff because I'm running an aggressive tune . *Gotta love the 6 uh ohs* .


No, not really, that engine caused me to leave Ford dealers for a few years.........


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## mmcmdl (Dec 7, 2020)

Jim F said:


> No, not really, that engine caused me to leave Ford dealers for a few years.........


If you were working for Ford , they should have kept you in the green !  Everything about them is quite expensive .


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## Jim F (Dec 7, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> If you were working for Ford , they should have kept you in the green !  Everything about them is quite expensive .


Nope, the cut the labor they paid for working on them when the 2nd gen 7.3 came out in '99.


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## Janderso (Dec 7, 2020)

They continue to cut labor.
Thankfully warranty work is less than 20% of our business.
Fortunately, California now supports dealers to charge retail for parts on warranty repairs.
This has made a big difference in our gross profit.


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## mmcmdl (Dec 7, 2020)

Hey Jeff . The truck I have is in very nice shape . I knew nothing about the diesels other than the Kubotas I've owned over the years . The 6.0 has a bad reputation and I now know why . The motor in my truck has been " bullet proofed " . All the good stuff that I did not know about before buying it . Like I said , I'm a noobie on the diesel site and so far they've treated me pretty fairly with all the novice questions . I like there site as well as ours .


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