Major hit to confidence in my dealership

[JohnnyO]

why would they touch the sway bar mounts?

LB

That's what I was thinking. I have unbolted the sway bar but that was to put the level kit on.

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[The Last Ranger]

Took the Ranger in this morning for The Works, brake fluid fush, and transmission flush. Leaving the dealership I hit mostly smooth slightly hilly roads with a speed limit of 60. I immediately noticed a minor change in handling, kinda drifty, I shrugged it off to maybe the rear tires being moved to the front needed some time to acclimate,. I also noticed a difference in how the transmission shifted. It seemed to hesitate to shift at times, and especially noticeable when it seemed like it couldn't decide if it should be in 9th or 10th gear. I stopped at a gas station and checked the trans fluid level, which according to my fitzstick was way too high, well above the desired mark. I figured maybe it wasn't hot enough, but it still seemed way too high.
My commute home is about 3/4 backroads, so the driftyness was unnoticable. What was noticable was everytime I hit the slightest bump I hear a substantial clank/rattle. WTF?
After getting home, the first thing I check was trans fluid level, which still looked too high. Wheel lug torque was spot on. So the I crawled underneath and the first thing I noticed was the whole underneath was coated in trans fluid. I also happened to notice a loose and dangling bracket. It appeared to be the front sway bar mount. Upon further inspection, of the 4 fasteners securing the sway bar, only 1 nut was still there, with less than 2 turns on the thread.
Luckily getting a hold of someone just after closing hours, they are supposed to send a tow truck tomorrow morning.

Well this sounds like a major debacle, I would demand my money back after they fix their errors!!!!!

 

[shovelhd]

It sounds to me like they did a fluid change by dropping the pan, not a flush. With a change, lots of fluid stays in the transmission, making it easy to overfill. They should have extracted the excess from the fill tube. A flush, like the BG flush, is done with a machine that knows exactly how much fluid came out, so the same amount of new fluid can go back in. It doesn't matter if there's a little bit left.

I keep thinking about that sway bar. If you had to make an emergency maneuver, you could have totaled the truck. I would be in the service manager's face.

 

[Motorpsychology]

For the Fluid Exchange (Flush)

To do it properly the Trans Oil Cooler must be removed, now the manuals call for the Front Drive Shaft to be removed, to remove the shaft the (Sway Bar) has to be dropped and swung down, this allows full access to the oil cooler.

Now it is possible (IDK) depending on how much room there actually is, there may be short cuts to the procedure. Small Hands etc would be a factor

In any case, that was a BIG MISS by the tech (in a hurry, distracted) for the Sway Bar, overfilling the system is another, but the Sway Bar is a BIG visual.

What may have happened is they did a drain only, not a flush, then poured in the total capacity of new trans fluid, thus the overfilling.

edit: missed @shovelhd's post ?‍

 

[got3fords]

What may have happened is they did a drain only, not a flush, then poured in the total capacity of new trans fluid, thus the overfilling.

That's possible. But the receipt clearly states Performed BG Trasmssion Fluid Exchange. So unless they shortcutted it, I dunno.

 

[got3fords]

In any case, that was a BIG MISS by the tech (in a hurry, distracted) for the Sway Bar, overfilling the system is another, but the Sway Bar is a BIG visual.

To be clear, the pic with the sway bar hanging down is after I took the only nut off, which was only on by about 1 thread. Still, major fuck up.

 

[Rp930]

BG machines flush through the cooler lines. It’s supposed to weigh the fluid and put back the same amount. I would be very afraid to run their cleaner through an older transmission.

 

[shovelhd]

That's possible. But the receipt clearly states Performed BG Trasmssion Fluid Exchange. So unless they shortcutted it, I dunno.

Then based on all the other evidence, they are imbeciles.

 

[Motorpsychology]

That's possible. But the receipt clearly states Performed BG Trasmssion Fluid Exchange. So unless they shortcutted it, I dunno.

I wonder if the F150's 10R80 transmission has a higher fluid capacity than Ranger's- might account for the overfill if the tech had the F's capacity stuck in their head.

 

[RedlandRanger]

I started to hate doing oil changes in my driveway, and couple that with routine tire rotation. I decided it's not worth my time.
That said, that has noting to do with the tranny issue.

I get it - I just hate dealing with the dealers who seem to be more and more incompetent. It is becoming extremely difficult to find a competent dealer that you can trust.

 

[The Last Ranger]

I get it - I just hate dealing with the dealers who seem to be more and more incompetent. It is becoming extremely difficult to find a competent dealer that you can trust.

Funny thing, I have a great dealer here in Mass. , but I still went in to the service manager to voice my concerns of replacing my tranny pan , replacing the filter and fluid and not removing my Fitzstick. When I picked it up I asked questions and found out the service manager spoke to the tech before he did the job. All appears to be good so far but haven't driven it much.

Its pretty sad that we can't trust service anymore, but its partly because Ford removed the dipstick making the service harder for even the Ford techs. Fluid level will be higher when the tranny is cold so that is a hurdle on its own, add in these tranny problems and we have alot of room for error.

 

[RedlandRanger]

Funny thing, I have a great dealer here in Mass. , but I still went in to the service manager to voice my concerns of replacing my tranny pan , replacing the filter and fluid and not removing my Fitzstick. When I picked it up I asked questions and found out the service manager spoke to the tech before he did the job. All appears to be good so far but haven't driven it much.

Its pretty sad that we can't trust service anymore, but its partly because Ford removed the dipstick making the service harder for even the Ford techs. Fluid level will be higher when the tranny is cold so that is a hurdle on its own, add in these tranny problems and we have alot of room for error.

I understand things may be difficult and people make mistakes, but it seems like in so many areas the whole concept of integrity is disappearing. The tech did an incompetent job and didn't own up to it. Honestly, not re-installing a sway bar (as someone else mentioned) could be a huge safety issue.

I have sympathy for people who make mistakes (I do all the time), but I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who don't own up to them.

 

[Motorpsychology]

I get it - I just hate dealing with the dealers who seem to be more and more incompetent. It is becoming extremely difficult to find a competent dealer that you can trust.

I see the techs coming into the field as somewhat lacking problem solving skills. Partly it is because today's ICE vehicles are largely run by digital perameters. "if the OBDII code is A123, replace the xyzzy gzorninplat module."
You can't adjust the dwell and advance the timing to get a bit more performance, or bend the linkage rod to open the back butterflys sooner.

If your car ain't got hood springs, yer wrong.

An acquaintance of mine was telling a group of us that training Air Force mechanics is becoming increasingly difficult because the recruits lack the inherent mechanical sense us geezers have. They never took the hub of their Schwinn apart and had the uncaged ball bearings fall into the sandy driveway.
A Crescent wrench and a screwdriver is all you needed to improve your knowledge.

 

[Superspirit]

As a retired tech. I have done many bg brand flushes. It's a positive replacement system. You fill the bladder with 15 qts of fluid, then when the trans pumps it out the bladder pushes in the fresh fluid. If done properly it is impossible to over fill a trans.

 

[theprinceofsnj]

And to think I stopped going to my dealer because they started charging $35 extra for a tire rotation with The Works. Also, I'm lucky that I have a good mechanic 2 blocks from my house. But then again, I've many stories of issues with dealer's service departments.

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