Heater went out, dealer still sucks.

[P. A. Schilke]

Lol, I especially remember the Cougar with the missing piston/rod fondly, the motor shook so violently that the hood would not stay raised.
When I did yank the left bank head I could not believe what I saw, I yelled out to my buddy (and partner in crime) mechanic in the adjoining stall "Joe, WTF did you do with my piston?"
Joe comes over and says "how the f*#@k you pull the piston without dropping the pan?"
Long story short I ordered a short block for it, maybe the "M" in 351M meant "missing" in this case?

No 1 was the 351C...next the 351W and the 351M was destine as the proverbial boat anchor and nothing more...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

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[Mokume]

No 1 was the 351C...next the 351W and the 351M was destine as the proverbial boat anchor and nothing more...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Indeed Phil, the Cleveland had THE most power output potential of all similarly sized V8's back then, too bad it got killed off because of emission standards.
Instead of calling the "M" series the correct "Modified" name, we referred to them as "Mary's".
My '86 F-150 Lariat 4x4 had the 351W with a 4V carb. and a C6 was "adequate", but not much more.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

I sure hope my 2020 does not suffer from quality issues that Tangent is experiencing because there are just 3 Ford dealers in Honolulu.
Yes, it is my choice to live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, so it is what it is...
I worked at a Lincoln/Mercury-Honda agency for almost 14 years as a line mechanic and came across all sorts of Ford snafus, mind you we were to sole L/M dealership on the island.

• '77 Cougar XR-7 with a 351M that was missing a piston and connecting rod
• '78 Monarch 4 door with a dashboard assy. that was a totally different color from the rest on the interior
• '78 Lincoln Town Car with a marble rolling around in the left rocker panel
• '79 Zephyr 2 door sedan in which the wiper motor was attached with zip-ties
• '80 Colony Park wagon in which the rear headliner was missing (wagons had 2 separate liners)
• '81 Continental Mark VI with a 255W V8 installed instead of the correct 302W

How do I remember all these snafus? because I had to fix them...and all of them left the factory the way they were!

Yeah, we don't all have the ability to shop around and find a different dealer. Where I am now, there is a dealer about 10mins away in town, another across the bridge is WI (eww) about 25mins away, and then a couple an hour away in different directions. But where I was growing up, the nearest Ford dealer (or dealer of any kind) was an hour away, and the next closest was 2hrs away. We made due, and luckily the closest dealer we had a good relationship with. But if we hadn't, we would've been screwed.

 

[Sarge104]

Personal experience with my dealership has had its ups and downs, I still need to keep in mind the next nearest dealership is over 120 miles away. No, my local dealership does not offer rentals or a loaner vehicle but it is clearly stated in their sales paperwork and at the counters in the service area. They do their best to get in the parts I ask for but sometimes I still need to get in touch with Ford Motor Company themselves to get issues resolved. Weekends in this area see the dealerships maintenance department in town closed at 12pm due to population and the fact the same people who have been working all week long probably still are required to put in a half day on Saturday as well on a rotating schedule so, like the OP's dealer they only have a skeleton staff on hand on the weekend. On the other side of the equation is the fact parts supply on the weekend is stopped or limited due to parts vendors and after market vendors having limited hours on the weekend as well. Speaking for myself I would much rather be able to be with my family on the weekend as well but being in the aftermarket parts business I do my best to help those that have parts issues on the weekend.

Does the experience of the OP sound like it could have been resolved better, yes. Was it completely the dealerships fault, no.

 

[Toytec]

Back in the 90's when the Camry's were in full swing coming out of the Kentucky plant, A Ford official was asked to come and observe the success of it's production.
At the end of the tour the question came up as to where the area was that has "mistakes" from the line.
No, we don't have that here. The line is stopped and the production mistake is taken care of then and there. The deer in the headlights look was given at that point.
Anyways, times have certainly changed since then with all this compliance nowadays. Nobody is even close to perfect.
That OP dealer must get back some fabulous customer surveys. You had me at the 4 hour ext warranty deal.

 

[Mokume]

Yeah, we don't all have the ability to shop around and find a different dealer. Where I am now, there is a dealer about 10mins away in town, another across the bridge is WI (eww) about 25mins away, and then a couple an hour away in different directions. But where I was growing up, the nearest Ford dealer (or dealer of any kind) was an hour away, and the next closest was 2hrs away. We made due, and luckily the closest dealer we had a good relationship with. But if we hadn't, we would've been screwed.

All 3 Ford dealers in Honolulu are within 40 minutes drive from my location, beyond that it would be 108 miles to Lihue, Kauai, 94 to Kahului, Maui, 167 miles to Kona, Hawaii and almost 2,500 miles to Los Angeles, CA, trouble is that these last 4 locations require travel over the ocean.

True, these distances can be traversed by boat or airplane, but Ford (nor anyone else) is going to pay transportation costs roundtrip.

The Ford transportation cost of $1200 dollars on a new vehicle is a downright bargain when you consider the almost 5K miles my 2020 needs to travel.

Such is the cost of living in Paradise...but I'll live nowhere else.

 

[Zaph]

That's a lot of "ifs". Probably easier to just take it to a dealer that sucks less.

That's what I did. Both me and my wife have been Ford drivers for a long time. Bought new at our local town Ford dealer and had service done there. But service has always been poor, and they push work that didn't need to be done. As a result they are no longer our Ford dealer. Now we get our Ford service done one town over. It's 30 miles away but it's much better, and the distance isn't so bad anyway because it's in the town where I work. That's where I bought my new Ranger because their prices were way better too.

Ford dealers are everywhere. If one sucks, go to another. I feel like sending a picture of my new truck to my old dealer just to rub it in.

 

[Tangent]

To their credit, the dealer worked to get someone in on Saturday, so they wouldn't have to give me a loaner or rental or whatever.

Brought it in, 90 minute repair, chatted with my sales guy, and my heat worked. Huzzah, took off to the next town over to meet a friend for lunch and a Star War, 20 minutes in I turn off the heat, same loud ratcheting sound, no heat again.

Currently at the dealer again as they try to figure it out.

When/if I get paperwork detailing the problem I'll be sure to post for anyone who runs into the same problem.

 

[Tangent]

Apparently "some other part" had fallen out of place, they got it all back together and working. The Ford Service Manual troubleshooter they use ran out of suggestions even, because apparently the truck is too new.

After testing, they found that there is an ultrasonic whine in the system still, so it goes back next weekend to get fixed again, as they said its going to break again, just a matter of when.

The service person told me "I've never seen anything like this before, part of the joy of buying new model."

As soon as they were able to verify the problem, the dealerships' whole attitude towards me changed. But when I was just a customer claiming to have a problem, man, what a cold shoulder.

Will let you guys know when/if I see paperwork. They said their warranty person is off today so they can't process the paperwork. I'm sure a part number would be handy.

 

[Tangent]

A little update: Still haven't seen any paperwork, but apparently, the tech was worried that they needed to replace the entire HVAC system, but the service counter lady didn't want to inconvenience me more, so they were going to have the guy come in the next week (this week) to fix it.

Instead, they're having me come in in a week to get a rental, and then they're holding on to the truck "until we are 100% certain its fixed." Hopefully that doesn't take too long.

 

[Toytec]

A little update: Still haven't seen any paperwork, but apparently, the tech was worried that they needed to replace the entire HVAC system, but the service counter lady didn't want to inconvenience me more, so they were going to have the guy come in the next week (this week) to fix it.

Instead, they're having me come in in a week to get a rental, and then they're holding on to the truck "until we are 100% certain its fixed." Hopefully that doesn't take too long.

I know those surveys are a pain in the neck, but if they do get it 100% right to your satisfaction, give them a positive feedback if you would. Most rely on them for a paycheck these days and it sounds like they're trying to take care of you.

 

[Tangent]

Part # AB3Z-19E616-B was the culprit. Last replacement was defective.

Hope that's helpful to someone!

 

[Toytec]

Servo motor? Sounds cheap at a 67 dollar list. Hope they last.

 

[Tangent]

No idea, never got to see the thing. "Motor Asy" definitely sounds like one, they kept calling it an "actuator."

The fact that its on backorder tells me I'm not the only one.

 

[Toytec]

Yeah that's it. Most likely the blend door actuator motor. They have little plastic teeth on their gears to move a lever arm to open and close a door for heat/cool air to flow. Sounds like yours just gave up early. Haven't heard of anyone else. That's what warranty is for. Good luck with it.

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