Service quote from HELL

[wsu0702]

Last time I had my 03 F250 6.0 seriviced the dealership told me I had a "major fluid leak" at the bed plate and crank sensor. I did not even engage them because my truck was not obviously leaking anything. Besides I had no idea what they were trying to sell me. So just last week I noticed that my truck was intermittedly blowing a little more than usual light blue smoke from exhaust pipe. I figured it was the EGR valve but did not have time to diagnose it myself. I dropped it off at dealership and asked them to check EGR valve. Here is the service quote I got.

1) EGR valve sticking. $400 dollars to replace
2) Oil leak at bedplate and crank sensor. $3,900 to fix (requires removing engine)
3) 3 fuel inejectors failing. $1,655 to replace all
4) Bad fuel pressure regulator. $150 to replace.

Grand total $6,135

Needless to say I told them to not touch a thing. Now keep in mind the truck has never leaked anything on the ground and I just the other day checked the under carriage and it was clean as a whistle. Only symptom was occasional smoking from exhaust.

Also just 2 months ago during regular service they performed their free multipoint inspection and no mention was made of any fuel injector or pressure regulator issues. Apparently I have had 3 fuel injectors start failing in the last 8 weeks? BTW I only put about 500 miles on it during that period. Truck only has 60k miles on it.

[69cj]

Off the top of my head without being there, I think I know which dealer that I would not patronize.

[HeavyAssault]

I take it you are outside the warranty period. Any drivability concerns?

[rock_doctor]

Yea i would walk away from them... You can clean the egr or just replace it yourself. I would not worry about a leak unless it is a descent/substantial leak. I would do something about the fuel pressure regulator asap. Low fuel pressure can kill a set of injectors quick. I would think this would set a code. So you may want to borrow or buy a code reader before you change any injectors.

http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/articl...icle-05-15.php

[OT]

WSU...Did you specifically ask how tec. knew bplate leaking..you say you never saw any oil leaks? What tests done to indicate bad f.i./ press.reg & egr. in otherwords..why did tec. say you needed this work. Surely you were given more info. on..why repairs needed?

Being told twice your bplate is leaking, is odd. As mentioned..if u can..pull egr & take a look. But, other parts is a diff. story. Good luck.

[blackwaterstroker]

I would put a cummins in that truck...seriously they got kits that start at 10000 dollars...so you would get a great Ford truck and the reliability of the cummins or just tell them srew you and go take it to a mechanic somewhere else...good luck buddy

[hitecdan]

Originally Posted by wsu0702

Needless to say I told them to not touch a thing. Now keep in mind the truck has never leaked anything on the ground and I just the other day checked the under carriage and it was clean as a whistle. Only symptom was occasional smoking from exhaust.

Also just 2 months ago during regular service they performed their free multipoint inspection and no mention was made of any fuel injector or pressure regulator issues.

Do they check fuel injectors during regular service intervals? I don't think so without you knowing it (it would show up on the bill $$$). Sounds to me like they are trying to pad the bottom line via the service bays to make up for a slup in new car/truck sales.

[wsu0702]

Originally Posted by HeavyAssault

I take it you are outside the warranty period. Any drivability concerns?

6 years old now so 1 year past the 5yr/100 mile warranty. Only has 60k miles though.

[wsu0702]

Originally Posted by OT

WSU...Did you specifically ask how tec. knew bplate leaking..you say you never saw any oil leaks? What tests done to indicate bad f.i./ press.reg & egr. in otherwords..why did tec. say you needed this work. Surely you were given more info. on..why repairs needed?

Being told twice your bplate is leaking, is odd. As mentioned..if u can..pull egr & take a look. But, other parts is a diff. story. Good luck.

No they actually told me about the bed plate gasket leak a couple of months ago but I ignored it. When I picked up my truck this time my service tech was not there but I asked another and he said not to worry about it but they are obligated to let me know about it. So that knocks $3,900 off my worry list.

When I picked up my truck this past saturday I noticed another recommended service listed that was not mentioned in the phone message estimate:

"Oil cooler restricted flow. Recommend replacement"

When I finally got a hold of the service tech today I asked him to prioritize the issues as I can not afford to fix all at once. He gave me the whole speel about how the service technician said that two issues (oil cooler & injectors) were related and fixing only one at a time would result in more money in the long run. Estimated cost = $2,500 dollars When I told him that was not possible he said he would replace the fuel pressure regulator first and hope that more injectors do not fail before I can replace the oil cooler and failing injectors.

Am I the only one having these issues or are these high service costs typical for an early 6.0? I am starting to wonder if I have a money pit that I should get rid of ASAP.

[OT]

W....your 6L may very well be a "money pit", especially if you have to pay someone else for ALL repairs. Curious..was there a chg. for repair est? Can you get another dealer/svc. opinion?

FWIW..for argument sake..even if all your told actually needs fixing..its still a bummer at 60K mi. Do you really need this truck or you got it & now stuck with it for better/worse? Catch 22 for sure. Anyhow.... Good luck!

[Strokin' 6.0]

You could always take it over to Issaquah, park it, leave it unlocked and go home. Call it in stolen. By the time the cops find it, I'm pretty sure it'll be stripped to bare bones!

[wsu0702]

Originally Posted by OT

W....your 6L may very well be a "money pit", especially if you have to pay someone else for ALL repairs. Curious..was there a chg. for repair est? Can you get another dealer/svc. opinion?

FWIW..for argument sake..even if all your told actually needs fixing..its still a bummer at 60K mi. Do you really need this truck or you got it & now stuck with it for better/worse? Catch 22 for sure. Anyhow.... Good luck!

I did have them replace the EGR valve since that seemed to be the solution to the only obvious symptom. On the phone the quote for this repair was $400. When I picked it up the invoice total was $650. So I guess the "free" repair estimate charge was $250.

[wsu0702]

Originally Posted by OT

W....your 6L may very well be a "money pit", especially if you have to pay someone else for ALL repairs. Curious..was there a chg. for repair est? Can you get another dealer/svc. opinion?

FWIW..for argument sake..even if all your told actually needs fixing..its still a bummer at 60K mi. Do you really need this truck or you got it & now stuck with it for better/worse? Catch 22 for sure. Anyhow.... Good luck!

Yes I agree I am relying too much on the dealership for all my service needs and that why it is costing me so much. Up until now it has been more of a time issue than a money issue but from now on I will have to try and find the time to do it myself.

Tomorrow I am having a diesel performance shop take a look at it for a second opinion. If they give me the same diagnosis and it's not related to something simple like bad fuel or plugged fuel filter then the for sale sign is going into the window.

[wsu0702]

Originally Posted by wsu0702

1) EGR valve sticking. $400 dollars to replace
2) Oil leak at bedplate and crank sensor. $3,900 to fix (requires removing engine)
3) 3 fuel inejectors failing. $1,655 to replace all
4) Bad fuel pressure regulator. $150 to replace.
5) Oil cooler plugged. Reccomend replacement. $1,000

Grand total $7,135

Well I received a second opinion from the diesel performance shop today. According to them none of the service issues identified by the dealership (see above) were valid (I did have the dealership replace the EGR valve). They hooked up their scan tool to it and drove it under all types of driving conditions (I doubt dealership did this). Fuel injectors...good, fuel pressure regulator...good, EGR valve....good, oil cooler...good. Lesson learned on my part....do not trust big dealership service quotes. I know that times are tough for OEM car dealerships and dealership mechanics are getting pressured to generate sales but give me a break!

[JIM_C]

Originally Posted by wsu0702

Well I received a second opinion from the diesel performance shop today. According to them none of the service issues identified by the dealership (see above) were valid (I did have the dealership replace the EGR valve). They hooked up their scan tool to it and drove it under all types of driving conditions (I doubt dealership did this). Fuel injectors...good, fuel pressure regulator...good, EGR valve....good, oil cooler...good. Lesson learned on my part....do not trust big dealership service quotes. I know that times are tough for OEM car dealerships and dealership mechanics are getting pressured to generate sales but give me a break!

Unfortunately for you, poorer but wiser. Sorry to say they ripped you on the EGR valve; you can buy a gasket kit (~$7) and a can of carb cleaner and it's good as new for a few thousand miles or until the EGR system is permanently fixed. If you want to keep the retarded EGR system intact and you *need* a new valve then you can buy the valve from powerstrokeshop.com much cheaper and put it in yourself.
I'd tell this dealer to KMA and start patronizing the diesel performance shop (or anywhere else).