Cab coming off on Monday - Diesel Forum

Bird100 · 06-20-2008, 04:38 PM

I just got my truck back after not having it for 3 days from the dealer. 1 items was the recall for the bracket in front of the gas tank which they took care of. 2nd item was there has been getting to be a louder and louder droning sound in the cab during acceleration. To the point now where you cannot talk on your cell phone. Something that was gradual, but my brother was home from New York and he rode in the truck when it was new and now and he could not believe it. So they isolated it to some Stainless Steel flexable pipe that is part of the exhuast. They said it is between the engine and firewall, but they cannot get to it from the top or bottom. They had called Ford becasue the Tech went through all the turbo hoses and clamps, and this is what Ford has instructed them to replace. I guess there is a leak or split in this Stainless flex tube and that is why it sounds so loud in the cab. The dealer said it could be caused from a plugged air filter? I have had no warning lights on in the cab, but he told me the air filter gauge was in the red. I asked him why I did not get a idiot light then, and he had no answer. His thought is the truck possibly was producing too much boost due to the plugged air filter and that would cause the split. Sounds hookey to me, if the turbos can't get enough air how can they produce too much boost? Anyhow they are covering everything, but I am not excited about getting the cab taken off this truck. The truck has 17K on it now. I will drop it off on Monday and he said it will be back together by Wend. The dealer was dis-appointed also, he said there will be 15 hours of labor to get the cab off and back on, and maybe 2 hours to fix the part. I will let you know how it turns out next week. Anyone else have this problem or heard of it?

Thanks

tjsulli790 · 06-20-2008, 07:26 PM

15 Hours??

A competant dealer should have no problem removing the cab and reinstalling it in much less than 15 hours.

ford_doctor · 06-20-2008, 07:29 PM

There are flex joints in the turbo up pipes similar to what the 6.0L has. The 6.0L has has a problem with them splitting causing a loud exhaust noise. I have seen this only once on a 6.4L so far and have not heard of too many instances. On the one I repaired I chose not to remove the cab but I did pull the transmission. Some techs don't think either is necessary but after the troubles I experienced I wished I had.

Bird100 · 06-20-2008, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjsulli790

15 Hours??

A competant dealer should have no problem removing the cab and reinstalling it in much less than 15 hours.

This is what I was told. They told me to drop it off on Monday and it will be ready by Wend. I asked him why so long and he told me it will be 15 hours to get the cab on and off and 2 hours to change the flex pipe. The only concern I have is if I was footing the bill. I hope it does not happen again.

Ford Doctor, what is the normal time to remove and install the cab?

The scary part is the dealer could not find it until they called Ford, they heard it but could not find it, and Ford suggested they look at that part.

I have only had one other complaint on this truck and that was last winter when the front end was making noise when turning, ended up being the shock mounts or the bushings in the shock mounts. Other than that it has been 17K trouble free miles, hopefully after this it is 170K trouble free miles.

Bird100 · 06-20-2008, 10:45 PM

Is this the part?

JBCrete · 06-21-2008, 09:12 AM

I'm a member of SOCAPS a southern california Powerstroke Diesel club and about three weeks ago we had a club outing at Diesel Tech in San Jacinto. When we arrived the owner Loren had a the cab of a 6.4 off the chassis and in the air. We asked him about the labor involved to do the job and he said the cab is desinged to be taken off quickly and seperating the cab from the chassis takes about a 1/2 hour. Even if he's exagerating and it takes three times as long (1 1/2 hours) it's a far cry from the time your dealer said it would take.

ford_doctor · 06-22-2008, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBCrete

I'm a member of SOCAPS a southern California PowerStroke Diesel club and about three weeks ago we had a club outing at Diesel Tech in San Jacinto. When we arrived the owner Loren had a the cab of a 6.4 off the chassis and in the air. We asked him about the labor involved to do the job and he said the cab is designed to be taken off quickly and separating the cab from the chassis takes about a 1/2 hour. Even if he's exaggerating and it takes three times as long (1 1/2 hours) it's a far cry from the time your dealer said it would take.

I think you will find a lot of "stories" on cab removal times. Factory book time is 6.7 hours (if am not mistaken) to remove and install a Super Duty cab. Diagnosis and repairs are not included in that time. Having worked on a few of these now I would suggest that you don't go looking for the fast turn around. This engine has a lot of parts bolted to it that requires the replacement of most gaskets, fuel lines, nuts and boils not to mention specific assembly and torquing procedures. Whats more, 1-1/2 hours in my opinion is reckless if the person telling you this was sincere. Just removing the cab bolts unfortunately requires care as not to rip the cage nuts from the cab which happens very easily and is not fun to repair. The best approach is to heat up the bolts, allow the heat to travel to the threads where it will soften the thread locking compound and the plastic retainers that jam in the threads during removal then remove the bolts BY HAND. A crew cab has eight bolts which can eat up a good 1/2 hour alone.

JBCrete · 06-22-2008, 12:22 PM

I looks as though I was mistaken. Perhaps I misunderstood what Loren at Diesel Tech was saying. I'll talk to him to be sure just what he was talking about that only took a half hour. Thanks for the heads up. One question however, is it true the cab is designed to be taken off and if so why would it take 6.7 hours to do so?

jb

timid1 · 06-22-2008, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBCrete

I looks as though I was mistaken. Perhaps I misunderstood what Loren at Diesel Tech was saying. I'll talk to him to be sure just what he was talking about that only took a half hour. Thanks for the heads up. One question however, is it true the cab is designed to be taken off and if so why would it take 6.7 hours to do so?

jb

I've seen pictures of the cab being removed. It is indeed designed to be removed, because there are certain things that you can't get at without completely removing the cab. A few of the things I recall reading about was the turbos (6.4) and the engine.

As for why it would take 6.7 hours to do, I'm sure there are MANY bolts and procedures to follow to correctly remove the cab and put everything back in place once the repair has been performed.

GrampyJim · 06-22-2008, 03:56 PM

The cab was designed to "make it easier" to remove it.... The bolts are accessed from the bottom rather than from the top like earlier trucks. Still, there are special considerations that can slow the process down.... Doc has mentioned some of them a couple of times....

Look at it this way... we can rip the cab off'n your truck in a hearbeat... This isn't going to mean it was pretty and it isn't going to mean that you will be happy with the end result once the cab is back in place...

Ford has an "SLT" (standard labour time) for the operation.... The book says one thing... Any number of other people say other things.... But, in the end, it is up to the tech doing the work.... Do you want fast or do you want good?

ford_doctor · 06-22-2008, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBCrete

I looks as though I was mistaken. Perhaps I misunderstood what Loren at Diesel Tech was saying. I'll talk to him to be sure just what he was talking about that only took a half hour. Thanks for the heads up. One question however, is it true the cab is designed to be taken off and if so why would it take 6.7 hours to do so?

jb

Is it true the cab is designed to be taken off?
It is true that that the 2008 Super Duty truck cabs were designed to be removed for servicing or you could say that they are more "service friendly." Separating the cab from the chassis is simply the reverse process as mating the two during production and you might be surprised how few items actually need to be disconnected or removed and drained. Since the beginning of the 6.0L production and the disasters we encountered in the beginning Ford was watching (from a distance) technicians removing the cabs because it allowed us unobstructed access to the entire engine making many procedures easier, safer and more comfortable. To this day, Ford Motor Company does not endorse cab removal on any pre-2008 trucks. While you can work on this engine with the cab on there are many things that in my opinion cannot be performed properly simply because of access. Try pre-torquing injector fuel lines or the exhaust pipes for example.

When Ford designed the new Super Duty they realized that the 6.4L engine was going to present some difficulties where servicing is concerned and set out to make cab removal the preferred method for performing most major repairs. In doing so, they cleaned up harness connections, utilized quick disconnect fittings on radiator hoses and so on. Keep in mind that dis-assembly is quicker than re-assembly because recharging the A/C, purging the cooling systems, purging the fuel system for example require more time than the act of "draining." We can do other things while the coolant is draining.

Why would it take 6.7 hours to do?
Think about the time, halving it is about 3.3 hours. You need to drain the coolant, drain the power steering/brake booster, discharge the Air Conditioning, remove those troublesome body bolts, attach and secure the cab to a hoist, disconnect wiring harnesses, A/C lines, hoses, brake cable, transmission and transfer case linkages, remove the master cylinder, remove batteries and battery trays... The battery trays were well conceived by the way as they actually incorporate the washer and coolant reservoirs. I have no doubt that there are technicians who can beat the book time but there are some guys who are truly gifted with dexterity and then there are those who rip and tear through a job. Many of us are more concerned with doing it right therefore watching the clock is not always in everyones best interest but that is a whole different topic for another Forum.

Remember, the guy that rushes through the job is more likely to be the one to leave the steering shaft bolt loose...

Samuel1941 · 06-23-2008, 08:54 PM

I think the main point here is that the dealer told the original poster that cab removal and replacement is 15 hours. That is plain wrong just based on the rate book of 6.7 hours!!

Fortunately the original poster is not paying for it at the dealer's grossly incorrect hour estimate!!

Most competent technicians that I have read or talked with can do the 6.0L cab removal in 1 1/2 to 2 hours!!! Putting it back on may take a little longer.

The 6.4 should be easier because it's built to be taken apart!!

jsichler · 07-07-2008, 11:01 AM

I got the truck back last Thursday. I bought it on Monday and they got the cab off and found out they did not have all the parts they needed. Anyhow truck is much quieter now and the MPG has gotten much better. I am wondering with the exhaust leak if the engine was working harder before to make the boost it needed. I was averaging 12.6 MPG before the fix, and now am averaging 16.1 MPG. I did alot of highway driving over the holiday weekend, but I am still pleased with the results. One down side is on Friday on the way up to the cabin I pulled out to pass a couple of motorcycles, and all of a sudden there was a huge bang under the hood and lost all turbo boost. I could not even finish the pass. I was about 10 miles south of a dealer so I kept driving and then the check engine light came on. I pulled over and called Ford, and they said they would send a wrecker or I could try and get to the dealer. I told her I would try to get to the dealer since I wanted to get to the cabin sooner than later. Pulled into the dealer, and the service manger called one of the techs up front, he looked under the front bumper and said the turbo pipe had blown off. They fixed it, washed it, and I was on my way in about 10 minutes. He said they might have not tightened the clamp enough when putting the cab back on. Anyhow a minor fix, they cleared the code and documented the problem. I was amazed how weak this truck was without any turbo boost. I could not accelerate past about 20MPH going up hill, and to get to 55 was a 3 minute challenge. Anyhow all is good now and I will keep you all posted.

737tdi · 07-08-2008, 03:07 AM

To be honest, you non mechanics are morons, I think I would charge you 40 hours to remove the cab. Who the hell do you think you are questioning a man who does this for a living? Get a clue. Crawl under your truck and determine if you could do it. I know I can but I've been a mechanic for 37 years, granted it's been on aircraft but I've rebuilt more engines than you've been alive. OOOOrrraaaahhhh.... Dang, that pisses me off when people start questioning guys who do it for a living. Ban me now for speaking truth.

737tdi

737tdi · 07-08-2008, 03:34 AM

Now I'm thinking this guy is a fakey: "I got the truck back last Thursday. I bought it on Monday and they got the cab off and found" bull, bull, bull I call bull. If I'm wrong, I apologize but I don't think I am. 2 days into the truck and he's got these major problems. Not. 4 posts with these included???? Huh? And then I've never heard a diesel person say "turbo boost" calling bs again fella.