So its not bronco related but its pretty cool and fun. Well I find it enjoyable. Every so often, or more often than not we get cars that grease monkey that they don't have much experience working on, to put kindly. This time got a Lincoln aviator that a coolant and ps flush was done. Well on the 4.6 liter there is bleed plug to get rid of air pockets after coolant work. It was obviously not touched. And they cooked those head gaskets like no other. I have never seen so many over heat codes in my life. 6 different types of over heat codes stored.

Well this is a fun one. The quickest way to pull this engine is to get rid of the body. You can pull the trans out and and then shift and shimmy the engine out. But there is little room and much easier to get rid of some interference.
Here's some pics of the fun involved. Im sure alot the ford techs see this quite a bit, but this is a first for me and at this point still killing flag time.

Having a hard time posting pics from phone. This always happens, always get logged out while posting pics.

loaded from phone to computer to site. quite the process.

Thats a lot of work alright, I just finished a Hybrid Transaxle swap in an 07 Escape for overheating.

Just after I did an engine in a 07 F150 5.4l 3V with a special sludge coating.

Our diesel tech is always doing "Cab off" repairs

Gotta love those chain store repair shops...

J.D.

I had to laugh at the mention of Grease Monkey. I took my sister in law down to have her oil changed in her car there years ago, she insisted that we use them because they were great. Well, as I am standing there watching them put the oil in the top of the engine, I am also watching it flow right out the bottom. They forgot to put the drain plug in. The guy looks at me and says something to the effect, "Man, I didn't realize these little cars took so much oil". I had to point out to him that he needed to put the drain plug back in before he should have filled it up. Then the nitwit didn't put the oil cap back on and I told him that he needed to put the "710" (oil upside down) cap on and he didn't have a clue what I was saying. Needless to say, they tried to charge her for 14 quarts of oil, 8 of which basically flushed the engine out.

I had a brake shop sabotage my wife's stratus because she wouldn't let them replace her entire brake system on a 4yr old car... They did something to the accessory belt so that it would break. The status has electric clutches in the wheels, so when the alt stopped turning, the car started to wear the battery down, and once it got low enough, the car wouldn't move because the clutches wouldn't engage. Left her stranded one day off I-25 and Hampden. Some real nice old Lady allowed her to use her home phone to call me. Since then I'll never go back and advice anyone else against it.

J.D.

Hate to say it, but Phil Long Ford here in the Springs is one of those companies that sees dollar signs in their customers. My father in law just took their Lincoln Towncar down there to have a scheduled oil change, they came back with over $4000 worth of stuff that needed to be done in addition to the oil change. Among them was the front shocks had leaks ($500), rear air shocks were cracked ($800), all belts were at a failure point ($600), brake fluid system flush due to contamination ($300), power steering steering had air in the system, flush required to remedy ($600), needed new tires ($1400), and a few odds and ends that added up. Well, I work for the F-I-L and when they called our office to schedule the appointment to do the "required repairs" I asked them if they checked the blinker fluid & muffler bearings and the dumbshit actually said that yes they did but those were in working order

I did, and the funny thing was that I was at a loss for words. I didn't actually think twice about saying it, I was joking when I said it and the guy didn't bat an eye when he gave me his response.

Many years ago - in the very early 90's Pep Boys ran an ad for new shocks and struts for my Wifes car - really good deal on them, something like $190 for both fronts and rears so I sent my wife down with the dirrection that she is to only allow them to do the shocks and struts and only those in the ad, anything else and they are rippign her off.

Well this was pre cell phones but I did have a pager. I get a beep, find a phone and call her back. Pep boys has somehow determined that she needs brakes, coolant, belts, spark plugs and wires, oil change... the list goes on and on. So I call them up and ask them "have you finished with hte shocks and struts? No sir, we have not started, we spoke to your wife and she wanted to talk to you before she allowed us to work on the car. I said to them to put the shocks and struts on and I would pick the car up later and take care of everythign else myself.

Now here is the kicker.

When my wife went to pick it up with her mom, they told her that they could not let her take it because it was unsafe to drive with those brakes. Another series of pages and I told her to just wait, I woudl go with her to pick it up later after work. When we got there the idiot tried ot tell me the same thing "it is against the law, we can not allow you to drive the car in it's present condition" That is bull crap by the way - so I told him to put it on the lift and show me the problem. He was very reluctant to do so, but I pushed and pushed finaly he did so. Up on the lift I asked him to show me the worn pads and shoes.... there were none. I had done the brakes myself the previous weekend, including a compledte purge ,refill and bleed of the brake system. I did it when I changed the oil, filled the coolant and all the other fluidsl. That is how I knew we needed shocks and struts.

Funny how he back peddaled then - "Oh sir, we must have had the wrong car and made the notes".... blah blah blah. It was quite obvious that he saw a very young woman with a fairly decent car who did not know what she was doing and thought they could take advantage of her. I have not purchased a quart of oil from pep boys since. I snet actual letters to the BBB, the Rocky Mountain News consumer desk, several news stations and of course to Pep boys, both corporate and the store.

Never heard back from any of them.