Page 1 of 1

Whats wrong in this picture?

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 5:02 pm
by tekatlarge
I often tell people to not just believe a part is A OK just because it is supposedly new. Like the late Great Ronald Regan would say "Trust But Verify". The same goes for repair shops. In 2001 The War Department's F150 was at about 85000 miles and It had not had a Major service since new. We decided at that time to let the dealer do it all as they were supposed to know what they were doing and I was working 10 to 12 hrs a day and had no time to take care of the maintenance.

It went to a Local dealers branch right near my house. I was charged 1800 dollars for something I was initially told would be less than a grand. They gave me a some and dance about doing everything bumper to bumper and including the tricky spark plugs in the early 4.6 motors. new Plug Wires and special Fuel Injector cleaning alone with every thing else. We paid and the truck ran great! Now, fast forward to the Head Gasket job. In putting the motor back together I bought new plug wires and plugs of course. When I tore the motor down I removed the 2 coil assemblies and plug wires together. Upon reassembly I was putting the new wires on and pulling the old ones 1 at a time. The wires are held on at the coils with a couple of finger clips. To remove the wire, squeeze The 2 clips and pull. Real simple HUH? I was on my 3rd wire and when I pulled the end out of the coil I noticed the copper connection on the clip looked crappy. When I looked at the coil and compared the terminals I saw something rather surprising. I have 3 photos that show what I saw.
Looks normal from here
Looks normal from here
This damage can be traced right back to the dealer that did that major service. I have owned this vehicle from new and that dealer was the only people that have touched this.
Hmmm Seems to be a hole in the tower. Further inspection shows that someone at some time tried to pry off the clip with a screwdriver.
Hmmm Seems to be a hole in the tower. Further inspection shows that someone at some time tried to pry off the clip with a screwdriver.
The whole point here is just because this outfit was working as a branch of the main dealership it does not necessarily mean number 1 tip top service or qualified mechanics.

As this Turns out the local Dealer closed the dealership near me and focused back on their 1 location. I hope the person responsible for breaking this coil never transferred to the main dealership unless he/she cleaned up his/her act!
Even though they filled the hole with silicone, they never sealed it and the inside terminal is now corroded and shows evidence of arc flash-over..
Even though they filled the hole with silicone, they never sealed it and the inside terminal is now corroded and shows evidence of arc flash-over..
Their absence of common sense cost me $63.00. And if this truck had not blown a head gasket I would eventually have had a complete coil failure. That would probably have happened with "The War Dept" at the helm and off in some remote spot..

Final words of wisdom Like I said "Trust But Verify"

Re: Whats wrong in this picture?

Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:33 pm
by Mud Addict
That's why I never let anyone else work on my stuff, unless I am watching them :flipoff: