I have that exact same box, color and all!!

Pretty sure there's a time frame deal. If you do some investigations I bet you will find you won't have to pay it.

your probably right, but thats not me.

I'll find out if the insurance really neglected to pay.

if they didn't pay I will and promptly cancel them and take care of what I owe.

if they did it will be a very interesting conversation since I work on vehicles for few lawyers at the NM state attorney generals office.

Ford boys got screwed pretty bad today on labor times.


I can see the others doing the same crap.

That is some bull shit right there. Gonna have a hard time keeping people like that.

So basically Ford techs are going to know what it's like to be a Hyundai tech?  Hyundai warranty labor times are a complete joke already.  Power steering rack replacement on a 2007-2012 santa fe pays 1.8 hrs including setting toe I think.  Alldata time is something like 5.1 hrs not including alignment.

Obviously cutting labor times by that much is bullshit, but at the same time, who needs 58 minutes for going back and forth to a toolbox on a door latch replacement?  Unfortunately for the Ford techs I'm pretty sure they are they only ones that still had "high" warranty labor times.  So unless they get out of the industry completely or go indy I don't think that they will be able to better their situations.

Good news is 100 per week will win a gift card


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I agree.  I think the video was not in their best interests.  I thought it seemed very condescending.  It will be interesting to see the backlash over the next few months.  I imagine CSI scores will plummet as dealers limit their warranty repairs, recall completion, etc.  Consequences and repercussions and all that.

Wow, I just watched the video...thankfully I got out of the field a couple of years ago because there is no way in hell I would tolerate that shit.  I think everyone here (and in the video comments) is 100% right: there will be a technician shortage, and it's coming a lot sooner rather than later.  I feel bad for the good shop owners, of which I know there are many out there and many in this very thread and forum, but unfortunately the trend I was seeing as I left was the industry as a whole was taking a massive shit on techs and the bad shop owners and managers far exceeded the good ones.  However, based on what I saw as a tech during my time on the job, I honestly can't wait until the day comes when one of these bad shop owners or dealerships has a bay full of cars needing advanced diagnostic work with no one around to do it and hoards of pissed off customers screaming at them.

Something a little different tonight.  I got a little aggressive in my pursuit of largemouth bass Sunday and popped a few rivets on the boat.  So tonight I was laying on my back in the driveway with a floorjack, air compressor, pneumatic rivet gun, a drill and file.  I drilled out the rivet holes, filed down the sealing surface, squirted some 3M clear silicone in the hole, popped a closed end aluminum rivet in there and then coated it with silicone for good measure.  We shall see how well the repairs worked this Sunday.  

Its slowed up a little this week.  I went off on the advisors during our Wednesday advisor meeting.  I admonished them for failing to perform their duties and doing a poor job of writing repair orders and communicating.  Well it seems I didn't get through to them.  So today I followed up every poorly written repair order with them personally and let the service manager in on what I was doing as well.  His words during the Wednesday meeting were "If you aren't doing your job, then we have a problem".  So I've set about identifying when people aren't doing their jobs and making corrective action.  The in one ear and out the other shit has gotten old and I'm going to support my techs as best I can and take care of their needs.  It isn't fair for a flat rate tech to have to do the advisors jobs for them.  I only set about doing this because I felt I was in a position to point out the advisors shortcomings without getting a finger (or several) pointed back at me.  It worked.  They had nothing to throw back at my team.  I've told the techs many times that I will not start a pissing match between the techs and advisors.  I will not get in between the two of them going back and forth over who is right and who was wrong.  I've flat out told techs to deal with a situation because I cannot go to an advisor with a complaint without them pointing the finger back at you.  When you have all your ducks in a row and nobody can tell me that you are in the wrong too, then I'll address it.  It finally came to that.  Its done and being followed through.  

Our CSI is up, our productivity is up, and I feel very good about how my team works together.  Its a safe environment for everyone to communicate, resolve issues, and help each other.  I'm quite proud of my team.

I've fixed quite a few things with closed rivets and silicone, you should be fine.

We have a shit of trouble with our service writers as well.  I'm convinced it's a universal problem, every shop I've been to in this company has issues getting work assigned and in process without the foreman or a lead tech chewing somebody's ass over it.  The leads here are paid to chew tech ass, not service writer and parts room, but they have to do it anyways....

Body shop did a frame swap on a Colorado. Customer took it and it overheated.

They put the wrong coolant in it and it had a massive air pocket behind the thermostat.

Thermostat housing

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Upper radiator and hose

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Lower radiator and hose

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I know it shouldn't be much but does anyone have a ballpark number on allowable transfer case chain deflection?

At 100k miles now in a 15' Ram 5500 I'm pretty sure I stretched it.

When it starts popping, its too much.

I definitely have that.

I drained the oil. No shavings but there was about 1/8" of sag right there on the bottom of the gear. And 3/4-1" as I work up toward the center section. New case should be in today.

Had some fun with my carburetor recently(top bolts were stripped out leading to a massive air leak through a 1/4" gap between parts of the carb, had to drill out and tap for a larger size, and then a couple of complete teardown and cleanings to get things working right after it ingested who knows how much crap when it was bypassing the air filter) which brought up some questions regarding tools. What do you pros use for testing vacuum systems? I see a lot of really cheap gauges and hand pumps, and some more expensive ones, and the vast majority get really crappy reviews. Given that my need for such a tool is pretty low, I'm sure a cheap junker from the auto parts store will get the job done. What do you have in your toolbox?

I've got hand held gauge and hand pump vacuum pump. I also have a smoke machine I use for leaks.

A smoke machine pays for itself in a week.

without a doubt

It seems ive refound my stride at the new shop...

So we got a new hunter alignment machine last year, and I was told yesterday that because of that, the higher-ups apparently decided that 1.2 for an alignment is too much because we can do it faster with the new machine.  Now we can do it for 1.0.

Now this wouldn't bother me THAT much, if they were also lowering the price for an alignment.  Hey, maybe we'll sell more, right?  Oh no, they are keeping the price the same so they can hold more gross.

Funny how changing labor times based on difficulty never works the other direction.  Like the fact that we still only get paid 0.3 to mount and balance a tire.  The same time that it has been since the store opened in the 90s.  You know, when the average tire size was probably 195/50/15 instead of fucking 225/40/18.  Fuck you.

We charge 2 for an alignment and three for a sprinter alignment but we have specialists for alignments. We get .5 per tire for mount and balance.  1.2 for a rotate and balance.  Two hours per axle for pads and rotors.  You can make really good money on suspension work.

I had a guy spend two days on a six hour oil cooler on an e class diesel.  He then had to replace a turbo on a gl450.  Asked to put it off until Monday and do other work to make some hours.  I said no,  I've done that job.  It's a one day job.  Drop the powertrain, replace turbo and stuff it back in.  Pays ten hours.  He spent all day on it and doesn't have the turbo off yet.   He gets zero sympathy from me.  If he had worked harder, he would be done by now.  Not managing his time is his problem, not mine.  Someone with ten plus years in this field should be able to get it done easily.

I have worked at several dealer as well as independent shops.

I got out years ago when the economy crashed. Vowed never to go back into anything automotive again.

Now I work 3 days on,4 off in manufacturing.  I've had the same employer since 2009 and never looked back.

I still have all of my tools and knowledge,but I use it to save myself money on repairs lol.  I buy Toyota vehicles and drive them till the wheels fall off

That's good.

It's kind of weird isn't it? For me it was anyway. 8 years on the truck, we were still "it it" but not really. Have you stepped on a tool truck yet Snap on guy talked to me this week for the first time. I asked how his dad was, recovering from throat cancer. His dad was my snap on dealer at the dealer I was at, I bought from him for 7 years.


What's amazing to me is working with guys that don't have shit for tools, and don't want to buy tools either. One guy won't buy a jump box. He's almost stopped asking me to borrow mine. Guys doing brake work that can't measure rotors. Mine is not digital so they quit asking to borrow it because they can't read it. Asking to use my scan tool for body shop or used cars. I can't do used cars.

FEA is 1.0, doesn't matter what it is. 1.0 to mount and balance 4 tires. 1.7 per axle for brakes

Just dropped the transfer case out of my truck. Rocking the front output shaft you can hear and feel the chain slapping around. Currently building up the want to to crawl back under there and lift the new one up in there.

You ain't going nowhere until you do.


I just installed a can light in the shower tub ceiling.  I fucking  hate working with 120.  I always feel like I'm gonna die whenever I mess with it.  I piggy backed it off the ventilation fan.  It was the easiest way to make it work.

Fuck tires.  Make me no money at all.  Go see discount tire and leave me alone.

I want to do recessed lighting over the kitchen bar and in the shower.

Nothing is ever simple on a boat.  I obtained two 850 ca (en) 95ah  agm batteries.  I recharged them.  One is five months old, the other not quite three years old.  Using the new one to replace the trolling motor battery, the older one for the outboard.  I bought battery terminal adapters.  

Here is the fun part.  Both are physically larger.  It barely fit in the well for the trolling motor battery.  I had to give it a few good shoves and coerce it with kind words of encouragement.  

The old trolling motor battery was three years old.  It didn't see much action until September last year.  It has 101 ah, but only 600 ca.  So the query is which will last longer?  The old deep cycle or the new agm?  I put a hurt on that battery recently and it hasn't been the same since.  

The old outboard battery is seven years old.  No brainer there.

My training tells me that these agm batteries are more tolerant of deep cycling, neglect, vibration and such.  We shall see.

I've got just the thing.  Its a snappy battery charger.  Unfortunately I keep that one at work.

Optimas are known for abuse like you're talking about. They are spiral AGM. I would say AGM should be better. Do a AGM recharge and see how they do.

We charge 1.0 for front wheel, and 1.3 for 4 wheel alignments here.

Yes, other than the owner, im the only one with more than a cart.  They all use the owners stuff though so they stay away from my shit mostly.  Hes got one good guy in the shop, one guy thats ok but a whineass, and 2 kids, one of which i cant stand, hes a little spoiled smartass douche.

As far as the trucks go, i became friends with my dealer when i was a dealer so not much has changed there, hes selling me stuff at not much over cost.  The matco man loves me because i dont give him any bullshit and he knows hell get paid.

Would you say the pads are half worn out

put the correct size rotors on it and ship it

Exactly it will wear back down to normal.

Guy walking through the shop asking for a cylinder leakdown gauge. I think every tool he owns come from harbor freight and is always borrowing shit. Snap on and the mac truck here at the same time.

Better step on a truck.


Snap on guy got me today. Not really. Had 2 reducers and a ratchet to get warrantied. Bought a T8 and a 16mm socket I lost somewhere. Had to get a 12mm compression hose adapter for the 1.5 engines. He gave me a cup lol

I really need to check in here more often. The ford video, wow! Been over 20 years since I worked for ford, even then warranty time
sucked. I cant imagine what its like today.

As far as true diag techs go I saw dealers in my area trimming them back 10 years ago. They have been focused on maintenance for
some time. I am only a one man shop and still send customers to the dealer a few times a year with a tsb or recall in hand after the
dealers tell them they find no problems or its not under warranty. Also have to send pictures of oil leaks with customers to get a leak
fixed under warranty.

A shortage of true techs was on the radar over 20 years ago. I remember reading,and class discussions, when they were forecasting
the day was coming. Now that it has been happening for a while I dont see any attempt at fixing it. But, that is also one old mans opinion.

I work for a huge Toyota dealership in AZ. I'm working in Recon now, but was on the line for a while.

I can't believe the exodus of tech's we're having, right now. Our new manager is an idiot, and I don't think he realizes what he's doing.

We have about 2 or 3 Toyota master techs, and a couple of decent guys. The rest are kids right out of T-Ten, or UTI. Kids. Literally no one over 24 has been hired in the last year. We have a ton of empty bays, and no one wants to fill 'em. It's ridiculous. Of course, the manager let's the Quick-Lube kids do brakes, and all the gravy services, and can't figure out why 3 guys quit last week. 2 the week before.

We got a kid from the main shop, over in our recon shop, who can't diagnose a bad alternator. Ran a battery test, showed me the results, and said "what do I do? The alternator shows it's only at 11.4 volts." I said test it, and see where it's really at. Blank stare. Took him literally a day to do a motor mount, on a car he misdiagnosed a rattle in.

High point of the day:  PDI on a G550 4x4^2.  Its tall.  Its wide.  It has portal axles.  It is kinda wobbly and rocks back and forth on those big ass tires.  I think the novelty will wear off quickly for whomever buys it.  $223K for this example.  

Low point:  Ordered a Dorman brand window regulator for the passenger side of the corvette from rock auto.  Ordered the Dorman specifically because it stated it was plug and play, no adapters needed.  Guess what doesn't fucking plug in and costs THIRTY MORE FUCKING DOLLARS TO BUY A FUCKING PLUG FOR?  Son of a BITCH!  I'm really fucking pissed off right now.  All I wanted to do was get that motherfucker installed and adjusted and be done with it.  Now I have to wait two more days because none of the local parts places has this piece of shit.  I don't even get to use an adapter, I've got to cut the fucking plug off and solder on this harness.  Fucking cunts.  Fuck this shit.  FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.  

I spent an hour on the floor of the garage trying to exactly reproduce the adjustments of the old regulator on the new one, carefully marking everything in multiple places.  Masking tape, sharpie, alignment marks everywhere.  Its a frameless window so you know how much of a pain in the ass they can be.  I go to plug it up... and bam!  It won't fit.  I've already got it bolted up and roughly adjusted.  Now it just needs some fine tuning.  But I can't do any of that because the window won't go up without electricity.  I can't get electricity to it right now because the fucking plug and play motor.... Isn't.    Rage.  I feel it.

So that new transfer case I put in last Saturday started making a ratcheting type noise yesterday when the driveline tensions up. Only happens when changing direction or torque. Fwd to reverse or fwd, engine braking and power again. I had my brother listen and he said it sounded like it was coming from the carrier bearing. 101k on a 19k lb truck. It has had a good life so I put u joints and carrier in it. Same shit. Guess I'll run by dodge tomorrow and see what they want to do about it.

I've got final drives to swap on 2 d8's, rear axle trunion dowel holes wallowed on an 836h, a failing final drive to build on a 330d, bolts broke off in the swing gear frame on a 324 amphibious trackhoe. Spent much of last week going through a 1000hp 3412 on a tree grinder that dropped a valve on #5. I have no time to work on my truck much less let dealership retards molest it for 2-3days on a 1 day repair.

I may be mis-understanding your issue, but could you cut the plugs / connectors off the old motor and use those?