Ford giving me a new engine......?

I'm throwing this story around to get as much input as possible about how to proceed. each day i get more info, i feel i should be doing more to find out what's really going on.....

the story...short version....on a sunday a couple of weeks ago i got a flat tire in my '03 cobra (about 24000 miles on her). had it towed to a "ft. lauderdale area svt dealership", as the lug lock key was at home (had just moved, packed away....dumb!). so the next day they call me, need two new tires (which i figured), we'll have it done by EOB tomorrow. get a call later the next day, oops, time for a brake job (also figured), gonna be a few days for the parts........

a few days later they call and tell me they'll have it done by the end of the day. around 4 pm the service manager calls me, and here's where the story gets good: during a test drive, the car broke down, "about a mile away" from the dealership. they're sending a guy out to look at it and bring it in if necessary. i'm really, really unhappy about this turn of events but keep my cool. get it back in and call me asap i tell him. as soon as i hang up i call svt, wanting to know what distance should be traveled to test a brake job. he tells me a mile should do it.

service manager calls me back, tells me they're gonna have to look at it more closely tomorrow. i mention that svt said a test drive should be about a mile. he tells me, in his best "know it all" tone, that actually ford wants us to test drive for 6 miles (:"wants us"????? aren't YOU ford???). i drop it for then and await the word.

the word comes the next day....not good. the chain was thrown, cam damage, header damage, god knows what else. gonna be a week or so to get it fixed. they set me up with a rental............

a few days pass and i get THE call. ford has decided that there's so much damage, they're going to replace the engine........at the time i knew this was big, but the more i think about it the more i realize it's REALLY big. the general consensus from friends and associates, including mechanics and car buffs, is that ford doesn't just give away engines......something stinks. that test drive. furthur consensus is someone missed a gear on that drive and over-revved (i'm told in this circumstance the rpms could pass the rev limiter). further consensus is that i could potentially have other problems as a result, mostly transmission related.

how i'm feeling right now is that i'm not getting the whole story, and i'm not going to get the whole story unless i start making some noise. i'm very concerned about the future driveability and value of my car. this situation could take a drastic toll on both. there's been mention of lawyers, ford district reps, me walking in and asking for documentation, etc. i'm kind of resolved to dropping in for a long meeting as the first step. what do you all think? who at ford should i start with for a complaint. will svt help me at all?

thanks in advance, ryan

Reply to
ryan
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Well, since you'll probably never be able to get the TRUE story, I'd be happy to get a brand new engine in my car and move on.

Voice your concerns about other potential "failures" and get them to give you an extended warranty on the whole thing. That way if the trans or something DOES go sooner than it should, you'll be covered. If you play your cards right, you may even get them to toss in the tires and brakes on the deal.

As far as resale goes, If I were looking to buy a car, and one had 24k on it and the other had a brand new factory crate engine, and extended warranty, I'd take the latter in a heartbeat.

The reality is, someone REALLY shouldn't have been able to cause this much damage from a "missed gear". Something else was wrong in that motor, and if I were you, I'd be GLAD it happened on THEIR watch, rather than having to convince THEM that it didn't come apart at the strip and having to FIGHT for a new motor.

Either way, be firm, but don't be an ass. It's easy to cross the line and have them change from feeling bad for you, to thinking " What an ass... let him sue us "

Oh, and BTW "a couple" of miles is no big deal for a brake job.

Reply to
Chief_Wiggum

I agree with recommendation regarding other potential failures. I would extend it to every part of the drivetrain, including the rear. I think an extended (and transferable) warranty would be a great idea. My next step would be to get out of that car and into another one very soon afterwards. Or, if they go for the warranty idea, consider yourself covered for a couple of years and be happy.

I also agree with not being an ass. It pretty much gets you nowhere. You need to maintain your composure and be professional.

It really doesn't take much damage to be too much damage. I had to drop alomst $5k on my Ranger's 4.0 because it had one piston ring go south and gouge the heck out of cylinder wall. As it turned out, the wall was too deep for a new piston and ring to go in. But had that been an option, it would have cost more than half the cost to just get a new longblock put in. The key was the amount of labor to tear down the motor, disassemble it, put in a new piston and ring pack, etc... This was just for a bad ring! It also was only a few days in the shop as opposed to a couple of weeks.

Imagine the carnage that could be done when you throw a chain!? It's a lot cheaper for them too, to just swap out motors and get you on your way. I don't see any TSB's on alldata's site regarding this situation. What would throw the chain??? You could ask svt that directly, as that's what they said the cause of the problem was.

Steve

72 Skylark
Reply to
A Guy Named Steve

there's been

Don't make a big deal out of this, be professional They will give you a new engine to start. Since the dealer blew the engine on a test drive for a brake job, you should ask for (and likely receive) an extended powertrain warranty to cover both the replacement engine and the drivetrain. BTW, when I do brakes, I drive much more than 1 mile for proper lining heat\cool cycles. But I still think someone hotrodded your car.

John

66 2+2
Reply to
John Del

the background is obvious... I think you are extremely lucky they arent playing the "coincidence" game.

They know what happened, you can surmise what happened. As the others say.. be professional, even tempered.. even if they try to deflect the obvious.

someone prolly got fired, after all.

As to dumping the car, I doubt the damage would affect anything other than drivetrain. If they give you an extended drivetrain warranty, and you like the car, you're actually ahead of the game. Not like body damage, after all.

Not being intimate with the Mod motor, however, I'd suggest making sure all the engine numbers match Cobra production / SVT numbers.

When you suggest they show you those... make sure they understand it's only to avoid "future misunderstandings"

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Yeah man, definitely demand they extend that warranty. Your lucky they arent saying its just something that "happened."

What dealer was it BTW? Im in Fort Lauderdale, very curious. Takin my Cobra into the shop on Monday.. hope its not the same dealer :P. Shoot me an email if you dont want to say publicly.

-Franklin '96 Cobra

Reply to
WhyteStang

thanks for the advice (everyone else, too). i think i'm going with asking for some or all of the brake job/tires to be comped, and extended warranty on the drivetrain (transferable too, good idea!), what exactly am i looking for from the above advice, not sure what to do with the numbers once they give them to me?

thanks all, ryan

Reply to
ryan

Reply to
John Del

WhyteStang opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m02.aol.com:

You should hope it IS the same dealer... dont you see they went above and beyond?

Not only that, if it is... you should go in and tell them you know the story and you are impressed by their honesty and professionalism.

I simply do NOT understand the way some people think!

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Well, IMO it really depends on HOW the damage happened..

If it was a legit failure, and was just a coincidence that it failed while at the dealer, then the engine replacement, and warranty should suffice. (and would be reimbursed by FOMOCO)

HOWEVER IF someone from the dealer was hotrodding it, or did something that caused the failure, then they really owe something further to make up for the inconvenience, etc. Trouble is, there's only 1 or 2 people that probably know the truth. Doesn't hurt to ask, as long as he's not an ass about it.

Truthfully, I could see them maybe saying yes to the brakes as most of the cost there was labor, but no to the tires since they would be a bigger chunk of $$$ out of their pocket.

Reply to
Chief_Wiggum

Because id rather avoid some mechanic hot-doggin my car and blowin the motor. We still dont know how this dude's situation worked out. IF they do everything right then i commend them, but still a situation id rather avoid.

-Franklin '96 Cobra

Reply to
WhyteStang

Call 1-800-FORD-SVT and give them the number on the block, explain the situation and see if they can verify everything is kosher.

-Franklin '96 Cobra

Reply to
WhyteStang

Crap can happen wherever you go... these people take responsibility. Some others won't... =\

-Mike

-- A happy kid behind the wheel of a 98 Mustang GT Cold air intake FRPP 3.73 gears Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter Full Boar turbo mufflers Hi-speed fan switch

255/60R-15 rear tires

Reply to
<memset

If the engine blew for no other reason than it was running, the owner will get the engine replaced as the warranty provides, but deserves nothing else.

Exactly, which is why I suggested the extended powertrain warranty to the OP. If the engine failed during a hot rod test by a dealership employee, then something beyond merely repairing the damage is in order since there may be latent damage to the trans or rearend that won't show for sometime. The extended warranty IMO is necessary to make things right.

John

66 2+2
Reply to
John Del

I agree. The dealership took responsibility for their employees actions. This is something that you see rarely and in my eyes makes them a company I would do business with again. Of course after I got over the initial shock of what had happened.

I also agree that the best thing to do is go for the new engine and warranty and not try to be a hog. They still deserve to be paid for the brakes and tires.

Best of luck to you.

Kate

| > What dealer was it BTW? Im in Fort Lauderdale, very curious. Takin my | > Cobra into the shop on Monday.. hope its not the same dealer :P. Shoot | > me an email if you dont want to say publicly. | >

| > -Franklin | > '96 Cobra | | You should hope it IS the same dealer... dont you see they went above and | beyond? | | Not only that, if it is... you should go in and tell them you know the story | and you are impressed by their honesty and professionalism. | | I simply do NOT understand the way some people think!

Reply to
SVTKate

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comm (WhyteStang) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m02.aol.com:

Franklin, whereabouts are you, and which shop(s) do you trust? I'm a few miles west of University right below Commercial, still looking for a real good place to take the LX to.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

Reply to
Joe

Uh... yeah... Isn't that what I said ?

Umm. Yeah, again... which is why I suggested the Powertrain warranty in my original post!..

Feel free to restate it all again for clarity though :O

Reply to
Chief_Wiggum

Yes it was, and I was agreeing with you. I quoted that text though for my next point:

The

While I wasn't perfectly clear, my point (and where we differ) is that the extended warranty (which is going to cost the dealer plenty BTW) should be the only compensation for what appears to be an engine blown as the result of employee misuse. But trying to get the dealer to add brakes, tires, tuneup, mortgage payments, etc...... ;) is really pushing it.

Yes you did, as I did. Difference is I posted through the AOL (go ahead, laugh) newsreader, which usually delays post.

Nah, I've wasted enough bandwidth.

John

66 2+2
Reply to
John Del

Missing a gear as in hitting 1st instead of 3rd at high revs could indeed do extensive damage to an engine. My guess is that some idiot was hot rodding it around and did exactly that. The engine is forced to rev WAY beyond its limit and things break. Just driving it would NOT have done that much damage.

The way I know this can happen is that it happened to a friend and his Porsche. He hit the wrong gear and virtually exploded his engine. The engine had to be replaced.

LJH

95GT

Reply to
Larry Hepinstall

Hey Joe. Im right down the street at Commercial and 95. Now that I have the relatively stock Cobra I just go to the dealer. When I had the ole beast 5.0 I went to Steeda. I tried several smaller places but NONE of them had any idea what they were doing. The only small shop that I know and trust is on Powerline just south of Commercial. Cant remember the name of the shop but its a family friend, real good guys. If youd like I'll look up the name.

-Franklin '96 Cobra

Reply to
WhyteStang

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