tareed94

I second this... How much trust do you have in this mechanic? At this point I'd be looking at them pretty cross...

marvin_mason

All parts were definitely motor-craft. I picked up the parts myself just to make sure.

But, I talked with him yesterday. After replacing the bad CMCV, he took it for a test drive. He ran it for a while just to make sure, and everything was fine. No codes and running great. He pulls into a gas station on his way back in and the truck died on him. It would not turn over or anything. He is thinking something in the timing system let loose. He will be tearing into it this week to find out. Luckily, I am under warranty.

I did not replace the cam phasers. Looking back now, I do not understand why I did not. So since he is tearing back into it once again, I will be getting him to replace them.

ShirBlackspots

If it wouldn't even turn over, that's electrical related. Dead battery, maybe alternator? Since they replaced the alternator, the replacement was probably bad out of the box (like most aftermarket ones are)

dukedkt442

Yeah now we are getting into alternator voltage issues that is missed before. Testing the alternator and battery are easy enough. Low voltage won’t euin your parts but can affect solenoid operation and of course ignition.

marvin_mason

So I finally have some insight on what's going on now...

He finally got my truck pulled apart this past Friday. Demanded that I immediately come see it in person. He hands me a rod end when I walk through the door. Metal shavings in the oil pan that look to be pieces of the piston. After $3.5K, the motor is now trashed. I find out Saturday, from another mechanic in the shop, that he was not simply pulling in the parking lot when the truck shut off, but rather running down the interstate. This would correlate with the damage he found after taking the timing cover off. After doing my research and relating that to the trouble I have had with this mechanic, I do believe this truck jumped time, and he is doing his best to hide it. So now, I am looking at dropping a new motor in the truck done by another mechanic who I should have used from the start. They will be paying close attention for signs of a timing jump, such as bent valves. If there is proof of this, I may heavily consider going the legal route to get at least something out of him.

My mechanic I will be using now swears by Jasper remans. I am still doing my homework before I spend that kind of money. Anybody have experience with remans as far as cost vs. quality, also with warranty taken into account?

HeathMc

I wouldn't shy away from a Jasper engine. They come with a warranty and that should include labor. And if your mechanic recommends them then I'd say he has a good working relationship with them.

tareed94

I've seen Jasper mentioned a few times. I'd be okay with having that put in the truck.

Pistons don't typically explode on their own. I'd assume the engine jumped time, valve contacted piston, and blew up the piston. Engines don't just blow up after timing jobs... Is the first mechanic saying anything about what he thinks caused it?

BeaverLakeF150

I went with the Motorcraft rebuild. I know I spent an extra 1k to 2k on that. 3 year 100k warranty at any dealer is nice. But knowing that every single part in the engine is a Motorcraft part was worth it to me. I know you can buy an engine from AER who is said to do the Motorcraft Remans . . . That's fine, but do they use the exact same parts as the ones that are done for Ford. I had no way of knowing. One thing I've found is that skimping on an engine just isn't worth it.

I am REALLY glad that when the timing system started making some noise at 195k on mine, I compared prices for a reman vs a timing set and went with the reman. . . money well spent. Total cost on it was $7300 installed, runs like new. Just drove it on a 2100 mile round trip out of the country and had no worries about breakdowns. Had the transmission redone for $1800 at 185k. This truck is used for heavy towing frequently, not just a daily driver.

kw

marvin_mason

He said some things to me Friday, but if I am being completely honest, I don't even remember due to the fact that my head was spinning knowing $3500 was thrown down the drain. And quite frankly, I will not believe a word he says. I lead myself on to be not as mechanically inclined as I actually am, and I do believe he is taking advantage of that. All in all, he will not be turning any more wrenches on my truck. The proof will be in the pudding once I decide on which option I am choosing on the new engine install.

I do very much so regret doing the timing job. You have some people say do the timing rebuild, others say drive it til it blows and do a reman. At 185k, I rolled the dice, and got raked over the coals with my decision. I am waiting to hear back on some quotes. Two different ones from my mechanic I am switching to. One with a Jasper reman the other with a reman from Powertrain Products. The third quote will be coming from a dealership. I am leaning towards Jasper I do believe. Just based off the experiences I have listened to, they seem to honor their products. The limited mile warranty does seem like a downfall, but I don't plan on putting that many miles on the truck anyways. I bought the truck in Oct. of 2017 with 162K and took it in for work in March of 19 at 185K. Based off that math, I will get the full 3 years.

As far as a transmission goes, it does scare me doing all this work and not doing the transmission while I am here. At this point, financially, I don't think I can swing that on top of a new engine. A positive to that though is I can count on 1 hand how many times I've done any trailer pulling with that truck since I have had it. And none of those have been anywhere near heavy duty. I am a 3rd owner, and I do know the 2nd owner well (he put the majority of the miles on it). I am confident in saying he did not do any vigorous regular hauling, so I do think I should be fine on the transmission.

BeaverLakeF150

It is a tough decision for sure. On the transmission, they wear out, they are not nearly as expensive as the engine to have redone. I did mine about 15k miles ago and it cost me around $1800-$2000 to have a transmissions shop rebuild it. The key on your specific scenario is do you have proof of fluid changes on the transmission. If not, I'd be somewhat concerned. I tow constantly with mine.

All it took was for me to price out a new truck to decide to keep mine and do a refresh. Cost of the new trucks are ridiculous. I'm a cash guy, hate taking a loan out on anything. The only reason any normal person can afford them is they are doing 30 year house loans on them.(jk) Anytime you are feeling bad about the cost, divide out what you've spent by 24 months. The 10k (very rough total) I put in mine(total refresh engine, transmission and a few other things), 24 months out, that works out to a $400 dollar car payment. . . If I drive it for four years . . that's $200 a month. . I'll take that anyday. Only way I lose is if I wreck it.

I would ask for a parts list on Jasper and who manufactures what parts they are putting in them before I made a decision to go with one of those. Goes back to not trusting anyone.

One other thing I do is I keep a beater around so that if something does go wrong that takes a while to fix I'm not stranded.

kw