03 Sport trac 4.0 Eating Coolant

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Most recent news is that Dahmer got the builder to send a new long block. They took the leap that the failure is internal and a warranty defect. If it proves not to be then they said they would not come back to me about it and would eat it. That was the good news. The bad news was that their AZ warranty is a fair amount less than their advertised one on their website. No rent car, $75 per hour limit, $850 life of warranty limit. With the Auto Data book allowing 15.6 hours to R&R a long block, there's not enough in the cap to cover flipping it. $850/$75 =11.3 hours. I went back to the original installer and he went to bat for me to AZ since they supplied it and AZ is getting with Dahmer to determine who will eat the upwards of $800 difference considering the $95 shop rate at the dealer. Since this is the 3rd long block that AZ will have been effectively providing I hope they stand behind the difference and eat it or are able to convince Dahmer to do so. Dahmer said that the only way they could sell the long block to AZ at the price they do is to put those limits in the warranty. The saga continues. So far though, Dahmer is standing behind the problem. We'll see what's next.
 
Getting closer to what I hope this time will be a good long block! Dahmer called yesterday and told me that due to an oversight on their behalf, they quoted the wrong warranty terms. What was originally mentioned is their standard warranty and should have been their premium warranty based on my engine part number. What that means is that there is no cap on the labor rate but there is still a cap on the labor of $1500 and not $850. That means that if the dealer uses the All Data standard time to flip a long block, then that calls for like 15.6 hours and with the dealer shop rate of $95 an hour, WALLA! I get my replacement long block without any hassle of who's gonna pay the difference. What a relief that was!!!! :banana:



My only concern now is and I'll get it figured out after I get the truck back is if there is a $1500 cap over the life of the warranty for labor and this next one craps out within the warranty period, who pays for the labor to replace it? Am praying that I don't ever have to go there obviously but it is a concern.



The long block will be at the dealer Monday and right now I'm gonna focus on getting it installed and my wife's fanny back in the drivers seat!



Gotta give Dahmer a big thanks for at least coming back to me and letting me know that they caught it. AZ stated that if for some reason the $1500 is exceeded that they will cover the difference. Thanks to them too! They have been having SO many problems with reman engines that they are getting out of the business at least in this area. Said they only make like $150 on ones they sell and if there are any problems that exceed the reman's warranty then when they cover the difference they lose their arse. Makes sense to me. They think maybe the installers are at times not properly installing them which contributes to the failures and the reman company denies claims and that the hassle of trying to figure it out is not profitable for them so they have ended that program at AZ.



Just hoping this time is the last time! :haveabeer:
 
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Well got it back and low and behold, in less than 300 miles I hear the exact same sound I was hearing before we put this one in. Does anybody else that has the 4.0 engine have a clattering type sound at idle? I can't believe it! :cry:
 
Would do that IF there was any $ left to cover labor but the warranty is now a parts only warranty. It had a $1500 cap on it for labor and I ate that up replacing the last one. :banghead:
 
Take them to court, you will win. Every time I have had to go court or have heard of other shop owners being taken to court for automotive issues the shop ALWAYS looses. Your situation is a special one being that you never got a product that worked from the get go.
 
Am wondering if I WOULD win considering that the warranty specifically capped the labor portion at $1500? I can hear a judge saying that I knew the labor was capped so nice try no cigar.



On the other hand though, I never have received a good product YET so am hopeful the remanufacturer will step up IF this one has the same problem the other one did. Dahmer agreed that I take it back to the dealer that installed it and let them listen to it and when the reman gets this last one back and tears it down and determines why it was making the noise that they would let me know what that outcome was and we'd go from there. If it in fact was an internal failure then that SHOULD be enough for them to cover ANOTHER R&R of the longblock. I've heard of people going thru 4 before they got a good one. Maybe I'm another one! Man-o-man!
 
At some point, you have give up on them and take your own path.



If you have the resources, get something else, ship the POS back to the remanufacturer, sue them and be done with it.
 
Well I took it back to the dealer and they confirmed that it IS making the exact same noise that the other one was. Threw out the possibility that it could be the jack shaft that may be doing it. Dahmer having the rebuilder tear down and diagnose and then go from there. As long as they are working with me and not turning their back then I'll be patient and let them do what I hope will be the right thing. So far they have been NOTHING but cooperative and understanding all along. The saga continues! I had the service manager at the dealer tell me that where he previously worked it took literally 6 S-I-X longblocks to get a good one.
 
DB, this is quite the saga. I hope it ends up well for you. If not...the crusher comes on Tuesday and your local Toyota dealer may have a Tacoma in stock. Jes' sayin'.
 
If you get the Tacoma, don't get the crew cab and the off-road (lifted) 4x4 version. I have arbitrated many of them for severe vibration in the drivetrain. Toyota knows all about it but cannot do anything. The pinion angles are too steep. Lots of warranty claims and issues...
 
Well got the results back from the rebuilder. One of the tensioners failed they said which would have been the reason for the clattering. My question is why didn't the dealer catch that when they removed the front cover and inspected it and said everything there was fine. Were they trying to get an engine replacement job!? If that proves to be the case and they ate up my $1500 labor cap that is in the warranty we'll be going to small claims court FOR SURE! Dahmer said they would allow an additional $50 an hour for labor to chase the current issue under the assumption that since it is EXACTLY the same as the other one that it SHOULD be a tensioner causing it which is only a 1.2 hour job. I've asked Dahmer to contact the dealer and coordinate it so we'll see how this plays out. More to come. The only worse thing that can happen now is my Broncos getting spanked Sunday! :bwahaha:
 
Got some more specifics from the rebuilder. The left hand tensioner that failed is up by or on the head and they said it could have reasonably been missed by the visual inspection made by the dealer. I'm still not convinced that with the clattering noise it was making that the dealer shouldn't have looked specifically for that before they said it was internal to the engine and needed an engine replacement. Gonna take it back to them Monday and have them check the tensioner(s) to see if that's also what the problem is with this one. Rebuilder says its only a 1.2 hour job to R&R a tensioner.
 
Replaced pensioners and STILL making clattering noise. Waiting on rebuilder for direction. Dealer STILL saying it's also internal to this 2nd engine. We will never know if replacing the tensioner in the last one would have fixed it or not. What a flipping nightmare!
 
WOW . I still say take them to court, get all of your money back for the engine, the install and also the core that they can't return to you plus some extra for your time and headaches and go buy a Jasper engine and be done with this.



I'm curious as to what is making the noise
 
Well Dahmer was able to get another engine from their supplier. Said that the result of the independent inspection resulted in validation that the noise is there in the front of the engine and that the engine running rough. Said it could be the cassette but that that is an 8-9 hour job so they just decided to send out another engine. Am hoping that that engine doesn't come from the same lot that the other 2 came from! Now I have the AutoZone District Manager going back on Dahmer to have them eat the entire labor costs to flip the engine since they have yet to send a good one instead of the $50 and hour they said they would send. Waiting on a response from AutoZone.
 
Not sure my confidence in Dahmer Powertrain is as strong as it once was. While I appreciated them kicking in an extra $50 an hour toward installing the 3rd engine that is going in this week after the $1500 labor cap was eaten up on the first bad engine they sent, appears they are playing hardball on stepping up any further to make it ALL good and THEN starting the warranty once I FINALLY get a good one. AZ leaning on them pretty hard so we'll see what the outcome is when the bill comes due. What a story! Just be glad you're only reading about it! :cry: NEVER buy a reman engine unless you buy it from the dealer! Trust me on this one! Would have been worth every extra penny I'd have spent!
 
What a nightmare DB! You should be doing a reality TV show with this one.



This is exactly why I had a Ford Reman longblock installed by MY LOCAL FORD DEALER when my original motor crapped out with 170,000. I happily paid through my backside because I needed the assurance that I wasn't going to have to deal with local yocal backyard mechanics and 3rd parties in case I had problems. It cost me $4,700.00 out the door and I've got 145,000 miles on it - still purrs like a kitten.



Good luck on the next round and hope that the next good one you get lasts another 150K or more.
 

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