give ford dealerships the miss and take it to a fuel injection specialist my mate had similar problems with an older model ranger he went to the dealership here in perth they did fuel pump ,injecters at a cost of $6000 just to work it out it had a air leak at the filter be very wary of the competence of dealers

The advice to seek out a diesel or injection specialist is good advice in my opinion. The dealers, these days, seem to be parts replacers, not mechanics and lack any real diagnostic skills if it doesn't show on a computer. To find a switched on mechanic is not always easy but worth their weight in gold. I was, in another life, a diagnostic test driver and mechanic in the automotive industry, and have been absolutely disgusted with most Ford dealerships I have tried, for their lack of basic knowledge, lack of diagnostic skill sets even when their face is rubbed in it, and their complete lack of care or taking ownership of the issue to get it sorted. I have had similar experiences to you where they will spend your money with absolute abandon and still not fix the problem. They simply take a wild guess at what it is at your expense. One dealership who shall remain nameless, didn't even possess a workshop manual for a Falcon I owned at the time. They were available as I had bought one from their own spare parts, due to their lack of not diagnosing a warranty issue and again I had to shove their nose in the manual to prove to them what it was and the boofheads still refused to accept it. Eventually it was exactly what I and the manual said it was but I went through hell to get them to fix it.

Greg 1 wrote:

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The advice to seek out a diesel or injection specialist is good advice in my opinion. The dealers, these days, seem to be parts replacers, not mechanics and lack any real diagnostic skills if it doesn't show on a computer. To find a switched on mechanic is not always easy but worth their weight in gold. I was, in another life, a diagnostic test driver and mechanic in the automotive industry, and have been absolutely disgusted with most Ford dealerships I have tried, for their lack of basic knowledge, lack of diagnostic skill sets even when their face is rubbed in it, and their complete lack of care or taking ownership of the issue to get it sorted. I have had similar experiences to you where they will spend your money with absolute abandon and still not fix the problem. They simply take a wild guess at what it is at your expense. One dealership who shall remain nameless, didn't even possess a workshop manual for a Falcon I owned at the time. They were available as I had bought one from their own spare parts, due to their lack of not diagnosing a warranty issue and again I had to shove their nose in the manual to prove to them what it was and the boofheads still refused to accept it. Eventually it was exactly what I and the manual said it was but I went through hell to get them to fix it.

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so true,,, apprentice training (I had 8 of them in early 90's) went from ability to do the job to the "understanding" of how to do the job,, he tick and flick workbook.

I mentioned this to a polly a couple of months ago ,,, Oh yes we know that.... Well fix it then.

If fuel filters etc are fine ? Often these issues are from short trips and egr blocks up . Exhaust gases and misty oil mixs and sets like concrete. But theres people out there against oil separators . Often a general service fixs . In my GM diesel I got some algae in tank at it partially blocked the intank filter !! A part they dont normally service!!

Dougwe wrote:

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Baz421 wrote:

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Dougwe wrote:

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Not a Ranger, Rowan but I have a 2014 Colorado and gave up with Holden dealers as soon as it went out of warranty. I now mostly use Repco service centres and find them great. National warranty as well. Last service I had to use a Bridgestone service centre as there was no Repco centre nearby. I also had Bridgestone AT tyres fitted at same time. They were also great and national warranty too.

I am about to get a service and replace drive belt at same time, within the next two months and will get a price from Repco and Bridgestone first. I will also get a price from a Holden dealer just to see the difference.



Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

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Doug I hope you have read this part of their warranty,,,, the reason I don't use them as my preferred repairer/service agent whilst on the road. Quote

In all cases, the responsibility for attending to, or accepting any claim lies with the workshop where the work was performed originally. That workshop may, at their discretion, authorise another workshop in the network to carry out warrantable repairs on their behalf where it is not practical to have the work carried out by the original Centre.

 

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 Thanks Barry. I was aware but also told it's just a phone call to arrange. Maybe a grain of salt comes into the equation.

Out of curiosity, who do you use mate ?

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REPCO in QLD where I discovered this after work done, told me in no uncertain terms that they would never allow another repairer to fix any perceived issue related to their repairs. 

Their policy is totally at their individual discretion.

If I need work / servicing done, I now ask around with locals or plan ahead a bit ie now in Darwin I go to my old repairer from when I lived here.

IF REPCO is recommended I may use them, but warranty is not clear cut, as it would be with another repairer.

Cheers Baz

 

What year Ranger?,seen the early ones that do short runs all the time block number 3 and 4 inlet ports with carbon buildup cos of egr valve operation. I would be pulling inlet manifold off and check this,cheaper than other stab in the dark repairs.Spent 15 years in a dealership,save your money and dont use them for this type of problem,their are better more experianced guys out there

Smoke is incomplete combustion or too much fuel ? If theres an inlet leak from turbo, intercooler etc it will run rich . Check front and back ( compressor and turbine ) for oil leaking from
seals ? Can be a little. Too much is s sign of damage .Can cause engine to runaway in extreme situations . If it runs fine when warm ? Big chance as said its the glow plugs. A good long trip maybe all you need ?? An excuse maybe ? Lol

Hi 

Seeing as some diagnoses has been attempted by a dealer and work done I would not be silly enough to guess at a cause or go by my gut reaction. Even though I worked as a diesel mechanic for some years. It is true that modern diesels do have computers and trouble codes etc, but they only point in the direction of problems. An experienced tech should see beyond the codes and interperate the problem with reference to normal diesel principles. Reading the actual real time ecu outputs might reveal the problem area and comparing the injection data and readings to others may point the way. An experienced diesel shop as mentioned may be best.

There can possibly be other things also. A person had a diesel MH similar to mine that had a running problem that the diesel shop could not find the cause. Getting worse too ! In desperation on the shops suggestion, I was asked to swap my computer to his vehicle, which showed that it was the problem and another second hand unit fixed it, after 3 mths of problems. I do not suggest that is your problem. But if the computer is failing then the trouble codes and output can be faulty also so are not to be trusted. (Electrical connections problems can be hard to find) The experienced diesel tech suspected that after other checks had been done. 

Jaahn 

PS Modern direct injection engines barely need glow plugs in our climate. So I would not be looking there. The older indirect injection engines did need them at all times to get going. 

-- Edited by Jaahn on Saturday 13th of July 2019 04:43:37 PM

-- Edited by Jaahn on Saturday 13th of July 2019 04:48:11 PM