Next time ya got nothin' to do, go read the Ford website about it's Superduty trucks: "Guys who own work own Ford Trucks" or "Built Ford Tough". Do you see the words "reliable" or "durable" there? I don't. You know why? Because they're not "reliable" or "durable."
According to the Progressive Commercial truck adjuster (we filed a claim so they'd look at the truck for us as an independent representative) , we fell victim to an extended exposure of water to the High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP). Most likely due to water condensation in the fuel tank over time. This pump rusted and at almost five years of ownership, rust flakes finally broke free - probably the Monday before Thanksgiving - and started plugging the fuel injectors. This means the monthly draining of fuel from the water/fuel separator and the changing of both fuel filters every 8-10,000 miles as recommended by the Ford Diesel Supplement and service writers at Bozeman Ford (Bozeman, MT) were insufficient to protect our fuel system from water ingestion from the first day we drove the truck off the lot at Purvis Ford in Fredericksburg, VA.
I'm guessing this really all began when we experienced a momentary "green wrench" when returning from a weekend of camping in Shenandoah Nat'l Park during September 2009. After dropping the trailer off at storage, we took the truck home, took all our personal stuff out of it, and gave it to Purvis's service department. They found no codes, and changed the oil and all the oil and fuel filters as a "just-in-case". I figure from that day on, we never stood a chance. That 200,000 mile engine warranty we bought is really just a very expensive piece of paper. We wasted our money buying that thing. And when we - hopefully - pull away from Town & Country Ford next week with a completely new fuel injection system at our expense ($9,000 plus a rental car for just over two weeks), the clock starts ticking on the next high pressure fuel pump failure. It's inevitable. From here on out, every time I pull up to a diesel pump, it'll be like playing Russian Roulette. But instead of a gun, it's a diesel nozzle. Instead of bullets it's the opportunity to spend another $9,000 to get the fuel injection system replaced.
...and wouldn't it be a hoot if after doing all this, the truck still experiences drivability issues when they drive it next week?
In other news:
- It's wet & humid here. So the ants decided to move into the trailer just to get dry. They hit pay dirt when they found an opened roll of Momentos in Donna's purse. We've now got a perimeter of Comet and Home Defender Ant Killer around the trailer and utility connections, and we've sprayed the ant's "conga" lines throughout the trailer. Donna's cleaned all the cabinets and sprayed any that were occupied by the ants. All open food has been thrown out in addition to any containers the ants took a liking to - whether open or not. We're confident there's still a group hidden behind one wall - probably in some insulation where I can't reach them with the ant spray, but they're surrounded.
- Our thunderbolt "smart" phone finally refused to open one time too many while in a weak signal zone when trying to answer an incoming phone call from Ford. We now have a new Droid Maxx. We're counting on the better (stronger?) antennae to help us out in those weak signal areas and a longer battery life before needing to recharge the battery. So far it's a good phone. One word to the wise: learn how to answer the phone before leaving the store.
- We understand we're missing out on a lot of shrimp at Gulf Shores, AL. We're told there may not be any left by the time we get there. Stupid Ford. Maybe there's a Dodge in our future? (Someday, I'll have to tell you why it won't be a GM product.)
Man, I just cannot get into the mood to fill out & mail Christmas cards this week. Wonder why?
Later, David
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