Warrantee Work - what dealer and wil they....

[Bradster]

So, it's time to have the bed plate oil leak fixed on my 06 6.0 F250. The truck was diagnosed with a leak a few years ago, but I chose not to do the work since its not fatal and I REALLY don't like the idea of the engine coming out. Since my warrantee is going to run out this summer, its time to have it done. Considering I'm in Orange County, what dealers do you feel are best to do the work?

Second question, while the engine is out, I've been toying with the idea of having (and paying) for the dealer to do head studs/gaskets. Is this a good idea or will it open up a can of worms. Are the studs needed since most of the issues can be traced back to the coolers failing? BTW, the truck doesn't puke and is all stock except for gauges...I tow about 10-11k and would like to tune it for economy and more poop for towing...nothing extreme.

Also, any luck getting the dealers to check on the coolers or other known issues while the engine is apart, or are they stuck to the "only fix whats broke" methodology.

Thanks for your input.

[Samuel1941]

Bradster.....

I had my bed plate replaced under warranty at Sunrise Ford, Fontana (one of our sponsors).
They did a great job and the truck came back in perfect condition!

As I've posted before, I drive 60 miles one way and pass several Ford dealerships to get to Sunrise, but they are the only ones I'd trust with my truck. Most dealerships have one diesel tech and don't do that much diesel work. Because Sunrise is number one in fleet sales (I think I'm correct in that) in California, they service a lot of diesels and have 5-6 diesel techs working all the time. With their experience, they know what they are doing!!

Unfortunately, Sunrise got "burned" doing head studs a year or so ago. A SoCAPS member, I'm sorry to say, got them to do studs with some other work. This member then had what he "thought" was a head problem and went to an other dealership and complained about the work Sunrise did. The work was warranty and of course Ford Corporate got involved and Sunrise will no longer do "favors" if it deviates from standard Ford procedure. So, Sunrise probably won't do studs for you. Some other dealerships may still do studs, I don't know...

Your best bet would be to call and talk to Sunrise and ask them your questions and get the answers first hand.
When you call, ask for fleet service and tell them you are a member of SoCAPS (most of guys there know who we are). They should do you right! :)

[2005F250]

As for dealers in OC I would pass on the Fleet Center and Capo Ford. Tuttle Click Ford in Irvine has at least 3 diesel techs and they do their job well but I wouldn't try to push to have them install studs. There is a process for doing studs and the dealers tend to skip those steps.

[Bradster]

Thanks for the input. I'll pass on the suds then. I don't want into introduce problems becuase a tech was rushing...especially for a preventative fix.

Anything I should ask the dealer to check out while they're in there...even if I have to pay for a diagnosis? FYI, the truck has 40k, runs good but Mileage seems to be a little down. Fluids/filters are kept clean/changed and ECT and EOT were within 10 degrees during normal operation (last time I checked).