WTF I hate dealerships

[btlfedgolf]

So my girlfriend has a 2002 Cougar 35th anniversary 2.5 duratec(sp?). She took it to the dealer ship because the cat internals had broken free and were rattling around(and I mean bad). I had confirmed this myself by crawling under the car and shaking the exhaust. So she took it in to get it replaced, and they told her it was not the cat but a few other parts. Now I know its the cat and will be talking to the dealership. But the other issues seem fishy.

They said the following(keep in mind this is from over the phone so the third item might be spelled wrong :))

Airflow Sensor
UIM, LIM
Clip rod intake runner control module

Keep in mind there is no cell on and no noticeable issues under any speed. they want just shy of $700 to fix all of the issues. I hooked one of my old boos gauges up to it and notice no drop in vac under idle or load, so I dont think its the gasket.

What do you all think.

[zeteckat]

A question I have for you is......

How many miles do you have on it?

If you have less than 80,000 , by law, Ford / Lincoln/ Mercury has to replace a defective cat. converter. If you are having problems with that dealer and they do not believe the cat. is defective, I say move on to the next dealer.

[btlfedgolf]

I am not worried about the cat, that was just a small rant(EDIT: it has less than 80k on it. I am more concerned about the validity of the extra stuff. And what the hell that 3rd thing is.

[Drewmanfu0]

Its your cat, take it to another dealership and have it replaced if its under 80,000 miles and its 2 years shy of 8 years.

[Drewmanfu0]

I am not worried about the cat, that was just a small rant(EDIT: it has less than 80k on it. I am more concerned about the validity of the extra stuff. And what the hell that 3rd thing is.
The 3rd thing is a common problem and can be fixed with $5 in parts and a coat hanger.

[B3NN3TT]

Dealerships always try to cry foul on the MAF sensors - what's up with that? In all my years here, I can't remember a single time anyone actually had a bad MAF.

The UIM/LIM would be just replacing gaskets. That is probably a bogus charge too. There is probably a lean code or something, so that's where they always start.

The IMRC linkage rod clip fails pretty easily, and will cause your front bank secondary butterflies to stick open, and cause a lean condition under 3500 RPMs. If you look below the throttle body, between the heads, where the lower intake manifold bolts down, there is a little linkage. There is a rod that connects the front and rear bank, and little plastic clips hold it in place. The clips get old and brittle and crack and fall out, and the linkage falls off one bank or the other. Get a new clip and DIY for a few bucks.

[btlfedgolf]

Thank you all for your help.

[B3NN3TT]

Yeah... it all makes sense to me now.

The IMRC linkage is busted; it causes a lean code, b ecause the front bank is getting WAY more air than it should, since the butterflies are stuck open.

The standard things to replace for a lean code are the UIM/LIM gaskets and the MAF sensor. Often, this fixes random lean codes. But in your case, they are failing to see that if the IMRC is fixed, that will take care of it. So they would gladly like to take your money for these "fixes" as well. since they aren't making any money on the catalytic converter replacements, since those will be free of charge.

Tell 'em to replace the cats. Then fix the IMRC yourself. Then you should be square; the rest of that stuff is mosst likely fine..

[marinofan]

sorry hijacker here.

so if I have a Cougar from 2000 with less than 80K on it I should get my Cat replaced? I just paid to have a new muffler ran because the Cat converter rusted through and broke off.

[kustomcougar]

i remember one time i took the cougar into the dealership for my cat being bad, the cel was p0420 and they told me the cat wasn't bad just that the cougar ecu is very strict on the emmisions and they can reprogram the ecu to be more lianyant on the emmissions, and they also told me i needed new pads and rotors all around when i replace them all a week before