This is why I hate taking my truck in

[01yellerCobra]

Just venting a little....

I took the Expy to a dealer couple weeks ago because it was down on power and had a loud tapping noise from the engine. I was fairly certain one was causing the other. They had it about 4 days and told me my cats were clogged. I wasn't going to pay $4500 for new cats from them. And they didn't want to move forward with the tapping until the cats were replaced. So I brought it home and ordered new cats from Magnaflow. After replacing the cats the loss of power was still there. As I figured it would be. I made another appointment and dropped it off last Monday evening so I knew they wouldn't get to it until Tuesday. This time when I dropped it off I told them I noticed the steering rack was leaking as well. I get a call Thursday from the dealer telling me the steering rack is going to be replaced under warranty. They hadn't started on the engine yet. Apparently he needed my ok to pull the valve cover to inspect it because if the warranty doesn't cover whatever is wrong then I'm on the hook for the valve cover removal. Why this wasn't brought up when I dropped the truck off I don't know. I told him to go ahead. I didn't hear anything Friday. I finally got another phone call about 15 minutes ago telling me they found a bad follower and it took out a cam lobe. But before they can move forward the warranty company wants to send out an inspector. Who won't show up until tomorrow. So it'll be a week I've been without my Expy. Thankfully I have a good friend that is loaning me his truck. but geeze, a week to find what I could've found in an hour? Oh, and I have family coming in this weekend. One of the main points for buying the Expy was so I can haul everyone around in one vehicle. Right now that's kinda pointless. The only thing keeping me from going ballistic is having the warranty.

 

[stamp11127]

And that is why I do my own work...

 

[01yellerCobra]

If I didn't have the warranty I would be doing the work. It's well within my realm of knowledge. But I couldn't see the point of having the warranty and not using it. It's almost up anyway.

 

[Static54]

If I didn't have the warranty I would be doing the work. It's well within my realm of knowledge. But I couldn't see the point of having the warranty and not using it. It's almost up anyway.

I'm having the same exact issue with the dealership as well. Been a week and a half. They don't care about the customer these days.

 

[01yellerCobra]

Quick update....

They're currently working on the truck. Hopefully I'll have it back tomorrow. The only thing the warranty company wouldn't cover is the removal of the driver side valve cover for inspection. I'm not sure if that's normal or not since this is my first warrantied vehicle. So I have to cover the labor for that.

 

[stamp11127]

That is bs plain and simple. How else are they suppose to diagnose inside of it - magic wand?

 

[01yellerCobra]

Kinda what I was thinking. I'm going to call the warranty place when I get all my info back. It's all in my truck right now.

 

[mnerat]

Vehicles... They never stop coming for your $$$

 

[01yellerCobra]

Good news, bad news. With the new cam and follower and the tapping noise is gone. But apparently the lack of power is still there. Sometimes it's fine. Other times it can't get out of its own way. Glad it's covered.

 

[01yellerCobra]

Hopefully one last update....

Just got off the phone with the service advisor. Looks like the MAF went bad. They're trying to say it's a combination of a bad MAF and the AEM drop in filter I put in. I know it's not the filter. He said all the power is back. Hopefully I'll be able to get it back today. This Chrysler 200 I'm driving pretty much sucks.

 

[stamp11127]

Get the specs of the drop in filter - how small in microns it will filter and if it is an oil bath type. As long as it filters down to OEM spec then I say BS to that reason they gave you.

 

[01yellerCobra]

I already know it's not the filter. They tried to tell me the filter is causing turbulence. It's just a drop in filter in the stock air box. I know it's a BS line.

 

[Expedragon]

No power.

I know I'm the FNG here and all... but I'd like to put some food for thought out there...
My buddy some some motorcycle repair on the side as a hobby and for some extra cash, and we were discussing the K&N Filtration as far as air filters were concerned. Through our discussions and research it was found that using some of these "looser flow" air filters can be detrimental to the vehicles intake system. The aluminum air intakes and throttlebodies can actually be "sandblasted" and damaged by the particles coming into the intake.
I'm not saying that AFE is a bad unit, I have used them, and I think they make a good product. But if in fact, it is a oil free , dry type filter, it could cause some issues. I don't know exactly how yours is run, what conditions it is run in and all but it's a possibility. With that said... would it cause a dramatic loss in power?? I don't think so. I'm hard pressed to believe that.
I just hope the truck gets fixed properly. I hate seeing this happen to people.

 

[01yellerCobra]

I've heard of issues with turbulence with aftermarket open filters. The way the air enters the filter and pipe can cause issues. This is a drop in filter with the stock airbox and inlet hose. By the time the air gets to the MAF it's pretty straight. And I pointed out the problem was there before I swapped filters.

I picked it up last night. It's back to normal. I loaded my towing tune back in as well. Even my wife noticed the difference from the passenger seat.

 

[Expedragon]

Did not for some reason see the STOCK AIRBOX was still in it. I need to be well rested and not half asleep when I read these things. Glad its back and rockin yer socks.