Salon 214

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 9, 2016/09/27) */ [redacted] called us the next day after his camshaft replacement and said he had an intermittent check engine light (CEL)We explained to [redacted] how to retrieve the flash codes through his switch inside the truck and he said they were fault codes & (36= Vehicle speed signal/ 42=primary to secondary speed signal calibration)We told [redacted] that the VSS is located at the transmission tail shaft and that we were not working this area, we suggested that it may not even be an accurate reading and suggested it may need to be hooked to a CAT ET for proper diagnosisHe nor us saw a need to drive back to Indiana for quick ECM hook-upA few days later, [redacted] had said that he repaired his VSS sensor and that solved the flash code 36, but still had flash code We explained again that he may need to have it hooked to CAT ET, and that us or anyone CAT certified could do it On 6/22/@ 9:30AM, [redacted] called and said that he had the truck at CIT and they were informing him that the cam gear was one tooth out of time [redacted] said they were quoting him @ 4hrs @ [redacted] to repair [redacted] asked if we would be able to help with the repairsWe told him we would have to speak with the shop foreman and call him backWe spoke with the production foreman and lead technician, both were adamant the engine would not have been able to "run great" the past two weeks as [redacted] had said it was with it being one whole gear tooth out of time(The engine did not leave here with any codes, and ran fine, no starting issues or otherwise.) We called [redacted] back and explained that we did not feel there was any way that the cam gear could have left here being one tooth off [redacted] mentioned again how great the engine was performing after he left and agreed that he did not believe it could have been out of timeWe did not hear from [redacted] again until the next day, and he said that they did not finish the repairs until after we were closed for the day (they are on central time) and that he had a [redacted] bill(It's worth noting, if you read the write up with the CIT invoice, it basically tells that the idler gear backlash was the culprit.) We asked why so much and [redacted] said that they had found the idler gear backlash ALSO needed adjustmentWe told [redacted] that this was the culprit all along and that it would be considered a maintenance item on a truck with over [redacted] milesWe did not make any adjustments to his idler gearHe agreed [redacted] made many phone calls requesting our helpHe told us that it would not cost him anything to take CIT to small claims and that's what he might end up doingHe asked us to call them on his behalf, we declined, but did send [redacted] the CAT TRG (Time & Rate Guide) for cam gear installation and adjustment as he requested...which was only hrs totaled (Remember the CIT bill was [redacted] had mentioned in earlier conversations about his distrust of this dealership, how he had badgered them into giving him a large credit for work done over a year ago over a wiring harness issue, and that this was also the dealership that he left to bring his truck here for the initial camshaft replacementWe point blank asked [redacted] if he thought this could be a way for them to recoup some of their losses and he thought that it very well could be Every conversation we had with [redacted] ended cordially and he seemed in agreeance with our positionHe was wanting to bring his truck back to us ultimately, to have the overhead run, because he said the engine had never performed so wellThis is where the credit of [redacted] towards the [redacted] overhead price was offered as a customer relations gesture [redacted] had said he would take this offer when it was time to have the overhead performed on his engineSince that time, [redacted] has "reported" us to CAT corporate to ask them to make US pay his [redacted] CIT bill and CAT has reviewed the work orders and information on this repair and explained to [redacted] and us that he just needs to pay the CIT billIn hind sight he should have brought the truck back to us if he wanted the work performed in a timely mannerIt is worth noting that we installed a whole camshaft for [redacted] in labor while the charge to adjust the camshaft timing [redacted] had CIT perform was over [redacted] Camshaft timing flash codes on this model engine can be triggered very easily and caused by either of the two cam sensors , idler gear backlash adjustment or installing the cam gear wrongThe engine had never ran better per [redacted] and our years of experience and expertise told us the engine would NOT run good, start good, smoke and have power if the cam gear was out of time by one whole toothThe last adjustment performed that made the flash code go away was the adjusting of the idler gear backlashThis is an area we did not touch, again there were no flash codes present upon [redacted] picking his truck up from our facility, so it goes down as a "nature of the beast" type of event and needed additional adjustment after a cam install job and even though the repair to adjust [redacted] 's cam timing was performed out of house, we offered a goodwill policy adjustment of [redacted] towards having the overhead ran on his engine when that time arrivesWe cannot support a refund of [redacted] for additional timing adjustment maintenance on [redacted] 's cam timing adjustment performed out of houseThe flash code for timing was not present when [redacted] left here and did not occur until he got up to ChicagoIt obviously took a while to trip the code (unlike a cam gear being a whole tooth off) and since this was a time and material camshaft install job, if the code would have tripped on the test drive, we would have had to charge additional to go in and adjust the idler gear backlash

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2016/09/27) */
[redacted] called us the next day after his camshaft replacement and said he had an intermittent check engine light (CEL). We explained to [redacted] how to retrieve the flash codes through his switch inside the truck and he said they were fault...

codes 36 & 42 (36= Vehicle speed signal/ 42=primary to secondary speed signal calibration). We told [redacted] that the VSS is located at the transmission tail shaft and that we were not working this area, we suggested that it may not even be an accurate reading and suggested it may need to be hooked to a CAT ET for proper diagnosis. He nor us saw a need to drive back to Indiana for quick ECM hook-up. A few days later, [redacted] had said that he repaired his VSS sensor and that solved the flash code 36, but still had flash code 42. We explained again that he may need to have it hooked to CAT ET, and that us or anyone CAT certified could do it.

On 6/22/16 @ 9:30AM, [redacted] called and said that he had the truck at CIT and they were informing him that the cam gear was one tooth out of time. [redacted] said they were quoting him @ 4hrs @ [redacted] to repair. [redacted] asked if we would be able to help with the repairs. We told him we would have to speak with the shop foreman and call him back. We spoke with the production foreman and lead technician, both were adamant the engine would not have been able to "run great" the past two weeks as [redacted] had said it was with it being one whole gear tooth out of time. (The engine did not leave here with any codes, and ran fine, no starting issues or otherwise.) We called [redacted] back and explained that we did not feel there was any way that the cam gear could have left here being one tooth off. [redacted] mentioned again how great the engine was performing after he left and agreed that he did not believe it could have been out of time. We did not hear from [redacted] again until the next day, and he said that they did not finish the repairs until after we were closed for the day (they are on central time) and that he had a [redacted] bill. (It's worth noting, if you read the write up with the CIT invoice, it basically tells that the idler gear backlash was the culprit.) We asked why so much and [redacted] said that they had found the idler gear backlash ALSO needed adjustment. We told [redacted] that this was the culprit all along and that it would be considered a maintenance item on a truck with over [redacted] miles. We did not make any adjustments to his idler gear. He agreed. [redacted] made many phone calls requesting our help. He told us that it would not cost him anything to take CIT to small claims and that's what he might end up doing. He asked us to call them on his behalf, we declined, but did send [redacted] the CAT TRG (Time & Rate Guide) for cam gear installation and adjustment as he requested...which was only 2.6 hrs totaled (Remember the CIT bill was [redacted] had mentioned in earlier conversations about his distrust of this dealership, how he had badgered them into giving him a large credit for work done over a year ago over a wiring harness issue, and that this was also the dealership that he left to bring his truck here for the initial camshaft replacement. We point blank asked [redacted] if he thought this could be a way for them to recoup some of their losses and he thought that it very well could be.
Every conversation we had with [redacted] ended cordially and he seemed in agreeance with our position. He was wanting to bring his truck back to us ultimately, to have the overhead run, because he said the engine had never performed so well. This is where the credit of [redacted] towards the [redacted] overhead price was offered as a customer relations gesture. [redacted] had said he would take this offer when it was time to have the overhead performed on his engine. Since that time, [redacted] has "reported" us to CAT corporate to ask them to make US pay his [redacted] CIT bill and CAT has reviewed the work orders and information on this repair and explained to [redacted] and us that he just needs to pay the CIT bill. In hind sight he should have brought the truck back to us if he wanted the work performed in a timely manner. It is worth noting that we installed a whole camshaft for [redacted] in labor while the charge to adjust the camshaft timing [redacted] had CIT perform was over [redacted]
Camshaft timing flash codes on this model engine can be triggered very easily and caused by either of the two cam sensors , idler gear backlash adjustment or installing the cam gear wrong. The engine had never ran better per [redacted] and our 35 years of experience and expertise told us the engine would NOT run good, start good, smoke normal and have normal power if the cam gear was out of time by one whole tooth. The last adjustment performed that made the flash code go away was the adjusting of the idler gear backlash. This is an area we did not touch, again there were no flash codes present upon [redacted] picking his truck up from our facility, so it goes down as a "nature of the beast" type of event and needed additional adjustment after a cam install job and even though the repair to adjust [redacted]'s cam timing was performed out of house, we offered a goodwill policy adjustment of [redacted] towards having the overhead ran on his engine when that time arrives. We cannot support a refund of [redacted] for additional timing adjustment maintenance on [redacted]'s cam timing adjustment performed out of house. The flash code for timing was not present when [redacted] left here and did not occur until he got up to Chicago. It obviously took a while to trip the code (unlike a cam gear being a whole tooth off) and since this was a time and material camshaft install job, if the code would have tripped on the test drive, we would have had to charge additional to go in and adjust the idler gear backlash.