Recalled Ford f-150

This is a quick article on how to check for ford recalls on any year or model Ford car or truck. It use to be if you really wanted to find out if there was an open recall due on your vehicle one had to stop by a dealership and get the service adviser to plug the V.I.N or vehicle identification number into the Ford oasis system.

VIN numbers are unique 17-digit serial numbers assigned to all mass produced automobiles. Ford oasis stands for On-Line Automotive Service Information System. When you enter a specific vehicle identification number this system provides a printable report about work performed under warranty and any recalls that where already done. More importantly the report includes any recalls that are still open on that vehicle.

I worked at a Lincoln Mercury dealer as a service adviser for a short time and found this tool extremely helpful. After writing an article recently on my other website about the Ford cruise control recall which I believe is the largest recall in the company’s history, I found out that there is an alternative for owners to plug in the vehicle identification number themselves online to see if there’s any open recalls on that car or truck.

This works for all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury publicly issued recall notices. So without further delay this is where you can check for ford recalls. That text link will take you to Ford’s main website in the exact spot where there is an open box to install your 17 digit vehicle identification number. At this point I am unclear if this is as accurate as the oasis system mentioned above. So I would consider this a quick check that can be done for convenience.

If the results return no open ford recalls I would still double check with the dealership when you have time. You can just approach a service writer with your vehicle registration which should have the same number on it and he will plug it in for you and run the official Ford oasis report on the automobile. If this report also says that there are no open recalls you can rest assure that nothing needs to be done to your vehicle. Sidebar: All three vehicles pictured on this page had open recalls on them.

Why check for ford recalls

Recalled Ford Truck

The article that I wrote on my other website which I’ve linked to from above discusses what is believed to be Ford’s largest recall in the history of their company. It is for a problem with the cruise control knock off switch that is mounted in the brake master cylinder. This switch has been reported to leak brake fluid causing a short.

This electrical short can start a fire that can engulf the engine compartment. What brought this situation to the attention of authorities was in more than one case the vehicle was parked in the house garage at the time. The fire spread to these homes and did severe damage.

Recalled Lincoln Town Car

In most cases a company will only issue a recall of that is related to safety. When I worked for General Motors there was several recalls for seat belt repairs. When I worked for ford I found several recalls that related to vehicle braking systems. Therefore checking for open recalls on your Ford vehicle should be considered an important thing to do.

Often when a vehicle has been sold and repurchased several times the factory will have no way to contact the current owner. If you buy this vehicle private sale or from a used car lot you will have to check for ford recalls yourself. This is another reason why you will find new recalls talked about or discussed on television stations or automotive news outlets. This is an effort to get the word out that repairs need to be done.

On a related note there are several recalls on Ford trucks. I wrote a page that discusses several of these recalls and what is involved in the repairs. Also on that page is an interesting story about the 7.3 L super duty that is capable of putting on record-breaking amounts of mileage. When the vehicle is around for 350,000 miles checking for ford recalls is even more important. For more articles from the mind of Master tech Mark this next link will take you back to the auto repair information blog home page.

Broken power seat switch

Some vehicles are susceptible to broken power seat switches. My neighbor has a late 90s Ford pickup that has had the control switch for the power seats replaced several times. Although he would like to blame his wife I think it is actually a poor design.

The power control master switch sticks way out from the base of the seat. It’s positioned in such a way that when you swing your feet in (depending on the length of your legs and the size of your feet) the Master control is kind of in the way.

Add to this the fact that the automotive parts themselves are made from cheap plastic and they will not survive a collision with a person’s foot. Just below I have included some popular power seat switches. Replacing this part on most models is relatively easy and often only requires a screw driver. Keep in mind Luxury German cars have complex systems that make it much harder to diagnose and repair. In some cases you might want to have the step by step instructions from a factory service manual.

In my neighbor’s situation its just a matter of removing the trim panel that snaps into place and then removing the two Phillips head screws that secure the master power seat switch to the bottom part of the seat frame. This operation makes for a great Diy auto repair and that’s why I decided to provide an article for encouragement.

Vehicle manufacturers are installing powered seat options even on economy cars these days. It’s a nifty little option that can help sell vehicles without increasing manufacturing costs by much. Just a decade ago only the most luxurious vehicles came with this option. For experienced car buyers this option adds value. It can help push the prospect over the edge and make them purchase the automobile.

Memory power seats are better

Although economy cars may be coming with the power seat option more often it is still unusual for them to include a memory function. To me this is a big deal and adds a lot of value to this option. I’m sure we’re all familiar with having our driver’s seat in the perfect position.

Then we take it in for a car wash or oil change and when we get back into the vehicle the seat just doesn’t feel right. Often getting the seat back to the exact position it was in before the repairs can be difficult and take a little while. The feeling we get when we’re driving in this situation is slightly uncomfortable which can get annoying over time.

power seat switch with memory

I have finally purchased a vehicle with a memory power seat option and a simple push of a button returns the seat to the exact position it was in before the car wash took place. The memory seat option allows for automatic positioning of the seats. Sometimes even the passenger side will have memory but most often it’s just the driver’s side. This feature allows different drivers to have different seat positions automatically.

It can also allow one driver to set the seat for several different driving situations. When you’re on a long trip and using the cruise control the tendency is to move the seat further back for increased comfort in the leg area. Often pushing the gas pedal to the floor from this position can be difficult. This is where the multiple memory seat position can be priceless. You can basically have a cruising and a performance driving position.

The latest luxury cars don’t require you to even hit the power seat switches. Some key-less entry systems use the remote key fob that is programmed to move the seat to its memory position every time the unlock button is triggered to open the driver side door. Some of these memory power seat functions even adjust the rear view and side view mirrors at the same time. This provides the ultimate pushbutton setup.

As power seat options evolve it looks like the next wave in luxury seating will be adaptive or active power seat systems. This is where the seat moves automatically with no driver input. Active seating can stimulate the back and surrounding muscles with continuous yet virtually in detectable motion. This type of power seating is designed to prevent driver fatigue. On these type of systems power seat switches are included for a built-in massage function that can also help with fatigue on long trips.

Automotive technology is an amazing ever evolving science. The good thing is, as it continues to evolve the older systems find their way on the least expensive automobiles. For more of the latest articles posted here this next link will take you back to the homepage for the auto repair information blog.

Fuel injection Test kit

I have written about fuel injectors on many occasions and even included instructions on how to do what I consider is one of the best tests. This would be how to perform an injector balance test. Having a fuel pressure gauge mounted up and firing the injector while physically seeing the pressure drop is in my opinion the best way to check a fuel injector.

With that being said not everybody has fuel injection test kit with a pressure gauge and an injector driver. Plus on some vehicles mounting these two testing devices can be difficult. There are several other ways to check fuel injectors.

Remember a fuel injector is nothing more than a solenoid actuated fuel valve. Its operation is quite basic in that as long as it is held open and the fuel pressure remains steady it delivers fuel until the solenoid valve is closed. A fuel injector that is not opening and closing properly can cause hard starting poor fuel economy and other engine problems such as hesitation or rough running.

This boils down to whether the injector is having a hard time opening and flowing the fuel or if the injector is having a hard time closing and shutting off the fuel (dripping).

Another way to check fuel injectors

Believe it or not you can use a mechanics stethoscope to check fuel injectors. This is known as a sound test. This is quite handy if the injectors electrical leads are difficult to access and a power balance test which is also recommended is difficult.

Mechanics Stethoscope

You can start the engine and use the mechanics stethoscope to listen for the correct injector operation. What do I mean by this? A good injector makes a rhythmic clicking sound as the solenoid is energized and de-energized several times a second. If a thud is heard instead of a steady click chances are the problem injector has been found.

On a six-cylinder port fuel injected engine there are six separate injectors. On most models they will be mounted near the intake valve on the cylinder head. You can move your mechanics stethoscope from injector to injector and more importantly then the clicking is that they all sound alike. In fact they should all sound exactly the same.

multi port injector

If a soft click or thud is heard instead of a snap click, cleaning or replacement might be in order. If an injector does not produce any clicking noise the injector connection wires should be checked and a signal from the electronic control module should be tested with a noid light.

If a fuel injector is clicking sometimes and not others the injector plunger may be sticking. This may be a sign of an injector that is beginning to fail. When there is absolutely no clicking from one single injector it is either a malfunction in the control circuit or completely failed part.

You can use an ohm meter to check for the total resistance before spending the money on a replacement part. Each manufacturer has a resistance specification but if the fuel injection windings are open (common on failed parts) the automotive meter will read infinite resistance or out of limits.

Lots of people think that their fuel injection might be the root cause of all of their problems and sometimes it is. But these problems can be verified with some diagnosis. Online auto repair manuals can supply these diagnostic tree charts. If you would like to see more posts to this site this next link brings you back to the auto repair information blog homepage.

Clean throttle body

When I got home I removed the air intake hose and shined a flashlight into the throttle body. It was perfectly clean and almost shiny. It most certainly did not need to be serviced and cleaned. This is not to say that a throttle body service is never needed in fact I do believe they should be done as required.

This would mean a visual inspection to verify it is needed. Therefore if someone recommends this service to you I would ask them why do I need it. If they tell you, because it’s dirty I would then ask them how they know.

The correct answer to this question is they removed the air intake hose and performed a visual inspection. Or they scanned the vehicle and monitored the IAC (Idle air control motor) steps at base idle. If they did not do this I would not purchase the service or at least seek out a second opinion.

What does a throttle body do?

Open throttle plate

The throttle body allows the driver to control the speed of the engine by controlling the amount of air that enters it. The driver pushes on the gas pedal and in the old days the cable would pull on the butterfly inside the throttle body assembly. Nowadays most of these throttle systems are what they call drive by wire.

You can ask Toyota engineers for more details on the system but Basically this means that your gas pedal is now a sensor that sends a signal to the throttle body about how far to open the throttle plate. Each type of throttle body assembly is designed to allow a certain amount of air to pass through it with a particular amount of throttle plate opening.

When the throttle plates are completely closed some air is still needed. This is where the idle air control valve or motor comes into play. The IAC valve meters a small amount of air into the intake manifold. The computer controls the idle air control valve and only allows enough air to keep the engine from stalling. This metering allows the computer to control the idle speed.

The IAC valve can be monitored on an automotive scan tool as mentioned above. How far the valve is opened is counted in steps. The dirtier the throttle body the more steps are required by the IAC valve to maintain engine idle.

Therefore you can actually use the steps to diagnose a gummed up throttle body. As an example if you observe on a scan tool that the IAC steps are around 50 this could be considered a little high. After a throttle body service is performed you would most likely see IAC steps at about half of that or below 25 steps.

How to service the throttle body

new throttle body kit

Modern vehicles are better equipped to compensate for a throttle body that is becoming dirty. So in my opinion the newer your vehicle and the lower your actual mileage, the less likely you need this service. On the flip side of this if you have a 1995 vehicle with 125,000 miles on it and you have never cleaned the throttle body I could just about guarantee that you need a throttle body service.

When carbon and varnish accumulates on the throttle plates or in the throttle bore the amount of air that can pass through into the engine can be reduced. Although this normally causes an idle problem these deposits can be cleaned off of the throttle body assembly and the airflow restored. It is quite possible that you could perform this service on your own in the driveway depending on your skill level.

The carbon deposits can be cleaned with spray type cleaners and wiped off with a cloth. The difficulty of the throttle body service depends on the application. In some cases the throttle body may need to be removed to properly clean the assembly. I use the very complete 3M Diy Fuel System Tune-Up Kit that comes with a DVD on how to perform the service. It is a three-step kit that includes a fuel additive to be installed in the tank.

To review you might need a throttle body service. If you take your vehicle in for regular maintenance or auto repairs chances are your shop will recommend the service to you. Ask them questions to verify that they really checked into it and are not just recommending it by mileage. I posted a video about engine stalling that shows how to do a throttle body service with the parts removed. Or you can use this next link to take you back to the auto repair information blog homepage.

96 GMC K1500 4WD

A slipping automatic transmission is the first sign of serious internal troubles heading your way. More often then not this condition will lead to a complete transmission overhaul. Here is an email question about this common condition as well as a good example of the likely symptoms.

A visitor writes, Thank you for your website. You have pushed me to further educate myself about the mechanical side of cars. Here is some information about my trucks problem before I take it to a transmission shop or general car repair place.

I have a 96 GMC K1500 4WD. I am having slipping automatic transmission problems.  If I drive like grandma and ease up to Highway speeds I can feel all gears engage and pull, 1, 2, 3, and 4. If I take off fast From a stop or if I’m driving 6Omph and stomp it for passing gear I can see the Rpm gauge surge to 3500-4000 and hear the engine running great but no power at The wheels.

I have to let off the gas for the transmission to begin to pull again as it falls back to the higher gear. My auto scan tool from Actron says I have no codes set in the computer. I have purchased the all data online auto repair manuals for my trucks.  I have gone through the related info to become familiar as possible with this problem. After a physical inspection, my fluid level is correct and no burnt odor. I have no leaks, the wiring harnesses and connectors look fine.

Because I do not have a code, can I assume that my, vss, tcs and other related sensors have no failures or intermittent shorts? My truck has over 120,000 mi on it. From my research I’m thinking the problem is inside the slipping automatic transmission itself (clutches slipping etc.?)

I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give me based on your 25yrs of experience in this area. I am a service tech in the industrial laundry machinery business. I have a mechanical/electrical background but not in the auto field. As they say, I know just about enough to get into trouble.

If you think the slipping transmission needs to be replaced, would you suggest any upgrades I should ask for during the rebuild? By the way, I’ll be letting the shop do the removal and reinstallation as well so any warnings in this area would be great.  Thank you for any help you can give.

Answer to slipping automatic transmissions

96 GMC 4x4

With the high miles on your 96 GMC K1500 4WD and the age of the unit it sure does seem that internal problems would be the most likely cause of your problems. Worn lip seals allowing fluid pressure to bypass the clutch apply pistons often create a slipping condition.

This can be confirmed with a line pressure check with a mechanical gauge connected to the test port. A stall speed test is where you power brake the vehicle (apply the gas and brake at the same time) and will verify the pressure bypassing condition.

In most cases the only way to solve this is with a complete transmission overhaul were you replace all internal seals and wear items like clutch disks and bands. Also sometimes when the trans has been slipping for a while new friction plates are required to be replaced do to scoring on the face of the hard metal discs. The only way to determine the amount of internal damage is with a tear down and inspection.

As far as removing the transmission, you mentioned your Chevy truck is a 4×4. A good thing to check when you get the truck back is the transfer case seal. The shop will have to separate the transfer case from the back of the transmission on your model. They make a gasket for this sealing area. Often shops will just use rtv silicone. This is not as long lasting as a fiber gasket and tends to leak sooner or later.

Find more auto repair information and all the latest post to the auto repair information blog.

Repair diagram

Thanks for the response about online auto repair manuals. I understand what you mean about All-Data and Mitchells in reference to their auto repair information quality. I had looked at the two, and tried the “demo” on All-Data which actually let me view (as you know) actual info like I would get in a subscription to a particular vehicle.

The one downside I [thought] was when I looked up DTC’s and test procedures for them it always referred to the Manufacturer or Dealer type scan tool. Even though it listed, in one place, a choice of tools (manufacturer/dealer, other, etc) to view this info for, it said that info was not available for any except the Manufacturer style [dedicated] diagnostic tool?

I got to this by clicking on the online auto repair manuals “Honda demo” since my daughter has a Honda (older than the demo, but I was looking to see what all it included). I then clicked on Powertrain Management and then Computers and Control Systems all these along the left column.

Then I clicked on Reading and Clearing Diagnostic Trouble Codes under “Testing and Inspection” in the right column. This brought me to a page which had links to With Manufacturers Scan Tool, With Generic Scan Tool, Without Scan Tool and “Clearing Diagnostic Trouble Codes”.

If I click on Using Generic Scan Tool, I get the page saying the Manufacturer doesn’t provide auto repair information for this. While it may be painfully obvious to most, I wasn’t sure the info would all work with a tool like the Actron CP9180 or the AutoXray AX6000 or such.

You raised another topic related to online auto repair manuals. You said you think the Actron CP9180 will generally do the job most folks need for DIY auto repairs.

I had been looking at such tools as the Auto Xray AX7000 and Auto ingenuity laptop scanners for their ability to do “manufacturer specific” and “other than powertrain” code diagnostics. Are these not generally a good return on money (bang for the buck) for the DIY car repair guy? I really appreciate your time and thoughts.

By the way, I found that the demo on the Mitchell site, while it showed some good examples of graphics, [I found] less than useful to determine whether I liked the format of their site or not. Sorry if I am rambling I know you are not necessarily an advocate for one online auto repair manuals over the other, I just get off on rants.

Thanks again for the response
George

Online auto repair manuals

Hi George: You make good and true points about online service manuals. They are directly ported from the manufacturer. In extremely complicated diagnosis this can leave the diy auto repair guy out in the cold.

The results you experienced with the Honda vehicle could be different for subscriptions to other make vehicles. The information supplied to all-data depends on the ability of that manufacturer to co operate. And some company’s furnish more information then others.

But there is no better choice for auto repair information that I know of. In fact the online professional automobile manual is far seperior in the way it represents repair diagrams and troubleshooting tree charts. Take a look at this auto repair manuals video for a common repair to see what I mean.

I also find that in some cases I can put on my thinking cap and break out my multimeter to get past a step that they say requires a manufacturer scan tool. Or worst case scenario skip a step in the troubleshooting diagram and see where it leads me.

Diy auto repair scanners

As far as the Actron 9180 it is only about 140$ and does include a snap shot mode and an o2 sensor test. So I consider it a good value. But a laptop scanner has many advantages over it. The main one is the amount of data the laptop car scanner can display at one time.

I do not have a laptop but we do at work. We use the elm scan 5 blue tooth. It is very slick but also can get stuck on some manufacturer specific codes. I find these codes are rare and generic codes are much more common. But the auto repair world is like a box of chocolates ” you never know what your gonna get”

Yes I have told the mitchell people they need to get up to speed and offer a demo like all-data. The e-auto repair system is very similar to alldata it just harder to dig out the information your looking for. But is also ported from the car makers manuals.

Nice talking with you and good luck with your auto repairs.

Mark

Auto Mechanic

This was an auto repair information blog when I started it two years ago. Things stayed on topic, but changed a little when gas prices started to climb in early 2008. This is also when I purchased the water 4 gas systems and decided to share the details of my project with visitors. In today’s post I wanted to return to the original reason I started this blog. And that was to supply auto repair information for people that like to fix their own cars.

After fielding many questions over the last couple years on my car repair help page I have noticed one very common piece of advice that I continue to dispense. It also happens to be the first step in almost all of my automotive diagnosis procedures that I personally use. And this is the visual inspection. It is very common that I will uncover the cause of the car problem by simply performing a thorough visual inspection.

Auto repair visual inspections

I’m going to provide some examples of what to look for, and some of the most common things that I have found. It would seem that a visual inspection during these winter months are more important then in the summer. But regardless, I perform this procedure as a quick first step in automotive diagnosis no matter what the weather is like.

My first example actually happened yesterday and got me thinking about how I should share this with website visitors. I was working on a 2006 Chevrolet 3500 series van. The driver’s complaint was the check engine light was on.

I scanned the vehicle and found a map sensor code. The first thing I did was perform a visual inspection of the map sensor, the connector and its wiring harness. The first thing I noticed was little black chips of plastic that were laying on the intake manifold. These were obviously pieces from the conduit that protects the map sensor wiring harness.

I followed the harness back and found a spot where a rodent had chewed through not only the protective conduit, but also completely through the ground wire for the map sensor. There was no need for any scientific check engine light diagnosis because it turned out just to be a quick repair of a single wire.

Auto repair diagnosis

Another example of diy car repair diagnosis. My nephew called me from up north and said that he had an ABS light on. I live in Florida now, so I was not able to work on his vehicle. But I did notice in the news that they had recently gone through an ice and snowstorm. So I walked him through some simple steps to do a visual inspection on his own car.

I explained to him where the wheel speed sensors and wiring harnesses were located. When he poked his head around the wheel, he noticed a 15-pound ice burg was stuck and pulling on the wiring harness to his left front wheel speed sensor. Since my nephew is not very mechanically inclined, he was forced to take it in for repair.

But he was armed with the information to provide the service center that saved him Diagnostic time, and also the down time of his vehicle. The weight from the ice and snow that collected on the wiring harness broke the wires where they attach to the sensor head.

Auto repair safety

My nephew would have liked to continue to drive around with the ABS light on as opposed to spending the money on car repairs. In fact, I had to talk to his mother to force the repair to be completed. Antilock brake systems are a fantastic safety feature. During winter weather with ice and snow a properly operating ABS system may save your life or at least prevent damage to your vehicle or other drivers.

In closing I would recommend that when ever you have a warning light on your dash fix it. Either using do it yourself auto repair techniques or a car repair shop. And take a few minutes to perform a thorough visual inspection that is related to your problem. External damage by rodents and road debris can be highly visible and solve your car problems.