My son bought a used '03 Focus SVT with a belt, did not have a proper history, broke the belt, and had a VERY expensive repair bill.

I broke a belt while driving my wife's old '86 Escort GT--back then, change recommendations were 60k miles and the belt broke at 55k. That one was cheap because it was a non-interference engine. Needed a tow off the freeway and it was only $110 for a replacement as I recall.

My Subaru has a belt but it was changed when I needed new headgaskets (under warranty) at 72k miles and I'm at 109k now so I've got over 60k before I have to do it again (if I still have it). New Subarus use chains.

Mfrs changed their belt replacement mileage from 60k to 100-105k because the EPA requires the mfr to pay for any emissions related svc needed before 100k miles. A replacement is usually $500-1000 and it's usually a good idea to put in a new idler and a new water pump because they're "right there" when the belt is off.

Pushing a belt much beyond 100k miles is simply stupid on an interference engine (which means valves hit pistons). If the belt breaks, the repairs will run $2-5k. If your buddy breaks the belt, he will have nobody to blame but himself. Purely Russian Roulette... Does your bud perhaps think that the timing belt is like a serpentine belt which, if it breaks, will require a simple tow truck ride at worst?

ps a Ferrari 360 requires a timing belt replacement every 30k miles or 36 months, whichever occurs FIRST, for a cost of about $3500...

George

 

I have had it in to the dealer a few times fir the grease fix. Works for a couple months then back to the shudder

 

The 4.7 iforce had a timing belt and is an interference motor. Toyota went to the 4.6 with a chain. The 5.7 is chain driven as well.

 

Have you ever thought of taking the truck to a different Ford dealership for service? Keep in mind that not all service departments are created equal. In a perfect world, the would be. But in a perfect world, we wouldn't need service departments at all, would we?
And if you've been half as nasty and argumentative with your service advisor as you have been here on this forum, it's no wonder your truck isn't being serviced properly. That service is a two-way street Herman. You take care of them, they're going to be more inclined to take care of you. All that takes is a little bit of professional courtesy. Try it sometime, you might be surprised how far it'll get you. The same is true whether it's a Ford dealer or a GM dealer.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. Reading threads like this only further exemplify why I'm glad my job doesn't involve dealing with people. For the most part, I don't have faces to put to the person whose ride I have in my bay with the hood open. And I've said it to our advisors time and again, you couldn't pay me to do that job. As far as being called clueless idiot (and whatever other creative name comes to mind)? Well, there's the sticks and stones thing, WHATEVER. If I can't replicate a particular symptom, after going on a road test with a vehicle (in bumper to bumper traffic), for time I'm not getting paid for by the way, you can sure as hell bet that I'm not wasting more than ten minutes on it. If that makes me an idiot, oh well....

 

Funny reading this because because the dealer I've gone to a few times has a guy who has 30+ years as a tech. I walked in one day for something to be done and he is on the desk answering the phone, listening to some woman reproducing a squeaking sound while two techs are waiting to say something. When I get to him I sarcastically ask how's the promotion going. He said I'm filling for one day and can't wait to get back to his bay.

 

My son was a Honda mechanic - I've had more luck figuring out how to handicap race horses than understanding dealerships' pay schemes. One thing is for sure though, it's the guy doing the actual work that is getting paid the least.
It's funny how people (me included) want the service prices at the dealership to be competitive with the rest of the market, yet don't expect non-authorized mechanics to do warranty work.
It's a heck of a way to make a living...

 

They certainly have my respect because I don't know if I could do it. As far as being a service adviser, my father has had to do that at various times in his career when nothing else was available in his field. He hated those jobs and always got out as soon as possible.

 

Wow, if all the 5 year old F150's are junk, I have 2 years or less to get rid of my 13. It could implode in 2 years! Or I might actually to to fix something. No repairs or issues yet.

 

Oh man! With that line of thinking I've got 4 months to get rid of my '12. And I just bought it 3 months ago! Gee it looks like I've been had!

 

*Relatively* old topic, I know...

My dad's 2011 Raptor also had a major transmission issue. He was driving down the road last summer, and all of a sudden, the engine started revving and going back to idle, over and over, rapid-fire. He had to pull over and shut the engine off. It turns out a digital component in the transmission was bad, and the shop just replaced the entire transmission. His truck has around 120,000 miles, and that was the only major problem it's ever had. My mom also has a nearly identical '11 Raptor, and there have been no issues so far (slightly fewer miles).

 

The transmission issues are caused by the "molded lead frame" which is a relatively cheap part and easy to fix. The transmission itself is bulletproof. It's the electrical stuff getting contaminated and malfunctioning which causes the odd shift behavior and going to 1st gear at highway speeds. Yet another reason to change the fluid and filters often, and ignore that "lifetime fill" B.S. in the owners manual.

Otherwise, these transmissions are tougher than a box of nails. They have stood up to heavy towing and getting beaten on in Mustang GTs for years.

 

6 speed standard...