Hello,

I looked at a 2011 today on the lot. I like the trucks but when talking to the dealer he said the cab must be removed inorder to work on the vehicle.

I know a lot of folks won't care avout this but how many of you are not so willing to buy a new truck because of this?

I guess my other thought is, why Ford didn't make the cab a tilt cab, like on the big rigs if they couldn't design it any other way.

I was really looking to buy a new 2011 but, now I'm second guessing a new purchase.

This is not a Ford bashing thread! I own two Fords currently. Just looking for others thoughts on this subject since I typically do all my own maintenance on my vehicles.

 

Yes they have to remove the cab for MAJOR repairs and you have to remember that they are made to remove the cab. The cab removal is not as involved as it would be if they did not design it that way. I have no second thoughts on purchasing a new one which I will be doing in august.

 

They have the truck designed to pull the cab off. Its no different than pulling the trans out of a vehicle or other major parts. It has to be done and its so much easier to work on them doing it this way. Light trucks are not designed like heavy trucks are with the tilt hood. There are many safety factors involved with the front of passenger vehicles to allow such a design I would think.

 

The 2011 was designed where 90% of all labor operations can be done with cab on. A tilt cab becomes a guillotine when involved in a front end collision. You can imagine the lawyers lining up for that!

 

The diesel service tech. at my local dealer gave me a quick run through the new motor and he is cautiously optimistic about the 6.7. He pointed out the major highlights and how much easier the motor will be to work on than the 6.0 and 6.4.

EGR cooler is in 1 encasement and replacement is simple.
He questioned the integrity of the cooling system with it's 6 thermostats!

Overall, his take on it is that it's an improvement. If I were you I would not use the "cab removal" as a deciding factor.

Besides, you ever work on a pre '78 beetle or Ghia? Body comes off chassis very easy and makes life much better to work on the chassis.

 

Uh, 4 thermostats. 2 in the engine, and 2 on the radiator (for the secondary coolant system). Part of the radiator problems with the 6.4 is the thermal shock of all the coolant reaching the radiator all at once. The main thermostats open at two different temps, lessening the thermal shock.

 

FWIW, I was watching one of the truck repair shows on tv the other day and they removed the cab on an older Chevy to change an engine even though they didn't have to!. They said that it was faster than working around the body!

My cab was removed once to fix a rear main seal. I can't say I can tell a difference.

Whatever works is fine for me. I do think not tilting will be more stable/safe than tilting.

 

So how about just a reverse tilt hood like the 650 trucks use?

But for those of us who would prefer to work on things our self, or don't want to wait however many days it may take for a dealer to perform some service, or don't want to pay the cost for them to do it, then the cab removal does factor into things.

I prefer to keep my trucks well past the 100k mark, so considerations of what happens after the warranty runs out are important to me, but don't worry, there are other items I don't like too.

 

Thats what I mean, In a front collision, the rear of the hood becomes a guillotine.



Again, theres very little that needs the cab removed on a 2011.

[/quote]I prefer to keep my trucks well past the 100k mark, so considerations of what happens after the warranty runs out are important to me, but don't worry, there are other items I don't like too. [/quote]

 

Now I see what you're saying. I was thinking of tilt cab (as in cabover) and couldn't for the life of me figure out the guillotine part.


I've read and seen that and hope it's true. However engineers who sit behind desks design a lot of things that don't quite work as expected in the field. When all the mechanics have had plenty of opportunity to get their hands dirty on the 6.7 and agree it's easier doing the work with the cab on I'll be a believer.

 

Everything on the 6.7 was engineered with a pickup in mind. While the 7.3-6.0-6.4 was with the tilt cabs in mind (tilt cab, everything is in the rear). On the 6.7, the high pressure fuel pump is in the front (in the valley like the 7.3), remove 6-8 bolts, and a couple of hoses, the egr assembly comes off(cooler,valve, and module), the cac is air to coolant and easy to remove, the oil cooler is on the side of the oil pan. The injectors are external, glow plugs are external. At first look, it looks cramped, but everything you're looking at is stuff you'd be commonly working on.

 

This make's me happy!

 

Thnaks for the replies, I my self is still undecided. I will wait a while and see how the new trucks turn out. I really like the looks and feel of them.

As for some of the comments mentioned about the the cab removal was engineered to be removed, I get that. It's just some of us who will do all our own repairs after the warranty period don't typically have a lift in the garge to accommodate the cab removal. I typically keep my vehicles for a long time ( 10 yrs. or more)

As some has mention, 90% of the maintence has been factored in to be able to do with the cad on that makes me a lot happier.

Thanks for the input.