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OK, I just got my first OA today,and everything was cool for the most part. So that makes me feel better. Seeing as this is the first over 150k vehicle I've had. Usually by now, I run into a major problem and have to trade it in to avoid the big repair bills. But thanks to a lot of you guys, my maintenance routines have been steady and the mods a damn good time. So, that being said, and now that I know that I don't have to trade the old boy in, next on my list is the uppipes this weekend, then I was looking into the AE setup. I have a 4 year old IBM thinkpad, and a fairly new HP pocket PC. Can you guys give me your input on which way to go? And how much of the software do I actually need? I mean, I don't want to spend $600.00 when I can get by for $300.00. Especially when the wife still isn't totally agreeing with the train horns..
I have a laptop that's about 4 years old and it works fine. I don't know much about pocket pc's. You will need AE and the ford enhanced bundle. the cheapest place i found was www.itpdiesel.com. A couple of us are trying to put together a "book" of how to use AE on our trucks and what tests do what and what the results from these tests mean.
As long as the laptop has USB 2.0 support it will work. The pocket PC will limit how much you can see in live data at one time. Price wise there about the same i believe.
The thinkpad will be fine. They are a dime a dozen on ebay as refurbs or off lease for as low as $300. I was think of picking one up for to keep in the truck with AE on it and the DVD manual on it. Then when screwing around working on the truck I would not have to be so worried about getting it dirty...
The pocket PC idea is cool but like the others have said, the screen is much too small.
I hate to admit to taking the eyes off the road, but the laptop running in the passenger seat to see a few critical values as you're at WOT down the road is the way to go. To really see the benefits of that great product, the larger screen is a must. My 7 year old Dell latitude was upped from Win 98 to XP Pro for the USB 2.0 support & works great. ITP wins the price & support battle. You'll be saving maintenance money on your ride and every other blue oval product going forward.
Thank for the input guys. So I was looking at ITP and just the tool is $239. The complete Ford package is $341. Is there enough info with just getting the tool, or would I be wasting the money? And what about the ultimate package for $499? I guess at that point I'd be able to to do diagostics on just about everybody's ride.
Get at least the Ford bundle. Otherwise you'll just be wasting your time since the basic package won't read many of the diesel codes, and can't run most of the onboard tests.
I just bought AE and was going to just go with the Ford bundle. Since I have a GM as well I decided to just go ahead and get the domestic bundle which give you Ford, GM, and Chrysler. I have already made good use of the entire package between friends and family.