Hello, Ford just informed me that I blew my head gaskets. I'm running an sct tuner from innovative. So far I've denied running it, but I'm sure they'll know once they get it apart.
I'm assuming this will void my warrenty and I'll be covering the full bill.
Should I tell them ahead of time or try to keep denying it?
My tuners only been out for 24 hours, so I don't know if there will be a computer footprint, or just physical proof in the engine once opened up.
Any advise on dealing with this would be appreciated, thanks.

 

Depends what tune you were running.. Physical indication would be scoring on the pistons.. They'll see that when the heads come off.. As for computer footprint.. Only way to know for sure is to pull the PCM and ship it to Ford Engineering to check.. 98% of the dealers won't do that..

 

Well, depending on how innovative builds their programs, they may or may not be able to tell. If the tune you were running makes much adjustment to the injectors, its possible that increased cylinder head pressure scarred your heads. If so, they'll now you did something to adjust the injectors, which will most likely void your warranty. If your lucky and they don't notice any scarring on the heads, the warranty may still hold up. Or if the guy checking your heads has a soft heart, he may just let it slip. I say keep telling them stories, if they find out you were lying, what will they do? Call you a lyer and make you pay the bill anyway?

 

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Any advise on dealing with this would be appreciated, thanks.[/QUOTE]


tell the truth when asked. I wont say run in and offer anymore info than required but in the end the truth is usually easier.

 

We, the tuner user of the world all have to accept that this might happen. The question is, DID the USE OF THE TUNER cause the failure, or simply expedite the failure... Also, have they asked you if you were running a tune? When I took my F250 in for failed oil and egr coolers, I was asked. At the time I was not and had not run a tuner on my truck. The dealer asked as a matter of course, i.e. it's a standard question regardless of claim.

 

yeah, they asked me and I flat out lied and said no. I've been running a tune called "street" by innovative, the second fastest tune I purchased. Also it is -35 degrees celsius which I'm sure didn't help.

I was supposed to be heading home to BC today, now I'm stuck in winnipeg manitoba until this is fixed.

 

Here's a quick-n-dirty. Keep in mind that the tuner may not have "CAUSED" but only "EXPEDITED" the failure. This is rationalizing, I know... There is always some basis for every decision that we make. Consult with your moral compass prior to any further action! I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. My morality would be bent, I'm sure...

Here's something clinical to read... It'll help you pass the time.

Resolving an Ethical Dilemma
Thomas I. White, Ph.D. / twhite@lmumail.lmu.edu

So you’ve got an ethical dilemma on your hands. How do you figure out what to do? Generally speaking, there are two major approaches that philosophers use in handling ethical dilemmas. One approach focuses on the practical consequences of what we do; the other concentrates on the actions themselves. The first school of thought basically argues "no harm, no foul"; the second claims that some actions are simply wrong. Thinkers have debated the relative merits of these approaches for centuries, but for the purpose of getting help with handling ethical dilemmas, think of them as complementary strategies for analyzing and resolving problems. Here' s a brief, three-step strategy that shows you how to combine them.(By the way, we’re going to assume that if there are any laws involved, you plan to obey them. This isn’t to say that it’s always morally wrong to break laws. But in ethical dilemmas that arise in business,laws, it becomes an anti-social force in society. And no matter how much money’s involved, at that point,there’s not a huge difference between a business and organized crime.)

Step 1:
Analyze The Consequences
O.k., so you’re going to stay on this side of the law. What next? It’s probably easier to start by looking at the consequences of the actions you’re considering. Assume you have a variety of options. Consider the range of both positive and negative consequences connected with each one.
· Who will be helped by what you do?
· Who will be hurt?
· What kind of benefits and harms are we talking about? After all, some "goods" in life (like health) are more valuable than others (like a new VCR). A small amount of "high quality" good can outweigh a larger amount of "lower quality" good. By the same token, a small amount of "high quality" harm (the pain you produce if you betray someone’s trust on a very important matter) can outweigh a larger amount of "lower quality" pain (the disappointment connected with waiting another few months for a promotion).
· How does all of this look over the long run as well as the short run. And if you’re tempted to give short shrift to the long run, just remember that you’re living with a lot of long-term negative consequences (like air and water pollution and the cost of the S&L bailout) that people before you thought weren’t important enough to worry about.After looking at all of your options, which one produces the best mix of benefits over harms?

Step 2:
Analyze The Actions
Now consider all of your options from a completely different perspective. Don’t think about the consequences. Concentrate instead strictly on the actions. How do they measure up against moral principles like honesty, fairness, equality, respecting the dignity of others, respecting people' s rights, and recognizing the vulnerability of individuals weaker or less fortunate than others? Do any of the actions that you' re considering "cross the line," in terms of anything from simple decency to an important ethical principle? If there' s a conflict between principles or between the rights of different people involved, is there a way to see one principle as more important than the others? What you' re looking for is the option whose actions are least problematic.

 

Everyone knows if you play you pay. The tuner blew out the head gaskets and you know it so do what is right.

 

Did it? We see a lot of that, but we also see as many stock truck tossing head gaskets... That's why I posed the "CAUSED or EXPEDITED" question. I'm not suggesting anything other than that it's a very real possibility and a valid hypothesis. The facts will prove the outcome (scoring, burn pattern, etc. OR the lack thereof) The other aspect to this is the integrity issue... Would my integrity compel me to self incriminate on a head gasket failure given the preceding possibility? I dunno...
Would I accept responsibility and pay for the failure if incontrovertible proof demonstrated that in fact a tuner was the cause? Yes! I would shut-up and pay-up...

 

LOL.. Now come on you know we gotta break it down to grade school level.. Your starting to sound like my Graduate Professor now lol..

 

DOH! Sorry... It's still early in the week. Give me a day or two and I'll be mumbling in nonsensical half sentences...

 

Don't forget to stud it while it is down.

 

I'm just curious to find out when you identified your headgaskets were blown? Have you run the truck aggressively? or just driving around normally?

How high did you get your EGT's? What tune were you running? HP of that tune?

 

Actually with the info that we have know we don't know if it blew the headgaskets or not. The best evidence that we have in the situation is that "A tuner was used and then headgasket problems, so therefore, the tuner caused the headgasket problem". If you accept that logic as clear and definative proof that the tuner caused the problem of the headgaskets then you would also have to accept the logic "I flew to Las Vegas, won lots of money, so therefore, when I fly to Las Vegas I'll when lots of money". It's the same logic the Las Vegas argument might seem silly, but it follows the same logic. I see alot of people on this board us this level of evidence to say that the tuner without a doubt caused the problem and the tuner might have, but this is not a sufficient amount of evidence right now to prove that it did. There is really no way to tell if a tuner truly did cause the problem unless you pressure tested the truck when you took delivery from the factory, pressure tested it before you used the tuner and then after it passed both times then you had headgasket problems. I would accept that a whole lot better then what you choose to accept as sufficient evidence of proof that a tuner caused the problems.

P.S. I have had headgasket problems and yes I have run a tuner before I had those head problems that does not change the validity of what I have said(really this bit of info is irrelevent but one user was saying that I thought this because I didn't have head problems, not in this thread but in a previous tuner/headgasket thread) and if you don't believe that, both Matt and Bean can vouch for it as Bean is the one that did my head work and Matt had gotten a call from me right when I discovered the puking on the Dyno after using his Dyno tune(no his tune didn't cause the puking).

 

so are you saying that only if there is evidence of a tuner (scoring, burn pattern, etc.) that the tuner then caused it and if there's not, it didn't? the FACT is that his morals are already lacking. the dealer asked him a point blank question. he lied. you know as well as i do that the tuner likely played a major role. and by the way the original poster talks, so does he. what would you consider incontrovertible proof? there could be spray patterns or not, and the tuner did just expedite the gaskets blowing. but, even then ford would not be having to replace the gaskets right now. i say man up and pay the price. at least if they ask if you have a tuner, tell them.