thanks all to your imput and awesom banter i do like it when people realy tell each other what is on there minds with no regard for any one else or the topic at hand ... ...that aside as far as the price of a fully loded avalon $40000 your cost at dealer .how ever my cost from the factory via dad inlaw $28000 fully loded and with my color scheem that i want (red outside with cream/tan interear)looks apealing none the less. i will miss my x .but for now i still own it . and if/when i sell this x and get another vheical (avalon) i will probibly get another used x for alot less than my present one cost me and i will then turn it in to my play thing ......BUT LIKE I SAID I HOPE IT DONT SELL...(not yelling just making point)

 

Interesting quote for some of you.

"Healy estimates that $30 billion of Toyota's $68 billion in North American sales last year were from U S - and Canadian-made vehicles. Moreover, as a ``rough estimate," he says Toyota earned a profit of $2.4 billion in North America last year and spent the same amount on new plants, products, and other investments.

``When they say they're an American company, they aren't lying," he said.

Additionally, the logic of buying a Ford or GM product because its profits stay in the United States isn't necessarily accurate. Because both are global companies, at any one point profits made from domestic sales could be invested in plants abroad."

from http://www.boston.com/cars/news/arti...o_tell/?page=1

I'm all for buying American made. But the distinction is getting less clear these days. A Toyota Camry has just as much "domestic content" as the Ford Fusion.

Around 25% of my truck was made in Mexico. They paid the UAW worker (on average w/bennies) $83 an hour to put the thing together and the doors STILL don't line up. I'm not sure what I should be more ticked off about. That Jose put my wiring together or that Butch can't line up my frockin' doors or that Ford just spent the profit they got from me on a plant in China. ...Actually my doors kinda **** me off the most...

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I can see both sides but in response to the OP. I find selling your truck to buy something just as expensive odd. Plus, are we to believe that the dealer's profit on an Avalon is $10-12K?!? Don't think so.

 

They are so sweet! I look at them everyday!

Ed

 

Couple of questions:
1. What is "cavitational porocity"?
2. How many miles did you put on the Fords?

 

2. First, my 90 was an F350 4X4 zf5 standard cab and I put 40,000 miles on it an dumped it back to the dealer.....as it was at the dealer for greater than 55 days on various warranty works in the first year of ownership. Painted (whole truck) as paint fell off, couple sets of brakes, new front axle (caster was off one side always pulled right)......new heads as they cracked.

The '91 which I factory ordered same as above, paint felt off.....twice...at (off warranty anyways) over 100,000 miles in 1995 was serving the antifreeze and found out about Cavitational porocity from the IH dealer (more on that in a minute) of which the foord service manuals nor ford dealership said ANYTHING about, I started to use the DCA4 additive. In 1997 had a catastraphic engine failure as antifreeze leaked through block cylinder walls and hydrolocked the engine, bent rods, also 5 cracked pistons new engine installed for $10,000.00 NO HELP from the Dealership or Ford and in 96 I said to the Dealer could never keep the degause bottle full it would always drain out, they said nothing wrong with it.....what was really going on is that it was draining slowly into the cylinders because of CP.......got rid of it after I fixed with new shortblock.

1. Cavitational Porocity is present in all diesel engines as far as I am to understand. My understanding of CP is....Small bubbles of air form on the waterjacket next the cylinder walls, much like small bubbles form in a pan of water just prior to full on boiling.....now because the cylinder walls are somewhat "elastic" and expand, contract ever so slightly on engine revolution i.e. piston up, down and high compression ratios. These microscopic bubbles get pulled off the cylinder wall violently. This errosion is what is refered to as Cavitational Porocity seems waaaay back when..I read this report that said the forces could be a high as 40,000 psi if I recall correclty....anyways after a while this CP action pulls minute particles of the cylinder wall off the waterjacket which errodes the cylinder wall through and pressssdooooo antifreese hydrolocks the engine....can you say new motor.....now to off set the CP action most manufacturers have a "coolant additive package" for your engine. DCA4, FW16 etc., which prevents the CP from happening. Many....many...many of early 7.3 suffered from CP engine failure because FMC never told thier "valued customers" about CP and the early blocks were notorious because they where just bored out 6.9 litre engines with thin cylinder wall to boot.....job one I say....!

The '96 F350 CC powerstroke has 435,000 kms (264K) and is still workin' away.... has been a good truck comparitive to the other two. Albeit has been expensive to operate...waterpumps, starters, CPS, HPOP, glowplugs, PCM, IDM, UVC gaskets and UVC wiring, GP relays, oilcoolers, fuelpump. I have also done most all the work myself including a bunch of mods but really the for noted stuff is what I would consider beyond regular maintanence.....

The cummulative cost of downtime, engine replacement, parts, paint and so on including the ownership experience......when I reflect on it's like wetting onself on a cold day......kinda warm....but soon...it's just cold ****....that you have to do something with....before you freeze.....

I truly hope that FMC is producing a better product as folks here assert....

jrc