Darrin's running hot and burning oil in NE

[argve]

tick tock tick tock tick tock

 

[84TD]

Thats what I am saying... my popcorn is running out...

 

[Darrin Tosh]

Sorry for the delay, we got a ton of snow and I had to deal with that. I used to love winter untill I owned a car lot.

Now What, time is getting short, I spot a nice older couple sitting there finishing ther coffie. I approached them, told them what was going on,.....

(in the voice of Paul Harvey),.....And now,...the rest of the sttory,...

They were a typical midwestern older couple, owned lots of land, the husband had a couple of fingers missing from an old farming accident, and were headed to Las Vegas. They were at first reluctant about giving us a ride, but the reason why is because we would have to ride in the back thier pickup. (Plains Trains and Automobiles ) I said that is ok, but what they ment was the back of the extended cab (98 F150 ex cab 2wd) and they removed the seats so we would have to sit on the floor,.. No Problem! His wife said she would sit on the floor so we didn't have too. We decided not to make her. They left thier coffie there, and we headed off to the parking lot. they met us at the truck, threw our luggage in the back, and crawled in the floor of the ex cab. We made it to the bus station with 25 minutes to spare. The gentleman would not take any money for the ride, and the wife said they would stay there untill we got on the bus. They were awesome, and very sweet! Tons of thanks to them and people like that!

When we walked in the bus stop and sat down the lady behind the counter took one look at us, pointed and said, "I know who you are",...we musta looked a little stressed,... not shure why,...

At this point I realized, there is nothing more that we have to do but sit relax and enjoy our ride home, shure it was on a Greyhound, making about 15 stops, layover's in Omaha and Chicago, switching busses, finding food,..etc. and shure it was a 22 hour bus ride that would only take 12 in a car, and now not able to have a nice dinner, and a night in a nice motel with Lori,.. But there was nothing that we HAD to do, and nothing we Could do, so we just made the best of it, kept a good attitude and enjoyed our experience.

We made it home by 3:30 the next day, right on time, my dad picked us up at the bus station and took us home.

Truck with a blown motor $6555.55
Bus tickets home $252.00
Tow truck bill $79.00
Spending 22 hours with your wife on a Greyhound Bus,..PRICLESS!

Here's the cool part, a lot of people would assume that Lori would never take a trip like this again, and was just tciked off the whole time. Here is a e-mail that she sent out that sort of sums it up from her perspective.

I will have to tell you all about our trip when I see you!! You will not believe all that went on!!! It very much resembled the movie "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" with John Candy and Steve Martin. Mix that movie up with the tv show "Amazing Race" and it would pretty much sum it up. Here are some highlights just to get you intrigued: we were in 11 vehicles of transportation, we heard lots of different kinds of languages, we definitely had plenty of time together, we were able to laugh and count it all as part of the adventure, we experienced things we never did or imagine we would before, Darrin is leaving at 7 tonight to go to Grand Island, Nebraska (with David this time, though I was willing to go again) with a flatbed trailer. Intrigued? I am just hoping I can remember it all to be able to tell you about it all!! My husband was so calm, patient, and we had to rely on each others wits, humor, and ingenutity to make it home!! It was a trip that we will always remember, and keep looking at each other and laugh that it all happened...hey, it's just money, right?!

I will talk to you later,
love, lori

Do I have a awesome wife or what,...!

Thanks again for taking the time to read this wole ordeal, I will update on the trip picking up the truck, and what the seller is saying, (basicly tough luck,..) in the next day or so.

Later!

 

[pafixitman]

Yes, you do have an awesome wife. So do I. It reminds me of my adventure after the rally. Just wait until the reality of how truely bad it could have been hits. It took me a couple of months to realize how blessed we were on our trip. Sounds like a was watching over you guys also.

 

[ttman4]

Do I have a awesome wife or what,...!

YES you do! If me & my wifey had just gone thru what ya'll just did, I'd probably have her already, if she hadn't already me......guarantee you one thing, one of us would probably still be in a snowdrift between Denver & home....probably me!!

 

[84TD]

What about the truck guy? I think he owes you a couple grand!!! Have you talked to him yet?

 

[icanfixall]

I can understand both sides of this motor. From the sellers side you are the one that was driving it when it broke. But on your side I would have to ask did the seller know this was about to happen??? The GV missing and his explanation of why he thought it was in place AND WORKING would have made me catch the next flight home. I can't really see what the trucks condition is but the idea of the p.o not knowing how or if he had an OD GV in the truck makes me feel very uneasy. It has been enteresting how everything has worked out. The great adventure couldn't have been planned or purchased from any travel agency thats for sure. Really it was a good time to spend doing things you would not have thought would turn out the way they did. You do have a keeper. She really deserves hugs EVERY nite....

 

[tuckerd1]

Now that is a great attitude your wife has!!! And an excellent testimonial about you too Darrin!

 

[argve]

Hat's off to Lori for dealing with it so well...

Now this tough luck thing.... well that's not too cool by any stretch of the means. Like I said before missing aux tranny and shipping it off with extra fluids is like saying to me - yep it's gonna break and I know it... At least when I sold the E I made for sure that the buyer knew exactly what he was getting in to. there is just something to be said for telling the truth and being up front with everything...

I hope you contact ebay about this deal.

 

[Freight_Train]

Hee hee hee,You didn't exactly tell me EVERYTHING about the E......Or you didn't tell me the extent.......THIS DAMN THING IS EVIL BEYONG ANY IMAGINATION!You could have told me to bring an exorcist to the delivery!But other than the Satanic Spirit living in her you was pretty close spot on.

 

[Agnem]

See Darrin. You'd have never had cool stories to tell like this one if you had kept your old job. I'd be impressed with Lori's attitude, but I know some of the other adventures she's been on, and this was probably a cake walk.

 

[sassyrel]

me thinks darrin is owed not only a honest explanation from that joker--but he owes him money also--as travis said--he knew something was def wrong--a shyster in my book--cheat, liar, thief, whatever you want to call it---period--

 

[Darrin Tosh]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments! I have been going through E-Bay Square Trade Moderation Services. This is what I sent to them:

Further Details About the Problem:
The truck was advertised to have an aftermarket Gearvendors type auxillary overdrive transmission. (www.gearvendors.com) This trans for this truck cost $3,245.00 installed. There IS no aux trans on the truck. Also the truck was advertised that it used 2 to 3 quarts of oil every fillup, aprox 300 miles. When attempting to drive it home to Grand Rapids, MI from Denver, It was actually using 5 quarts of oil every 100 miles! Since it was burning the oil, the heads got too hot and overheated the cylnders, cooked the motor. The truck is now broke down in Grand Island Nebraska with a blown motor. My wife and I then spent 22 hours on a Greyhound Bus so whe could get home. I have left 2 messages Mark at 303-980-9333 but have not heard from him. So I wanted to file this while I had a chance. I am going to need serous compensation to cover the aux trans, and my extra expenses as I now have to go get the truck. Please let me know what to do next. Thanks, Darrin.

Requested Solutions:

* I would be willing to accept a full or partial refund. ($$3056.00)



Further Details About the Solution:
Here is the breakdown, $3,245.00 is the price of the overdrive unit installed. I would accept $1,500.00 $5,390.00 Jasper Rebuilt Diesel Motor, I would accapt $1,000.00 to purchase a used one, and I will pay for labor to install. $252.00 Bus tickets home, I will accept $252.00 $79.00 Tow truck bill, I will accept $79.00 $450.00 Expenses to go back to Grand Island Nebraska from Grand Rapids, MI with a truck and flat bed trailer to retreive the 92 F350. I will accept $225.00 Spending 22 hours on a greyhound bus with my wife,..PRICELESS for a total of $3056.00 OR I would accept a full refund, plus our expenses, and he can go get the truck. I feel that I am being reasonable, I know that I purchased a used truck so I am not asking for brand new replacement parts. I just want a usable truck as it was advertise. I feel that it was misrepresentave especally with no aux transmission. Please let me know what to do next, Thanks, Darrin

This is his response,...

This truck is a 15 year old truck with 227000 mile. It was sold as is with no warrentee. This truck has a 5 speed transmisson, buyer wanted a Gearvendor type transmision that was not addvertised, although it is a 5 speed trany. Buyer was aware that truck was using oil, and was careless enough to blow motor up 300 miles dowm the road. This truck ran perfect when he picked it up in Denver. I had 2 other buyers that were offering 500 and a 1000 over auction price. This truck was sold as a no researve auction and sold pretty cheap. Darrin had opportunity to pass on truck when it wasn't the exact trany that he wanted, but the truck was such a bargin at this price that he still wanted the truck. The only problem with this sale occured when he blew it up on the way home, and now he wants me to reimburse him for his mistake. Sold as is no warrantee. Sorry for your bad luck, but this is no fault of mine.

Then the moderator read the responses and got back to both of us. In a nut shell here is his concerns,..

At this point I have read all the information that you both have submitted. The seller relies upon the "as is" characterization of the sale.

The buyer reports that "The truck was advertised to have an aftermarket Gearvendors type auxillary overdrive transmission." I have reviewed the listing and I cannot locate that statement; please redirect me to that item.
The seller's statement on oil usuage was not a warranty. Additionally, if the buyer noted the substantial oil usuage, wasn't the buyer under a duty to more closely monitor the situation?

I look forward to working with both of you.

Hal

Then I had 4500 characters to respond and I used most of them, here is my response to the moderator,..

Wed, Dec 06, 2006 1:34 PM (PT) Hi Hal, Thanks for taking this case and I am looking forward to helping you getting this resolved as quickly as possible.

First I would like to address your specific questions.

#1 The buyer reports that "The truck was advertised to have an aftermarket Gearvendors type auxiliary overdrive transmission." I have reviewed the listing and I cannot locate that statement; please redirect me to that item.

Here is the line from listing:
"The transmission is pretty cool, it came with a 3 speed with an overdrive, and it has an additional after market overdrive unit installed. So the trany has 5 gears."

The problem is that it only has the factory 4 speed overdrive automatic trans (E40d). The aux trans is a unit that bolts directly to the rear of the transfer case and can be engaged and disengaged buy a control unit installed in the cab of the truck. I spoke with Mark before the auction ended and asked specifically about the aux trans, and he stated that it was a unit bolted to the rear of the t-case. When we arrived in Denver to pick up the truck, we both looked underneath the truck with a flashlight, there is NO aux overdrive trans.

Gearvenders info http://www.drivetrain.com/new_overdrive/Fordmanual/overdrivefordmanual.html
Gearvenders info
http://oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3239

He is still stating that it has a 5 speed automatic, that is physically impossible without having the aux unit. What he thinks is another shift, is actually the torque converter lock up. All of Ford's trans on these trucks have a Lock Up Torque Converter. It makes it feel like a 5 speed trans. The only 5 speed trans offered by Ford was a ZF 5 Manual.

Here is a paragraph from http://www.bankspower.com/Tech_understandtorqueconver.cfm describing the lock up converter:

"The purpose of the lockup clutch is to directly connect the engine and the transmission once slippage is no longer needed. When the lockup clutch is engaged, a plate attached to the turbine is hydraulically pushed up against the front cover (which, you will recall, is connected to the impeller), creating a solid connection between the engine and transmission. Having the engine and transmission directly connected lowers the engine speed for a given vehicle speed, which increases fuel economy."


#2 The seller's statement on oil usage was not a warranty.

Statement from the seller "and it’s starting to use oil now," "I put in 2-3 quarts of oil when I fill both Tanks. It’s a great daily driver,"

According to Mark, at 38 gallons for both tanks, with 15 MPG The truck should go about 570 miles, and use 2 or 3 quarts. According to Mapquest, from Denver to Grand Island NE is 405 miles, that is how far the truck made it) In that time the truck used 16 quarts of oil! I realize that it was not a warranty, but nor was it even close to honest.

#3 wasn't the buyer under a duty to more closely monitor the situation?

Lets think about this, I am traveling with my wife, in a truck that I just purchased, and I know it uses some oil. I have had these diesel trucks for 10 years and buy them all of the time and have a lot of experience with them, The temp is 20 degrees and there is a huge snow storm heading in..... In this position, I am doing everything in my power to get myself and my wife home safely, the situation was VERY closely monitored. I was stopping every 60 to 100 miles to check it. It was injesting the oil in the combustion chambers and using it as fuel, when this happens the pistons get overheated, and it does not overheat the motor itself, so it does not show up on the factory temp gauge. There is nothing I could do, the truck was not in any position to make a long distance trip as was advertised.

Please check my feedback, I have a lot to loose if I get a negative feed back but am willing to take that risk because of the dishonesty that I have experienced with this seller. I feel very strongly that he knew how bad the motor was and was willing to let a buyer take the truck across the country just to make a sale.

The Aux Trans should be a open and shut case.

Thanks again, Hope to hear from you soon, you can call me anytime at 616-318-0118 if you need any more information or pics etc.

Darrin Tosh
D&L Auto Sales
Grand Rapids, MI
Mediator
Tue, Dec 05, 2006 6:39 PM (PT) Dear Darrin and Mark:

So there you have it, now I will wait to see what the moderator can do for me.

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

GET EM!
Just like drag racing, you let up, you loose.
Darrin I wish the best for ya on this one !

 

[SKimballC]

Good job Darrin, you've very eloquently said everything I could think to say. 300 miles of highway miles does not make a happy healthy truck into a dead truck- by damn near any driver. Sadly, the seller knows exactly what he set you up with and has probably already spent the shiestered money on a Powerstroke. *******.