Got a question for the Ford technicians

[mhughes165]

We don't have a rockauto out here. We have O'Reilly auto parts, Carquest and dealerships. The $600 he was quoted was not from a dealer, but from one of the most reputable privately owned shops in town. But I agree, I'd much rather pay the price of the part plus $2/hour to use the tools at the auto hobby shop than part plus $70/hour.

where in ND u stationed, im guessing minot, id stick with tackling it at the auto hobby shop, and if u talk to the guys in ur hobby shop u should be able to get them to order it for u at a considerable discount, also, keep in mind, most places offer atleast a 10% military discount on parts....

 

[Shran]

I can believe the $600 for an alternator. Parts are way too expensive these days for the quality you get. My buddy paid $450 for an alternator (installed) in his '99 Cougar. The part alone was $350.

 

[darkspork]

where in ND u stationed, im guessing minot, id stick with tackling it at the auto hobby shop, and if u talk to the guys in ur hobby shop u should be able to get them to order it for u at a considerable discount, also, keep in mind, most places offer atleast a 10% military discount on parts....

Yeah, good guess. Its actually pretty hard to find places around here that offer military discounts. Only places I can think of are Denny's, Coldstone, and Gamestop. A lot of locals actually really don't want us here. Somewhat unjustified but it is what it is. Military discounts seem to be a lot more prevalent in places that don't have military bases nearby. I mean hell, we are a large contributing factor to the city's strong economy. But that is way off topic.

I'll take a look for myself to see how hard it actually is to get to. If it looks easy I'll offer to do it for him, if not then I'll let him take care of it on his own. I still need to give him a ride to work until next pay day either way.

 

[94STXRanger]

yeah well go into Oreilly and ask how much it is then go to the shop next door who gets there parts from Oreilly. The difference will probably be twice as much. Its crazy to look at the cost of something, then see the list price a shop sells it for.

 

[mhughes165]

Yeah, good guess. Its actually pretty hard to find places around here that offer military discounts. Only places I can think of are Denny's, Coldstone, and Gamestop. A lot of locals actually really don't want us here. Somewhat unjustified but it is what it is. Military discounts seem to be a lot more prevalent in places that don't have military bases nearby. I mean hell, we are a large contributing factor to the city's strong economy. But that is way off topic.

I'll take a look for myself to see how hard it actually is to get to. If it looks easy I'll offer to do it for him, if not then I'll let him take care of it on his own. I still need to give him a ride to work until next pay day either way.

i was born in minot so i know a little bit about the area, without the base out there the town would not be there, the influx of funds from the military base IS what runs that town.

but ya, it shouldnt be too hard todo the alt on that, and if hes got the money for the part whats a couple days ****in with it tryin to put it in if it saves him atleast 300

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

i just looked up the price for a reman alt for his truck and its 157.69 plus 40.00 core charge. should be pretty easy to do by the looks of it (this one had a few "extra" pulleys on it) http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ev=/images?q=2007+ford+5.4l+engine&hl=en&um=1

 

[fordmandan87]

its not bad remove the intake hose and its right there in the middle

 

[Jspafford]

Rock auto is an online store... rockauto.com

I just bought a bunch of GM parts from them.

Got a OEM Catalytic Converter and 4 heated o2 sensors for $301 with shipping.

 

[darkspork]

its not bad remove the intake hose and its right there in the middle

I took a look today, the intake hose is the first thing that would need to be removed. The fan shroud is also in the way and to get that off the upper radiator hoses would need to be removed. Its is theoretically possible for somebody with small hands like me to get to it without taking those things off but it would be a real bitch. He's content with waiting 'till the 1st and paying a shop to take care of it. Its his money to spend. Thanks for the answers about the drivetrain warranty.

Here's a picture of the engine bay. Kind of hard to see in the picture how the fan shroud would interfere but it really doesn't give you a whole lot of room to work with. Not near as easy as the Ranger:

i was born in minot so i know a little bit about the area, without the base out there the town would not be there, the influx of funds from the military base IS what runs that town.

There are a few other things. There is the college (as you know people from different states and provinces attend MSU). Farmers in nearby small towns can't get everything they need from the general store and sometimes need to go to Walmart. And at least for the time being our sales tax is much lower than the Canadian's sales tax and Minot is rather close to the border, so there are a lot of Canadians that come here to shop. Yes the base does play a big role in the city's economy but the city existed far before the base did.
Its similar to saying San Antonio would not exist without Lackland AFB (San Antonio also gets a ton of revenue from the base populace and families visiting the base populace). I'm not defending the city of Minot, I hate the place, but I'm calling it as I see it. But again, entirely irrelevant to my original question.