Agreed; or a FORD dealership! The OP's first post mentions that the dealership he has been talking about is a FORD DEALERSHIP. WHAT?? All the advice from the others is good, and you should find someone else to do the work that knows the car. Perhaps you're obligated to let this dealer fix it though. I know it's easy for me to say, but with the age(going on 9yrs. now) and mileage, you should do all the advised fixes that the Forum members have suggested here. One of these must surely be the problem, but no guarantees. Perhaps try and contact a SoCal member and find out a good reputable shop in your area. FWIW, I'll add my vote to IC pump replacement.
PS- The tranny apparently has a leak; has anyone actually checked the level of the transmission fluid? A Ford dealer may not even know how to do this properly(no dip stick).

 

Umm...there are plenty of dip sticks at the dealerships around here

Just sayin'...

RL

 

HA! lol. I hear you there. Just letting the OP know it isn't as simple as pulling a stick and reading. (Need the temp. reading, etc.)

 

HAHa.

Question, Did you ever get those shorts to come clean?

 

Too many posts to grab quotes haha

Alright, so I stopped into the Encinitas Ford Dealership and I'm a lot happier.

So far; you all are correct. Best part; it isn't Ford doing the work. Yesterday they sent it right in the morning to a well know Mercedes mechanic (I'm currently looking into the statement) who has work on quite a few SLK's through out the year. Encinitas Ford immediately understood that they were not equipped to work on the vehicle appropriately, so kudo's to them, right? :P

This also explains why I only got a few engine codes; being the middle man ain't easy. I printed out a few of the pages (thank you all for those) from here, read up on checking the fluids and when I went there and explained the process my sales man David immediately took me over to the service department where we had a brief conversation about the pitfalls of being unfamiliar with the car. At that point, the gentleman at the service department assured me they knew it was beyond their knowledge base and that I would be better served by this mechanic.

The warranty allows me to take it to five star; maybe not the best as pointed out; but I am use to diagnosing car farts with forum members/club members/banging my head and saying "change this, check it and then tell me" (if I cannot do the work appropriately).

So what where the problems?

Allegedly, there was a leak with the transmission (fixed now), a few EGR "parts" needing to be replaced and the mechanic was working on a few other small issues before it got buttoned up. This of course, is second/third hand info, but I have been assured I will get a full readout of the codes for all of us to compare notes.

I am feeling more relieved each day. I've been able to find a few maintenance sheets on here; but I haven't stumbled upon a "super neurotic, paranoid, supreme ultimate checklist for noobs" but I am sure the more information I find on here, I'll be able to compile a sheet that makes me happy

 

Just rest a little easy. As nervous as these Xfires sometimes seem to be, they are, for the most part, extremely reliable. Just not common. A good thing right?
The up side is that you own a rare, quasi EXOTIC that can be worked on and kept running by more than the factory guys,,, like in the case of say owning a Lotus.

Everything about the car is Mercedes except the paperwork. Anybody that says it is 50% Chrysler or 95% Benz doesn't know jack about them.. Walk away and find someone who does know.

A Mercedes stealership might know. But, few will even touch it. Find an independent who specializes in the Diamler line,,,,you will be OK.

 

Hope in one hand, wrench in the other.

Ok, instead of posting about the problems, how about I introduce myself? haha

My name is Nick; I live in San Diego,Ca however my second "home" is Dallas, TX. I've been a fan of the Crossfire since day one. My mouth dropped when I saw my first SRT-6. I was 20 years old, working at Fry's Electronics and I followed the owner into the store, gabbing his ear off about the car, asking a thousand questions. Poor guy just wanted to buy a CD burner and he had to beat me back with a stick lol

7 months ago I decided to pull the trigger and get serious about buying a vehicle I loved just the way it is, not what it could be. I lurked around here for a bit, learning more and more about the quirks and key points of these orphans. Needless to say; that 20 year old in me (which is just a taller 5 year old version of me) came right out and said "DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!". One of the big aspects for me though, is the community surrounding the vehicle. I know this may seem... odd... but I want vehicles that I can be passionate about and share with people. If those people aren't my flavor; the car becomes less attractive (I will probably never own a Mustang lol).

For the three days I did drive the car; it was a great experience. Friends with modified BMW's, RX7's and 240sx's doubted my commitment to sparkle motion until I brought her home. They all agreed; she's got the right style but didn't think it could hang. Needless to say, in my group I am the new BMOC and a few are none too happy about it

---- The Saga Continues ----
Update:
Yesterday I was given the impression there were a few small things to tighten down and the car would be ready today.
Called just now; the place servicing my car isn't open on Saturday.
Assistant Manager now is collecting the Owner and Service Manager for a "Come to Jesus" on Monday.

I will NEVER purchase ANYTHING from Encinitas Ford ever again.
Period.

These means by the time they talk to me; they will have had my car for a week, I've had to hound them for updates and would only get partials that made no sense. I was constantly given false hopes as to when the car was being worked on, what was being worked on and when it would be done.

I wanted to be First On Race Day but am Found On Road Dead.

 

Hey man congrats, the only dealer that I've had any luck with is Rancho Chrysler

San Diego's Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Dealership | Rancho Chrysler Dodge Keep RAM in Kearny Mesa| Serving San Diego, Escondidto, Carlsbad & National City, CA

I've had my intercooler water pump replaced there and a door alarm module that was preventing my car from starting. An older lady by the name of Marley was my SA, she was receptive to my feedback which is important to me.

 

Thank you for the tip; I am sure it will come handy in the future.

Well I got the car back; waiting on the paper work to be faxed to me for the codes.
It did have the wonderful trannie leak, 2 o2 sensor troubles and then 2 sensors "related" to the super charger.

The car is up and running fine (TPS went off tonight just to give me a heart attack when I saw a yellow light lol). We will see what the next few days hold and then of course the best part about a "Hey I am new to this car forum" post: PICS!

I'll make sure to actually post the codes in here including the parts used for completeness of the thread. Also, a big thanks to you all; really helped me get an idea of what to expect first hand and calmed my nerves

 

Hi Nick!
Just wanted to say that one comment in your introduction really rang true with me!
I *completely* agree about wanting to own a car with the right "community" surrounding it.
It's one thing if I'm just buying a practical grocery-getter vehicle, and I've done that before a few times too. But right now, my wife has the new KIA SUV in the family that serves all those "practical" purposes quite well. The Crossfire, for me, was supposed to be a fun / project type car to actually be proud to own and drive.

I've probably commented about it on here before, but I used to own a Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8GT. I bought one of the very first ones available in early 2009. I was initially really excited that it had potential to be a really good value in a sports car, while not being a model that you'd see parked on every block. But ultimately, I traded it off at a big loss - and much of it had to do with the community that wound up around the car. Being a Korean car, it turned out all the experts with real knowledge were S. Koreans and they often tried to keep their best work to themselves. (You'd regularly see Korean YouTube videos posted showing projects of all kinds -- superchargers, turbochargers, etc. etc. But here in the USA? Nothing but empty promises from a bunch of wanna-be performance parts dealers who couldn't put together a workable kit at a reasonable price.)

I have a long history of buying sports/sporty cars and doing at least some modifications to them, and I never had such a poor experience as I did dealing with the Genesis Coupe community.... For every helpful response to a question, you got 5 people berating you for your lack of skills. Every time you bought a "recommended" product for the car, it seemed like the vendor ripped you off or went back on initial promises of support for it. It was just bad news after bad news ..... I wound up sitting on a heavily modified car I didn't even like as much as when it was still factory stock.

Enough about that, though, I guess! I'd just like to say that the Crossfire community is the exact opposite of that. This group is truly helpful and friendly, and makes me really happy I bought this car!

 

Thanks King; yet another assurance that I made the correct decision.
/grin

I will say; after the car came back from the dealer I noticed a difference (other than they left me with half a tank and the clean car I gave them came back caked in crud and was obviously left outside uncovered for 7 days...); it performs very well and so far I have PO'ed just about every SLK owner I've met on the freeway lol

Saturday my buddies and I are going over the entire car piece by piece, washing, clay barring and waxing her so my brother can take some nice pictures for you all. Till then; camera phone it is :P

 

Still haven't received the codes =\
Car is now "lurching forward" at times (different gears and speeds). I am assuming it's low trannie fluid, because... well... thats what the forums are directing me towards and I don't expect the stealerships mechanic to actually do proper work.

I've also placed a nice yelp review, emailed Ford corporate about my experiences, emailed the dealership owner and am preparing to possibly write my attorney general.
Yeah, I'm one of those guys.

Ask Miramar KFC what happens when they run out of chicken...

 

Dude - I'm telling you - that "forward surge" you feel is your S/C clutch disengaging. Go back and read my experience (post 5 I think) and see if it sounds like what is happening. That surge has nothing to do with the tyranny.

RL

 

Sorry; I kinda need to take a step back and get out of my "lizard brain" mode.
Since it doesn't throw a CEL, that should be fun to daig ;p
I'll check later tonight on here to see how I go about it (unless you have a handy dandy link already haha).

Thanks again guys; y'all are making this easier.

 

I'm manning the grill right now but if someone doesn't post it up by the time I'm done, I'll hook you up.

Hang in there ;-)

RL

 

Well the ole' guy just read thru all the posts. 1st welcome. 2nd. Most people trade these cars in because they can't fix them. 3rd and most important, you had multiple problems with the car. The mechanic found a few but as the others have tried to tell you several times the IC pump IS failing. Have them replace it. Don't let them tell you anything different. Tranny fix is a common problem. Battery being weak is a common problem. RCM needing soldered is a common problem. I can go on. But For now a Bosch pump would be my next stop. Even crossfire trained mechanics have misdiagnosed the pump. Good luck.

 

Word.

I'll check my warranty papers; get the part. If things go south, I'll get the boys together with some beers and swap it.

I've read the Johnson writeup; I am assuming the Ford Lightning Bosch is just the same.

 

Here ya go, Chief. Get this part:

Bosch 0392022010 Engine Auxiliary Water Pump : Amazon.com : Automotive

or one from a vendor of your choice. Make sure it is a Bosch and ends with "010" - that is the latest revision. The Bosch is a direct replacement and will require no modification. Some owners will get a Johnson CM30, but that will require some mods. I am not very familiar with the Johnson, but I think it had more flow than the earlier Bosch, but I am not sure how it compares to the latest revision.

There are instructions on the forum for doing it yourself or you can have the shop do it. It's pretty straight forward for a mechanic that works on cars for a living.

RL

 

Thanks for the info; didn't realize it was a straight replace.

Ordered one and hopefully will be dropping it in next weekend.

Just received the invoice for work:
Replaced:
secondary air pump assembly
coolant temp sensor
two front o2 sensors
air intake temp sensor
replaced transmission quick connector

The closest thing I can find as to an engine code is ?PO54991?

Regardless... **** it; don't have to deal with them again and I can use the mechanic I trust. Myself.

 

AWESOME - you just took the first step in getting your power back.

You say you are already familiar with the Johnson install so you've probably read the PDF that someone made up. Just a heads up - there is a nut that is hard to see that needs to be removed. It is identified in the first picture - the 10MM nut that the left circle is indicating. It is a pain to get a wrench on, but patience will serve you well. When I reinstalled my inner fender, I didn't put that nut back on. Seems to be OK. You can forget about all the mod instructions if you are using a Bosch - it should be a plug and play if no one has been there before.

Also, some people will use vise grips or something similar to pinch the hoses to keep the antifreeze from draining out. I opted to put a very clean bucket under the hoses and let them drain. They probably drained for several minutes - maybe about a gallon or so. It can be poured back into your reservoir when you are finished.

Lastly - CHOCK THE TIRES (front and rear on the driver's side - can't be to safe). The rear wheel will lift off the ground when you jack it up to put it on stands and could allow the car to roll. Ask me how I know

Good luck!!

RL