Took 94 Mustang GT 5.0 to ford dealer for repair. Odometer was working prior but not after

[axyun]

Took my 94 Mustang gt 5.0 convertible to ford dealer. There were several issues. The car was cranking but not starting up and noticed arcing under hood. Had engine codes 181,189 on engine off test and 332 with engine running. Engine light would come on after a few minutes of driving. They had car almost 2 months and changed :

F7PZ-12029-AA Coil AS 035843 132.99
E6TZ-12106-A Housing 002442 44.98
E6TZ-12200-F Rotor A 004180 62.98
4F1299 EGR Valve 237.99
F2ZZ-9G428-8 Sensor 227587 112.99
Shop Supplies 59.99
Env. Fee 5.99
Labor 1150.83


Total was over $1700 and my car did not start up a couple of days after taking home and I realized that odometer was not working though when I took car there the odometer was fine and logged mileage from home to dealer. I am beside myself and don't know what to do at this point. Car has about 93,000 miles. Purchased used 3 years ago with 41000 miles for $10,000. Has been reliable until recently with check engine lite coming on after driving couple minutes. . Also hd issue where would not start sometimes in park but always started in neutral. Then had a terrific rainstorm and next day would not start but was cranking. Noticed arcing under hood.(coil?). Then took to Ford dealerJune 10 and got back August 10.
Big dealer in Alexandria,Va. but told me needed special tool they did not have and had to borrow from somewhere else and then had problem getting EGR valve because discontiued by Ford and finally got one from aftermarket source.
Drove car home but couple days later would not start but was cranking. Jumped battery and drove for half hour. Then realized odometer not moving, not even tenth of mile.

 

[nickyb]

1150 for labor is hyway robbery! The coil is like $40 bux.I wish you were close to me is have done it for free.Does it still arc under hood?

 

[General karthief]

That figures, new car dealerships deal with new cars, rarely does one know what to do with older stuff.
i'd take it back and demand an explanation.
did you get a itemized work order with the technician name?

 

[axyun]

Don't see the arcing anymore. I know for a fact that the odometer was working as I kept a log and had mileage listed before going and on arrival to dealership. It's a nice looking car and I don't need it anymore. We are using my wife's car and I am retired now. I would like to sell it to someone who knows and works on Mustangs like this who would know what they were getting and offer a reasonable amount for it.I am now in Alexandria ,Va.

 

[96pushrod]

Jesus those are some crazy figures on those parts. $62.98 for a distributor rotor? 44.98 for just the cap? A cap and rotor at oreillys with a lifetime warranty is $23. Those prices are ridiculous.

That labor bill is nuts as well. All that stuff I could’ve changed out in like an hr and a half.

 

[revhead347]

First off, they probably had nothing to do with the odometer. There are a pair of plastic gears in the back of the instrument cluster that break. It happens all the time. You have to pull the instrument cluster, take it apart, and change those little gears. It's not that hard, might take you an hour. The hardest part is getting the knob off the headlight switch. If it's crambed on there it can put up a fight. I think the last time I got those gears, it was around $30 for the set.

Who else here thinks the cause of the problem is a $30 PIP sensor, or a $60 ignition control module?

Kurt

 

[General karthief]

i think you may be right.

 

[Potomus Pete]

First off, they probably had nothing to do with the odometer. There are a pair of plastic gears in the back of the instrument cluster that break. It happens all the time. You have to pull the instrument cluster, take it apart, and change those little gears. It's not that hard, might take you an hour. The hardest part is getting the knob off the headlight switch. If it's crambed on there it can put up a fight. I think the last time I got those gears, it was around $30 for the set.

Who else here thinks the cause of the problem is a $30 PIP sensor, or a $60 ignition control module?

Kurt

Of coarse . no better feeling when you finally get it right. Doesnt F150 s get the same problem. That would be worldwide problem. He didnt get pip or icm must have been the coil.... Next week will be pip and icm. Then you are truly reborn . Imagine the screwing when they try to figure the pip.

 

[revhead347]

Jesus those are some crazy figures on those parts. $62.98 for a distributor rotor? 44.98 for just the cap? A cap and rotor at oreillys with a lifetime warranty is $23. Those prices are ridiculous.

That labor bill is nuts as well. All that stuff I could’ve changed out in like an hr and a half.

I think the top end Accel cap and rotor kit with brass connections and the thicker plastic is like $30 lol.

That labor bill is not surprising. Look, the cars are old. The OP probably rolled in there with the only OBD1 car that Ford dealership has ever worked on. They just don't do this stuff. Almost everything they work on is less than 10 years old, and even that's pushing it. The techs these days are used to plugging the car in, and getting lots of information back from the computer.

Just my 2 cents. If I were in your shoes, I'd throw a PIP and an ignition control module in it. Even if it's not broken now, it will break soon enough. The ignition control module is literally something anyone can do. I think the low end ones are around $60, and the Motorcraft ones are just over $100. They are all hit or miss. The PIP is a little harder since it's inside the distributor. That means pulling the distributor, getting it out of there, putting it back in, and re timing the car. If that is above your head, bring it somewhere, and tell them you want a reman distributor put in. No diagnosis, just put one in.

Kurt

 

[revhead347]

Of coarse . no better feeling when you finally get it right. Doesnt F150 s get the same problem. That would be worldwide problem. He didnt get pip or icm must have been the coil.... Next week will be pip and icm. Then you are truly reborn . Imagine the screwing when they try to figure the pip.

Every coil I had go bad just died, it was never intermittent. The PIP sensor can work half ass for awhile even when it's bad.

Kurt

 

[Potomus Pete]

I brought my car to a garage and the guy insisted that my car was a four cylinder because of the four lugs. I said no thats the way it is. He scolded me , I just shut my mouth.

 

[axyun]

know odometer was working because I kept a log and was at 93620.4 on way from home to dealer and arrived 93,624. which it stays at now. I am in Alexandria,Va. if someon is interested in a good price on this car.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Odometer is mechanical and driven off the speedo cable. Does your speedometer work? If the head is turning and moving the needle, then a small pair of gears will slowly turn and move the odometer gears inside the head.

No idea how the dealer could have caused this issue, but it would be one hell of an odd coincidence for it to go out while at the dealer.


Also, what is arcing? What can you physically see arcing? Looks like they are chasing something in the distributor. They changed the coil, dist housing and rotor. No new wires?

 

[revhead347]

Odometer is mechanical and driven off the speedo cable. Does your speedometer work? If the head is turning and moving the needle, then a small pair of gears will slowly turn and move the odometer gears inside the head.

No speedometer cable on a 94', it's all electronic. There is a tiny electric motor that turns gears that turn the odometer and tripometer. One of those little gears is missing a tooth, or has worn down. Sometimes it's catching, sometimes it's not, like using an old wratchet. That's why it is is intermittent. It's nothing the dealer did, it's a known issue. Not that it can be really considered an issue when it took 25 years to break, but that's always what brakes.

Kurt

 

[Mustang5L5]

No speedometer cable on a 94', it's all electronic. There is a tiny electric motor that turns gears that turn the odometer and tripometer. One of those little gears is missing a tooth, or has worn down. Sometimes it's catching, sometimes it's not, like using an old wratchet. That's why it is is intermittent. It's nothing the dealer did, it's a known issue. Not that it can be really considered an issue when it took 25 years to break, but that's always what brakes.

Kurt

Right. Mental slip on that. I knew the odometer was mechanical, but went into fox-body mode when I started describing how it worked