Advice-talking to warranty company about cam welds

[Vroom]

Well, I have a 3 yr, "everything's covered" warranty plan on my '97, which has 110k on the clock and is unwelded. The comany is Mastertech, anyone ever deal with them?

Anyway, I'm going to be calling their 800 number to talk about the cam failure in our cars. I'm going to find out if they'd pay after a cam failure, even if it results in prices greater than the car's value. I'm going to see if they'd perhaps pay for a cam weld (unlikely) and I'm going to find out if a cam weld would void my warranty (hope not).

Does anyone have any tips to talking to someone about this? Should I ask to speak to someone high up at the company? How can I keep from sounding like a know-it-all, and convince that this is a real problem that Ford is not admitting up to? Any places for info (v8sho.com, etc) to send them to?

Thanks, I just wanna get this sorted out soon.

 

[XLSuruaT]

I dont know the terms of your warranty, but some warranty companies will not cover repairs covered in tsb's. An intake gasket repair was declined for my mom's van from 1st source auto warranty because the repair was in a tsb. Ford has a locite tsb for the cams, so make sure that any repairs in tsb's are covered. Some companies will not pay for any repairs exceeding the value of the car, so I suggest reading the terms very carefully and be familiar with them when talking to them.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

Don't ask them if the welds will **** your warranty. They'll never know and you're just asking for them to deny any possible future claim.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

What Mikey said. Calling these people won't accomplish anything but raise red flags on their end and risk you losing any coverage. Telling them that you're even thinking about having the cams welded will probably screw you for any future engine-related claim, whether it's due to the cams or not. Save your phone calls to them for when you actually (hopefully never) need to file a claim.

More importantly, don't expect them to cover a cam failure if you have one. I've yet to see an extended warranty policy that doesn't have exclusions limiting their liability on repairs that exceed the value of the car. Usually the most they'll do is refund your premium for a pro-rated amount at best.

IMHO, If you can't afford to have the cams welded, you can't afford the car. Too many people are now making payments on a car they haven't been able to drive for months or more, and probably will never be able to drive again. Expensive lessons...

 

[Vroom]

Points taken. Mr. Anonymous, I can afford the cam welds, I just don't think I can get it done anytime soon, so I'm trying to prepare for the worst.

Also, my intake is gummed up causing a 1518 diagnostic code, so I need to get it cleaned ASAP, but don't want to shell out $800 now to get them just cleaned and then $525 later to have my cams welded. They could easily be cleaned at the same time as the welds.

And I'm kind of inbetween a rock and a hard place with the car. The warranty lasts 3 years as I mentioned. If you sell the warranty, you hardly get anything back for it. And I don't want to sell the car if it's having troubles with the intake. I actually really like this car and want to drive it for a long time, but I'm starting to realize why SHOs are called money pits, and I don't want to have a big hunk of metal in my driveway in the event of a cam failure.

Grr, I wish I could get to a cam welder soon.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Vroom:
Points taken. Mr. Anonymous, I can afford the cam welds, I just don't think I can get it done anytime soon, so I'm trying to prepare for the worst.

Also, my intake is gummed up causing a 1518 diagnostic code, so I need to get it cleaned ASAP, but don't want to shell out $800 now to get them just cleaned and then $525 later to have my cams welded. They could easily be cleaned at the same time as the welds.

And I'm kind of inbetween a rock and a hard place with the car. The warranty lasts 3 years as I mentioned. If you sell the warranty, you hardly get anything back for it. And I don't want to sell the car if it's having troubles with the intake. I actually really like this car and want to drive it for a long time, but I'm starting to realize why SHOs are called money pits, and I don't want to have a big hunk of metal in my driveway in the event of a cam failure.

Grr, I wish I could get to a cam welder soon.

Try to organize a Camfest in your area. Get 6-10 people together who need their cams welded, then get in touch with Kirk to get it done and he'll come out there. If you set it all up, you can get a decent discount depending on how many cars ultimately show up. Plus, he cleans your intake like new as part of the cam weld service.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

I would probably consider a 3rd Gen SHO the least maintenance intensive SHO out of any Gen.

Get the camweld done and that's it. You have a solid car that will last a LONG time until the tranny goes. And when the tranny goes, you have a warranty!

 

[Tomlinson 97 Ebony]

Vroom:
Well, I have a 3 yr, "everything's covered" warranty plan on my '97, which has 110k on the clock and is unwelded. The comany is Mastertech, anyone ever deal with them?

Anyway, I'm going to be calling their 800 number to talk about the cam failure in our cars. I'm going to find out if they'd pay after a cam failure, even if it results in prices greater than the car's value. I'm going to see if they'd perhaps pay for a cam weld (unlikely) and I'm going to find out if a cam weld would void my warranty (hope not).

Does anyone have any tips to talking to someone about this? Should I ask to speak to someone high up at the company? How can I keep from sounding like a know-it-all, and convince that this is a real problem that Ford is not admitting up to? Any places for info (v8sho.com, etc) to send them to?

Thanks, I just wanna get this sorted out soon.

 

[Tomlinson 97 Ebony]

Tomlinson 97 Ebony:I have a similar warranty for my 97 Ebony SHO. I bought it 2/2/03 with 105K. It came with a 5yr/100K warranty from AutoSave. About a month after I bought it, the tranny crapped out. No signs or anything. It would just sit in R,D,L and not move. Well, the garage fixed it no charge. I still dont have my cams welded. Will do it soon. Im close to kirk.

Vroom:
Well, I have a 3 yr, "everything's covered" warranty plan on my '97, which has 110k on the clock and is unwelded. The comany is Mastertech, anyone ever deal with them?

Anyway, I'm going to be calling their 800 number to talk about the cam failure in our cars. I'm going to find out if they'd pay after a cam failure, even if it results in prices greater than the car's value. I'm going to see if they'd perhaps pay for a cam weld (unlikely) and I'm going to find out if a cam weld would void my warranty (hope not).

Does anyone have any tips to talking to someone about this? Should I ask to speak to someone high up at the company? How can I keep from sounding like a know-it-all, and convince that this is a real problem that Ford is not admitting up to? Any places for info (v8sho.com, etc) to send them to?

Thanks, I just wanna get this sorted out soon.

 

[SHODWN]

I had one user explain to an adjuster about the problem, he took the info from the site and from my cam weld expirence and presented them with the option of a 500-1000 repair or a 5000 dollar repair. either way they would be paying because of the odds game you have with this car. WHich would you like to do? They told him to do it and reimbursed him 100% after the job was done.

SO it can happen, he was on this forum too. he was the guy in NESHOC with the turbo Dodge that I killed on the highway and he cried about it for months

<small>[ January 26, 2004, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: SHODWN ]</small>

 

[Vroom]

See, This is what I'm talking about. Saying it's either a cheap fix now, or a more expensive repair later. I was wondering if the warranty company would go for that.

I'm mostly concerned about the cams failing on the way to get my cams welded because I'd have to drive at least 420 miles to Madison, WI (unless I can get enough interest for a cam fest in/near Sioux Falls.

 

[SHOWHAT9]

SHODWN:
I had one user explain to an adjuster about the problem, he took the info from the site and from my cam weld expirence and presented them with the option of a 500-1000 repair or a 5000 dollar repair. either way they would be paying because of the odds game you have with this car. WHich would you like to do? They told him to do it and reimbursed him 100% after the job was done.

SO it can happen, he was on this forum too. he was the guy in NESHOC with the turbo Dodge that I killed on the highway and he cried about it for months

Kirk is correct, and there was just another member who did the same thing and the warranty company AFAIK has agreed to cover the replaced cam, but no final word on the welding. The V8 site is loaded with stories of failures of people who just ignored the obvious and thought it won't happen to them. Do your research, print and assemble the newspaper articles from DFP and others that have chronicled the failures, we have had 13 failures across the country so far just this month and known failures total 341. In the bigger picture that are certainly at least that many if not more that will go unreported because the owners just gave up. If you value the car find a way to get em welded.

 

[Vroom]

Well, I've had a couple people that might be interested in a camfest near the South Dakota/Iowa/Minneapolis area, but not enough yet.

I'm thinking of scheduling an appointment at Performance Plus in Madison, WI.

The only way I could reach the warranty company is their 800 number, so presenting printouts from V8SHO.com is not an option. Should I talk to them? I wouldn't ask flat out if welding the cams would void my warranty; instead I would present the proposal of pay a little now to avoid paying a lot later.

Can anyone tell me how to get a hold of the people who have already accomplished agreements with their warranty companies?

As a side note, what should I have Performance Plus do besides weld the cams? I definately need the intakes cleaned and I should have him check if my IMRC needs to be replaced (I had CEL code #1518), but what else? Since my SHO is over 100k, I know there's got to be some things I should have him check or replace.

<small>[ February 04, 2004, 01:25 AM: Message edited by: Vroom ]</small>

 

[Trojan Man]

Would be a good time for some new plugs and wires.

 

[SHOWHAT9]

Trojan Man:
Would be a good time for some new plugs and wires.

Wires???? Kirk you swipe my wires again????
NO wires. Coil On Plug (COP) Kind looks like this, although this is not necessarily a Ford COP.

<small>[ February 05, 2004, 12:49 PM: Message edited by: SHOWHAT9 ]</small>

 

[Vroom]

So that's what I should tell them to replace, or check to see if it needs replacement? Anything else?

 

[Trojan Man]

Guess it's time to buy a Gen 3 haha. Brainfart.

Plugs!

 

[Vroom]

A little update here after getting off the phone with some lady at the warranty company:

I mainly called about them denying coverage of my code #1518 (carbon buildup in intake). Well, Sioux Falls Ford (the shop I took it to) described the problem as "the intake gaskets are leaking, and since the customer's car is above 100k miles, seals and gaskets are not covered under MasterTech warranty". WTF? rant The lady said that Sioux Falls Ford didn't even mention anything about the intake manifold itself. madflame And she then said that "cleaning" is not covered. OK well I guess I'm screwed there. I asked about IMRC and EEC and she didn't even know what they were after I explained them, so they MUST not be covered.

I then out of curiousity asked what was covered by them dealing with the camshaft (because it says camshaft as a covered part). I then briefly explained the cam problem we all know and hate, and she said "Well, if Ford has acknowledged it and it's a manufacturer defect, then we can't cover it." I then try to tell her Ford is trying to deny it, but that they have sort of offered a momentary precaution (Loctite) but she just kept repeating that phrase about not being covered. So I say, "If a have a cam failure, and "hypothetically" Ford hasn't acknowledged it, then will it be covered?" And she starts saying that it'd be complicated and we'd have to get all the info from the manufacturer, blah blah blah...

So, in short, I can't wait for Madison, WI in March thumb

 

[OzzmanNT]

Warrenties are a bunch of B.S. I ended up going to Kirk and getting my cam's welded @ 60k. (I was the first in car that he did.) I didn't even bother asking the warrenty company about it, just paid it and didn't look back. These engines don't have any problems other than the cams, just do it, they will never even know someone welded the cams. Even if they pull the cam covers off just tell them it came like that....they will never see another V8 SHO anyways.

 

[pathogenic]

Yeah this sure sounds scary with the cams. Aftermarket warranties are not to be trusted. I had one and just had so many problems with them denying basic claims because it was covered in a TSB or they felt was linked to a problem covered in a TSB. BS of course but I don't have the time to take the warranty company to small claims court every time they deny my claim.

Fortunately I haven't seen or read or heart one complaint about Kirk's welding work, so at least there's a way to make sure that this won't happen to you. And think of it this way, for the price it's still cheaper than most aftermarket warranties and will do more for you in the long run.