Roush Got S281 serviced, 8hrs of HELL...NEED HELP

[Probablecause]

let me tell you guys about my day and then tell me if this ain't typical disgusting Saleen service. bear with me as i have a tech question at the end!

i drove an hour and a half this morning to the nearest saleen dealer and when i got there at 8am as they opened, i was told that they only had one tech that could work on my car and he already had three jobs to do in front of me. how is this when i'm there at opening? so shortly after 11am, the tech takes my car for a good spin, and i mean a good 10-15 minutes he was gone. the only problem i had was that the intercooler H2O gauge was not working. did it take that long to notice?

they finally got my car in the bay around 11:30 and then at 12pm i've heard nothing and the one guy there working on my car left for an hour lunch. some time around 1:30 i can only guess he's back and working on my car, i don't know for sure because the car is off in a part of the bay that you can't see. someone commented to me, "wow, you've been here all day?!". i laughed this off as i wiped the waves of sweat coming off of me like an eskimo in the gobi desert.

around 2:30 the turds in the service department really bend me over. get this, the sending unit coming out of the intercooler overflow is tits up and whaddya know? saleen no longer makes that sending unit. i asked them, you mean to tell me that it took you that long to figure that out? and on top of that somehow in two years things have changed to the point that they can't take an 03-04 sending unit and stick it on there. they said no, it wouldn't work and saleen no longer makes that part and they don't know how to get ahold of one, this after a phone call to california. what kind of ass clowns are we dealing with here? so now i've got a car with 19K miles on it, only a couple of years old and i'm SOL. they said they tried to cross reference the old part number with a new one and it wouldn't work. so they called saleen again and saleen told them to stick a MOTORCRAFT sending unit on the car....nope, nadda, nothing. still didn't work. the people of course claimed "it's not a Ford part, we don't know what to say". anyone i spoke to about the status of the car said "i don't know, ask so and so"...it was like the saleen mustang in the bay was infected with the ebola virus, no one wanted to help me out.

why don't i ride to the dealer in town, wait all day and hear the same thing from the chimps working in the service department? so i finally got my car back around 4pm and drove all of the way home with the same problem i had to begin with. i'm so sick of saleen and their crap...i mean, out of 15 mechanics running around one of only 2 saleen dealers in georgia, they've only got ONE man to do anything on a saleen? and then it takes 8 hours to do a one hour job, tops...and i'm out $70 for the diagnosis because the warranty is out.

how do i fix my car? will a newer model sending unit work on my intercooler or am i supposed to fart a 2001 unit and put it on my car. i can't be stuck with a busted gauge from now on, one that reads something vital to the driver. what if i just get an intercooler temp gauge from scratch? just start over? please let me know....i was so tempted to can my saleen and drive home in the bright red 2004 cobra on sale for $33,000.

i'm going to call saleen when i can and then have them not answer when i do or put me on hold forever. wow...i can't wait.

 

[marcus95]

Sorry to hear man. Venting is healty. Those of us that have owned a Saleen under warranty know how you feel. All I can say is first call Saleen direct and ask for Carlos. Don't leave a message. Just use the 1-800 # and keep calling throughout the day until you get him on the line. Once you do and you keep your cool ( I know it will be tough) but he is the only one there that will be able to help you. I know they have more sending units there for the 02 and down.
Second, If you just get nowhere with Saleen give Joe at Chicane spot tuning in Torrance, CA a call in a few days. He is wrapping up a television show shoot there today but will be around in a couple of days. He will have a fix for sure.
I can make you feel better. I own a mint sub 5,000 mile S351R-code. The motor blew up on the dyno a few months back. ( the car was factory stock)Of course it's not under warranty, but an almost new car should'nt blow it's wad so early. Right? I knew that 3 out of 4 S351's motors blow prematurely but it did'nt change my mind from buying my 351 over an S281E or a Saleen Cobra. It's just the nature of owning a Saleen/beast. Almost anyone who knows they want to own a Saleen Mustang new or not, under warranty or not knows about the horrible service and parts problems. Everytime I think I should have bought a Lexus I just go drive one of my cars and I forget all about those great Lexus customer satisfaction surveys.

 

[nitro]

Went thru the same thing with my 99. I finally recceived the new unit after waiting for ever and it didn't work. I tore everything apart and couldn't find a dam thing wrong. I then thought of something (bad ground thru intercooler cooling tank) so I cleaned up the area where the intercooler bolts down and bingo!! Don't know if that helps you or not.
I did try the cross reference thing, internet, etc. and also went to local Napa and had some very good people try to cross, but could not find a thing to work.
I love my Saleen, but Saleen as a company needs to get it in gear.

 

[sal07b]

Marcus,

You blew up your s351? Aarrhh, dude, that makes me ache! That is my all time dream car. As a matter of fact, there is one for sale on eBay now :worship: (black vert). I hate to hear something like that. Hopefully you got it fixed and you're back up and running! If so, you've got to take it to the SOEC Annual Show in September so I can "happy snap" the crap out of it!

Probable Cause,

Dude your situation stinks. Are you talking about never being able to reach Saleen parts? If so, that is strange. I've never had a problem reaching them. Then again, I've only called them 4-5 times. I would think they would still have the part. Your car just isn't that old. Good luck, and I'll try and reach them today for you as well. I'll post if I find out anything...

Sal

 

[sal07b]

I just talked to Robert at Saleen Aftermarket Parts (800-888-8945 ext. 1). He said that you can order one through him for $36.00 (Part #047-580). He can order it and it will take 1 - 1.5 weeks to get it in. He said that they no longer use that part number for the new ones, but they can get it. Hope this helps...

Sal

 

[lgndracer]

Almost anyone who knows they want to own a Saleen Mustang new or not, under warranty or not knows about the horrible service and parts problems.

I must not have fell into the "almost anyone" catagory. I for one was out looking at new cars, and remembered how I thought the Saleen in Hollywood Homicided looked pretty cool. I was also aware of what a Saleen was, as a friend of mine bought a new one in '89, but I had always been a Chevy guy at heart (still have a '65 Chevelle SS Convert).

I bought a new Saleen in Febuary, and absolutley love it, but as a guy who wanted something cool and different, not a "Saleen or Mustang" fanatic, I had never done any kind of reasearch on them as a company. Maybe that's shame on me, but if I buy a new Ford from a Ford dealer, I assume there should be no issues with service.

Probablecause,
Sounds like the root of your issues is the dealership service deptartment themselves. Just like any other businesses, there are good ones and bad ones.
I am very happy to say the dealership I bought my car from has one of the best service departments I have ever encountered. (plug for Pacific Coast Ford, Federal Way, Washington). I actually stoppped taking my wife's Excursion to the dealer closest to my house, and started taking it to them as well.
I origanally had some paint issues, and they took care of it immediately, and I am dropping it off tomarrow for the transmission TSB.

It is a shame how bad service from a franchised dealer of a company can make the company itself look so bad.

 

[Mstng2]

You can narrow it down with an OHM meter. Not sure why a "tech" could'nt do this" If the car is warm and the sending unit is sending 0 then the sending unit is bad. By the same principal you could apply power and ground to the guage and see if it jumps all the way to the other side. I would for sure check the issue with the tank as posted above. The fact that the Motorcraft guage didnt work makes me go hmmmm... not the guage.

 

[marcus95]

I must not have fell into the "almost anyone" catagory. I for one was out looking at new cars, and remembered how I thought the Saleen in Hollywood Homicided looked pretty cool. I was also aware of what a Saleen was, as a friend of mine bought a new one in '89, but I had always been a Chevy guy at heart (still have a '65 Chevelle SS Convert).

I bought a new Saleen in Febuary, and absolutley love it, but as a guy who wanted something cool and different, not a "Saleen or Mustang" fanatic, I had never done any kind of reasearch on them as a company. Maybe that's shame on me, but if I buy a new Ford from a Ford dealer, I assume there should be no issues with service.

Probablecause,
Sounds like the root of your issues is the dealership service deptartment themselves. Just like any other businesses, there are good ones and bad ones.
I am very happy to say the dealership I bought my car from has one of the best service departments I have ever encountered. (plug for Pacific Coast Ford, Federal Way, Washington). I actually stoppped taking my wife's Excursion to the dealer closest to my house, and started taking it to them as well.
I origanally had some paint issues, and they took care of it immediately, and I am dropping it off tomarrow for the transmission TSB.

It is a shame how bad service from a franchised dealer of a company can make the company itself look so bad.

Good thing I used the word "almost" earlier. Congrats on the excellent service for your Hollywood Edition car. My friend down the street has one and just loves it. As for Saleen service at Ford dealers Probablecause is not the first to have serious service problems with such a small technical issue. There used to be a time, Camelot is what I will call it back in 1989 when every other Ford dealer sold and serviced Saleen vehicles. It was fantastic!
After Saleen went broke in 1990 things started to go downhill. That was just the beginning, and also why there are very few authorized Saleen dealers anymore. With mechanic turnover I highly doubt that there are many techs that stay in one place that can rack up lots of hours of experience as a Saleen tech. As for the difference between a regular GT or Cobra for that matter, there is very little Saleen does to the cars as most know. The blower and fuel system, re-flash and gauge pod for the S/C cars as well as a few options and only the flash for the N/A cars. Everything else besides paintwork is really interchangeable with Ford parts and any tech at a Ford dealer that is capable of more than an oil change can figure most problems out. That is why it is so frustrating when something as simple as a faulty sending unit can cause so much grief. If its not in a tech bulletin at the dealer then some tech has to call Saleen for help and we all know how difficult it is sometimes just to order a new decal from Saleen. Sometimes it's a snap. It just depends on the timing.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Saleen with the new ownership group and the new 05 car. I can't wait until the show in Irvine to see the new car.
Oh yea, Lgndracer, did you check out what my daily driver is. I know how you feel. Bowtie for life.

 

[Probablecause]

sal07b,
thanks for the info on the part number. i've been so busy with my job that i haven't time to call saleen.

lgndracer,
well you're right, my probelm with the service was the fault of the dealer. however, i blame saleen for the fact that i have to take my car to a certified dealer and there are only two in georgia. thank goodness i live within 2 hours of both of them. the service i received at the dealer was sorry in every respect. only one tech out of 10-15 that i saw could work on my car. and he didn't really know what he was doing in my opinion. it took 8 hours for an hour job, and they never even called me back with anything as far as a solution to the problem or what saleen had to say. the next time, i will take my car through the atlanta traffic to the dealer over there and see if things are any different. don't get me wrong, i love the saleen and would buy another one tomorrow. but, as has been said, if anything goes wrong with the car, it's a joke. i don't have much of a problem with saleen in california, other than people answering the phone. i just have a problem with saleen and how they run their business in terms of certified dealers, service, etc. that sucks. you really have to go out of your way to get things done. and besides, on my s281sc not much of anything in the motor or interior is saleen, it's still just about all ford, so why the hassle? the company is just not user friendly. they need to re-do how the whole opertaion is run. i know from expereince that some dealers suck and others don't. so if you own a taurus, you can just ride to the better service department in the next town, but with saleen you can't do that.

mstng2,
about my gauge...until i took the car to the dealer the intercooler gauge did nothing what-so-ever. it just sat on 60 and never moved. i mean, it didn't work at all... well since i left the dealer, the gauge is now giving me a reading but it's not working properly from what joe at chicane told me. he said it should read the ambient temperature outside and that when i get into the throttle it should shoot up to 160 or so and then come back down. well now it has some power to it (before = nothing) and it reads around 130+ when i crank the car and goes up to 160 after driving, but not over. i think i read on the forum before that the gauge should be reading in the 130-160 range anyway. so i guess my only problem is that the gauge is not spiking now when i get on it. oh yeah, and when the car is dead cold, it's reading 130. so i'm getting 130 on the gauge with the key in the run position, but yet i haven't driven the car yet that day. so what's wrong? the sending unit as ford says, or the gauge? i imagine there's nothing wrong with the gauge because it is moving around and giving me a reading. for all i know the thing is working 100% fine now and i just don't know it.

 

[Head Paneer]

My gauge typically reads a little under the 130 tick mark. After some WOT action, the needle will rise a little but not up to 160, then return to the original position.