Dealership broke off transmission pan bolt during inspection

[Broncotime7821]

6 weeks ago, I made way for an emergency vehicle and unbeknownst to me, there was a sizeable boulder in my path just off the highway. It was night and I didn't see it and when I ran it over, it cracked the transmission pan (base with no skids - this is my daily and I have a dedicated off road rig).

It was night and I could not assess the damage, so I had it towed to the dealership. Dealership gave me an estimate of almost 2K to replace the pan and another 1800 to replace the rear driveshaft. USAA gave an estimate of ~$600 to replace the pan and $1200 for the driveshaft.

I could could not get the dealership to explain the massive cost difference for the transmission pan. The driveshaft was not damaged beyond having some rock rub on it, so I decided against replacing it. The pan is not a difficult job and the parts priced out was less than $400 with fluid. So, I decided not to make the insurance claim and would do the job myself.

So, I had the Bronco towed home and upon inspecting it in my shop, the first thing I noticed was that the dealership had taken out the bolts for the transmission cross member (odd) and that there were only two bolts holding on the cracked pan. Once I removed the pan, I found the rest of the bolts and when I counted them could only find 17 out of 18......

Turns out the 18th was broken off in the transmission......under the exhaust crossover, so no easy way of getting to it without removing the exhaust and the transmission cross member. They did not bother to share this with me at all. Overall experience was very bad with service writer and its all documented in emails.

I have been chasing them to get an answer on what they are going to do to make this right. I have a feeling this dealership is going to cause issues, what are my escalation options with Ford?

Thanks,

Rich

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[Silver-Bolt]

How do you prove that they did it? What if it's impact damage? No longer being in their shop you have very little to stand on.

 

[flip]

Probably took the pan down to check for valve body or internal damage as part of the inspection and estimate. Bolt head broke off while removing, probably nothing negligent on their part other than letting you know the estimate likely included time to extricate broken bolt while doing the other work. Since you didn't proceed with the repair they put it back together enough so there wasn't stuff falling off. They should've mentioned the bolt broke but the staining around the boss looks like rust water drip from something which may have accelerated galvanic corrosion between the steel bolt and aluminum case.

Yes, this is going to take some time and suck but if there's enough stud sticking out we'd weld a nut on, drown it with a good penetrating oil let sit for a day. Come back next day, heat the area around the bolt with a torch and gently try to remove with hand tools. If it moves it will likely come out. Second worst case is it snaps off flush and you have to drill it out and put in a keensert or heli-coil. Worst case is the boss breaks off and you have to get a new case, trans removed, gutted, welded back up, machined and redrilled or it goes back together with 17 and it doesn't seep.

 

[Bronc-Itus]

At 1200 miles I gave my bronco to the dealership I purchased from for the very first oil change. When I got it back, it had 4 1/2 miles on it and a chipped windshield. I was informed that I had no proof they did it. good help is hard to find and good dealerships even harder. I would guess…..

 

[flip]

Procedure for 2.7.

Transmission Fluid Pan, Gasket and Filter - 2.7L EcoBoost (238kW/324PS)
Materials

Name	Specification
Motorcraft® MERCON® ULV Automatic Transmission Fluid XT-12-QULV	WSS-M2C949-A,

Removal

1. With the vehicle in NEUTRAL, position it on a hoist.
   Refer to: Jacking and Lifting (100-02 Jacking and Lifting, Description and Operation).

1. If equipped, remove the bolts and the rear skid plate.

1. If equipped, remove the bolts and the skid plate.

Vehicles with Sway Bar Disconnect

1. Disconnect the electrical connectors and the wiring harness retainers from the sway bar disconnect.

1. 1. Support the sway bar disconnect.
2. 1. Remove and discard the nuts and bolts.

1. Allow the sway bar disconnect to lower.

All vehicles

1. Remove the transmission fluid heat exchanger tube bracket bolt.

1. Remove and discard the bolt and position aside the transmission fluid heat exchanger tubes.

1. If equipped, remove the retainers and the LH and RH heatshields.

1. If equipped, remove the RH and LH retainers and position aside the NVH cover.

1. NOTE: Note the location of the bolts and studbolts for assembly.
   NOTE: Be prepared to collect escaping fluid.
   Remove the transmission fluid pan bolts and allow the transmission fluid to drain.

1. NOTE: The transmission fluid pan gasket can be reused if not damaged.
   NOTE: Note the location of the alignment tabs.
   Remove the transmission fluid pan gasket.

1. NOTE: The transmission fluid filter may be reused if no excessive contamination is indicated.
   NOTE: Note the location of the bolts for assembly.

 

[Broncotime7821]

How do you prove that they did it? What if it's impact damage? No longer being in their shop you have very little to stand on.

Not sure how that happens when that bolt is underneath the exhaust pipe and it clearly looks like they tried getting vice grips on what is left of the bolt. I have emails from the dealership confirming that they removed the pan and that they only put two pan bolts back in.

Maybe @Ford Motor Company can chime in.......

 

[Hemisfear]

Not sure how that happens when that bolt is underneath the exhaust pipe and it clearly looks like they tried getting vice grips on what is left of the bolt. I have emails from the dealership confirming that they removed the pan and that they only put two pan bolts back in.

Maybe @Ford Motor Company can chime in.......

I wouldn't expect them to chime in at all, it has nothing to do with them, it's a dealer issue...who "made" you choose this dealership?

 

[CarbonSteel]

It sucks and dealerships suck. With only two bolts in the pan count your lucky stars you are not facing a transmission replacement.

 

[etmccaus86]

I wouldn't expect them to chime in at all, it has nothing to do with them, it's a dealer issue...who "made" you choose this dealership?

That account attempts to chime in on dealer-related issues all the time.
(Whether or not they do much of anything to help is another matter).

 

[Tricky Mike]

That account attempts to chime in on dealer-related issues all the time.
(Whether or not they do much of anything to help is another matter).

Heck, I've seen them chime in on user inflicted carnage that the dealer wasn't going to be involved in.

 

[MayhemMike]

Obviously I can’t get the total picture concerning the broken t and how much access space there is around the bolt. That being said, a trans pan bolt on a new vehicle should turn out fairly easy. If space allows I would snap a Vise Grip aka locking pliers on the part of the protruding bolt and back it out. Good luck.

 

[Merc4x4]

Procedure for 2.7.

Transmission Fluid Pan, Gasket and Filter - 2.7L EcoBoost (238kW/324PS)
Materials

Name	Specification
Motorcraft® MERCON® ULV Automatic Transmission Fluid XT-12-QULV	WSS-M2C949-A,

Removal

1. With the vehicle in NEUTRAL, position it on a hoist.
   Refer to: Jacking and Lifting (100-02 Jacking and Lifting, Description and Operation).
2. If equipped, remove the bolts and the rear skid plate.

1. If equipped, remove the bolts and the skid plate.

Vehicles with Sway Bar Disconnect

1. Disconnect the electrical connectors and the wiring harness retainers from the sway bar disconnect.

1. 1. Support the sway bar disconnect.
2. 1. Remove and discard the nuts and bolts.

1. Allow the sway bar disconnect to lower.

All vehicles

1. Remove the transmission fluid heat exchanger tube bracket bolt.

1. Remove and discard the bolt and position aside the transmission fluid heat exchanger tubes.

1. If equipped, remove the retainers and the LH and RH heatshields.

1. If equipped, remove the RH and LH retainers and position aside the NVH cover.

1. NOTE: Note the location of the bolts and studbolts for assembly.
   NOTE: Be prepared to collect escaping fluid.
   Remove the transmission fluid pan bolts and allow the transmission fluid to drain.

1. NOTE: The transmission fluid pan gasket can be reused if not damaged.
   NOTE: Note the location of the alignment tabs.
   Remove the transmission fluid pan gasket.

1. NOTE: The transmission fluid filter may be reused if no excessive contamination is indicated.
   NOTE: Note the location of the bolts for assembly.

What’s this skid plate? I thought Badlands had all the factory skids and there was none for the transmission?

 

[flip]

What’s this skid plate? I thought Badlands had all the factory skids and there was none for the transmission?

Raptor. Not sure why they use that specific illustration since the section showed pan removal for a 2.7.

 

[ScottyC]

Drill broken bolt and use an easy out to get said bolt out - replace with new pan, get new bolt...drive happy. Ford has zero input on this one.

 

[denneyt]

6 weeks ago, I made way for an emergency vehicle and unbeknownst to me, there was a sizeable boulder in my path just off the highway. It was night and I didn't see it and when I ran it over, it cracked the transmission pan (base with no skids - this is my daily and I have a dedicated off road rig).

It was night and I could not assess the damage, so I had it towed to the dealership. Dealership gave me an estimate of almost 2K to replace the pan and another 1800 to replace the rear driveshaft. USAA gave an estimate of ~$600 to replace the pan and $1200 for the driveshaft.

I could could not get the dealership to explain the massive cost difference for the transmission pan. The driveshaft was not damaged beyond having some rock rub on it, so I decided against replacing it. The pan is not a difficult job and the parts priced out was less than $400 with fluid. So, I decided not to make the insurance claim and would do the job myself.

So, I had the Bronco towed home and upon inspecting it in my shop, the first thing I noticed was that the dealership had taken out the bolts for the transmission cross member (odd) and that there were only two bolts holding on the cracked pan. Once I removed the pan, I found the rest of the bolts and when I counted them could only find 17 out of 18......

Turns out the 18th was broken off in the transmission......under the exhaust crossover, so no easy way of getting to it without removing the exhaust and the transmission cross member. They did not bother to share this with me at all. Overall experience was very bad with service writer and its all documented in emails.

I have been chasing them to get an answer on what they are going to do to make this right. I have a feeling this dealership is going to cause issues, what are my escalation options with Ford?

Thanks,

Rich

Just my experience as a dealership tech I hate service writers, as a tech I do my diag and write multiple paragraphs for the advisor to tell the customer and the service advisor says looks like you need *******. They don't tell them hey this is starting it could need more as we get into the let's say transmission, then when like I said it needs more the advisor finally decides to tell the customer and they're pissed. For example I've been working on a new Tacoma (Toyota dealership) that's blowing igno2 fuse (main vehicle fuse) trace it down to the aftermarket third brake light 3 hours to replace. Replace it and it gets worse, further diag shows juncionblock and main body ecm shorted on that circuit as I had a hunch it would be due to the customer adding 15 aftermarket accessories and lights all to the 7.5 amp circuit. Did the advisor tell the customer any of this? No, they told them I'm saying it's the after market stuff (which I am) but didn't bother explaining the reasoning or engineering of the system. Customers pissed, shop manager caved and now I'm 17 hours in a job that pays 6 all because a Service advisor didn't explain shit correctly, Service advisors just suck
Now leaving bolts in a pan and putting it up I can't explain that's just stupid. Customer declines repair and trans is good put fipg on it bolt it up and let customer know it is reassembled but not drivable, even if trans is bad I'd still put the pan back up with fipg.

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