First if all howard, i'm new to this site, or at least have'nt been a member untill lately. I HAVE however been a mechanic for fifteen years, and 4 of those at ford dealerships in Minnesota and Iowa. I also own, maintain, and repair my own 1999 F-350 with the 7.3L, and 460,000 plus miles on the odometer! So, let me tell you what I Know; YOUR DEALERSHIP MECHANIC DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING!!! I've read this from the beginning and laughed every time you stated what they told you was wrong. First of all, it was'nt your PCM that was the problem, it was the chip that they should have seen the first time they tried to reflash with no luck. Those chips are designed to be installed from the outside of the box through a porthole type connection directly onto the circuit board. They alter the PCM's memory, and while they are plugged in, reflashing the PCM is impossible. SECOND of all the dealership should be able to read your Parameters while testdriving the blessid van! That would have told them that your exaust back pressure was too low, therby explaining the SMOKE, THE LACK OF POWER, AND THE POOR MILEAGE!!! Not to mention setting codes that make the SES light come on. If I was you, I would be demanding money returned for several of the repairs that you mentioned, and bringing it to a different dealership. Preferably, to one that deals a little more with the bigger trucks. That TURBO Should be whistling NON-STOP!! With as much as that thing weighs, Hell it should be SCREAMING!!!!:nono:
