PCM Woes...

[feusaf]

So, I dropped my truck off at the dealership during my lunch break on Monday. It had been doing weird idle jerks/bucks/surges for about a month and I kept finding my own solution that would work for a week, then the problem would be back (found a vacuum line disco'd, disco'd the EGR, etc).

On my way to work on Monday, it surged enough to scare the poop out of me, and I happened to notice a cloud of black smoke come from the exhaust. I dropped it off, and they called me a few hours later and said they couldn't find anything on the road test, and wanted to keep it overnight to see how it would run in the morning...

Two hours later, I get a call saying that the BARO sensor is bad...reading 10psi, and should've been around 14psi, BUT the part wouldn't be in until Wednesday morning. So, they call me this morning to let me know that the part showed up and would call me in the afternoon to come get it.

This afternoon, I get a call saying that the BARO sensor fixed part of the problem, but now I have a bad PCM. I'm 2k over the 100k warranty, but I have an extended warranty...figured I'm good, right? Well, the warranty company says they won't cover a new PCM, only used or aftermarket. I figure that the FORD PCM is the only way to go, since I'll get a 12mon/12k warranty on it...besides, the "used" PCM might come from a salvaged truck that may or may not be good. The service rep said he didn't know of anyone that made an aftermarket PCM, so I called the warranty company and they're meeting me half-way with the NEW FORD PCM.

The new PCM goes for $586, they'll cover $200 and 1/2 hour labor for the install, and I'm stuck paying $386 plus 1 hour labor for the reprogram (they also don't cover diagnostic/reprogram), not to mention the $258 for the BARO sensor and labor since my extended warranty doesn't cover sensors...

What gets me really PO'd is the new PCM might not be here for 3-5 days!?!?! There's a huge distribution center up in Atlanta (80 miles north), and I would think that would be a stocked part, but 3-5 days is excessive enough to make me think that Ford has to make one in Detroit and put it on a train to get here...

I can only hope that the PCM fixes ALL my woes, but now what am I going to do with my Livewire? I have "5" unlocks left for the livewire, so will I be down to 4 when I pick up the truck? Or, do I now have a $600 paperweight that's only 2 weeks old? And, will the new PCM fix all the problems, or will it only uncover more?!?!?!