What are the benefits of TSB 18-037-04 other than fuel mileage

[fj40dave]

Goin to my dealer (Frontier in Burlington, WA) for the fuel mileage and rough idle TSB this morning - and a vibration test drive (40-44 mph & 67-70mph)

Oh... and the door seal and maybe a launch shudder investigation too... .



Update to follow!

 

[GMartinez]

Like many others, I have my suspicions wether or not the TSB update was done. After I left the dealership I did notice my overhead had been reset. I also had asked to have the high idle enabled and according to the work order it was. The work order also stated that it had been tested and was working as per TSB. So far I have not been able to get the high idle work. As for fuel milage I don't have enough miles to verify the validity of that TSB. Is there any way for a person to verify on their own if the flashes were done other than by the stickers they stick in the engine compartment.

 

[Pawpaw]

Does the engine have to be cold for this to work?

Nope. In fact, it's handy in the summer to keep RPMs up so the A/C works better at idle.



Bob

 

[fj40dave]

Well... . went to the dealership (Frontier in Burlington, WA) this morning for my appt.



Test ride confirmed to the service guy that there was a vibration at the 40mph and 68mph range..... with the first words being "they all do that"... . where I promply stated that this is more than a tolerable ammount and I have heard where the dealership will have the tires balanced, allignment checked etc etc etc..... and I told him that it's the front driveline and if they take it off, the vibration will go away.

So..... we get back, and an hour later I'm told that DC is aware of the problem (vibration) but there isn't a fix for it (yet). Gonna pursue this one with a lot more infor/research when I go back>



The "reflash" is next - takes about 1/2 an hour... . hummmm... . that's pretty fast I think... . but what the heck... ... I have a sticker under the hood that say's "PCM updated"... ... but I forgot to check and see if the console had been reset..... because, I reset it shortly after leaving the dealership to check the mileage... ... only have about 20 miles on it, but the numbers ate in the 16+ range instead of the 12-13 range prior to the service... ... gonna have to hand figure that one on the next fill up.



Got the door seals on order - gonna go back when they call and have that TSB done, and hit 'em with the "vibration" research..... probably end up talking to the Service Manager.....



Dave

 

[DPelletier]

..... with the first words being "they all do that"... .

Dave

Doesn't that just frost your cookies when they say that?! I hope it works out for you, but the "waiting for a fix" thing sounds like a good delay tactic to me. Drop the front shaft, if it goes away, you've isolated the problem. IMO they should then;



- 1) try a new driveshaft. If problem persists goto 2.



- 2) replace front axle assembly. If problem persists goto 3



- 3) replace transfer case. Problem should now be solved. If not, repeat steps 1 - 3.



Unfortunately that would cost them too much money, I suppose. There is no magic "fix" or all our trucks would have the vibe (for the solution to be a pinion angle issue, for instance). The only thing DC SHOULD be doing is steps 1-3 above and then perhaps changing the order of 2 and 3 depending on which replacement solves the problem more often. Personally, I suspect the transfer case.



Dave

 

[fj40dave]

Doesn't that just frost your cookies when they say that?! I hope it works out for you, but the "waiting for a fix" thing sounds like a good delay tactic to me. Drop the front shaft, if it goes away, you've isolated the problem. IMO they should then;



- 1) try a new driveshaft. If problem persists goto 2.



- 2) replace front axle assembly. If problem persists goto 3



- 3) replace transfer case. Problem should now be solved. If not, repeat steps 1 - 3.



Unfortunately that would cost them too much money, I suppose. There is no magic "fix" or all our trucks would have the vibe (for the solution to be a pinion angle issue, for instance). The only thing DC SHOULD be doing is steps 1-3 above and then perhaps changing the order of 2 and 3 depending on which replacement solves the problem more often. Personally, I suspect the transfer case.



Dave

Hi Dave...



Ya know... . in my 30+ year old Land Cruiser FJ40..... I expect to have to take out the driveline or even have one made and balanced when I drop a Chev 350 in it..... but when I go to the dealership and tell them about a vibration, what's causing it, and they tell me that someone on the other end of a phone somewhere in Michigan or Europe is saying they don't have a fix for it yet..... I'm ready to just throttle that place. I'll be the LAST person to pull that darn driveline out on this $40K truck to show 'em what's wrong.

I'll be going in with a handfull or documentation from this and the www.nwbombers.com site to show the service manager what the problem is and see where we go from there!

This is the same dealership that treated "butchj" from Mt. Vernon really well..... I brought in a copy of his posting noting this..... kind of a heads up that there is a network out there of folks that discuss matters like this topic here.....



I hope I don't have to start asking around for where the "good dealership/service departments" are... .

 

[fj40dave]

Ohhh... . and while I was waiting today, I read about their "5 Star Rating" and how they earn and keep it... ... hummmmm..... hope I'm able to verify this really soon with Frontier!

 

[Mr. Hemi]

Drawbacks to having the TSB done?

Anyone have complaints of worse mileage or less power after having the reflash?

 

[SSchang]

Drawbacks to having the TSB done?

Anyone have complaints of worse mileage or less power after having the reflash?

Yes - here are my results:



Before flash:

Computer 12. 1

Hand calc 12. 6



After flash tank 1

Computer 13. 3

Hand calc 12. 2



After flash tank 2

Computer 13. 0

Hand calc 11. 8



The computer is less accurate, and I lost . 5 MPG. The computer shows better MPG, but actually getting less.

 

[FDrake]

Are all these with the 600 engine or the 555 also? I am up to about 14 around town now and still get 12 when towing at 19,460#. I am wondering if I should have it done. I am running the 305/555 with the 48RE.

Frank

 

[HootieF]

I have my truck in the shop for the same thing. Although it's still in the shop, the dealer called today said my overhead was reading 19MPG was getting 13. 5 before the TSB flash. But after the flash while checking out the viberation (65-67) he noticed smoking while at a stop light. Never smoked before? Still no clue on the viberation?