[Los]

I'm not up to date on the Bullitt club site. I've been kinda busy lately. But according to a source of mine, getting Longtube headers will void my warranty. WTF?

From my understanding, I could do a whole exhaust swap.

what's the deal!?

 

[Barnaby]

It should certainly void your exhaust warranty, as well as your emissions warranty. Outside of that the dealer would have to prove the headers caused the problem.

One example where the exhaust might cause peripheral probelms is the starter. LTs usually run much cloer to the starter and may cause premature wear on that part...I could see a dealer not warrantying the starter in that case.

 

[Los]

So voiding the warranty doesn't mean every part of the car? Like if I had massive engine failure and they couldn't prove that the Headers caused it, then they couldn't void the drivetrain warranty, right?

 

[rancorkeeper]

There's more to it than that, really. My dad had a warranty claim on the 302 in our old station wagon & the dealer said it was owner neglect. Dad never drained oil from the front plug (there are two drain holes in some 5.0 motors) on the oil pan & they said sludge caused the engine to seize & it became my parents' responsibility to prove otherwise. In the end, they shelled out 3K for a new engine. The dealer only has to show that your mod 'might' have contributed to the problem & then you have to prove them wrong. For example, take your long tubes. You could develop some engine ticking & take it in for repair. The dealer tears the top end down & says you've got some valve problems (or something like that). Then they say it's because the non-stock exhaust headers created a different backpressure than the engine was designed for which damaged some of the exhaust valves, hence the ticking & therefore, it's your problem to fix, not theirs. I'm only making this up, but you get my point.

 

[From the other side]

I'm waiting until the warranty is up. This is the first Ford I've owned in a while and when sh*t starts to go wrong with it, I'm not going to let the dealer have any excuse to tell me it is not a warranted problem. The examples above were good ones. I believe that once something starts going wrong w/ the car (any part), they'll find a way to trace it back to that aftermarket part you installed.
EX: "Your electrical system is throwing sparks and shocking your ass while you drive? Must have been that MGW cigarette lighter you installed. Sorry, you're SOL!"

Now, I am a bit extreme, but that's the pessimist in me.

 

[Scott D]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>EX: "Your electrical system is throwing sparks and shocking your ass while you drive? Must have been that MGW cigarette lighter you installed. Sorry, you're SOL!"</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL That's the funniest thing I've heard so far this week. :smile:

#3401 has no mods...not because of warranty issues, but for a lack of money. :smile:

Scott D.

 

[BULLITTBRO1]

You could always turn it back to staock, then they would have to prove that you modified it and the modifications caused the problems.

 

[Mustang 3]

The above option is called Fraud and can put you in jail-be careful. Dealerships are not stupid-adding and removing pieces leaves scratch marks, unmatched paint on items etc tell tale signs of a change. And of course the car always breaks down in front of your house on Friday after work so you have the weekend and home garage/tools to remove the mods before having to take it to the dealer on Monday morning. Go for the mods if that is what you want just be aware of warranty issues-if you can't afford to pay then don't play.


Bullitt 1046
01 S281SC 93

 

[01GTB]

They'd have a pretty tough case proving fraud on something like that, let's be realistic. Granted, if you blew your engine up while spraying it with a 200 shot of nitrous, I wouldn't expect them to cover it (nor would I try to get them to :grin: . ) But I certainly don't see them filing fraud charges against someone for trying. I think what BullittBro was saying is that to avoid a pontential showdown with the service manager at Joe's Ford World, it would be easier just to put the stock shifter or whatever back on before taking it in. And I see his point.