A road I may not see again for a while.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Last month I got a series of photos as this male Northern Harrier flew past me along the Antelope Island causeway. Here he’s flying high enough that I got water in the background but…
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
four frames later he’d dropped below the shoreline we see at the top of the frame. His nictitating membrane is half closed but those types of shots don’t bother me as much as they used to.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I was pleased that he gave me some nice variety in both backgrounds and wing positions.
These photos are a little over a month old and I’ve posted other shots of this handsome guy so you may be wondering why I’m continuing to post photos of him – other than the fact that I’m a huge fan of harriers. Well, this is my excuse. I’m without a vehicle again so I’m completely grounded at home. And hating it.
My 2020 Ford F-150 with my “old” camping trailer.
Readers will remember that in late January of this year the cam phasers went out in my pickup. It’s a known problem with the Ford EcoBoost engines and the first sign of it happening is a diagnostic engine “rattle” at startup.
Cam phasers (there are four of them) are engine components that adjust the camshaft position relative to the position of the crankshaft so they’re essentially embedded in the engine, which makes them very expensive to replace. The charge for that service was over $4K but thankfully I have an extended warranty, so I only had to pay the $100 deductible.
Nearly three weeks ago I started hearing the rattle again, or at least a sound that could be cam phaser rattle. My Ford service advisor thinks it might be phaser rattle so yesterday morning I took my pickup into Ford for diagnosis and possible (probable?) repair. Again.
And that’s where it remains. For complicated reasons I don’t have a rental car, at least not yet, and I don’t know how long it’ll be in the shop. Which leaves me in a highly disconcerting limbo.
Please wish me luck. With spring birds beginning to arrive and me chomping at the bit to take my new camping trailer on its shakedown cruise, the timing is awful.
Ron
PS – below is a short video clip of my running engine where the cam phaser “rattle” (if that’s what it is) is particularly loud. It usually goes away just a few seconds after startup but this time it lasted just a little bit longer. And then it’ll go up to a week without doing it again.
Hope it gets working well soon. I know you and Harriers!!
Aww,I feel your pain. We don’t realize how much we depend on our mode of transportation until we don’t have it. So sorry for your problem.
I love your harrier photos. Sorry about your truck. My Prius was in for an air filter Replacement for $4000 which insurance paid thank goodness. .But my Bolt Ev is in the shop now for 1 to 2 months awaiting a battery replacement under warranty. I wish you swifter and better repairs on your vehicle!!
SO SORRY I see more cabin fever coming. hope you get a rental or repair soon!!!
Thank you, Judy.
That’s really frustrating, Ron, especially with getting the trailer all ready to go. Hope it gets resolved for you quickly, can’t wait to see some pictures after you get out into the boondocks. (Too soon to start thinking pickup trade??
)
“Too soon to start thinking pickup trade??”
Probably, Quentin. I just paid my pickup off a couple of weeks before this started to happen. I’ve already become so fond of not having a pickup payment, I’d prefer not to have one again for a while.
So sorry it’s still an issue! On the brighter side, the weather will be bad for a few days and frankly when I have been out, there have not been many birds or very willing to pose for 2 seconds for photos. They coyotes and weasels have been cooperative.
The harrier shots are nice!
April, when weasels are cooperative it’s a very good day!
Good luck Ron. I hope you and the truck are back on the road again soon!
Thank you, Mark.
Well, this is a ridiculous (and very unexpected) turn of events! So sorry for your truck trouble, but so glad that you weren’t out in the backcountry when it started. Wishing you (and the dealership) the very best of luck to get the job done ASAP.
Nice to see the Harrier again, can’t get too much of that raptor. Or any, for that matter.
Thanks, Chris. I feel pretty much the same way about raptors.
I hope your truck problems get resolved quickly. We all need your adventures to continue!
Pat
I hope so too, Pat. Thanks.
Yikes! That is indeed a horrid sound.
May the truck be fixed soon and I hope you are on the road for a new adventure.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thanks, Kaye.
Well, that sucks! Since these folks have been reliable before no reason to think they didn’t do a proper job this time around.
Waiting on nephew for advise before I pull the plug and pray
Great shots!
I’m doing a locked up computer during an update this morning. NOT amused.
Good luck with the ‘puter, Judy. Mine has been acting up a bit lately too.
Continued with update after unplugging – guess it’s time to bite the bullet and get a new one. This has some age on it and won’t handle Windows 11 when required……..
I’m sorry that you have this frustration and hope everything’s fixed
ASAP. Probably little consolation, but even if you had a rental, the
weather’s awful for doing your good work, and likely to stay that way
for at least 24 hours………
Thanks, Kris. That’s my only consolation.
Bad luck for our Feathered Photographer. Sure hope they can get you back on the road before the full migration starts to hit your area.
Love those Grey Ghosts. Our lone female Harrier has been here now for ten years. I looked back and have photos of her starting in 2015. They live on average about 12 years so she is getting up there in Harrier age, but sure hope she sticks around a few more years.
Thanks for the good wishes, Everett. And I hope your harrier makes it to at least 12.
That is NOT a good sound! I hope they get it completely fixed this time. (One would have assumed that Ford would have replaced all 4 cam phasers while they had your engine disassembled.) Cabin fever and bird-seeking wanderlust don’t mix!
Thanks for including the second harrier shot. I like seeing the bit of the nictitating membrane from a biology teacher standpoint. Plus, you still managed to get a bit of a catchlight in that eye. Impressive!
“One would have assumed that Ford would have replaced all 4 cam phasers while they had your engine disassembled.”
Marty, they DID replace all four cam phasers. And they’re the new version of the phaser that isn’t supposed to have this problem. That’s why this new issue is so surprising. Who knows, maybe this time it’ll be something other than cam phasers.
I am not sure what year your F150 is but I have grown very wary of my 2019 F150 after many years of F150 feelings of trust for over 500,000 miles I put on 2 previous pickups. The only repair being replacement of a wiper motor due to my laziness when clearing,or not clearing, all of the ice from the windshield in the morning. My current F150 started doing hard shifts ,”clunking”, occasionally when out in the field birding. When I went in for service they suggested that I get the transmission serviced too. Well, they found a problem and fortunately for me it was on a recall notice. They replaced the guts of the transmission, a $7000 job with my cost being only $100. But now I am concerned about whether or not I can expect the phasers to go next. I am about to change pickups after just 2 years as I too dislike the long waits without my rig.
Keith, I’ve had three F-150s with EcoBoost engines, beginning in 2011 when the EcoBoost first came out. Engines and transmissions have been completely reliable for me until this started happening a couple of months ago with my 2020.
A good friend of mine just traded his 2020 F150 in for a 2025 Chev Diesel after 2 bouts with phaser problems. Good luck with your rig.
I wish him better luck with the Chevy. Personally, I’m not a fan of diesels.
I am in your park on that one. Looking forward to your pics this spring.
That is quite a rattle. Wishing you heaps of good luck on this.
Best to have discovered this now rather than on your new trailer shakedown trip.
“Best to have discovered this now rather than on your new trailer shakedown trip.”
That’s for darn sure, Michael. Things could definitely be worse.
Sorry, Ron. Crappy news. May you have better fortune soon!
Thanks, Brett. Crappy indeed.