{"id":166502,"date":"2025-01-30T06:23:34","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T13:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=166502"},"modified":"2025-01-30T09:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T16:27:09","slug":"some-good-news-a-good-bird-and-some-driving-advice-for-locals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/30\/some-good-news-a-good-bird-and-some-driving-advice-for-locals\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Good News, A ‘Good’ Bird And Some Driving Advice For Locals"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a ‘ride’ again. Already.<\/p>\n

In my last post I told readers that I’d be grounded for a while and unable to go shooting while my pickup was in the shop for a major repair. Here’s why. And how it turned out. The long story will bore some of my readers to tears but I promise, there’s a bird in here somewhere.<\/p>\n

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My pickup’s engine bay, 3.5 L EcoBoost engine with twin turbos<\/em><\/p>\n

Ford’s 3.5 EcoBoost engine has a known problem with their cam phasers (camshaft phasers). Cam phasers control the timing of the engine’s valves, allowing for optimized power, fuel efficiency and emissions. The early sign of cam phaser failure is a very distinctive (easily recognizable) rattling sound on startup, that at first lasts only a few seconds. I was well aware of the problem with Ford’s phasers and, with dread, I’d been listening for the rattling for the last year or so every time I started my pickup. But I’d never heard it, at least not distinctly.<\/p>\n

Then last week, when I took my pickup to my Ford dealer for an oil change and tire rotation, a keen-eared mechanic noticed the rattling sound and reported it to my Service Advisor Matthew Saylor and he reported it to me. The repair (actually a replacement of all four phasers with redesigned, updated phasers) was going to be an expensive one – over $4400. My heart sank.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Matthew has become a good friend and he always takes very good care of me. It was Matthew who discovered that when I bought my pickup nearly five years ago, I’d purchased an extended warranty that would cover this expensive repair. I’d completely forgotten about it, so I could have kissed Matthew (not really, but almost) when he reminded me of it.<\/p>\n

Matthew knows that I have little patience with this kind of thing so he seriously greased the administrative wheels for me and got me in early Tuesday morning for the repair with a skilled mechanic with experience in replacing cam phasers. They delivered my repaired pickup back to me at home that same evening, which is exceptionally quick service for cam phaser replacement. It’s a big job.<\/p>\n

So, my $4400+ repair ended up costing me the $100 deductible on the extended warranty plus $7.78 for some kind of specialized lubricant\/cleaner that the warranty mysteriously refused to cover. I don’t think I’ll complain about it.<\/p>\n

If you’re on Facebook and you’re interested in seeing what Ford’s cam phasers look like, and what the “rattling” of failing phasers sounds like, here’s a link to a short but good video clip on the subject<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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So the very next day, yesterday, you know me – I had to go shooting.<\/p>\n

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And one of the birds I photographed was a Golden Eagle. If I were to choose a single species to get photos of on a day that I didn’t think I’d be able to go shooting at all, it would be this one. I don’t like to play favorites with birds but if forced to choose, Golden Eagles would be it.<\/p>\n

I actually got about a dozen flight shots of this eagle but I won’t be posting more of them until later. And I blame UDOT for that.<\/p>\n

Driving home from shooting yesterday, I experienced one of the two worst traffic snafus I’ve ever experienced in my 62 years of driving. UDOT is widening and constructing a completely new interchange on I-15 at 56th South in Ogden, including new bridges and overpasses. I-15’s five lanes were reduced to a single narrow lane, which backed up traffic for many miles. It took me an extra hour to get through the extreme traffic pinch. This colossal mess is supposed to last until the fall of 2026, so I’ll be avoiding driving that far north for the foreseeable future. I highly recommend that others consider doing the same.<\/p>\n

C’mon, UDOT. You can do better than this.<\/p>\n

I was an emotional wreck by the time I got home so after getting up at 4 AM that morning, I spent much of the rest of the afternoon taking a long nap. As a result, I’ve barely looked at the photos I took yesterday so posting more of them will have to wait.<\/p>\n

I have absolutely no patience with traffic snarls or being without my pickup. It’s a character flaw I readily admit. Birds are about the only thing I have much patience with.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n