Honest Opinion

[Tony302600]

There is a company with a 2003 6.0 F550 with 155,000 miles, that i do side work for. Today I did an injector, the 2nd injector i've done on it in a month. #3 last time, #2 this time. The nut came off that rod in the center of the injector that's sideway's. The owner of the company tells me that he want's to keep it and look over the truck. He loses a lot of money when the truck is broken down, so he asked me if he should change all 8 inejctors, drop the tank to make sure it's not rusted ( i told him after i cheked the filter's that might be a reason for the injector failure's ) and whatever else it need's. He want's all the basis covered so it doesn't have anymore problem's.

 

My question is, what do you guys think. The truck is in fair condition, they try to maintain it as best as they can, they get not too good of fuel sometimes, no degas bottle overflow, code's it has is p0401, p0404, p132b. no less then 51psi of fuel pressure at WOT. The truck is pretty solid from the looks. Relative compression show's #5 at 5% loss, and a couple at 3% loss. The y-pipe look's like it's leaking a little. He would rather spend $5,000 to put new stuff on then buy a $50,000 F-550 and transfer the box over.

 

If an aftermarket company make's a better injector, turbo, whatever i'd like to know because he want's this thing to last. I told him regualr maintainence and good fuel should keep it running for a long time. Any opinion's would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Tony

[jared_bortel]

You have fuel pressure so dont be too concerned. The only upgrade turbos Ive seen are for race cars but they are available Aurora makes a good one. With a p0401 and p0404 pop out your egr valve and check it if its not all full of shit clean it up and put it back in but leave it unplugged it'll pop the same codes but they are all mil light off. That should eliminate alot of coking issues and bs down the road. In fairness its a 6.0l they kill injectors no matter what at some point some how its kill injectors new or not. Tell them to be easy on the old bird and take it from there just lay out the facts for the guy and see what he wants do. All you can do is inform him with the info you have available to you and let him make the call.

[BrunoWilimek]

We had a customer with an 03 that had at least 4 of the injectors loose their nuts over a period of time. He put over 600,000km(373,000Miles)on it. Lotsa problems with turbos, egr valves etc. Never had the heads off it. He hauls new travel trailers all over North America and finally traded it in on a new 07. I believe the root cause of the injector failures to be low fuel pressure. The fuel acts like a cushion inside the injector between the housing and the intensifier piston. Low fuel pressure means that metal to metal contact can take place inside the injector, causing the nuts to vibrate loose and eventually fall off. I was able to find most of the nuts. The rest must still be in the oil pan. Hotline didn't seem overly concerned if I couldn't fish them out. These diesels suck so hard they will actually run without an operating fuel pump, as I found out on an aborted road test after replacing the fuel filters. I would definitely re-check the fuel pressure and confirm that the fuel pump is working properly and input sock in the tank is not restricted. Do the EGR test using the IDS to determine the cause of your EGR codes. As long as the truck is properly maintained and driven, I don't see why it shouldn't go a long way further, However, it is a 6.0, so no guarantees. as far as leaving the EGR valve disconnected, I wouldn't do that as it acts as a wastegate to prevent overboost if the turbo sticks.

[Bruce Amacker]

There is a company with a 2003 6.0 F550 with 155,000 miles, that i do side work for. Today I did an injector, the 2nd injector I've done on it in a month. #3 last time, #2 this time. The nut came off that rod in the center of the injector that's sideways. The owner of the company tells me that he wants to keep it and look over the truck. He loses a lot of money when the truck is broken down, so he asked me if he should change all 8 injectors,

 

Yes, with two failures I'd suggest that strongly.

 

drop the tank to make sure it's not rusted

 

Smart man.

 

 

( i told him after i checked the filter's that might be a reason for the injector failure's ) and whatever else it needs. He wants all the basis covered so it doesn't have anymore problem's.

 

My question is, what do you guys think. The truck is in fair condition, they try to maintain it as best as they can, they get not too good of fuel sometimes, no degas bottle overflow, code's it has is p0401, p0404, p132b. no less then 51psi of fuel pressure at WOT.

 

 

That's at WOT going down the road and not in the shop, right? Big difference.

 

 

The truck is pretty solid from the looks. Relative compression shows #5 at 5% loss, and a couple at 3% loss.

 

This is scary, I draw the line at 2-3% and think 5% is "on it's way". Run the IDS compression test 5 times under different circumstances to see if it's a mechanical problem or carbon. Try it cold, hot, after a road test, etc and make sure it's consistent. Approach the cust about this first. Look for a loose MAF-to-filter fit and resulting dirt intrusion as a possible cause. Inspect the turbo inlet for abrasion wear.

 

 

 

The y-pipe looks like it's leaking a little. He would rather spend $5,000 to put new stuff on then buy a $50,000 F-550 and transfer the box over.

 

If an aftermarket company makes a better injector, turbo, whatever I'd like to know because he wants this thing to last.

 

Stick with OE parts.

I told him regular maintenance and good fuel should keep it running for a long time. Any opinion's would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Tony

 

Don't unplug the EGR under any circumstances. It's there with a purpose, and a $10,000 fine to go along with disabling it. That's a really quick way to change jobs....

 

Good Luck!

 

 

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[LeRoy]

I also would not leave the egr disconnected,but might I also suggest installing a fuel pressure gauge and instructing the drivers what to watch for and what to do if pressure drops close to the borderline.