6.7 left cylinder head flat rated

Brad Clayton · June 13, 2016

In case anyone has ever wondered about taking a left cylinder head off without removing the turbo, here ya go. I had to replace some exhaust valves and the customer could not be talked into waiting for Ford’s update for the run rough issue whilst regening. I wasn’t interested in doing the job, seems like a waste of time. I had heard some rumors of performing the job like this and decided to give it a go.

I traditionally like to get stuff out of the way and make the job go easier and smoother for myself. I have long given up on the flat rate system and I just get the job done when I get it done. So this was a step out of my normal but it went ok. I basically approached it with the mind set of removing as little as possible while still being able to get the head out of the engine bay.

At this point I have drained the primary cooling system and removed the upper and lower intakes.

I did this job about a year ago and now I am having trouble remembering why I took the egr cooler off. I do it to make it easier to get the fuel supply line out but it can be snaked out from under the cooler assy a whole lot easier than trying to get the left exhaust manifold out with the turbo in the way. The turbo coolant pipe and heater hose pipe, crankcase vent separator, fuel filter housing, and fuel pump supply lines have been removed.

Now it’s time to get to the meat and potatoes of the job.

The fuel lines and rail have been removed. It’s easier to take the “return” line off last and install it first.

Return line and harness out of the way and last but not least the fuel injectors are removed before the valve cover comes off. I keep the injectors in order but I still take a picture of the IQA codes with my phone. Some people opt to flip the injector hold down over and hit with a hammer to pop the injector out. I always use the special tool to remove the injectors as the hold down crabs on these things are way too fragile in the first place and prone to breaking without warning.

I have removed the degas bottle and intercooler but I have clamped the secondary cooler lines off and the cooling system is still full.

Valve cover off. Next is the valve train and the exhaust manifold.

Alright, so I live in the South and this is a low mileage truck. It’s basically like working on a PDI. After removing these couple of shield fasteners, the shield is easily worked out of its home with the slightest bit of massaging. All the bolts come right out and can be reused if need be, no torches, drilling or any of that silliness.

I think the torque wrenches in Mexico are on a different calibration level than the U.S. I had every intention of removing the manifold completely, however the back 3 up-pipe nuts were beyond tight. The spec. is something like 18 foot pounds and the last set I checked had a break-a-way torque of over 80 foot pounds!!!!!! I put a wrench on the one nut I could get to and quickly gave up and moved on. So I removed the 8 nuts, 8 studs, and manifold gasket and left the manifold in place, still attached to the up-pipe.

I always de-torque the head bolts before getting after them with air tools.

I left everything in place on the front except for the alternator, then unbolted the bracket from the head.

Now all the bolts are out of the head and I have ratchet strapped the manifold out of the way to get to the top bolts and allow room to remove the head.

And she is out.

Fun stuff.

When cleaning cylinder heads, I always chase the exhaust manifold threads. You don’t want to find out there is a problem with the threads when you’re trying to wrench one of those studs in beside the turbo.

And that's it reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.

Matt Saunoras · June 13, 2016

That update still isn't out is it? My 15 has 19k miles on it now and no issues yet with valves sticking during regen. Wonder if it's in the clear?

mchan68 · June 13, 2016

Does this issue apply to my '16?

lmorris · June 13, 2016

Nice write up. Reminds me of when I would pull heads on IDI F-Series without removing the intake manifold or injection pump.

Matt Saunoras · June 13, 2016

Also I wanted to mention that hotline told me it was unnecessary to lap valves in a diesel due to the high compression. Any thoughts on this?

Brad Clayton · June 14, 2016

I've done it both ways and couldn't tell a difference.

Keith Browning · June 14, 2016

So what was the official word on this issue concerning the valves? Anyone know? And what was changed with the calibration to stop the rough running? I read on a forum that dosing for regen is now done on both banks. If that is true, will that affect EGR? It is amazing how little information gets to us from Ford.

Keith Browning · July 14, 2016

Even more amazing is the many and varied opinions and theories being offered everywhere. I have been asked for my opinion and I have nothing to say.

But, if the valves are supposedly sticking, why do they only stick during regen and why does it only occur on light throttle tip in between 64-113 Km/h (40-70 MPH) which is a pretty specific and narrow condition. Don't you think?

lmorris · November 18, 2016

Going to give this a try. I have a 2015 with 31,000 KM on it with a rough run during regen complaint.

Got the head out, Thank you so much for the write up. Going to fashion a handle for the rearward put of the head for going back in, should make it a bit easier to hold onto.

kellyf · November 22, 2016

Nice job!

lmorris · November 22, 2016

I used an injector hold down bolt and clamp as a handle, still a little tricky getting it lined up. If I ever get another of these I might remove the exhaust manifold,which can be done with the turbo in place still, and use the engine crane. Trying to balance myself and not damage the head was tricky.

Brad Clayton · November 22, 2016

Yes indeed it is. I looked at one yesterday and it appears that the back 3 nuts can be accessed from underneath. The next one I get I will try to remove those from the bottom so I can get the manifold out of the truck and thus out of the way.

lmorris · November 22, 2016

The oil spray tube oring is 7mm X 1.5mm, Mine was damaged and didn't notice it till assembly time.

cbriggs · November 23, 2016

Just curious Brad and Leon, how long did it take you to do it this way? I have done this job cab off, and am curious if it would be worth the time saving.

lmorris · November 23, 2016

I came in just over 16 hours. The only advantage to a cab lift that I can see would be access to the head bolts, and getting the head on and off the engine. I can't see a time savings, but I have only lifted 3 cabs so far.

Brad Clayton · November 24, 2016

I started on mine the night before and had it running the next day, so 10 or 12 hours. There is really no comparison to doing this cab off, it becomes a matter of preference. Do you like to have room to work? Do you only have one bay and can't tie it up with a cab off if parts need to be ordered, ect.

If you are a "flat rate animal" then you will never take a cab off for any reason. I am getting old and tired and I like to have a lot of room, hell I take the cabs off F150's to do valve stem seals. I would have taken the cab off of this truck but I had the chance to see if this job was feasible so I did it in chassis as a test. It is a lot faster but very nerve racking making sure nothing gets damaged. I have done quite a few left heads in chassis before, but I always removed the turbo to do so. This project was to prove out that (in a pinch) the head could be removed with the turbo in place. Kinda like a Duramax.

cbriggs · December 8, 2016

Ah, I see. I am not that old, but plaqued with lower back problems if I am not carefull. I have gotten really good at cab removal, in the interest of not being in pain for two weeks. I did my first lh exhaust valve replacement on one of these a few months ago. Up until then I have only removed complete engines on these, as they are almost never repaireable. I took in the 11 -12 hour range to do the exhaust valve tsb cab off.

lmorris · December 8, 2016

I had to try it once, now that I have put more thought into it, next one will be cab off. I will still leave the turbo in place though, that was a slick move to leave it on.

Chad_Kelsoe · December 10, 2016

I pull the cab to do this repair, but I do just like Brad and leave the turbo on. I did 3 in a row a few months ago and had the last one done in about 8 hours. So far the longest it has taken me is 12. I just prefer to pull the cab and be able to stand next to it. Also makes it easier on me torqueing the head bolts down.