GregH

Try removing the IPR and look for debris on the screen... Some leakage from the front of the pump is normal... But it shouldn't be much. But there should be very little to no leakage back into the resevoir. Once oil has entered the high pressure system, it should not be allowed to go backwards through the pump again. It seems to me that when you put air to the system, and oil came out of the turbo feed pipe, that air is blowing oil backwards through the pump and up to the oil cooler area... That isn't right at all... I'd say based on that, you need a pump. But debris on the IPR screen would reinforce that belief....

What boost does the VVT test generate? I've seen sick trucks make 1psi or less when warm, where healthy trucks can make 2 to 2.5psi. Does it have a catalytic convertor? If so, is the casing gutted out?

So I've got this ticket in front of me that states the AM reception is poor on this vehicle. Duh. NPF, customer is expecting too much from his radio, boot him to the curb. But, no.. I am assured that this is a real concern, and just give it a try. Sure enough, on a straight stretch of road in the wide open nothing, a strong AM station in our area starts to pop and crackle. Bump it into neutral and turn the key off, and the static continues. Bring the vehicle to a stop, and the static stops - with the motor running or not... Compare against a like vehicle: Closest thing we've got is a hardtop mustang - and the customer's is a convertable. Cannot duplicate concern on another vehicle... Hotline was of no help. They have no repair suggestions... I'm considering trying again to duplicate the concern on another vehicle on Monday (our receptionist drives a convertable mustang), and then swapping out the radio... Anyone else run into something like this?

But how much are we saving the atmosphere by owner's modding out their trucks? I would think a high percentage of them would fail in the driveway, or have a seriously shortened lifespan - and then it would be taken in for service. Every day that a truck is off the road is a say it isn't spewing toxins... And if a modded truck were thrashed out and disposed of at 100,000 miles, but a stock truck went to 200,000 miles - then the modded truck would have to put out over double the pollution to exceed the toal emissions of the stock truck... And that's if the modded truck was altered on the day it was purchased... How much more pollution does a modified truck emit? And how does that ratio compare to lifespan of the vehicle?

(F)ord (Q)uality ®epaint Our trans tech routinely refers to black box transmissions as having "elastometric" paint to keep them from leaking....

Money can be the object of an addiction just as strong as any other drug. And when you don't have enough of it, you can do things you wouldn't be proud of. Thinking that no one is looking at you or monitoring your behavior really relaxes your constraints... How many of you have "extra" gallons of antifreeze in your stall? How many of you have bought a soda with the change off the floor of a cab-off 6.0L head gasket job? Who has done a repair in the past and has been really glad no one saw what you did? It's all about your percieved level of leverage... I can understand the porter who got his hand caught in the cookie jar. I can't condone it, but I can understand it....

Ummm... Wouldn't the air bubbles naturally be removed from the system? Surely there is enough movement to shift those air bubbles around until they are pushed into an injector... If nothing else, then with the vehicle on level ground and the engine off, the bubbles will naturally go to the front - facilitating their removal by an injector.... And, what is wrong with the factory fuel pressure? You can't raise the fuel pressure above specification without disabiling the factory regulator.... Seems that I am against re-engineering a product... It's not perfect (thank goodness or we'd all be out of a job!) but these mods don't really seem to bring it any closer to perfection.... However, there are a few mods that I am in favor of.... Studs, for one...

To go along with the high pressure crossover, there is a fuel crossover too - connect the two fuel passages together at the back of the heads. Some also rig up a return fuel system using the plugs in the backs of the heads. Not really sure what benefit this is supposed to have...

Some of these driveway mods are pretty ineffective... The zoodad mod is where you cut out some of the baffles so the air coming into the air filter has a straight shot. The upside is a "ram air" effect when travelling down the road. The down side is the air filter catches all the bugs, dirt, and water that would normally get dropped from the air stream from the two 90 degree turns in the normal air flow path. As for the air heater delete, that seems like a load of crap. Sure the heater is big, but I can't imagine that the restriction can be very much. I would think that the benefit is mostly psychological. Much like the "tornado" and the fuel line magnets. Now, there is a cheap driveway mod to boost the injection control pressure. Adding in a 10KOhm resistor between the signal and signal return lines on the ICP sensor will bias the sensor to a lower value. So, when the ICP reads, say, 1000psi, the actual pressure is more like 1300psi. Taken too far, this can cause a rough idle from a lower than normal FUELPW, and it will certainly cause high pressure leaks. But I have heard on public message boards that people condone this mod - touting it's ease of removal in case a dealership visit is required. If the ICP is accessible (7.3 or '04+ 6.0) then the mod can be accomplished by backprobing the ICP connector with the resistor leads. Even in case of a sudden STC fitting failure, in a few seconds the owner can raise the hood and snatch out the resistor... Anyway, there are other home brew mods... I'll come up with a few after more coffee..

I think you might still be a little sloshed... Your typing is slurred... Musta been a good night last night!

Don't forget, there may be extrnal pressures on your friend too.. Not that I am condoning their behavior, of course. But there may be a lot more to the story than you know. Sure, they take vacations regularly. Money may be slightly tighter than before, but they don't seem to be overly dependant on their weekly paycheck. But that is just what you see on the outside. That's the face they wish to show to the world. They may have serious money trouble - credit cards can go a long way to make you appear solvent. Or there may be an illness or death of a family member they are trying to deal with. Children, or parents for that matter, with mental or behavioral problems can sap the energy right out of you - but you'd tend to keep it within the immediate fmily. It doesn't excuse their behavior, but it could explain it. You won't get the full story. Mourn the loss of your friendship. Accept them if they turn around and come back. But don't pine for them. Sure, friends are hard to come by this late in the game. Especially friends with a shared history. But by the sound of it, these people strayed a long time ago, and it took you this long to see it.

Is that #2? If so, there seems to be an awful lot of failures on that cyilnder.. Folks on Ford's message boards talk about #2 lot, and the last engine I had #2 was melted....

Found it. Hole in the IPR screen... Got back to it yesterday, and it wouldn't generate over 500psi while cranking. I backed up and tried an air test on the ICP system. Minor leak coming from the center rear of the engine. Accessed the IPR connector, and plugged my jumper harness into it. Full fielding the IPR would make the air leak stop sometimes, and barely affect it at other times. The charactaristic "pop" that the IPR makes when you connect the jumper seemed a bit duller than normal. Remove the IPR and saw that there was a hole in the screen. Replaced the IPR and hit it with the air again, and now it performs normally. As for completing the repair, it seems that there is a gross mileage discrepancy... So now the truck is caught up in red tape... Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it.

Eloquent as always, Jim. I refuse the first offer, stating that it is not necessary. If they offer again, I take it. I do them the courtesy of palming it quickly, without looking at it, and generously thanking them. Later, I look to see how much it was. Then split it up. Half is for me, and the other half gets spread around. I greet that customer by name next time he/she comes in.... That's the least I can do...

Thanks for the advice, guys. It'll be a few days before I get back onto it. Got a no start on an '03 that was dragged in from another shop.. Straight up high pressure leak - just a matter of finding it... I'll report back when I've checked a few more things on the '05..

Got one here that has me scratching my head a bit... '05 F-350, manual transmission, 98,000 miles. Towed in as a crank, no start. Codes in memory - P2617, P2269, P1000. Batteries are about dead. Charge the batteries and take some readings. Cranking data: RPM - 140, IPR - 84%, ICPV - 1.0V, ICP - 800psi, SYNC and FICMSYNC - yes, FUELPW - 6.4ms, FICM powers are correct - 11V and 48V, No smoke from tailpipe, MAP BARO and EBP at KOEO are within .5psi, ICPV at KOEO - .24V Base oil pressure reads on the dash gauge. Fuel pressure is 55psi at KOEO Fuel looks good - will make a piece of paper burn quickly - comparable to fuel drained from a like vehicle. Fuel is making it all the way to the right side cylinder head - crack the banjo bolt there and there is a fuel spray at KOEO. No fuel knock or anything when cranking - just spins on the starter. Unplug #1, plug in a homemade injector tester (two light bulbs wired in place of the solenoids on an old injector pigtail), lights flash when cranking engine. Engine will start and run on ether. Once engine RPM is over 1000, engine will stay running on it's own. I have to pat the throttle to keep it alive, but it will run as long as I let it. Got a little heat in the engine (EOT over 100F) but it still won't start after cutting it off... Anything else I'm missing?

Down here in the southeast it's the same story. Hardly any rust, unless the owner fails to rinse the mud off the vehicle, and it holds moisture against it... The Mustang I'm working on (RE: "Old C4 - need some help") is the same story. I've got the tranny together and working properly, now I'm al up in the brakes. No rust, brake lines come free with no problem. I haven't had to replace a fastener or extract a broken bolt yet. In fact, the hot wrench at work has been out of oxygen for about a month now - and no one has noticed... Unfortunatly, we have other problems. No onw has any money around here, so everyone just wants the absolute minimum done to their vehicles to get them back on the road.... That can be frustrating at times...

I agree with you to a point. I am firmly opposed to Microsoft's involvement. Why couldn't have been Apple, or develop the system in-house using Linux? At least the system is based on Microsoft's more robust operating system, instead of the buggy and crash prone system that you are probably using right now... But, bluetooth is nice. A good premise, not the best implementation, and the capability could stand some improvement - although the 2.1 spec is supposed to allow something like 3Mb/s transfer. What I really like is the ubiquitous USB port. Now that is what I call convenience! How many of us have thumb drives on our keychains? How many customer's keys have them? Your keys are always with you. You stop by your computer several times a day. All your music and podcasts are stored on the computer. USB drives are cheap - Office Depot has 4GB drives on sale for $20. File transfer is a snap - no clunky iTunes interface to deal with... And for those of us who use an iPod, or other .mp3 player, the line in port is very clean and useful However, the placement of the port is pretty poorly thought out in most vehicles. Hmm, lets put is on the forward wall of the center console, about halfway down from the top... I haven't seen a special service tool to remove a broken USB drive end from the connector yet...

My former boss comes to me the other day, and asks if I can look at his buddy's truck. I tell him, "Sure, no problem. What's wrong with it?" He responds, "I think the head gaskets are blown. It tries to hydrolock sometimes, and overheats easily." Since we practice the "good ol' boy" system here, I know that a quick lookover will reward me with a favor later. A few days later, the truck arrives on a trailer. The batteries are dead, and the starter is cooked. Replace the starter, charge the batteries, and it still won't start. Find low fuel pressure, locate a lower fuel filter that is improperly installed, and fix that. Now it starts, and I can get to doing some testing. The EGR cooler is seeping - the EGR valve is wet. The cooling system pressure spikes dramatically when the engine is run hard. And, the EOT climbs to 240 degrees when the ECT is in the 200-210 range. So it needs head gaskets (more than likely), an EGR cooler, and an oil cooler. The "Trifecta." Truck's got 116K on the clock. But the truck is in warranty on time. My former boss asks me if I could ignore the odometer reading, and hook him up with a repair. We're a level one dealer, but we are in warranty trouble. We've already had a phone call, and a visit, but our trend is still downward so Ford hasn't revoked our level one status. My former boss knows this. No one from Ford would come and look at the truck... There would be no prior approval required... My hours for this week are low... I could really use the green - what with a house payment due next week, kid needing shoes, and the wife needing perfume... But it would be blatent warranty fraud. If it were ever discovered, I would have a very hard time defending my position - be it citing hardship or claiming ignorance. I might even face the possibility of being blackballed. Is it a test? Is my former boss just trying to find out if I would be willing to screw Ford? And if I were willing to screw Ford, would I be willing to screw someone else? But what good would the answer to that question be to my Former boss? There was a British TV show that aired many years ago called Red Dwarf. It was done in the classic BBC style of horrid special effects, live audience reaction, and rapid fire dialogue. There were four main characters: Dave Lister, the last human alive; Arnold Rimmer, a hologramatic simulation of his bunkmate; a creature that evolved from the ship's cat; and Kryten, a service andriod created to clean lavatories. The show was brilliantly written - I highly recommend it to any of you. Kryten, at one point, is trying to understand human emotions ("Fear:'Oh my! it's going to kill us' Sadness: 'It's killed us' Happiness: 'No it hasn't!' Surprise: 'Oh, I've been turned into a frog!'") Anyway, he attempts to mimic ambivalence, and he describes his failure as looking "more like a dog eatting a taffy." So, here I am with a taffy in my mouth, trying to figure out what I'm going to do. Defraud Ford? Take the hours and get to work? Refuse the work and blow the whistle? In the end, I elected to take the high road quietly. I went back to my former boss and told him that I didn't feel comfortable being placed in this position. I recommended that he get the truck's owner to file for assistance through Ford, and see what they said. I also told him that if that failed, we would give him employee pricing on doing the repair CP. He took it well, apologized for putting me into a compromising position, and relayed the info to the truck's owner. A few days later, he got back with me and told me Ford denied assistance, and the owner couldn't even afford employee pricing for the repair. The truck was towed away, and my former boss gave me $100 cash for my time investment. I gave him back $20 (telling him that $100 was too much), and took half the remainder and bought beer for everyone in the shop... Washington Mutual won't care about my moral struggle, I know. But at least I feel a little better about myself....

Well, the transmission is back together and installed. After rear brakes, a starter, repairing a fuel leak at the carburetor, and a nice detail I was able to ease around the parking lot last night. On the lift, the trans took all 3 gears. The brakes are still a bit wonky, so I didn't risk moving outside the parking lot. I still need to put tires on it, and a few more odds and ends. But then I'll be able to bring it home... Now to get the garage cleaned out..

Having the fuel level drop to empty is unusual for a sending unit failure. The resistance across the sender when the tank is full is about 150 ohms, and empty is about 15 ohms. Sending units will usually build up resistance on the wiper, causing high ohms spikes that will drive the fuel gauge upwards. Harness issues can go either way - short or open. Substituting in a resistor can definatly help out, but be aware that disturbing the harness can temporarily "fix" the problem, making you think the sending unit is bad. I'd start with a nice, thorough visual inspection. Take loose every connector in that circuit, looking for water or corrosion. Check the conduit for chafes/pinches/etc. How about jumpering in on the sending unit circuit at the instrument cluster, and monitoring the voltage during the concern? If your voltage is all over the place, then harness/sender issues are probably present. If not, then the cluster may be bad. The only computer in this circuit is the intstrument cluster. The later clusters were flashable as a sevice function. The earlier clusters were also flashable, but only during module replacement. There were no software updates on the earlier clusters...

I had one that was whining, and it was caused by the high pressure pump. Sounded just like a power steering pump. Replaced the pump and all was well...

Well, I've just finished installing my second 6.4L... It's getting easier to swap them now that I've had some practice. First engine failed due to lack of lubrication. A turbo seal failed, causing all the oil to be pumped into the exhaust. The driver kept on driving it until it quit. He didn't notice anything wrong, since the oil pressure warning lamp is a green icon on the message center. Second engine came in with low compression on 2, 7, and 8, and a solid misfire on cylinder #2. Grossly overfilled crankcase, 12,000 miles since the last oil change, and the engine tried to run away on me - the engine speed ramped up quicker than normal when patting the throttle, and it didn't slow down when I got off the pedal. After turning off the key, then engine ran for another 7 or 8 seconds before slowing down. 3 quarts of oil in the CAC... After removing the cylinder heads, I found no damage on #7, but melted pistons on 2 and 8 with significant transfer of metal to the head. New head and short block pushed me right up to the $9500 cost cap, not counting the labor. Luckily, the paint marks on the floor were still there from the last engine! Ahh, the 126 is really shot to shit now... Oh, and this was all going on while an auditor was there.

Is that $25K before or after our D-plan discount? Hell, I'd buy one for $25... It looks a lot better than the Prius, and at 65mpg, the fuel efficiency is better. And $1700 price difference? Who cares?? Thanks for finding this, Keith!