GregH

Back in the day we used to wrap a single strand of copper wire around both poles of someone's drop light plug. When they plugged it in, it would produce a nice pop... A bit on the edge of safety, of course...

Reminds me of the extra 4.6/5.4 exciter ring we had lying arond the shop for a while. We'd bring it out and lay it on the bench near where a tech is working the front end of one of these engines. We'd make sure it is visible just as the last few componenets went together. It was amusing to see the look of dispair when the tech saw it lying there, as his gaze swivels to the engine that is almost fully reassembled. It would never last long, since we couldn't keep a straight face. That all ended one day when we went to plant our exciter ring, and found that there was already one there. And the engine was just about ready to start....

I've had a run on bad new-style ICP sensors here lately. Long crank, quiet running, no power - all intermittant. No codes. If you catch it while you've got a scan tool, you see lower than normal IPR #'s, and KOEO shows a pressure from the ICP sensor. By the way, under certain circumstances, the PCM will not only substitute a calculated value for ICP pressure, but ICP voltage as well... Unplug the ICP sensor during the event, and all goes back to normal..

Let me guess - you found a crack in the high pressure pump "resevoir" located under the oil cooler assembly. Allowed the oil to drain down into the crankcase after it sat for a while. The high pressure pump is then being fed nothing but air until the low pressure pump puts some oil back into the resevior. Then you've got air in the high pressure system again, and it's associated starting and drivability symptoms. The fix was a replacement short block...

Some years ago we ran into difficulty replacing a crankshaft in an E-150 with a 4.6L. We didn't detorque the heads, and sure enough we ran into problems later on. The engine never did generate suficient oil pressure and ended up being replaced. We called Ford on it since it didn't state to detorque heads before removing main bearing caps. Ford said nope - look at the engine disassembly section in the WSM. The heads are removed long before you get to the main caps. Anyway, that experience stuck with me. Since then, when it was practical, I've detorqued the heads before touching the mains, even on the non-modular engines. My first bedplate gasket got new head gaskets. You betcha that I detorqued the heads before touching the bedplate... Didn't want that one coming back on us, and the WSM has you remove the heads before working the bottom end - just like the modulars and most others. I stated the order of disassembly and assembly as written in the WSM, argued my case to the warranty administrator and service manager, citing the old E-150 that we ate. Guess what? I got paid for my time, and no questions asked from Ford... Since then, I've asked international and ford specifically about this, and they have both said detorquing is an unnecessary step. I've since stopped that proactice with no ill effects... Unnecessary? I can see that. But a good precaution against the unknown, especially when a mistake on this engine is so costly...

You can have some of my broken ones.... I guess we get the seconds here in the South.

I saw a "cocktail napkin" design one time long ago that used flywheels to store energy and release it quickly. Nice concept, high efficieny, relatively small footprint. Didn't work for long term storage - more than 6 hours or so - becuase of eddies in the magnetic field around the spinning flywheels. Essentially they would inductively heat the components around the flywheels (exactly like we're doing now with 6.0L's, just on a smaller scale) and the heat generation would rob energy from the system. But for regenerative braking, etc. it was a great concept. Never made it into production, of course...

The TCM monitors this transmission very closely. If there were an issue, then the odds are it would set a code. Start by scanning the PCM and TCM and see if you've got codes. If you do, pursue them. If not, I'd monitor the boost, RPM, TCC_SLIP, ISS, and OSS. You can determine the gear range the transmission is in by calculating the ratio between ISS and OSS. Of course, the TCM can do it faster, and it does it all the time, so if there was a discrepency between actual gear ratio and commanded gear ratio, the TCM would set a code. Anyway, post what you find. We'll help you through it.

Sweeeet photo! Love the Italian "metrish" wrench set.

Oh yeah, and don't forget the left hand thread on the fan clutch. Rule of thumb for fan clutches - I think it qualifies as a "doh!" If the water pump pulley has groves, then it's a left hand thread on the clutch. If the water pump pulley is smooth, then the thread is right handed. Works for all engines with the fan on the water pump....

If you think you've got air getting into the fuel system from a faulty injector, try this before a balloon test: Remove the secondary fuel filter Turn the key on to fill the bowl Turn off the key, and disconnect the starter wire at the right side fender Route that wire around to the stud on the positive battery cable end on the right battery, and turn the engine over with the starter while watching for bubbles from the standpipe in the middle of the fuel bowl. No bubbles after about 15 to 30 seconds? No compression going into the fuel system then, and no need for the balloon test.

Just in case anyone breaks that heater pipe, here's the replacement procedure: Remove the upper fan shroud Remove the fan Remove the 13mm nut holding the P/S pressure and return hoses Remove the 3 10mm bolts holding the P/S pump and set it aside Remove 2 8mm bolts holding two coolant hoses at the top left front of engine Position the lower coolant hose aside - twist it up into the fan shorud Disconnect the right side injector harness Disengage the crank sensor harness from the heater pipe Break the old heater pipe near crank sensor harness Remove 10mm nut holding pipe to the intake Fish the two pieces out Install: Insert the pipe, o-ring end first, between crank sensor harness and upper alternator bracket. Turn back and forth, Rubik's Cube fashion, to thread pipe into position Reasemble in reverse order. This assumes that the normal 07T07 recall is in progress, and the air intake, GPCM bracket, etc. are out of the way. If anyone has improvements on this method, please let me know... Be careful! This pipe is stupid fragile...

90% sure that it is fuel. Since I smoke, my sniffer isn't the best in the world. But I got verification from other non-smoking techs who said it was raw fuel. I've run the test while looking at the IDS screen many times both hot and cold with the same average deviation. As for physically watching the injectors, I've only done that cold - since there is no coolant in the engine if the left side valve cover is off. Not a stupid question at all. I've learned over the years that when I get stumped, that's the time to really listen to and think about all questions posed by others. They have a habit of turning a week long saga into a 5 minute forehead slapper. Thanks for the input HGM and everyone else.

I have monitored short term fuel trims, and didn't see variations over about 6%. As for the results of the high pressure test, maximum deviation was 25psi - even at 24650... Truck runs great. Hotline said, and I quote, "The oil level can increase by up to 1 inch in 3000 miles before it becomes a problem." wha??

I was so missing my first 6.4L cab-off. I actually had to wipe away a tear as I watched it's tailights fade into the distance. You can only imagine my elation when I saw the familiar glow of it's pearlescent white exterior pull into the parking lot today. Popped the hood and, joy, the engine crankcase is overfilled again! About 4 quarts in 2000 miles! Ok, so anyone else know what the scoop is on these trucks? It passes every high pressure test I've done to it, no leaks at any injectors while commanding 25Kpsi and valve covers off, high pressure pump has been replaced per hotline. It's been generating 1 to 2 quarts of oil per 1000 miles since it was new (11,000 miles on it now). The truck stays on the road. No excessive idling, lots of highway miles, no excessive towing. The owner drives it hard, but doesn't beat it. Excessive white smoke present during some idle regenerations. No abnormal engine noise present. I've got a field service engineer coming out in a few days. Until then, does anyone have any insight?

Anyone else run into this? Customer is complaining of a message on the IC and a chime every time he hits the brakes or turns on the right turn signal. SSM 19730 doesn't give any direction, other than to follow the pinpoint test. Pinpoint test says to replace the TBC. No corrosion or water in any connectors. I'm not willing to replace the TBC yet. I don't feel that it will resolve the problem unless it is an updated part...

Anyone do this recall yet? I finished one, not too bad. The second one, got a little too overconfident with the plastic heater tube. They crack pretty easily. Be careful!

There are many ways to quantify age... Going by my birth date, 36. Going by how I feel physically, mid to late 40's Going by the shit I've slogged through in the past, early 60's. I know I've got physical youth on my side with these labor intensive jobs, coupled with the fact that I've been heavy line since the early 7.3L's. Please don't hold it against me...

Speaking of $50 RTTP certificates, I got one yesterday. It had a note of thanks on it, signed by the two engineers who helped me out with that 6.4L software issue I posted about a while ago... It was a nice gesture...

Truck #2 went under the wrench yesterday - another slam dunk. I'm going to roll the dice one more time on #3 today. Let me tell you, I'm really starting to feel it this morning! I could just barely roll out of bed...

What was the jingle in that (relatively) old Arnie movie? "recall, recall, recall"

Don't you just love it when a repair really goes your way? Today I busted out a head gasket job on a 6.0, and let me tell you - it was smooth. The tools seemed to levitate to my hands. The bolts were begging me to remove them. Nothing rounded, no surprises. I was in and out in record time... Ahhh, if they could all be like that...

The owner's demo unit was just brought to me with a hesitation on acceleration. #1 and #7 cylinders show a drop in power balance, and about 10% STFT. Also has recall 07T07 open.... 40 miles on this unit... Good thing is we only have 1 other stock unit covered under the recall. I've got it pulled from the line and is sitting in the waiting area until the full recall is published... Ahhhh, the life of the lonely diesel tech...

Possibly a bad EGR cooler right out of the box? Any excessive coolant pressure? EGR valve nice and dry?

I didn't realize there was enough room to get the pump cover off around that snorkel of an exhaust inlet on the turbo... Thanks, I'll look at that on the next one...