ErickBaker

I'll admit the brake flush is a nice machine but I have also seen BG's brake fluid cause the brake light to come on in early to mid 90's model F-150. Overall I believe the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits of any aftermarket flushes. I also firmly believe that berrating customers with an estimate for several hundred dollars worth of services will drive them away. And this is what generally happens when the flush queens go un-checked. Case in point, I was speaking with a customer this afternoon at work and he began talking about his F 150. and how he would never go back to the Ford dealer.(Not knowing I formerly worked there.) His reason was that every time he took it there for a check engine light he ended up with a bill of $500-$600 for a $80 sensor.

What year model van is this? Does it have the STC fitting on the HPOP?

IMO BG is worthless. Their transmission flush machine works pretty well though. The Ford store I was formerly employed with believed BG was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I believe the biggest problem with BG products is that it opens the door for dishonesty, possibly as much as the flat rate system does. Customers end up getting sold a lot of services they don't need and management turns a blind eye to it due to the money being made. The only thing that had BG stamped on it that I felt was worthwhile was the trans machine. Emphasis on machine and not chemical. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/2cents.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/popcorn.gif

Sorry I thought I had posted the fix already. It was a faulty IDM. I replaced the IDM and it still ran a little rough and while on my road test but eventually cleared up. I wasn't sure whether it was the IDM or the fuel I put in it though. To be sure I put the old IDM on it again and drove it home and it ran like crap. I don't know what exactly was wrong with the old IDM as it didn't set any codes or show any signs as to being faulty. Any one have any ideas or theories on this one? Again thanks to everyone for their help.

I put the donor IDM on today as well as about 10 gallons of diesel fuel. Right now it's running like a champ. I'm leaning towards a problem with the pick-up in the tanks sucking air or having a problem of that sort. The customer brought the truck in with about a quarter of a tank and the lower the fuel got the worse it ran. After I put the IDM in the low fuel light was on so I filled it to approximately the same level it was when it came in. So far it runs fine hot and cold. I should of checked for air in fuel with I checked pressure, but sometimes you just overlook the simple stuff. I'll run it down until the light comes on and let you know what I find. Thanks for all the replies.

I just realized that my last post made absolutely no sense. I don't have any idea what I meant to say there.

The only problem with unplugging the injectors one at a time is that I don't really have a bad miss at idle. Its really just more of a rough idle. The big driveability concern is when the engine gets warmed up it has a lack of power/hesitation on accel. I'll probably try the donor IDM first. I highly doubt that will fix it as that would be much too easy.

Thanks for the replies. I'll try the fuel pump relay trick on Monday. If that does prove to be an injector I don't know how I'd narrow it down to a specific few without an injector cut out box. I've had IDM's cause this problem as well even though they have always set some kind of code. I didn't realize until late Thursday nite that I had a donor truck outside with an IDM that will probably work. I'll let you guys know something on Monday. Thanks for your help.

I'm using a MODIS and a Matco determinator. I have not seen perdelta in my PID list on either scan tool. I do have a PDS but there is no way in hell I'm paying $500 a year for updates when they cut my first subscription short. Anyway thats another story.

You guys are lucky. The slow "spell" at my former Ford store has been going on for about a year and a half now. I believe a lot of their problems are brought on by backwards thinking on management's part and lack of leadership for technicians.

Hey guys, I have a 2001 F-340 DRW that runs fine first thing in the morning. After you drive it a while and get it hot it begins to have a lack of power/cutting out on acceleration as well as white smoke. The rough idle also starts after it gets warm. Then even if you let it sit for several hours and cool down it runs poorly until the next morning. It passes cylinder contribution, injector buzz (both by sound and electrical), no continuous or KOEO codes, the uvc harness looks ok, mgp is about 11-12 psi, fuel pressure is a steady 60-65 psi, oil aeration is ok, I've tried a know good CMP, and changed the oil & filter, as well as the fuel filter. None of the sensors are biased. As a side note I can't get the scan tool to run the KOER self test. Do you guys see anything dumb I'm overlooking? Everything looks normal and I've followed the lack of power symptom chart. I'm not sure as to what test to run next. Maybe pull the valve cover and watch oil spillage out of each injector? Do you guys think I should measure vacuum on the inlet side of the fuel pump even though I had good outlet pressure. My gut leans toward a problem injector but I have been wrong before. You guys see anything elementary I'm overlooking? This truck is stressing me out. Thanks in advance for your help, I'm sure I'll get some pearls of wisdom from you guys.

We used BG at the Ford store. I used the Diesel Injector Cleaning kit a few times. The only time I ever saw a noticeable difference was with the trucks that ran red diesel fuel and came in with the EGR completely clogged. I replaced the EGR valve and road tested and the vehicle was still a little sluggish, after the Diesel BG the truck ran like new. Other than that I never saw any noticeable difference. As far as the rest of their products... I really like the transmission flush. I never have used it to try to "fix" a problem, but just keep up with maintenance. The coolant flush machine works well but I'm not sure how much better it is than a drain and refill. The rest of their products are wallet flushes. For example, differential flush, the power steering flush, and the BG battery kit. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif These machines also tend to create flush queens and our job is to diagnose, repair, and do preventative maintenance only when neccessary. Anyway thats a different story. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/2cents.gif

What I never understood is how a manager could complain about how times are tight and brush off a tech's request for more shop scan tools or an engine stand for the 6.0L etc. then buy some cheesy !@#!?$! Nitrofill setup. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif Its things like that which drove me out of the dealership in such a short time, but thats neither here nor there. As far as the scan tool goes, I really don't like to share and do a fair amount of side work so I just bought my own. I also have a Matco Determinator for personal use, which comes in handy at the indie shop.

I replaced the whole controller and all 8 glow plugs with Motorcraft parts. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif

When I was at the dealer several techs worked it out so we could get a VCM through payroll deduction. My main problem with PDS is that the pocket PC is kind of fragile. I've had to replace my synch cables a few times and the cradle won't charge the pocket PC. A few days ago my pocket PC just blanked out and quit working like the batteries were dead. FYI, I'm using the Dell Axiom V50. Anyone who is looking at getting the PDS I would highly recommend getting the extended warranty.

We had a 1992 F-250 towed in today for a no start and customer informs us they replaced all 8 glow plugs about a month ago due to a hard start condition. I decided to check out the relay first since the truck was supposed to have "known-good" glow plugs. The relay comes on and works like should but when I measured voltage drop across the contacts it was .6 volts. I felt like this was too high so I condemned the relay. Knowing how things tend to go when customers try to "fix" their own vehicles I decide to test glow plugs. As it turned out all glow plugs where electrically open. FWIW the customer used Autolite glow plugs. I replaced the relay and voltage drop decreased to .03V and the glow plugs all worked properly. I guess what I'm looking for is a reason all 8 glow plugs would die after a month. I've been mulling it over all day and can't come up with a reason. I don't see how the weak contacts in the relay could cause the failure. Could it be poor quality aftermarket parts? The truck is fixed but I'm not sure if I got to the root cause. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hammer2.gif

The truck fired up today. I found the check ball laying under the turbo charger. Removed the pump, replaced the check ball and test drove it. Thanks to all that replied.

I put a help request up on IATN Friday afternoon and got a lot of the same responses about the check ball that you guys gave me. Thanks for all your help. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif Well looks like I'll be pulling the pump again in the morning. On the bright side I'm going to get very efficient pulling the HPOP and this has been quiet a learning experience.

I was just thinking to myself how I wish I had one lying around so I could dissect it. I'll be able to get a good look at this one tomorrow morning when I pull it off. Do you take the resevoir off to do the pump? I know you don't have to but it feels a little better being able to see that the gear is seated correctly. I've never done with while leaving the resevoir on.

I don't know how high the pressure at that plug is but I'm still kind of skeptical about doing stuff like that. Usually I push to get the right stuff from the dealer to do the job. Especially since the stock o-rings have a hard enough time staying together. But I've seen it work so I feel better about doing it. I'm still fairly green and am still trying to learn what I can and can't get away with. Everybody has their tricks that aren't Ford approved but still get the job done without sacrificing time or quality.

Thanks for the picture Mr. Bedford. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif I was looking for something along those lines today in the coffee table books. The o-ring was a little chewed up but not as badly as some that I have seen on the quick disconnect fittings. I believe that the primary reason it was leaking was that it was fairly loose. Before I looked at the pictures in Bedford's gallery I though a spring may have fallen out. I saw no signs of anything that may have fallen behind/under the pump. Another guy in the shop has had that o-ring leak and replaced it with an o-ring out of the A/C kit. I know I was skeptical when I first saw this too, but it didn't leak and never came back. The mind set at an independent is much different than a dealer. FWIW this is not neccessarily a bad thing, they don't focus as much on what the OE says can't be done and try to fix the vehicle as cheaply as possible without sacrifice to the end quality. But thats neither here nor there. I wasn't crazy about seeing it replaced without the "special" Ford o-ring the first time, but it worked. As I said earlier another tech had a different truck leaking in the same spot. He pulled the pump and put the gasket on it and then it wouldn't start. He pulled the pump again and noticed the o-ring torn. He replaced the o-ring and all was well. The only thing I can think of is that I may not have that rod on the plug touching the IPR restrictor properly since I did it with the pump on the resevoir. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif Thanks again for the help guys. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif I'll pull the pump in the morning and let you know what I find. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hammer2.gif

Thanks, I went in today and looked at that plug and it appeared to be leaking. I put my wrench on it and sure enough it was loose. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif I removed the plug and replaced the o-ring this morning.(Its a very easy job.) I did it in about 15 minutes, but lets not celebrate yet. I went to start the truck after the repair and guess what. Low ICP. I played with the truck the majority of the day trying to get it to start. Yesterday when I replaced the HPOP gasket the truck fired right up after I finished. But after I replaced that plug it would not start. I thought it probably had a lot of air in it since when you remove that plug it seems to drain from the pump. I can remove the ICP and the pump will push oil out. The resevoir is full. Is there anything I'm missing? The truck will only build about 65 psi of ICP. I noticed that plug has a long rod made onto the end. If i don't have any replies in the morning I guess I'm going to pull the pump back off. I'm out of ideas, and it's been one of those weeks. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/drinkingdude.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif As always thanks for all the help.

I had a 2002 7.3 Excursion come in yesterday for an oil leak. After about 20 minutes of searching for the leak I caught it dripping where the HPOP bolts to the resevoir. I've only ever seen a few of these leak at this location but replacing the gasket always fixed it. I came in today and replaced the gasket. After the test drive I checked for leaks and it was still leaking in the same spot. While I had it apart I checked for any scarring on the gasket mating surfaces and found none. Does anyone have any ideas or has seen this before? I know the usually leak at the fittings on the HPOP but this on isn't. You can watch it and it has a very slow drip where the HPOP and resevoir bolt together. I guess I'm going to pull it back apart in the morning and check for any operator error. Thanks in advance for any help.

I can't remeber the build dates but I did a 2004 HPOP and did not remove the intake. I used a 8mm swivel ratchet wrench to get the bolts under the right side of the intake. Otherwise it was no problem.

Ahhhhh, its times like these when I don't miss the dealership one bit. All this kind of bs and slow traffic through the shop (Most techs didn't average 40 hours a week last year) finally became unbearable. I do miss working on the 6.0L everyday though. Does that make me weird?