Keith Browning

I had three cage nuts require special attention today. Then to add insult to injury, the damn trans cooler line "quick connects" became painfully "slow disconnects."

If I hadn't mentioned it previously, my dealership is in the process of being purchased. I am working with the new management on several things and required tools are one major item. Does anyone know of an official list from Ford that shows every tool that a dealership is required to have? Even my FSE seems to be having difficulty with this.

Farm truck? How many miles could it have? 60,000??? (I'm shooting for the un-believable)

Right. And I use that adapter. I think if you use a fork lift you don't need a rear support if you lift the engine from underneath. I am guessing that guys who have done this might pick the engine up with the forks under the exhaust manifolds and heads... just speculating.

Interesting approach. The way to get the engine out is to effectively make it "shorter" so this will work too. I just hate working on my back. I have done lower pans on Econolines which is not bad. I just never thought you could leave the top end alone and pull the engine.

Well that is the point of a water separator no? It is supposed to remove unwanted water AND inform us when we need to drain it. I do like your comment about draining the separator into a container for observation and that is something I like to do as this method will tell you how much water is there and alert you to other contaminants such as rust and if Ford's crappy metal fuel tanks have failed. Consider this: If we are supposedly removing 95% of the water then what about the remaining 5% of the water in the fuel? 5% of one ounce is a lot less than 5% of one gallon. When you don't know how much water you are dealing with 5% can mean a lot especially if it is reaching the fuel system.

Nice write up Brad but that battery doesen't look too new.

Jim I am of the same opinion as you and agree with you on the maintenance. I guess I am questioning the efficiency of the Motorcraft fuel filter and whether it is actually sufficient in it's water separation and filtering capability. Just sayin... I have seen too many fuel injection failures where evidence of water was apparent. Most that I have come across are trucks owned by customers who DO maintain their trucks properly. I get a little annoyed when I read about techs getting a hard on when they see water contamination and a job turns into non-warranty. It is unfortunate. Mind you this is aside from the people who brew their own fuel. What's more, I am reading that bio-fuels also are capable of suspending higher amounts of water... and that B20 emblem on the doors of the Super Duty trucks? Ford says it's okay so is the filtration system up to the task? I think this a valid debate and Ford has made sure that we know how to look for such contamination and damage. You can find these downloads on the DTS Technical Resources page or FMCDealer.com. Since the 6.4L and 6.7L engines are extremely intolerant to contamination I think this is worth looking at. Consumers can't protect themselves from unknown fuel quality enough. For the record Jim, I too get confused when I start reading about this stuff. My eyes glaze over quickly.

In a discussion at another venue related to fuel system damage caused by water I realized that the accepted approach to maintenance and fuel is incomplete. This may also include how the manufacturers are equipping their trucks to deal with water in fuel. I started doing some reading on this and discovered that ULSD fuel can potentially hold up to 25 times more suspended water than LSD. It stands to reason that some fuel will have higher water content. If water is truly suspended in the fuel it will be carried with the fuel and expose the entire system to it. The water separator systems the Ford trucks use fuel conditioning modules that depend on water naturally separating from the fuel and flowing to the lowest point in the system where it is trapped and can then be drained off. The filter elements have a water barrier on them to aid in the collection of that water but I would believe it is not in any way considered water FILTER. This is the reason "we" recommend avoiding any fuel additive that contains alcohol which will allow water to disperse into the fuel which counteracts the process of collecting and removing it. Bottom line is that perhaps we need to be considering how to deal with suspended water. This raises two questions pertaining to automotive use: [*]Is there an additive that will cause the suspended water to separate from fuel and allow it to be collected and removed? [*]Is filtration system that effectively removes water from diesel fuel that can be installed on these light duty trucks?

Can you elaborate any?

I *almost* did that a week or so ago. At least the trans comes out pretty quick.

Chamfer?

<giggling>

"A better idea brought to you by the people at Ford Motor Company." Now watch, it will be easier and cheaper for the Chinese to pirate the IDS software than the VCM's.

I attached the letter to this post for those who cant access or missed it. It looks like major changes to the subscription process and payments. Also, they removed the VCM subscription and made the software require a key... which needs to be paid for.

3C3Z-6C885-A

Donuts on the counter? Was that a die cast model that did them?

I seem to be getting a lot of 2011's in for the front end hopping around and the steering oscillation.

Dye does not work well in dirty diesel oil. Sometimes an oil change is absolutely necessary.

It is easier to remove both valve covers and both of the high pressure oil rails and leave the oil pan on the engine. The engine comes out and goes back in nicely. The oil rails install easily with the pan sitting on the crossmember.

2011 F Super Duty track bar ball joints. Anybody else finding them bad at low mileage? I have done many, today it was one with only 4600 miles on it. Garbage.

Actually it seems we have been reading more and more about reprat head gasket failures... with head studs.

Both. P00B7 is the DTC... of course I am waiting to see if either truck returns with the same code. Then we are lookin at a t-stat ptobably