Keith Browning

This was posted in a webmaster forum I thought it is amusing enough to post. Not directed at anyone of course...

I still don't understand why people feel COMPELLED to screw with these things.

Shoot, I have a couple of cooler cores you could have... not the whole assembly, just the heat exchangers.

Bruce, remember the Canadians get things in color... it started with the cash and now o-rings. The last one I did was about two weeks ago and the instructions looked like yours. We currently have three trucks down waiting for oil coolers and expect the parts in 6/19. Maybe they have since upgraded the instructions?

I don't know, that looks pretty decent. We have had plenty of wheels where a pry bar just wasn't budging the wheels. Of course nothing works better than anti-seize compound applied to the hub before they get stuck.

Thank you Bruce. Now, why the hell is a module needed for the WIF? Does it act somewhat like a slosh module to prevent the light from flashing or flickering?

On a 1997 F-350 7.3L DIT, what is the small black module about 1" square on the harness near the fuel filter housing? It has a 4-pin connector on it and the top is clear showing the circuit board inside. The only part numbers on it are international markings... Parts counterman was asking. I have never had to mess with this thing.

I too would not install these parts. This is just one engine and fuel system you cannot take chances with.

I took some of my fuel sample, put it into my test tube and placed it in a freezer. No clouding or gelling. The fuel sample in question is suspicious because it is a light brown color similar to tea. Not red. At first glance you might suspect rust or dirt however the sample jar sat around for 5 days and there was no settling. Any dirty or rusty sample I have taken and allowed to hang around always separates leaving a fine layer at the bottom of the jar. I spoke with the customer about is fuel and he said he gets fuel from several stations in NYC or NJ. I showed him the sample and he immediately recognized it as marine fuel - he has a boat. He says he did not buy Marine diesel and is suspicious of where it came from if in fact that is what it is. I did not know marine diesel had a specific color or does it? Anybody experienced with marine fuel?

THIS TOPIC?

Ahhhh 7.3's! I remember the good ol days but I have had two come in lately - recall my quest for the threaded oil line block off tools - I got to use them again last week. Life is easier with the right tools. Eh?

Or you can just click the link in the Tech Resources menu on the lower left of your screen... it has been been there about a year... FYI

Does anyone know of a simple way to detect the presence of biodiesel in a fuel system sample? I guess there are test labs that can do this but it would be great if there was some kind of simple test strip that can simply detect biodiesel. Yes, I have a suspicious fuel sample and a loaded exhaust that I can't explain.

Sometimes it is probably best to add to an old topic... I have two things to add to this: first, when smoke testing, be sure to exercise things as best you can like rotating the driveshaft, rotating the wheels and turning the wheels from lock to lock while on the lift. Have a helper assist you. This will help find those little leaks that happen only with "certain" conditions. I also recommend taking a vacuum gage, and tee it into the air line going TO the axle just after the vacuum regulator. This way you can monitor the system operation and you can also check the system by doing a bleed down test - which is no a test you will find in the book - I have no specs but a solid system should hold vacuum for a reasonable amount of time before any bleed down is noticeable.

Nope, that makes no sense at all!

Soooooooooooooooo. Are ya gonna contact the Hot-Line or fill out a GCR to report this piss-poor module situation?

Just out of curiosity, did you fight the summons and were you able to use the emissions label under the hood as proof that the vehicle was built and certified as a non-catalyst vehicle? Seems to me that the emissions certification label could have ended the situation right there on the side of the road.

I had hoped to get back to you sooner. There are a lot of engine sensor and control connectors that are simply not available through Ford or Motorcraft. You are correct that the fuel temperature sensor is the same sensor as the ECT and EOT sensors for the 6.4L. This is one of those times salvaged harnesses become valuable. I will keep looking, let us know if you find anything.

Most guys simply force the y-pipe out of the way and yank the cover out. If you use an 8mm flex gear wrench you can get the cover bolts out from under the EGR cooler and simply loosen and move the exhaust clamp out of your way. Forcing this cover out sometimes requires making modifications to parts I don't like doing. A little bend here, a little grinding there... While I have done things like that in the past I have come full circle in my thinking and prefer to make my short cuts effective without leaving damage or making part modifications. I kind of like this method of removing the upper y-pipe bolts allowing you to tilt it back and out of the way but I somewhat agree with Mike in that I HATE dealing with those bolts in chassis.

SHHHHHHHHHHH!

I would contact the Hot-Line and run it by them. I was advised that the EGR coolers do not stand up to low coolant conditions very well. They told me that a lot of the trucks that have an EGR cooler fail had the radiators replaced. See the vehicle history and it might tell you the story. They also told me that the horizontal cooler tends to fail more often. You WILL need to remove BOTH coolers and bench test them. Remove the left tire/wheel and the inner fender well. It will make access much easier and I found that it is not necessary to remove the left exhaust manifold... and I don't care what the manual says this time. The less you can disturb, the better. The cooler clamps can be removed after the cooler is out of the way. You will see that one of them is pinned onto the bracket from the other side. Take a small punch to the pin to release the clamp. You will see what I mean. Do however replace everything else the manual says to.

Problem is, if you are going to start throwing unison rings at every turbo it is likely that Ford will be calling them back for inspection. Typically they do not need replacing. We have seen only a few that were actually cracked and a few that had worn cam pin slots. Just thought I would remind us of that stark reality.

.......................................................All hail the king of tools and gadgets! . . ......................................................................... . . ............................................... ..... ..... ..... .....

Not something to be over looked I suppose, but how will you do that? Used to be a time you could take the radiator cap off end look right into the radiator tank and observe flow and look for build up. Now you cant... unless you use a borescope. Send it out to a radiator shop? Is it worth it on a high mileage truck? Just bouncing ideas around...

I don't know how you could extract that analogy when Dodge's best number is still lower than Ford's worst number. No, if there is any reasonable influence on Dodge truck sales it more than likely is due to the fact that they have been in the throws of bankruptcy and Chrysler and Dodge dealers are selling vehicles at "bargain prices" and the threat of the possibility that Dodge/Cummins devotees may not be able to buy one in the near future. In looking at the chart it looks like they have light and medium duty truck sales combined which if true is kind of stupid considering they represent two different markets... so what percentage of the drop in sales for Dodge, Chevy, GMC and Ford are Medium Duty or light duty? The rest on the list all sell medium duty trucks and bigger. Interesting statistics none the less.