Keith Browning

WOW! I actually have it right here in my office and it is inpristine condition. It is only 13 pages... maybe I can turn this into a PDF document for you tonight... I'll keep you posted... Okay, I created one and put it up in the Coffee Table Books page or you may click on the address below. http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/publications/Technician%207_3%20HPOP%20Guide.pdf

I went to Foley Cat in Piscataway NJ. I didn't hear any rumors this time around. What ruck does Toyota have that would support a heavy V-8 diesel well? I would also suspect that Toyota of all manufacturers would put their own engine in their trucks to keep tight control over quality. You can knock the 6.0L but from the carnage I just saw at the CAT service center a CAT engine might not be a good match. Who knows? Maybe in a pick-up they would do well. ON EDIT: I did a search and only came up with this: Quote: "Toyota’s Diesel program is ongoing, and is led by D-CAT (Diesel Clean Advanced Technology). Toyota D-CAT produces the lowest harmful emissions of any modern diesel, surpassing EURO IV standards. It is initially available in the Toyota Avensis D- 4D sedan in Germany and the UK, where ultra low sulphur fuel is available. The Toyota DCAT system features a special catalyst called DPNR (Diesel Particulate NOx Reduction system) and Toyota's second generation high-pressure common-rail diesel injectionsystem. DPNR reduces both NOx and Particulate Matter in exhaust emissions, and cuts down the generation of HC (hydrocarbons) and CO (carbon monoxide)." This is from toyotas web site. I don't think that it is actually a "CAT" motor its just an abbreviation for their emissions system. But I could be reading it wrong. hopefully someone might know more.

I was at CAT this week for my ACERT training. IS all of the training based on WebEx presentations and tests? My brain was smokin at the end of each day! Sitting in class watching a Power Point presentation that is available on the web is not what I expected. I had trouble staying awake and focused. Furthermore, the training material that goes with it is mostly printed, scaled down views of the presentation with images that you really can't see due to poor quality. It would have been better from a learning perspective to sit in front of the terminals and watch them on our own and follow up with the WebEx tests. The big problem I had was that as a TEPS dealer technician I rarely see these engines and since I cant perform any repairs other than what is bolted to the outside of the engine, I almost never get to work on them other than maintenance. The problem this presents is a lack of product familiarity which made it difficult to understand much of what was going on in class at first. If you are a fleet tech or a CAT tech you knew what was going on. But overall, the training seemed to be lacking in my opinion. I thought that there was too much information thrown at you and so fast that you did not have time to absorb and digest it. In some way I am annoyed but I am mostly humbled. It is a different World than what it is like at most dealers. I am impressed with the instructor, Tim O'Connor who is very knowledgeable and answered all questions and clarified things nicely. I still have to return for Operation Readiness. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cover.gif

While at CAT this week I was in their highway truck shop for some hands on lab work on a training C-13 engine. They had mostly iron in the shop and you couldn't help notice. Two C-9s and the rest were the larger engines but I couldn't tell you they were. One had rods though the block, another getting a new block and cylinder heads on all of the benches. It's cool to see a cylinder head that is as long as the bench it is on. I really haven't seen engines this size apart since technical school so this was really kind of neat but the technicians didn't look like they thought so. This just seemed like an unusually large amount of heavy work, Do you CAT guys really see this kind of carnage?

I thought I remembered that diesel applications required synthetic mercon so went a lookin. The older transmissions did according to the manual but all I can find on the 6-speed is: MERCON® Multi-Purpose Automatic Transmission Fluid XT-2-QDX (US); XT-2-LM12 (Canada) I also agree that synthetic might be the better choice for the diesel applications due to the higher torque values.

Jay I don't think you are missing anything but many owners feel as though it is their truck and they should be able to go as fast as they wish. After all, there are plenty of vehicles on the road that well exceed 100 MPH. I'll drop the morality argument as that really doesn't count for anything anymore and who gives a crap what I think anyway? You have read thousands of post over on your site about Ford changing something on their trucks without their permission or taking something from them that they paid for. Okay, I might go along with that but it is getting old. I wish Ford would pay attention to what it is doing with these limits and the changes that are occurring. I am curious as to if this speed limit with the new calibration is real and if it was intentional or some kind of oversight. In either event, I wish they would also decide on, and publish maximum vehicle speed ratings/specifications for every model by engine & drive line options and be done with this! Then we can firmly say "it is what it is."

On PDS there is an option to enable an Administrators menu or function that requires a password. Anyone know what that is? It is not the saword that my PDA uses. Is this an option locked by Ford?

I am starting to sense that there are a few dealers that are having trouble. In this case it almost sounds like someone got bent over.

Who is driving these trucks that fast? Bonnie and Clyde?

Who is driving these trucks that fast? Bonnie and Clyde?

Most of the IDM failures that I have seen were caused by water getting into the module through the vent hole in the back of the case. I am assuming that is some sort of a vent. It is most common with Econolines and I have also seen this on the older body style F-Series, older than 1999. Once the moisture gets into the module it causes corrosion. If you encounter an IDM with water inside and there is debris behind the module trapping water and are installing a new module, run a bead of silicone sealant along the top edge of the back of the module where it meets the inner fender to keep water and debris from getting behind the module and into the vent hole. The debris I mention is typically pine needles, mulched up leaves and small wood chips that escape trucks that have leaf vacuums and wood shredders that shoot their discharge into a stake body or dump body. Some inevitably showers the front of the vehicle where it falls through the gaps around the hood. On the Econolines, water runs off of the cowl where the weatherstrip likes to fall off... onto the module. Other than that, I guess they just burn up. Remember, the IDM not only controls the injectors and acts as a distributor, it also creates the high voltage it supplies to the injectors.

Ditto... and I would be happy to help you promote it. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

I started working on Fords in 1988 just two years into the business and fresh out of technical school. I think it was a good time to get in because that was the real beginning of feedback engine controls and I grew up with electronics watching it all develop. Being the new/diesel guy I didn't get any driveability problems on gas cars, nor did I get any tune-ups! I did quite a few truck engines... 5.0L and 5.8L engines had a habit of burning oil under the intake manifold where the EGR ports ran. A thick, scaly crust would form compounded by the fact many of these commercial truck owners rarely changed the oil. The crust would eventually start falling off and clog the oil pick-up. The result should be obvious.

Hmmmm, I did not look at it THAT way! If it could work as a wireless VCM /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif

Well, a good night's sleep, a fresh look at it and a few new data recordings I discovered the IPR was doing some strange things. I guess I get mentally hammered by the afternoon as this was not too difficult to figure out. Thought I would share the graphs: The first is the abnormal ICP reading with a steady full throttle acceleration. Notice the RPM's and the IPR are smoothly increasing but the ICP shows some really erratic pressure control. The second graph was made under the same conditions after replacing the IPR. Sticking IPR valve operation Normal IPR valve operation

Kyle that is a very interesting concept and I like it, but I like all gadgets! The best value of a device like that would be for fleets that have vehicles that are great distances away. It could be useful for monitoring a problem vehicle. I am not sure if you are aware that most dealers also have Customer Flight recorders that connect to the DLC in their vehicles that can monitor 20 or so parameters and make a recording initiated by the operator pushing a button on a wand or by preset triggers. Unfortunately, your "remote" version would likely be too costly of an investment for many dealers as it might be used infrequently. Since our customers are local to us, the CFR works just fine. Aren't GM products capable of this with the ON-Star system? As satellite systems become integrated into more vehicles I would think the capability to build this right into the vehicle is there... then Engineering can access a problem vehicle directly. It has a LOT of potential but for me personally I simply don't have a use for it.

Jim, NETS is included in the MD Truck software bundle which you can download off of the Rotunda site in the same location as the IDS and VCM updates. It includes Master Diagnostics for the Navistar engines, NETS for Navistar Module Programing and Wabco Brake Diagnostics. Dustin, I was just curious if anyone else had had the corrupt file issue. I guess I just have that kind of luck! It made my first experience a learning one so I thought it would be best shared. Since I was not expecting that kind of a thing to even be possible it really threw me for a loop.

Okay. I completely understand that and calling his bluff can be an unnecessarily balls-out approach. I think the point here is to assert the fact that you are valuable and back it up with your performance. If you are relatively productive, have very few come-backs (we all have one from time to time) and your success is preventing angry customers in management's faces - trust me, unless they have their heads up their asses they they know what they have in you.

I mentioned in another topic that I just got access to NETS for programming, no big deal, I just have not needed to use that until now. It all went just the way I remember it going in training but things went wrong. Very wrong! I lost my engine data like engine hours, fuel used and mileage. Vin+ no longer reported the correct transmission and horsepower rating and the check engine light was on. There were codes for missing oil pressure, vehicle speed circuits and a 621, "Engine defaults set." Well, long story short, after an hour of scratching my ass I called the Tech Hot Line. "Yeeee-upp! You down loded a courrrupt fiyal." They recommended getting the calibration again and programming as a blank module. Fixed. Good idea to record engine hours, fuel used and mileage just in case you need to reenter that information. My question is, has anyone else experienced the corrupt file problem? How lucky am I to have this happen on my first Navistar PCM reflash? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif

Okay, I am stumped! I have a truck that over all, runs well, doesn't smoke and has good acceleration. It is a 2003 F450 with a 7.3L. The problem is that it flutters off the line in a way that I can describe as letting off the accelerator and back on rapidly three or four times then smooths out and takes off and runs perfectly. It also displays a strange idle, not quite a miss and not what you might call rough... more like a flutter. You know, like a 1995 Explorer 4.0L engine does at idle. This comes and goes. Anybody see anything like this? No codes, passes all electrical tests, fuel pressure 62-PSI, IPR 11% and no reason to initially suspect a base engine concern. I looked at performance delta PIDS and it showed 4 or 5 five hit 5% and clear up then a different 4 o5 five... and so on. Whatever it is, it is affecting the overall engine. I am truly baffled! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/whattodo.gif

Well, depending on how good you are and your confidence level the ideal thing to do is call his bluff. I don't know what the technician pool in Canada is like but here in NJ you cant build a new diesel tech! Hard to find anyone willing to do this that isn't already at a dealer that takes care of them. There are some guys that float from dealer to dealer but they typically cant fix lunch let alone a diesel truck. Tell him to hire a kid for fifteen bucks and give him ALL of your work for a week... see what happens.

I finally had to get my NETS login and password today. I flashed a 2006 F650 and I installed the calibration that cycles the injectors after shut down. No inductive heating on this one!

Did you get to dig into it or did Ford ask you not to? I am sure they would want it back for their own analysis.

Doing it by the book is a good idea but let us be careful about sand-bagging as well. How thorough are we? I'll bet many techs are always racing the clock and skipping important road tests, taking time to take data recordings and fuel pressure readings on the street (when necessary), road testing after repairs and re-running the self tests afterward. Running OASIS and checking SSM's, TSB's and broadcast messages are all important tools... just as important as that torque wrench. Yes, good food for thought!

Aside from checking the vehicle for parasitic loads with the vehicle shut down consider testing the battery. Will it hold a charge? Are the cells good? I have seen batteries test good after being charged that still just cant hold a charge. My weapon of choice is the good 'ol battery hydrometer. This will allow you to gage the overall health of the battery, identify weak or bad cells, observe the electrolyte color, level and presence of scale that contribute to the death of a battery. Just because they say "Maintenance Free" doesn't mean they cant be tested the old fashioned way. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/flamethrower.gif Is it getting warm in here, or is it just me? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif