Keith Browning

There are actually several modern puzzle makers making excellent hand cut jigsaw puzzles today. Some I would say are exquisite! I am now in the process of learning to restore old puzzles and replacing missing pieces which may lead to trying to learn how to make puzzles. If I succeed and can pull it off I have time... perhaps to make a bunch of puzzles and release them for a 100 year edition. This is just a wild thought at the moment but not far fetched at all. I can source the wood, but I need to find suitable images printed on suitable paper and figure out how to properly press them. The press my grandfather used was never kept. I do have one original jigsaw, a wood sample and hundreds of the blades.

Noooo. THAT black cloud stays directly over my dealership where it can acutely dump on me continuously.

Woops! Flat rate reading. Just read "stand pipe." I HAVE seen one or two though... not countless.

Oh jeeze! I have seen this on countless 6.0L engines.

Many of you have shared some of your hobbies and interests and I have enjoyed reading about all of them! So keep sharing because it is nice to get to know more about the people you interact with. With that said, I would like to share a project that has taken me several years to compile and publish. It is also a family legacy kinda thing that I always knew about but in my research uncovered much more than I expected. http://www.unitpuzzles.com

My new laptop has a hybrid drive - system files on solid state and mass storage is conventional. While not fully solid state its vastly quicker as you mentioned. I toyed with the idea of getting a full solid state drive but at the moment I see no point with the performance I currently have. As I recall it was not available as an upgrade to my laptop when I ordered it but there were drives available when I searched the Internet. At this point, anyone buying a new PC or laptop should settle for nothing less. Glad to see you happy with yours Bruce.

I have also noticed that after upgrading, Windows 10 gets faster over the period of a few days. I am sure it has a lot to do with doing some "housekeeping" on the hard drive but it may also be continuing to set itself up to work faster. Maybe it's just me? Has anyone noticed this too?

I have seen a couple but you are right - For some reason seal failures are predominantly occurring on the dummy plugs. I still would not recommend not replacing ALL of them as supplied by the kit

Core charge on the filter assembly is only $150?

I am setting up a spare laptop the other team leader in my shop was given - a bout 4 year old Toshiba Satellite in really good condition. Started with Windows seven and then upgraded from there. For the most part the upgrade went perfect however there is a problem with the Wi-Fi auto detector that I need to figure out - clicking on the troubleshooter corrects it but the fix is not permanent and I have to rerun it every time this laptop reboots. I may simply need to reinstall the original drivers. Anyhow, this laptop is intended to be a loaner for some of the younger /new techs in the shop that don't have laptops yet. We decided to go with windows 10 and also install IDS to test the waters before upgrading our personal laptops. Well, so far so good! Accessing FMC Dealer/PTS websites if fine as long as you use Internet Explorer and that is up to IE 11 now but I think you just need IE 9 or newer to have full functionality. I tried the new "Edge" browser which failed to run add-ons like Adobe Reader and SGV Viewer which I am not sure it is intended to. IDS seems to be working well too. So far I have used the updater, updated the VCM2, connected to a vehicle, ran quick tests, retrieved DTCs, reprogrammed a PCM. All without a single issue. Norton Internet Security updated on its own. I haven't experienced any issues with peripherals yet either.

I have heard of this happening but never saw it until now. A 2013 F550 with the entire aftertreatment system cut out. It was stole over the weekend and Monday morning it would not start so it was towed in. Apparently nobody noticed. For some reason the engine started for the tow truck driver and it was loud... they still could not figure it out. Really? At least the cuts were made on the assembly inlet and outlet leaving the down pipe and the tailpipe un damaged. But it needs and exhaust pressure sensor, all four EGTs, DEF injector and pressure line and a few harness pigtails. Around $5K parts and labor and all for what? Couple hundred bucks from the scrap yard? Obviously the thieves had no intention of using the parts.

Amazing how some of these body configurations make putting in a fuel filler a challenge.

Matt that pipe along with maybe another one or two in different shapes along with hoses and clamps and maybe a mount for the filler, all come in a bag from the factory when the truck is new. The bag is a kit for the body upfitters to install the fuel filler as needed. I do know the kit is available... if your counterperson can find it. I recall ordering one once or twice. This applies to all F-series and E-series cab and chassis/cutaway.

There are no words I can use for that one.

I decided to give it a go on my office PC and the upgrade went well. Win10 seems to be pretty nice, offers a lot of modern operating system improvements and interface while bringing back some of the old and familiar Windows arrangement. The exception is the new web browser "Microsoft Edge" which works just fine but the interface is much different than Internet Explorer. Cant seem to find my favorites list and browsing history but you can open Internet Explorer from the menu on the top right and go from there. I guess I just need to explore it more and become familiar with it. Upgrading advice: As always, it is recommended that you back up all of your documents on an external drive of some type and make a list of all your current programs "just in case" something goes wrong. My upgrade went well as far as I can tell but I have not tried all of my applications as of this time. DO all updating and preparation BEFORE you even think of clicking on the upgrade icon. Once you get to the End Users Agreement screen, check the box and click next there is no cancelling the upgrade. You can stop it and postpone it though up to three days off and select the time it starts. I did this for the better part of a week and I must have clicked on the wrong date - I intended to upgrade today but I woke up yesterday, grabbed a cup of coffee as I do every morning and headed into my office to find the process @ 47%. I had not performed a back up!!! The upgrade for me took about 1 hour. My PC was extremely lethargic for several hours afterward and web browsing was almost impossible. I believe that my processors and memory were consumed with some "housekeeping" on the hard disk so I left it on and went to bed. This morning all seems in order and FAST. Expect to have to set some preferences and default programs again. There is the option of restoring your previous versions of Windows so do panic if your upgrade turns problematic. I had a problem with losing my audio - which was a problem in Windows BETA testing and with RealTek audio devices. But, on my PC the problem was my hardware and I forgot that my front audio jack is broken and prevents the rear audio jack from working. A setting that turns that off restored my audio however. (I totally forgot that I broke my front jack) Remember that Ford Motor company does not recommend upgrading on any PC that is used for accessing FMC Dealer or uses IDS until they test the compatibility. Please use this thread to share your experiences with Windows 10.

The high idle spec on the medium 7.3L is lower than the light duty application. While the engine is RATED @ 2300 RPM the engine speed is governed to 2850 for automatic transmissions and 2750 for manual transmissions. It may also be helpful to know that these trucks in 2000 were speed governed to 90 MPH. While checking boost it is normal to see readings begin leveling off after 2500 RPM.

Are you folding them when you install them?

The first problem you have to take care of is the blown EGR cooler which you have definitively verified and diagnosed. The second issue of the DEF is I suspect that DEF would make quick work of any injector regardless of the engine so with that said I don't think it is an issue to be overly concerned with for now. Especially since you report that the tank and lines were cleaned and the truck not run. The only question I have is what was anyone doing anywhere near a 6.0L truck with a container of DEF? And with THAT said, no, I have no experience with 6.0L engines and DEF probably because it is an extremely unlikely scenario in my opinion. Vandalism? Sabotage? I can see that.

I saved the fuse cuz' I wanted to take a good picture of but left it at work. I'll snap a picture next week and post it.

Matt, Notice the color of the coolant? I have seen a few Econolines come in with plugged OIL coolers and blown EGR coolers with ELC installed. That blows that theory or I suspect the clowns are not fully flushing the gold coolant out of the system. Mixing the two coolants QUICKLY depletes the anti-corrosion package and actually accelerates cooling system corrosion. Two of mine were ambulances too. I advised the shop manager at the township that owned them and he shrugged it off like I didn't know what I was talking about.

I think I have seen a van but a loooooong time ago. I am surprised as they are much closer to me than you. AHH! Wait a minute. I am at a stealership. Almost forgot my place there.

I had several tough ones end up in my bay this week but this one was a challenge. A 2011 6.7L that had a surging, low idle, stalling and a check engine light. I had quite a few DTC's in the system half of which were network codes. I recorded them all and erased them to start out fresh since the codes were "all over the place." I restarted the diagnosis with a freshly set P0093. It gets interesting from here. Retrieved CMDTCs, KOER and KOER self tests - BOTH tests return "Test Aborted" and do not complete. Performed Pinpoint tests M-1,2,3,5,6,9,12,15,17 Tests were extremely difficult to complete with the erratic idle and stalling. Testing at that point was inconclusive. I performed a wiggle test and the engine ran properly after moving poking around the FPR and tapping on the fuel rail. I disconnected the FPR and the KOEO self test completed with an in demand DTC of P0090. I reconnect the FRP and the self test does not complete. I get the same result when repeating this step. What would you think at that point? Yeah, I thought so. I replaced the FPR. No change. So instead of falling into that trap of diving deeper I decided to return to the beginning. Looking at ALL of the codes I originally retrieved. I did read SSM 44681 - and inspected fuse 33. It was good and I reinserted it. The truck ran ok for a few minutes and then started acting up again. I looked at the EVTM and determined that fuse 33 feeds three circuits going into the PCM and labeled VPWR. Time to take another look at that circuit and maybe the fuse. I back probed pins 67, 68 and 69 at the PCM and found that the voltage was erratic - I hit the Smooth button on my Fluke meter and the voltage settled to a little under 8. Long story short I looked at that fuse much closer. Still not blown and I had B+ at both sides of the fuse. BUT. I noticed a black spot on one of the fuse blades. Borrowed a magnifying glass and son of a bitch! Arcing! (terminal fretting for you aficionados) I cleaned the fuse block terminals and replaced the fuse. Cleared the codes and road tested the truck to verify the repair. Just thought I would share one of "those" repairs with y'all. So keep this kind of thing in the back of your mind.

I did it twice and it was easier than a Super Duty but these were cargo vans. If its a passenger van it will be harder with the seat and carpet. The most difficult part is removing the body bolts in the rear of the van from the cargo area. There's two things you can EASILY overlook and that is the ground strap at the right rear of the engine that attaches to the inside of the engine compartment - the straps do not stretch and the fuel filler neck. Otherwise I do not remember any really difficult thing about it. You just need to look and figure out what needs to be disconnected. It should be pretty obvious. BUT - when you do start to raise the body take it slow and stop frequently to look around for things that are pulling and need attention. I think I actually did begin a write up in the process and have pictures... somewhere. It was a long time ago.

But, the Browning clan is pretty big reaching far and wide. There is a Browning relative of mine in the active membership here though. you never know though. My family came out of Kentuckey.

None.