Keith Browning

Wow, that article is 2 years old as I write this. Didn't we go through this with the Fiesta when that diesel car never made it to North American shores? I am sure there are a lot of aspects of producing a diesel powered car but I would bet that Ford has determined that there is no market for them here... made worse by the added cost of the emissions system that adds significantly to the selling price compared to the gasoline powered models. Ever wonder why you don't see too many hybrids on the road or much less all electric cars? Look at the price tag. Here in the USA: [*] A base Focus starts at $16,200. An ELECTRIC Focus starts at $39,200. [*] A base Fusion starts at $21,900, jumps to $27,200 for a hybrid and soars to $40,100 for a Fusion Energi Titanium. But as for Ford keeping up with the Jones' you just might be right.

Harsh 2/3 upshifts and hard engagement into reverse that usually goes away once the vehicle is at operating temperature. I have heard of several of these and I finally have one in my bay. No DTC's or debris in the pan. Found the direct clutch balance piston scoring up the inside of the direct clutch piston causing them to bind. FYI

I think we touched on this in a 6.7L thread. I use a Craftsman 8mm 1/4" drive deep socket. No modification needed unless the socket has changed.

You stated the smoke was whitish/BLUISH so I usually think oil in that case.

Perform a crankcase pressure test. Check the outlet side of the turbocharger for oil. Is the engine using oil?

Computer Controlled Shutdown The powertrain control module (PCM) controls the PCM power relay when the ignition is turned to the ON or START position, by grounding the PCM relay control (PCMRC) circuit. After the ignition is turned to the OFF, ACC or LOCK position, the PCM stays powered up until the correct engine shutdown occurs. The ignition switch position run (ISP-R) circuit provides the ignition state input to the PCM. Based on the ISP-R signal the PCM determines when to power down the PCM power relay. The PCM software monitors the parameters for the controlled systems to make sure that all values have met a threshold for shutdown.

Makes sense. You must remember that many modules now no longer shut off when the key is turned off. It's more like your PC... you tell it to shut down and it does it's own shut down sequence and then turns off. There is a term for it, just can't remember what it is right now.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” ~Charles Darwin~

You know when something is about to become a recall... the price drops 75%!

TSB 09-12-15 includes diagnosis, repair direction, part number and labor times for this condition for both manual and dual automatic climate control systems. I have graciously attached the TSB to this post for you to read. If you don't feel like reading, replace the "right side actuator" to correct this on your manual climate control. The bulletin title is misleading. The quick and dirty diagnosis is to place the temperature setting to somewhere in the middle and listen for the tell-tale rubbing/ticking noise from the actuator.

Considering the cost of new heads machining is still the best option if you have it. You are right about valves having to be machined as you need to be mindful of clearances. I think most of what I have read also confirms that is what most guys are doing.

And still doing an excellent job!

I know.

Wiener? Guilty. I have never installed studs and at the dealership we simply won't install aftermarket parts that we cannot back. It's genuine Ford or Motorcraft or it ain't going in the truck. Yes, I know the studs offer better clamping force. None of our customers are using tuners and such because they don't tell us that they are nor do they ask us to install studs. Liars. My response to Matt's question is I have only seen one or two repeat head gasket failures in my shop that I know of or recall. Nor do I recall whether we made the original repairs either. Unfortunately most techs use Roloc disks to clean these heads and blocks but if we think about it, given the sheer number of head gasket repairs done using them I would expect to see a much higher repeat failure rate because of the disks going by the warnings about using them. 10 years later and we know that this simply is not the problem we are warned it is but a technician with a new coarse disk can quickly remove a lot of metal instantly and cause low spots in the metal. This is especially true if you are trying to remove the "staining" on the surface or the pitting in the non-sealing areas. The instructions in the WSM and relevant TSB's explicitly tell us not to try to remove those. That MIGHT be important, no? I maintain to this day, that if the cylinder heads and the block are flat, the surfaces are properly prepared and ALL other known problems that cause over boosting are repaired and or verified, head gasket failures are far less common than they used to be. What known problems? [*]Sticking turbochargers - causing over boost conditions because of mechanical binding and seizing causing no VGT control. Always verify the condition of the turbocharger and ensure that a new treated CRH is installed and that the unison ring control slot is not worn. [*]Faulty EBP sensors and wiring providing inaccurate back pressure data to the PCM required for proper VGT operation [*]Out of date engine calibrations that do not contain more aggressive over boost protection: fuel rate and timing adjustments and use of EGR to dump exhaust backpressure intended to slow the turbocharger [*]Inoperative EGR valves which includes deletes *important for the above calibration. Verify that the EGR cooler is not leaking and causing the EGR valve or the turbocharger to stick [*]Aftermarket intake and exhaust systems that can modify the airflow across the MAF sensor which can affect EGR and VGT operation [*]Aftermarket performance tuners - there are good and bad one's but we all know the results of going too far and the result of excessive boost and cylinder/exhaust temperatures can be downright devastating These are all things that I have learned or come to understand can contribute to head gasket failure either directly or in part as sometimes any combination of these items can be found on any vehicle. If anyone disagrees with any of those items fee free to bring it up. My theorem on this is always evolving. So, if you have a repeat head gasket failure then either something was missed, the workmanship was lacking somewhere or there is something the customer is not telling you.

I see your government is just as fucked up as ours!

Well you will be h appy to know that with a new appet and all new rockers it runs just dandy. THe owner neglected to tell us about the hole in the charge air cooler. Makes a nice hissing sound on acceleration. Looks like it has been that way for a while too.

Oh, and the really bad part about engine repairs on 6.4L engines is that they get really expensive, really quick. Those rocker tips seem to be easily affected by poor oil maintenance. Looks like that little oil hole is almost not adequate... I really hate working on 6.4L trucks as there is nothing easy or fun to repair. Nothing. And being in a rust belt state the trucks are now rusting badly in many cases... just like this one! Yay! What a fucking shit show.

Cam lobe was good but you are right. THis truck could not have been running well at all of some time now. THere were several of those rocker tips that had fallen out. Customer is getting $2700 assistance from Ford for the repair.

Every time I get a replacement connector though, the documentation weather it be the label or a piece of paper in the package tells you which wires are for what and the wire colors on the part are FOR REFERENCE ONLY to identify the circuit. As a matter of fact, I still have it and it states: "NOTE: Locate wires and pin location by function only. Color coding is not standard among all manufacturers." The nice diagram and color coding seems to be more concerned with pin position and function than anything else and tells you what pin is supposed to do what. This matches what Ford has published and everything else I can find so far. Now, realistically, anyone can wire these things up in any order they please and as long as everything matches between the trailers and tow vehicles being used then all is well... except when situations like this arise. One reason I can see for intentionally doing this is to make theft more difficult or a pain in the ass... you can put the 12V battery charge to the electric brake pin and hope that a "properly wired get-away truck" will cause the brakes to lock. Assuming that will work.

With regard to trailer wiring and connectors of all types, would we all be in agreement that there is a "standard" when it comes to the pin/pole positions and the circuits involved? At least I have always known this to be true. So I have a 2000 F450 in a week ago and they asked to repair the trailer wiring. The failure was the result of splice connections that were not weather sealed... corroded and broken wires. I am sure we have all seen that. The wires leading to the connector from the factory harness had been spliced up several times over the last 13 years and changed color as many times. And I could not figure out why there was a relay powering one of the circuits powered by the battery charge circuit. Just a Bosch relay, hanging upside down with exposed and corroded connections. I cut it all out. Installed a new trailer connector, fabricated a new harness between the connector and the factory trailer tow harness on the frame sealing all splices with heat shrink with sealant and packed the connectors with dielectric. I verified the operation of all circuits with my Phillips trailer wiring/trailer brake simulator. All good. A week later the truck returns. A short Portuguese "mechanic" get all huffy with us and doesn't speak a word of English. Translator was present. "The parking lights are on all the time and the trailer brakes don't work" but this only happens when the trailer is connected to this truck!!!!!!" Long story short the trailer wiring is incorrect on the trailer... as are all of this other trucks. The running lamps are connected to the 12V supply... the brake is wired to the parking brakes. Yep. I fucked up. He brings down his GMC... half the lights don't work on the truck and none of the lights on the trailer don't work. It MUST be me! What is worse is they have other trailers and trucks trucks. Anybody want to wager on what they are going to "fix?"

It is broken but not in the way we have become accustomed to. I have a 2008 6.4L that the customer got lazy with maintenance. The rocker tips wore and seized up as expected until #3 exhaust rocker broke at the fulcrum. The center of the tappet actually blew out. I have never seen that before.

I have had two Super Duties with steering assist concerns. One was indeed fixed with a new pump for high effort at low speeds. The other one would randomly just lose assist altogether. I followed TSB 11-12-11 and dutifully replaced the pump and reservior. A day later a new seering gear fixed it.

Update: The distributor stopped buy and talked to use. They were prepared to demo the cleaner but we didn't have a running 6.0L around to use it on. Believe it or not. They guys really could not tell us HOW using this cleaner will make an engine run any better. Of course, at the same time of the fluch a good dose of some cleaner and fuel additives gets dumped into the fuel tank. That alone may be why some trucks run better when the customers pick them up. Them I am sure the next tank of fuel they pretty much go back to the way they were.

I have come to the conclusion that debris is the only thing that causes these types of failures with the IPR screen. Even the ones that come off the tip of the IPR. I think the added pressure caused by the clogged screen causes high pressure oil to get behind the o-rings and push the screen off. Nice examples Matt.

It just seemed funny that nothing changed until I pulled the ECT connector. Now I wish I took the 30 seconds to hook up the gauge tester to the ECT. Since both sensors were disconnected Jim may be correct in that the 212 degree reading was a default reading supplied by the PCM as you would expect an open in a temp sensor to full one way or the other.