Jim Warman

We've done about 3 or four with the MAC inserts... no problems that I'm aware of... We will be switching to the Lock n stitch repairs when the MAC inserts run out... FWIW... we haven't had any of these repairs in service long enough to require spark plug removal...

I'm gonna play the old timey guy card.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Picture a warm summer evening almost 40 years ago... with a luke-warm beer in hand I look out at the clear night sky staring at the stars... There's me, a timing light , a jet wrench and what scant knowledge I possessed.... along with a buddies Mustang with a 428 nestled between the shock towers. Going faster was up to me and my tools... not to some computer wienie thousands of miles away... Combustion chamber and cylinder head technology was still in it's infancy... Carburettors were what we had.... You have lived until you've fought with a bad case of fuel stand-off... Yeah... these modern cars are nifty.... but hot rods are lumpy, ill tempered bastuhds... and that is part of their beauty... One very good friend ( a bachelor, you'll notice) has an 06 'Vette and an 06 Viper... Yep... they're nice. But his '69 Charger... now there is a car...

Aaron.... don't get me started on bypass filters.... The oil pump on ANY motor is carefully sized to the oiling requirements of that motor.... And now somebody is going to add an internal oil "leak" to the system .... effectively taking some of that volume/pressure and send it back to the pan in the name of "better filtration". As for engine management mods... I think I speak for several DTS members.... For a seldom driven "toy", knock yourself out. When it comes to the air that I breathe and someones daily driver....

Mike... you are talking to "Mr. Anal Rententive".... I agonize over every last thing I do.... Replaced the intermediate band in a CD4E... up until the tech reisntalled the trans, I was on tenderhooks... Called a cluster on an 07 Explorer... even though my diag was "pristine", I was beside myself until I saw that the concern was, indeed, fixed... Criticism can get my guts boiling.... But we take all of that, and apply logic to our lives... and we progress... I take setbacks in stride... I live with my mistakes... just because I don't let them affect my performance doesn't mean I don't feel every agonizing second of whatever is up my caboose... We all feel like shit at one time or another (or constantly /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif ).... some of us just deal with it a little better.... Damn the pooched CMPs.... full speed ahead!!!!

Mike... the intent was to make everyone see that OASIS is a valuable tool... Since this trade has a very complex dynamic, it is hard to always "stay on topic" as sidebars tend to develop... like now... Bad expereinces are a way of life in this trade... every job you get in your bay has a very real chance of taking a giant leap sideways in a heartbeat... Remove one part on what should be a simple repair can have us saying "OH MY GAWD!!" when we least expect to. You had a bad go with one sensor and you sound like you are going to throw in the towel on going that little bit further for your customers... Sh!t happens... When we talk about "new" parts, we are actually only saying "previously unused". Fact of the matter... if I could get my guys to use OASIS the way it was intended, we'd be doing this FSA quite often... If I found a bad, new sensor, then I generate a service part warranty type RO.... Stroke the customer a bit and be done with it.... Don't abandon a noble endeavour because one went bad.... Life sucks... all we can do is "cowboy up".

Adam.. chances are that your shop has a VDR gathering dust, somewhere... Lord knows I never hear about anyone actually using them. You'll need the VDR to IDS cable and the VDR will want to configure itself... after that it only takes a few moments to set the VDR up to capture the info you want and a few seconds to download the snapshots to your laptop.... And that just might be your five mile long extension cord...

Larry, I'm swinging a double edged sword.... First, I have to watch my mouth a bit because we have a labour relations board in Alberta... Employees can run crying to the "hall monitor" if they even think I overstepped the bounds of decency. Might be that I did nothing wrong, but who needs the hassle? Even with my muzzle on, I can get real close... Next... with the labour shortage we have, I need to be sure I'm not about to throw the baby out with the bath water... There is always the glimmer of hope that one of these youngsters may see the light and actually apply themselves to their careers.... This same labour shortage is why we have some people of this lower quality... you feel lucky when someone drops off a resume.... FWIW... the sign out front of our local golden arches says "full time - $12.50/hr."

I was sitting here gazing in to my crystal ball (well, actually it was a rye and Pepsi... ) thinking about the posts on the wireless VCM. And I wondered what the bay of the future may be like.... Ford has "SYNC my ride".... How about "SYNC my toolbox"? I see a voice activated IDS... wireless VCM in the DLC... a wireless headset like a hands free cellphone (or even safety glasses with a heads up display). Need the wiring diagram for something? Or a PPT? Or a torque spec? Just call it up into the mike... In the "Big Brother is watching" department, would Ford be bold enough to have the IDS "phone home" whenever it was in use? Could this lead to our jobs being "dumbed down"? Early EFI vehicles were pretty neanderthal by todays standards. The PCM would command an output and, for much of it, would simply assume that it was getting what it wanted. Today, with so many things being monitored, it doesn't take a large stretch of the imagination to see a system that could nearly diagnose itself. This could put diagnosing engine management systems back in to the hands of those less adept at electronic technology... It wasn't that many years ago that we would go to the parts counter and get a rectifier and brushes and such and rebuild an alternator at our workbenches... Anybody remember how to turn a commutator, undercut the bars and test it on a growler?

I haven't yet had the pleasure of dealing with a fuel tank delam... but my limited experience has shown me that 7.3 injectors are more forgiving of poor operating conditions. Possibly because fuel pressure problems result in a none-running engine more readily than the 6.0.... Then again, my ass may be in the slough in "intake" mode.

Aaron... policy is one thing (this is MY policy... management refuses to allow me to call an idiot an "idiot" ... but that's a whole 'nother deal).... I have lead the horse to water... I've kicked him in the nuts... I have broken all his legs... I have stuffed his head under the water... and he still refuses to drink. I'm top heavy in youngsters (no secret, right?).... There aren't many questions (have you read the manual? have you checked OASIS? have you verified the concern?) that don't generate that "deer in the headlights" look.... I'm supposed to whip these young'uns in to shape but I'm not allowed to do it MY way (which, if anyone cares, will NOT be politically correct). I don't think I'm asking for the world on a platter.... I'm only asking for those things that I do myself.... I've been doing this for 40 years but it doesn't seem to register that someone with all of my experience (still having the ability to make mistakes) uses printed matter.... while these guys furble around doing all of the things that I tell others not to do... At least it is a reasonable justification for my excesses.... You sound like a guy that shuts his mouth, does his job, and takes what the world serves him... shit happens.... Am I close? OTOH, many feel that they have coveralls... they have a tool chest.... (however empty it may be)... and that these two circumstances bestow some special power on them.... A year ago, I didn't have this crap... but there was some attrition - both for reasons I can understand and also for reasons I don't agree with.... All I can say is that there are times that the devil you know ain't half as bad as the devil you don't. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hitthefan.gif

When I had my own shop, I had one similar to this.... It had two interchangeable "heads"... one was an engine crane, the other much like the pic - transmissions, complete diffs... this thing was handy... Can't remember the brand but it was Canadian built and purchased from Acklands before Grainger got in to the picture... (circa 1990). At that time a trans jack was $700ish CAD and a crane was $500ish CAD... this came in well under a G-note...

We still have a LOT of 7.3s in our area... we've had a half dozen in the shop in the last week... and here is where I might be falling down on the job.... I can't seem to get anyone to run OASIS on anything... and I'd like to see it run on EVERYTHING.. Especially since FSAs are , essentially "free work"... no quotes, no begging a customer... just do it. Box score... not one... none.... nada.... zip.... zilch....

That's a cross that we all bear, Chris... You young'uns missed the years we used to call the "horsepower wars"... Cars from the factory with two four barrel carbs or even three two barrel carbs.... There ain't nothing like the rumble of a big inch V8 with a long cam.... But we all need to be aware of our environment... we are paying for both the excesses of our fathers as well as our own excesses. And with world population growing, there are more and more of us to contribute to the problem... So many confuse good mileage with low emissions.... at this point in time, we can put up with using non-renewable resources at high rates because technology is on the cusp of redefining fuel requirements and engine technology in so many different ways.... Or at least I hope it is....

Before any of the new faces get me wrong... If a guy wants to trick out a toy truck...Hey, he can knock himself out... I have a number of friends with street rods that I spend a few evenings every summer tuning (will work for beer).... These things are on the road for only a very few hours each year... Daily drivers... now there's a different story...

Remove the cap and filter from the secondary housing... fill the housing close to the top and crank the engine... a LOT quicker than the balloon test. Of course, if you happen to have missing cylinders on both banks.... you're back to square one...

David... we like the fuel bowl thing, too.... We should already have a miss on the affected bank... the bubbles just prove out our suspicions.

Do I understand that this an "EGR defeat" type device?

It's COLD up here... we gotta keep warm "somehow".... Before I moved north I was skinny.... now I'm a Husky f@cker....

A long, long time ago... someone brought me an old, old tractor... The engine front cover was leaking oil badly and the only way to replace the gasket would be to split the tractor in half... something I didn't have time for and the customer didn't have money for... I cleaned up the area as well as I could and then (after plugging various holes and breathers) I used my shop vac to put the crankcase under vacuum and laid a bead of silicon across the affected area.... Not my idea of a proper repair... but sometimes you have to "ad lib"...

I'm not so quick to judge.... Lately, I've been using the "OASIS Quick Start" feature more and more.... This feature will only upload powertrain stuff... and it indicates "some" of what goes up the pipe.... but I can't say it shows "all" of what goes up the pipe.... It does upload the mileage on the truck.... even if the cluster is pooched.... And that brings us to something I have been saying all along..... There are log files in some modules... These log files will tell <someone> everything that this log file has written to it. Obviously, the module has to be "told" what to write to the file.... I feel there is a LOT of info stored in some of these modules... but Ford is not about to tell us the hexadecimal address of these files.... I wont pretend to be some PCM guru.... But I will say that just because some hacker hasn't found some particular info doesn't necessarily mean it isn't there.... Ford is playing their cards pretty close to the chest... I'd be surprised if all manufacturers weren't. I'd hazard a guess that they wont tip their hand until they're sure they have a solid case against "aftemarket manipulation".

I don't have AE myself... but I've read stuff from those that do.... While it sounds very good, I believe it lacks active commands. What would I do? I have a lot of scan tools in the shop... but.... If I wanted one for the fat old man.... I'd prolly spring for a wireless VCM and see if the boss would spring for the subscription once the "free" part is over. Imagine... the wireless laptop on the side of the toolchest.... a wireless network in the shop and a wireless printer available.... A wireless VCM plugged into the DLC... OASIS Quick Start at your fingertips... I use my cell phone to call hotline... I can "talk" to hotline from my laptop... the added utility of my own VCM would be like.... like.... I dunno... but it would be great. I used to frequent a woodworking newsgroup on usenet.... Most of these guys would say "Buy the very best tools ... and only cry once instead of every time you use them..."... There's going to be many points of view... but only you can decide what you expect your tool to do (your scan tool, man...)

Looking at Bruces cut-away, you can see that the "double trouble" issue would have to be present... If careful inspection of the O-rings and cups doesn't reveal any visible concerns, the next step would be to blame the cylinder head. Pull the injector and stare hard at the O-ring at the bottom.... caress it as you would a womans..... HArumph.... If it looks good and feels good (and is soft and supple as a womans th.... HArumph), then it's probably good.... I wouldn't go any further.... If it feels ratty, make sure the coolant level is adequate and pressure test the cooling system.... If the cup is cracked, it should at least "weep"... Don't get carried away with the pressure you apply. Word to the wise... if you are very diligent, you may find enough warp to make you feel uncomfortable with the head... or you may find exclusions or other concerns with the head in the area that contacts the "fire ring" of the HG. While it is important for us to consider the financial repercussions of our diagnosis.... we can't be turning out work that makes us feel uncomfortable. Every time I ever set out to save somebody $1..... it came back and cost ME $10... If you can't... without a shadow of doubt show yourself the O-ring troubles and the cup troubles together.... call the head.

"Back in the day".... I can remember well what we had for an incentive plan.... every two weeks, we got the bosses autograph.... This is way back in the days when we believed that we got paid for doing our jobs... if you wanted "extra"... you worked harder or longer hours... Now, before anyone thinks I'm anti-anything... I used to like my bonuses and perks when I was on the bench. The extra cash... the extra recognition... these all make us feel better.... But *should* they be necessary? A pay scale that gives different hourly rates for different discipilines.... It shouldn't be that hard to administer and it would reward the achievers for working on "technical" stuff... It might even goad some of the sluggards into improving their stature. BG wallet flushes?... I feel for ya, Kieth... The Wynns Extend guy stops by our store once a month... so far, we haven't had anyone in <that> chair that will entertain the idea... At this point, I am concerned - this type of activity is something I have been trying very hard to distance myself from....

Started my apprenticeship in about '67 or '68... cars were a little bit different back them... <SIGH>.... I've got underwear older than most of the kids in my shop, now...

Chris... before you hang everything on a RMS, chcek everything else careful.... rear careful. IMHO, it is rare for one of these RMSs to leak.... and most of the things on a 7.3 that leak will look like a rear seal.... TheHPOP fittings, turbo pedestal and the EBV seal will pool in the valley and then come down the rear of the block.... Watch out for the oil gallery plugs in the ends of the cylinder heads, too....