DamageINC

I hope not, personally from what I can tell, it really look slike Ford/ITEC went to town on this thing. Although with any brand-new release, there are almost always gonna be the usual slew of bugs at first. Apparently a lot of these trucks are having A/C problems. The strategy in the ECM won't cycle the compressor on until it's learned ambient temp, and for whatever reason, apparently a few of these trucks haven't learned ambient temperature yet. I guess they're being told to unplug the MAF and run the engine until the CEL comes on. Then, clear the code and plug the MAF back in - supposedly this re-learns ambient temperature and then, viola! A/C works. Dave

LOL We got a *loaded* F-450 in stickering at close to $60,000. Ouch. What'd you find with the Check Eng light?? Dave

Well, just to add to this, today I had a 7.3 come in with a really nasty fuel leak. The 2 lines that deliver fuel from the filter housing to the cylinder heads were rubbing against each other at one spot and wore straight through them. Fuel was *everywhere*. Dave

Where did the rocker arm break? I have seen lots of them with the roller for the valve bridge being all pitted and nasty, maybe if one got bad enough it could cause the tip of the rocker to heat up and crack during use... but that's kind-of "out there" I guess. I had a busted rocker once, but it was because the valves in the head were canted/incorrectly installed from the factory and it took out the rocker, and a couple valves. Dave

Yep. Some dumbass on the FMC messageboards posted that method too, about 2 days ago... I hope the "wrong" people don't get a hold of it. That poor guy is going to have a mob after him if the SLTS for that hose goes down. Dave

Holla! Dave

After everything's set and done, I usually walk away with 24-25 hours. But I *ALWAYS* end up replacing the cylinder heads and for whatever reason, you get like an extra 4 hours for it. Otherwise I'd end up with around 20. Once I got 32 for it, I don't know how or why but I certainly wasn't gonna argue it. Dave

Nah, actually that's just basic more or less basic modern-day hot-rod knowledge. If you do any new-school high-performance work, you're generally dealing with many less cubic inches than you used to 40 years ago, and on top of that people still want their A/C and power steering and great street manners, and all that good stuff. So, one very common answer has been boost. Over time, turbos have gotten incredibly popular (although not yet mainstream) with a lot of the domestic V8 crowd and because of that, more and more time has been placed into understanding exactly what makes them work the best. Aside from the obvious answer "heat", the largest determining factor in the amount of heat generated pre-turbo (on a properly running engine) is the amount of load placed on the engine. Heavy loading results in more raw fuel that ends up in the manifolds, and this fuel *continues* to burn within the manifolds and creates even more heat to spool the turbo up quicker and inherently make it more effecient. A lower gear ratio'd car (say one with a 3.27 or a 3.55 axle) with the EXACT SAME turbocharged setup as another otgherwise identical car with a 4.10 or a 4.30 axle, will actually end up beating the higher-ratio'd car in a drag race. These '03 and '04 Cobras are an INSANE example of what a little extra boost can do for you - there are numerous examples of these things sporting Big 76mm turbos (and smaller twin setups) on the streets now making well over 700 and 800 hp on 93 octane pump gas, with working A/C and perfect street manners, and are still capable of running in the 10's and 9's at the drag strip at WELL over 140 mph. ...... Anyway, as for the class, I enjoyed it. A lot of it was 6.0 review until we got to the fuel system, so I think that's why it was so short. Still the diag scenarios were nice and I think that most of the big changes WE need to prepare for as techs were brought up there, so that's good. Dave

Don't get too excited if it's an F-450 or 550, they're pretty weak. Aside from being slightly de-tuned with relation to the F-250 and 350, they're also super-steep geared (4.88 and 5.13 axles) so they don't load the turbo nearly as hard as the lower-ratio'd trucks do. Interiors sure are nice though. Dave

That's funky - haven't seen that one yet. LOL To be honest, I haven't had anything that requires any brain-usage in a while, it sucks. Last thing that was even remotely interesting was an '05 Focus wth the horn stuck on, needed a GEM. Other than that, I've been busy with engine work and rear-end overhauls. Dave

Well it won't be too hard to convince them to come back to the dealer when their bargain fuel filter ends up costing them an injector or 2. Dave

We get very heavy salt usage on the roads out here in the Chicago area, and on top of that MANY of our customers use their trucks for plowing so we see all sorts of rust-related failures. But I can't say I've seen these lines rot out. I usually see at least one rotted oil pan on a 7.3 each month. As far as fuel leaks go, I have only seen the fuel filter housings leak from the drain valve, we seem to see that a lot out here. Dave

Yeah, I saw the radiator and just laughed it's sheer magnitute. It's enormous. To be honest, I feel like the 6.4 is going to be relatively problem-free... but that is only if the customer uses good quality fuels. Fuel quality on this engine is even more important than it was on the 6.0, and we all know that it's hard to find good diesel fuels out here in the US. Especially out by us in the midwest, where the average Cetane rating of diesel fuel out of the pump is around 38-40. Dave

HAhaha "Danger Will Robinson" kind of thing. Or it'll be the jolly glowing-red DPF under the truck telling us that they've done something they shouldn't have. Dave

Well, that's kind of what I meant by untrue - the DVD states that your dealership can retrieve the info. Which we can't, which totally bites. I find it humorous that there is so much stuff Ford DOESN'T want us to have access too. Certain things are understandable, but by the same token, some things can be awfully impeding at the same time. Dave

Hehe you beat me to most of this, I was gonna put something together after I finish my class tomorrow. I wonder about putting a small bead on the nut for the EGR valve puller, though. I know that there is an updated nut on the way for the puller... It's also important to know that the installation of the turbocharger assembly is VERY critical when it comes to properly lining up the oil drain tubes, primarily the high-pressure turbo. This is a very tricky manuver without the aid of a crane, and has a very high potential to !@#!?$!/bunk up the seal for the high pressure turbo if not done smoothly. Dave

Once again though, the media bashing doesn't help things. Everyone and their grandmother knows that Ford purchased 90-some odd patents from Toyota for hybrid technology. That's because the media jumped all over the story. It's funny how they never mentioned anything about the 300+ designs that Toyota purchased from Ford for their hybrid vehicles. Because Toyota is untouchable in the media. Ford has been developing hybrid technology longer than any other OEM on the planet, as far as I know. Dave

Sadly enough, the aftermarket gets these vehicle sbefore we ever even get trained on them. I know for a fact that one particular company already has a complete exhaust system for it, straight-thru. The DOC and DPF are eliminated, and an accompanying flash-tune is required that eliminates DPF regeneration from the strategy and performs the usual changes to fuel volume/timing as well as boost pressures and so on... Apparently, with the straight-thru exhaust and no other tuning besides the DPF strategy removed, mileage was increased DRAMATICALLY simply because you're no longer firing on the exhaust stroke. One nice thing about thiese piezo-style squirters is that firing on the exhaust stroke is still possible, and is VERY helpful in a "high-performance" application. Now, at WOT, because extra fuel has been fired right into the exhaust, the fuel now burns in the manifolds, greatly increasing the amount of heat and pressure before the turbo's inpeller and aiding in a much faster spool-up. Obviously VGT strategy has to be modified to take full advantage of this but still... ...these trucks are going to be monsters. As for "ECM mod detection" - nope. Apparently there is absolutely no access we will have to programming history on these at a dealer level. The statement in the 6.4 owners manual & DVD is basically untrue. Unfortunately, it's as simple as that. Dave

Analysts are always skeptical of anything Ford does. That's what makes them idiots. Along with the rest of the media. As bad as loss was, it actually was BETTER than what they expected to lose. So that, in a f'd up kind of way, is actually good news. The Edge and Fusion platforms are *incredible* and as long as the word gets out about them, I think that they can really help get this company back on the right track again. Look at what the Taurus did for them back in the 80's!! I'm not saying that a single vehicle will make such an impact again, but it's certainly possible for a new line of rides to drastically help out the situation. Dave

I just learned that this is an entirely FALSE statement - technicians will not have any access to programming history. Dave

On top of that, the PDS will not be capable of reprogramming the '08 6.4 Diesel, along with the '08 Focus as well. And as time goes on, the newer communication protocols will virtually eliminate the PDS from any reprogramming capabilities at all and render it as just a simple basic diagnostic tool. Dave

That CVT trans is also $6,000!!!!! They've actually been very problem-free, considering the amount of them out there and how new they are. But they're also very expensive, too expensive for Ford to continue putting in that vehicle at that price. So, the CVT was a great idea, well executed, that just won't be around anymore. But enough of that. I plan on the brake likes in my '97 Town Car to !@#!?$! out on me on my way to school tomorrow. Dave

I know there's a similar thread that was already created, but I wanted to more or less get one going about the major differences between BioDiesel and standard Diesel fuels. And more importantly, their effect on thigns like emissions, driveability, and fuel systems. It's never any fun to get blindsided with questions about Bio-Fuels from customers and not have any good, solid reasons why or why not to use a specific type, maybe a thread like this can help us all out.... I am certainly not an expert on this, by any means, so I'll just start by mentioning what I already know (or at least believe to be true.) Please - anyone with other (or contradictory) information - PLEASE chime in! First, I know that BioDiesel is inherently a "weaker" fuel than normal diesel, with a lower heat value and this generally translates into lower overall power and torque production. Although, the difference is marginal and likely unnoticible in most cases. I also know that it has a higher lubricity capability than standard diesel fuel, as well as (generally) a higher cetane rating. I'm also told that BioDiesel is a very clean-burning fuel, with far fewer hydrocarbon emissions from the tailpipe, although NOX emissions are greatly increased as a byproduct as well. Problems with Biodiesel seem to arise with the fact that it's almost too strong of a cleaning agent in the fuel system, and has been said to cause very premature failure of modern day fuel-system components. It it currently being blamed now for the de-lamination of fuel tanks in many Super-Duty vehicles, which can ultimately result in damage to (and failure of) the ENTIRE fuel system. Ka-Ching. An even more scary fact is that it can take MONTHS for a problem that has "started" from the use of BioDiesel, to actually make itself known as a driveability concern. Also, I've heard that the BioDiesel "creation" process uses chemicals that remain in the fuel, and therefore allows the fuel to "absorb" and literally carry water. As opposed to regular diesel fuel which naturally seperates itself from water, BioFuel usage can take water that would normally have been seperated in a regular diesel fuel, and carry it throughout the entire fuel system. Currently, there are no fuel/water seperators in mass-produced vehicles capable of extracting water from BioDiesel. And maybe, the most scary thing, is that although there is a Standard to which BioDiesel fuels are supposed to be manufactured to, I believe there is no Federal regulation monitoring the actual quality of these fuels. Nothing to regulate the manufacturing processes, materials used, or even the accuracy of the BioDiesel content in blended fuel. So just because you get BioDiesel from a gas station, doesn't necessarily mean it's of good, average, or even mediocre quality. And the actual percentage of Bio-content can vary drastically from the advertised blend percentage. Storage of BioDiesel is also a big question-mark as improper storage can lead to serious issues with the quality of the fuel as time goes on. BioDiesel also allows algae to grow and form in the fuel systems! As of now, Ford (and MANY other OEM's) do not recommend or provide support/warranty for vehicles running anything more than a 5% blend of BioDiesel fuel. This is clearly stated in the owners manual as well. I know I'm leaving some other smaller things out but I can't think of them off the top of my head.... if anyone else feels like adding something, please do! I think it's very important for us to know the pro's and con's of each fuel and what to tell customers when we're inquired. Dave

Wow, that is kinda messed up. I can say that I've seen fuses that weren't installed properly in the Battery Junction Box (from the factory) and they've caused all sorts of odd, intermittent problems. Although I've yet to see one cause any noticible driveability concerns (aside from check engine lights), I'm sure that it's possible. It's funny, they look like they're properly installed, but on closer inspection you can see that the fuse blades aren't really installed into the female pins in the junction box - rather, they get smashed "next" to the pins and don't always make good contact. Any chance that maybe the FICM isn't installed properly? (Maybe it was previously removed and the brackets were bent or something, now it's forcing the connectors & wiring that plug directly into the FICM to smash into the valve cover or something??) Dave

Well, I'll be in 6.4 school on Wednesday - Friday this week. I'll be sure to let you all know of anything that might not have been mentioned here. Dave