Bruce Amacker

That's an easy one. I'm thinking more along the lines if those trucks that kick us in the ass- don't set appropriate codes, or the IDS locks up. I've seen this a couple of times, and that means dealer techs must have seen it a lot, right? Or am I wrong? Maybe I've seen some oddballs??????

It seems shorted injectors on 6.0s are becoming more common. I've seen/helped on a couple but the actual complaints seems to be all over the place. This one was a no-start with the ICP plugged in, but it would run fine with the ICP unplugged, and stall as soon as it was plugged in. Of course, it got several ICPs, a harness, CMP/CKP (because of DTCs) and a host of other parts before they called me. (regular client) And, of course, they regularly overlook the buzz test during diag. An interesting side note was they were playing with a spare EBP, and when they plugged it into the harness (loose) and left it dangling, the sensor would spark against the dipstick tube. (The inj voltage must have been bleeding through the ground circuit- I bet that made the PCM really happy!!) Another I helped on would drop data stream while cranking because the PCM was getting zapped somehow, a current probe on the FICM fuse showed a nice high amperage spike as one injector was firing. What actual complaints do you see when you have an injector shorted- what are the common DTC's present, complaints from the owner, pass/fail buzz test, etc. I'd like to build a case file of these since they sometimes are tricky to diagnose. Perhaps we all could learn from this. Thanks!

Both offer a dramatically condensed version of what's in the WSMs for the mfr. It's important to know that if you don't like what you see (on either) you can e-mail or call their tech support depts and they will send all of the OEM info over via e-mail or fax. This is a fact that very few know about or take advantage of, and happens very quickly, usually within a few minutes. I know plenty of guys who prefer MOD/ShopKey over Alldata, and plenty who prefer AD over MOD. AD sets theirs up like the OEM does which is a negative because every mfr organizes their stuff differently. MOD reorganizes it so stuff is in the same place whether it's a GM or Ford you're working on. MOD does HD truck (although not well) and classic car (well) back many decades. AD does not do classic cars at all. I remember working on a 50's MBZ and they had the info quickly. I've used MOD for decades and it works just fine for me. I know I can e-mail them for the OE stuff if I like. MODs schematics are easy to read and colorized, but don't give you connector details unless you ask for them. Mitchell does have shop management/estimate software available for writing quotes, locating parts, and selling maintenance and I'd bet AD does too.

I have struggled considerably to get the snap ring out. It's easier to change the D-ring with the snap ring in place.....

I don't remember a trick to it. The injector was out in my hand, and I used a pick. You have not been able to do this?

Yes, and they are only available from the aftermarket, Alliant Power PN AP 0002 IIRC. It includes a complete external seal kit for the injector and the snap ring on top. I've changed the D-ring without removing the snap ring.

I was thinking cables, too, I'd call Rotary and ask them the procedure for adjusting the cables. Their tech support guys know more about that lift than the install guys do. As for the safety issue, if you want to play hardball send them a registered letter so if the worse happens you have documented the problem ahead of time. It could cost you your job to do this, though, as mgt won't take too kindly to it. Good Luck.

Ditto on this, we did many of them this way after they quit putting bleeders in them (years ago). IIRC the stroke should be just about an inch measured at the pushrod. If less, check for air and cracked firewall (flexing when the clutch is pushed). A bent fork will mess with you, too. Sidebar: We check the release with the engine off and the ability to spin the output in high gear with the clutch down. This is done first- bolt the bellhousing, don't detail the job until you prove it releases properly. Saves time if it's got to come back apart.

I fight this battle in almost every class I teach. Nearly every DOT or gov't agency uses some kind of "one tank system", whether it's one coolant for all vehicles (UGH!), one oil for all vehicles (UGH!), the cheapest bid aftermarket filter (UGH!), one ATF with an additive for all vehicles (UGH!), or "reman" air filters (Yes, reman air filters that have been cleaned and returned to them). One dept recently told me horror stories about a centrifugal oil filter that replaced all spin on oil filters in their fleet. After replacing MANY engines at huge dollars they found the filters weren't doing the job. (Duh!) Several of the engines were big Cats in off road equipment costing 20-30K. I'm an OE parts nut, teaching this strongly in class across the board.

I've never put much faith in "magic penetrating fluids". We used ATF and diesel fuel mixed together for years and it worked as well as anything else.

Have you thought about being a fire mechanic? (repairing fire apparatus) Start by volunteering as a PT fireman and work your way into it. I do a lot of training for fire mechanics, they are a great group of guys who really love their jobs. Good Luck!

The questions (on a standard test, not recert) go through a "testing" phase where they are not scored. Algorithms are used to determine how good the question is based on how well the test taker did on other questions, and how he answered the "test" question. It's hard to explain how it works but the system works well in place, but because of this system questions are not actually scored until they are ran through the cycle a couple of times. To keep things fresh and prevent cheaters from copying the questions, ASE regularly rewrites the questions. Are there poor questions? Yes, but they are weeded out during this testing phase. The recert tests do not have those questions on them, 100% are scored. I just took my A1R though A8R last week and scored over 98%. There was only one question in all 8 tests where the wording was funky. I did tell ASE about it in the review sheet at the end of the test, and I e-mailed them on it, too.

18 pulses left: 30 pulses left: This is my known good, 14 pulses left: New CMP, harness, no start, ICP between 900-2000 cranking. It looks like the cam has slipped or is slipping. What would cause this?

Anything can fail so multiples is the answer. Because my digital information (books and training stuff) is my life, I have multiple backups on multiple HDs, both on-site and two offsite locations. I would be royally screwed if all of my backups were to fail. It would literally be 15 years of works gone.....

I'm all for USB drives- I have several of them from small to 32g, but I still would recommend at least one external USB HD of 100G to 1TB. I have several of those, too. I look for "portable" drives that power direct from the USB and all use the same type of cable. I hate components that are tied to an oddball cable..... PS Some of my cars have stereos that play music from USB drives- it's awesome.

I agree but know several techs/instructors that will argue this to the death. They "say" that the sticks are commonly marked wrong from the factory. In these situations, they put the factory recommended fill in the engine and re-mark the dipstick. I'm wondering who the dipstick is in these cases....

Don't forget 6.4s have a tendency to build fuel in the oil from excessive regen, or even an inejctor leaking at the tip. How much overfull is it? I assume STFTs were in line?

Employed tech, 1977-78 Self employed tech (mobile repair/shop), 1978-1986 Shop owner with employees, 1986-2003 Trainer with employees, 1997-present Getting out of the shop was the best thing I ever did. Not saying it's the best move for everyone, but it sure was for me. My body weight went down, my BP and stress level went down dramatically, my income went up, my satisfaction increased greatly. I'm not a religious person, but I thank God every day for how lucky I've been in this life. I'm a very lucky man.

If the visual damage was that slight, it makes me wonder if an oil additive would have fixed it?

IIRC, there is no early 2004 E-van 6.0, only late build (W manifold). Here's the files: Keef: Shouldn't we have these on the download page?

Those sheets are IH, not Ford. I'll look for an 04 E350......

I don't know how those sensors are set up- can they be rust jacking? It's common on GMs to have dry-road-ABS-activation from that. Gas or diesel- how about bad ig coils? On IH's if no failures are found they'll run an overlay harness to the ABS sensor.

Has anyone done this? Yousendit recently put a 50 meg limit on free uploads.

I re-uploaded them, including new 2010-2011 sheets, here's the link. I had to remove a couple of 6.9 sheets to get the file under 50meg. The file should work for everyone until August 1. https://www.yousendit.com/download/QlVqUWVyTERveE9FTmNUQw

Helped a buddy out with an interesting one (for me, anyway) on the phone and thought I'd run it by you guys to see if you ever heard of this. '03 F-model 6.0, dies on the road, towed in, no start. Buzz test sounds fine, injector precycle is present, only codes present are VSS, CMP, key switch, some unrelated B codes. I ignore the CMP as IDS shows RPM during cranking and it's probably a ghost code. FP and ICPV are good cranking with ICP going from .23 to 1.9v. I never look at ICP pressure on a no start. I said to put the homemade-dual-lightbulb-injector-harness tool into the injector harness and see if the injectors are being commanded on. I teach this tool in class regularly as it's a great way to separate the engine into two halves- if it blinks during cranking you know the PCM, FICM, ICPV, SYNC etc are happy and your problem lies in FP, injectors, base engine, breathing, fuel quality, etc. I have him check basic electrical such as fuses, CBs, connections in case something weird exists. This guy knows his way around a 6.0 very well and rarely calls me, he stocks most parts including FICMs. He puts the tool in, both bulbs glow during GP for injector warm up, but only one bulb blinks during cranking. He transfers it to several other cylinders with the same result. I told him to change the FICM which fixed it. No injector circuit DTCs, no P0611. He says pre-cycle and buzz sounded normal but I wonder now if it was only one side buzzing, or would it buzz with only one side activated? You might argue the spool would park in one direction and not make any noise. Ever hear of it?