Bruce Amacker

Look at ICPV, not ICP, when diagnosing any 6.0 problems. ICPV should be .17-.24v KOEO and quickly ramp up to about 1.5v cranking. Also I'd look at FICM M_PWR and make sure it's over 47v. GP almost always set codes so I rarely look at those on a 6.0, but if I did it would be with an amp clamp. They should pull 170 amps or so initially, tapering to 120 amps after 30 seconds. What's cranking speed on the scan tool? I use 175rpm minimum cold cranking, as they crank at about 215 warm. If all else checked out I'd look closer at fuel quality or FP return flow to verify good supply. Smell the fuel and let it sit in a glass container in the freezer a few hours for a bullshit test. Good Luck!

I can help ya with that 427...

A few years ago at my shop one of the younguns was looking up an oil filter and noticed a model he wasn't familiar with. He said, "What's a Chevy VEGA?!" We are fucking old, Jim....

Who uses paper manuals anymore when motorcraft.com WSM access starts at $10/day?

I dunno about that. Have you had one apart? There's "stuff" inside there, not just fuses...... The 6.0 fuel pump relay is one of those black cubes on later trucks but I didn't look to see what's in there on an Excursion.

Partsvoice also shows a strikeout. Car-part.com for used items?

Wow, there are only two 6.0 injector PNs with an ENGINE build cutoff date of 9-22-03, but if your TRUCK build date is 9-22-03, your engine must have been built prior to that. The application guide on alliantpower.com shows you have the correct injector, PN AP60900. http://www.alliantpower.com/pdf/AP%20Injector%20Application%20Guide.pdf Yes, I've had great luck with Alliants and promote them in my classes and books. The reman boxes have been coming with new injectors in them. Larry gives a great price for those working outside of the dealership environment and next day delivery. Good Luck!

I'm not sure I agree with you here. I know of far too many instances firsthand of union workers making in excess of $100K with O/T and doing less work than a burger flipper at McDonalds. I know firsthand of guys who work at the Ford Engine plant, punch in, and go home while on the clock. What you state is definitely true, but there is more to the story. Cleveland is a really strong automotive union town, with a lot of auto plants, both open and closed. In addition to that, there are a lot of smaller "contract" companies that feed the OEMs parts and sub assemblies. If the unions didn't have such a stranglehold on the wages and bennie package, US plants could compete enough to stay in the game. When you have 3 guys making 60-100K a year doing the work of one guy, there's no way to compete. I know far too much about unions to believe otherwise. Respectfully,

Correct. If you would like some added reinforcement on the diag, disassemble the fuel pressure regulator and check for rubber chunkies inside, indicating the injector o-rings are bad. http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=17694#Post17694 Good Luck!

It should work for the bidirectional tests you mention, but remember the drawbacks- it hasn't been updated for several years, it locks up and crashes on a regular basis (at least every one I used did), it's frighteningly slow, flashing will be out of the question, and if it needs repairs you're SOL. Define "pretty cheap"- Don't spend more money than you're willing to lose, because it's a dead horse. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't give more than a hundred or two for it. Good Luck!

I am still a supporting member of Iatn ($30/mo) but I don't respond to as many forum requests as I used to, and virtually no e-mail requests. Why? because I'm tired of the same old questions, over and over, posted by guys trying to fix a CAN Ford diesel with an aftermarket scan tool and no service manuals. They won't buy the right tools, they won't spend $10 to access the Motorcraft website for factory info (which is a hell of a deal, I'll add) and they expect free help on the internet. Or, they're trying to fix an IH with NO scan tool at all, or a generic J1708 code reader, and don't realize 3/4 of IH's service manual is on the free side of their website and I'm tired of telling guys that. And they won't support Iatn (it used to start at $10/mo, but may have gone up) where you can do searches of past forum posts. If you can do searches of past forum posts, it would eliminate 75% of the new posts, as much of this has already been gone over. It got old. I do still post occasionally, and I probably respond privately to more guys than I post. Yep, it got old. I'm old.

Ditto and ditto.......

Wow, good info! Some IH's have a similar problem when the "up" stop on the pedal wears out from heavy city driving. If idle voltage falls below about .38v on an older IH, the ECM won't recognize the voltage, won't set DTCs and the throttle won't work. Cycle the key and all is fine.

BrakeKlean: There's at least two types, flammable and non-flammable. The flammable stuff is merely lacquer thinner in a spray can, I prefer the non-flammable due to obvious reasons. As time goes on, I become more paranoid about fires in the shop. In other shops I've seen guys using flammable BK with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths, and not even knowing it was flammable! I've seen them spraying stuff off right next to an incadescent trouble light, and I am horrified. Kids these days don't know anything..... Penetrants: I don't subscribe to all of the powerful penetrants as being "the best in the world". Generally, I use a mixture of ATF and diesel fuel in a pump spray bottle. Cheap and effective. Spray grease: I do have a whopping favorite here. It was called TefGel but PAI (our hardware supplier) changed it's name to Teflon Gel Lubricant. This stuff is unmatched as far as a spray grease goes. It comes out of the can as a solvent, and in 10 seconds sets up to a clear grease with a Teflon base, similar to Vaseline, but much slipperier. What sets this apart from most spray greases is that it does not dry out over time- it remains sticky and greasy. Great for door hinges, tool pivots, linkages, cables, and anything open that you want to keep lubricated. I buy it by the case from Parts Associates, Inc, our hardware supplier. I don't know where to buy it in stores, if you Google TefGel you get some kind of marine product that I'm not familiar with. https://www.pai-net.com/Secure/productde...ProductId=86208

1. Verify glow plug amperage- it should be 190ish as soon as the key is turned on, tapering off to 120 after 20-30 seconds. If it reads above 120 initially you have some problems but it isn't causing your hard start. GPA is usually under 80 before customers complain about hard starting. 2. Don't worry about the intake heater, it isn't used for starting the truck. 3. Fill the FF with Stanadyne Performance Formula and see if it starts better. If the glow plugs check out, it's either bad fuel or bad injectors. It's common for injector tips to degrade where they don't atomize the fuel properly, causing cold start problems. Good Luck!

Do some basic testing first, to determine if the electrical system is healthy, and what amp load there is at a given RPM. I can e-mail you a good electrical test sheet if you need it. Good Luck!

Damn! This is Roadrunner's lowest speed cable internet. They have at least two faster levels than this.

Ditto. I used to accept phone calls from my students for tech support until it became overwhelming. Once a guy knew I answered the phone, he put my phone number in his autodial and would call me before doing simple research or RTFM. I remember one day getting nearly 30 calls for tech support, which pushed me over the line. I now interrupt politely, "Is this a tech support phone call? Sorry, I do not accept tech support phone calls." and tell them to e-mail me. 99% do not. The ones that really pissed me off were guys who would call me with a complaint BEFORE they even hooked a scan tool or pressure gauge to the truck. I was F'ing rude with those guys... This may sound impolite, but most of the time the level of questions did not warrant calling me. I know another national instructor that writes his cell phone number on the board in each class, but he does not answer it, and does not return phone messages! I tell guys in class I don't accept phone calls for tech support. If you call with a question about where to get a tool, or what tool to use, that's no problem. Just don't call me with a, "I've got a truck that's doing this-" statement. It was the stupid people that ruined it for the people that didn't abuse it. There's also pay-lines like Identifix that they can call, but they wanted me for free.

Being that I am from Cleveland whose Engine Plant was also in the running for this project, I am saddened by this turn in direction. I attribute this to the Union stronghold, which has pushed numerous jobs away from our area. We continue to decline.....

I have a couple of large stand-up vintage video games in my basement. The Asteroids game developed some bad solder joints a while ago, making the video screen freak out. I diagnosed it by gently tapping on the boards to determine which board it was, and removing the board for a look-see. Resoldering the cracked solder joints has made it flawless for a number of years. IH's had similar problems in their dashboards, and resoldering them fixed the trouble, also. I know Damon has fixed some IH ECMs similarly, to make "known good" test units or buy some time until the new one came in. IH had problems with 1998 ECMs causing one dead cylinder....

I should know better about using quotes.... I use them all the time to narrow down Google searches.

I know we've discussed this before, and I think I even uploaded a picture of it, but once again the search engine lets me down and I can't find it. Here's a Radicool tester listed on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Radicool-...omotiveQ5fTools

69 degrees yesterday, and I rode my bike twice this week. WTF is right!

What makes you so sure the IPR isn't stuck open? They will build 200ishPSI when they are. I'd suggest some basic diag before you hang parts. From my class: What is your ICPV cranking? I suggest you look at ICPV as your primary PID and ICP as your secondary. Get used to looking at ICP VOLTAGE on a no-start, as the PCM can substitute values. Pull the oil filter out and crank the engine to see if the LP pump is working. Check base engine oil pressure cranking. Does the oil gauge on the dash come up cranking? If it is .4v, (200 PSI) it may be a stuck IPR solenoid. The engine will build 200PSI with the IPR unplugged or stuck open. If it’s .6v, but not the required .8v, (500 PSI) cranking, it may be a HP leak. Two common problems causing this- large HP leak or a stuck IPR. There is no good diagnostic for this other than: Air Check Visual looking for leak with the valve cover off Replacement with known good parts It's a bummer that's it's a 2003, 'cause the VC has to come off for an air test to confirm the lack of leaks and the IPR is working. Good Luck!

Yep, got your fax and am curious who's teaching them. I know Ken Buie (ex-GM trainer) teaches at Stark State, who is a great guy and excellent trainer. I called my Napa salesman and am waiting to hear back from him on details of the class. (4 day LD diesel class, all makes, $795, 38 hours, at Stark State in Canton, promoted by NAPA)