the_twig_187

2010 F150 (4.6L) ABS code (C109D = brake booster low vacuum detected) Diag thus far: hooked up vacuum gauge and “T” off of brake booster hose, drive vehicle at 80 kph and observe vacuum gauge reading 3 in/hg when at steady cruse on a flat smooth road. (Vacuum reading start idol is around 20 in/hg hooked up smoke machine to intake manifold to check for leaks and no external leaks were found. no other vacuum related code were stored in the PCM and vehicle does not seem to run abnormally at all other then the red brake warning light coming on and “check brake system” message on IC when the vehicle is driven at a steady cruse on flat smooth roads. any advice on how to proceed further would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much chris

yup, issue was caused by a faulty remained alternator. Put a Ford OEM alternator in it and issue hasn't returned

Hi guys, I have a 2011 Ford F-250 (6.2L gas) Vin # 1FTBF2B69BEA06681 Story goes, engine bay was seen smoking when driver got to job site. Lifted hood and saw small fire in middle engine above alternator and put it out with fire extinguisher. Towed back to me and I found alternator control pigtail (3 wire connector) melted at the alternator and damage/melted to the square intake air box above the alternator just before the throttle body. Everything else looked ok so I replaced the alternator, got a new pigtail for the control wires and a new intake box. started the truck and it runs well but the alternator charging voltage is very scattered and jumps around from 13.2 to 14 volts for approx 10 sec until the battery light comes on the dash and then im guessing the PCM takes over and it steady's the voltage at 13.6 volts. Scan for codes and retrieve code (P065B = Generator Control Circuit Range/Performance) I was wondering if anyone could help me by providing the PPT for code P065B and the PCM pin out chart/diagram (I know the ppt is going to have me check the circuit from the pcm to the alternator) thank you very much I greatly appreciate the help p.s. I searched the internet before attempting to bug anyone on here but I came up empty

thank you very much

Hey guys, I don't have access to inford anymore as im no longer with a ford dealership. Im trying to find the front and rear min brake rotor specs for this 2006 E-250 (vin# 1FTNE24W86DA02985) If anyone could lend a hand it would be greatly appreciated. thank you very much Chris

yup I got the messages....thank you very much zack

thank you

I was wondering if someone could do me a huge favor and screen shot the torque specs for the left and right manifolds and up pipes (I don't have access to inford or Mitchel anymore) that would be extremely helpful. thanks again Chris

Thanks guys. So I convinced the manager to let me do a cab off, it went very smooth thus far (took about 4 hrs to get the cab off / no broken bolts thus far and no spun cage nuts). They want me to do both manifolds while I have the cab off which I agree is probably the smart choice. I was wondering if someone could do me a huge favor and screen shot the torque specs for the left and right manifolds and up pipes (I don't have access to inford or Mitchel anymore) that would be extremely helpful. thanks again Chris

Hi guys, I have been away from Ford for a couple years (working as maintenance Forman at independent construction company) and don't have access to Mitchel labor times. I have a 2010 F-350 (6.4L) with a broken left rear exhaust manifold bolt that is now causing a loud whistle when applying the throttle. The boss wants it fixed and im trying to give him an accurate estimate of how much time this is going to take me to complete this job (R&R the left side manifold and drill out the broken bolt). I remember the last one I did at the dealer I swore to myself that I would never do a left side manifold on a 6.4 again with the cab on so im wondering what would the potential labor times be for doing the job through the wheel well and then doing the job with cab off (I do have a host so doing the cab off would not be a problem) thanks for the help guys much appreciated. Chris

Well I don't know whats going on with this thing, but I cleared the codes and reset KAM. Went for a test drive and all seems well. Short and long term fuel trims are showing properly and the downstream o2's are also displaying a flatline voltage value (more like what we should be seeing with a downstream signal). Driver has been driving the truck for about a week now (without pulling a trailer) and he said all is well and no check engine lights. Not sure whats going on when he pulls a trailer but for now it looks like its ok.

My theory of "WHY" the CATS failed is...The vehicle drove without a trailer for a long time. PCM learned all non-trailer driving values. Then truck drove with a heavy trailer, the added weight caused the irregular load on the engine and the PCM inferred this as e85 (hence the flexfuel learned = yes PID) and compensated by adding more fuel as per the E85 fueling strategy. This rich fuel trim then saturated the CATS with fuel and caused them to fail. This of course is only a theory and I do not know what actually happened but im doing the best I can with the resources and information available to me. As far as vehicle history goes...nothing except basic maintenance and safety repairs have been performed on this vehicle.

Yah thanks guys, I have a ton of conflicting evidence that I have read on the net (not at a ford dealer anymore...no ids/oasis ect...) I have a snapon solus edge scan tool that I purchased less than a year ago (its no IDS but I paid almost 5 grand for the thing, it works pretty good). The vehicle is the only flex fuel vehicle in our fleet and the problem seems to only happen when the truck drives with a trailer. I read online (I know lol reader be-ware) that sometimes the flex fuel vehicle will get sketchy when adding a trailer and the pcm infers the added load pull as E85 (flex fuel learned). Don't know what to think about that? Also read some articles saying that the plugs can foul early and cause an incomplete (fuel saturated) burn to fuel soak the cats. Don't know what to think about that either. All and all I just don't want to tell management that $2,500 worth of CAT's is needed only to have the CEL return when pulling a trailer again, and maybe all it needed was a PCM update (which I cannot do and must send to a dealer to perform) I cleared the check engine light, reset KAM and ran the vehicle, the downstream o2 voltage on both banks is switching up and down (at idol) just like a conventional upstream o2 would, and is not a close to constant flat line like I would expect it to be. That's the only thing leading to me saying bad CATS. Just very suspicious that this vehicle is our only flexfuel and by far is the lowest mileage and newest 6.2L vehicle we have and it managed to smoke both CATS and non of the others did??? I DUNNO???

Hey guys I have a 2013 F-250 (6.2L gas) with 160,000km. Came in check engine light on, scanned it and found P0420 & P0430 CAT efficiency codes on both banks. Viewing the PID data on the scan tool im used to comparing the voltage switching from the pre and post cat o2 sensors but this system uses a UEGO sensor for the pre cat sensor and thus cannot be interpreted in the same was as a conventional o2 sensor. The post cat o2 sensor data shows the voltage constantly changing up and down (which would normally indicate that it is mirroring the pre cat o2 and would lead towards a bad cat) but im not sure how to interpret this on a system that uses EUGO o2 sensors? Anyone have any help? Always greatly appreciated Chris

Hey guys I have always used the classic "OTC" style ball joint press (got mine at princess auto "IE the canadian harbor fraight) Allong the way I have had to use a carbide bur to shape some of the recieving or pressing cups in order to properly install certain ball joints without potential dammage to the grease boots. I was replacing the track bar ball joint on a 2010 F-350 (6.4L) and was able to push out the ball joint from the bottom up when I cut the stud to shorten the length. The problem however was the install, due to the height of the ball joint no matter what cup arrangement I positioned I was unable to pull the ball joint down while having the forcing screw on the bottom towards the ground. The only way I could do it was to press it down from the top end, but due to the alignment of the frame I wasnt able to centre the ball joint press straight onto the joint and did not want to press it off centre and risk dammaging something. At that point I remembered that another tech had purchased the Snap-on BJP1 ball joint press back in the summer and I thought that maybe this kit would have better adapters which would allow me to properly and safely install the track bar ball joint. WOW what an impressive kit! In a matter of about 4min I had the new ball joint pressed in perfectly and was beyond impressed. The overall feel of the "C" clamp in the snap-on kit is extreemly beefy and very heavy as compaired to the OTC one. It is a little larger than the OTC as well and thus had no issues pressing in the tall track bar joint. I grabed a cup (all cups seem to be of a medium height) and I thought "this isnt going to be tall enough press the joint. Then I noticed several different adapters including an extension adapter to make any of the cups longer/taller. Another adapter to turn any open ended cup closed so you can now press against it with the forcing screw allong with several other adapters that were not needed during this install. I placed the extention adapter onto the proper lower cup and then placed the open end to closed end adapter onto the forcing screw of the "C" frame and popped it into the retention clip on the bottom (VERY COOL FEATURE) then I lined up the now "ONE PIECE" ball joint press onto the ball joint and with my gun now on the bottom side of the axle, press the joint in with ease. What a product, for my first time using this I was extremely impressed with the results and the adaptability of this set considering the relatively small amount of cups and adapters that come in the kit. I would say you could do much more with this kits few pieces due to its design than I can do with my large "OTC" kit and equally large master ball joint cup kit. The only issue as with many awesome snap-on tools is the price. Coming in at a whopping $800 (Canadian) this kit is extremely expensive and borderline falls under the "SHOP TOOLS" category of purchases. None the less I just wanted to share my experience with this tool as I thought it was very well made and could save a ton of time and frustration as compared to the traditional "OTC" style of ball joint press. Take care all Chris