G. Bedford

Did you try re-flashing the VSM with as-built data?

I buy just a regular old allen wrench in the size needed. I have 10, 12, 14 and 17mm wrenches. Cut a half inch off the long end and drop it in a socket when needed to make a cheap allen head socket. You still have a good allen wrench left, too. Two tools for the price of one. You can also use the "insert" in a 3/8" or 1/2" drive socket.

Most guys are using the vise grip method to remove the phasers. I've done them by the WSM and that is where you see the amount of scoring on the cam journals. One of our techs got bit on this hard. I wish it were easier to check oil pressure at the head, because base pressure is not reliable on what is available up top on these engines.

I did my first one yesterday. It was a little slow on the schedule so I took my time putting the tool together. The tool locked in well and as I put the pressure on I walked it up with an air chisel. It came out fairly smooth. So, I was surprised to see the valve upper stayed together but the "snout" had broken free and remained lodged in the mixing bowl bore. The amount of carbon and corrosion between the bore and "snout" leads me to believe most times it will be a waste to use the tool. Replacing the valve and mixing bowl will be the norm. This was an '08 with 75K miles.

I heat them all with a torch and remove by hand. If the front ones still feel tight after heating, I just cut the head off. The bolt shaft will rise through the mount along with the body. Once lifted you can apply heat directly to the bottom of the cage nut and spin the bolt shaft out with a vise grip.

We had one with 600 miles that the exhaust plugged. Would barely even idle, so unable to do any regen attempt. $4300 for a new "torpedo" DOC/SCR/DPF assembly. I think he found the FRP sensor connector not fully seated

Best of luck to you. Be sure to let Ford/Stars know you are no longer working at your dealer and have left the system. Believe me when I say there are quite a few "ghost techs" kept on the books for certifications sake.

We got four new ones in and ran them all on the alignment rack for the PDI. What is up with the tank shield covering the LR section of the frame rail? No where quick to set the post on our regular racks with it in place.

This is why we never deny the warranty ourselves here. We send the information along to Ford and they make the decision. The warranty contract is between Ford and the vehicle owner. Over the years many a claim I felt sure to be denied, Ford said to perform the repair under warranty. We won't be left holding the bag.

Problem is, the trained apes earn more by doing the general work that produces flag hours. We are teaching the newbies there is no reason to further yourself. Sad.

Did you also swap the '04 injectors into the '06? There is a break date and the flow is different. You have to have the '04 PCM to match the '04 injector flow rate or your fuel trims go haywire.

Haven't seen an FSE in years. Ford will simply not send one out. I had a 6.4 awhile back that I went through the same thing on. Incredibly stupid from the get go. Obvious failure that could have been determined in the first hour, but finally ended up a sad, sad comedy because of Ford's stubborness.

On the other hand, it appears, some dealers didn't charge it out because they thought it was considered shop supplies and ate the cost internally. The flush was done properly, but the ticket was kicked.

No need for clips with the latest design UVC harness. There are now bumps on the underside of the lock tabs to make a positive latching. Compare the old to new UVC harness and you will see what I'm talking about. If you attempt to force a clip in there it will break the tab on your new harness.

Before just adding the clips, take a look at the spread of the female terminals in the UVC harness. As the clip separates and hangs, along with the heat and vibration, the terminals can really widen and cause a poor tension fit to the male spade of the valve cover gasket. One of our techs added clips only and then had an open circuit when the male spade was dead centered into the female terminal. On high mileage rigs I bid new UVC harnesses to avoid a concern later.