ChristopherH

I have had several sets of heads "surfaced" and pressure checked by a local machine shop if there is any question on the surface or if they need valve work. He said that he has done hundreds of 6.0 liter heads with no problem. I have not checked to see exactly how much he removes, but he says that it is very minimal. I know what the WSM says about this, but I like the new flat clean surface. So far, I have not ran into any problems with valve train geometry. I have studded many 6.0s--works fine. I have also seen repeat failures on heavy loaded or modified trucks. I learned never to use black onyx gaskets--just redid a set that a customer had installed 12,000 miles ago. From what I hear, they are known to be good for about a year or so. Use ford gaskets and ARPs--and make sure everything else is working properly (turbo, VGT, EBP, etc. )

I'm sorry about that--I have been following along a little here and there, but I've been busy as hell working at the dealership, teaching night classes at our local tech college, and a seemingly endless stream of side jobs. The teaching job went away a few months ago due to lack of students that wanted night classes, and the other work has dropped off badly. We are just entering the good old November to March slump that we always get here I guess.

Just finished rebuilding the C6 in OUR plow truck--not much other work coming in. The hunger games have officially begun.

Sorry about that, I missed the topic on the water cooler.

The other day I was forwarded an Email from our FSE regarding a settlement agreement with EDGE and the US EPA regarding the DPF delete kits that they have sold. They have to pay a $500,000 fine, offer to buy back kits they have sold, and come up with some type of clean air "restitution program" to offset the estimated amount of particulate emissions that have been released since they sold the first kit. It also mentioned that EDGE is just the first company to settle with the EPA over this issue and that others are under investigation or in legal proceedings.

I had one leak after a High Psi fuel pump cover gasket repair--ever since then, I jump power to the pump and do the same thing. Very wise. I do this when doing 6.0 head gaskets with the cab off also--I loosen the fuel rail plugs at the rear of the heads and bleed the fuel rails in the heads--helps them start up and run better a little quicker.

I will see about posting some pics of the gear out of time and the collateral damage soon...

And here is a link to the Diesel Cam Timing stuff for a little light reading. PTS Diesel Cam Timing

Here is the promised Screen Capture of the Incorrect Timing:

I just replaced a 6.4 diesel Enhanced Short Block (ESB) at 192,000 miles on an 08 F250 under a Diesel Care ESP claim. I followed every instructions to the letter, torqued all the fasteners, put the body back on, all the aftermarket add-on bumper and camper shell crap, and filled all the fluids. I bled the low and high psi fuel systems--imagine my surprise when I had a cranks no start. I then spent a few hours sweating and checking and rechecking all my work with a no start still. I found DTC p0341 would set in the PCM after cranking the engine several times. Also, on pid monitor, the SYNC pid would not say YES. I beat up the supposedly new cam and crank sensors and wiring harness to no avail. At this point, I put 2 and 2 together because I had noticed a slight popping noise from the intake while cranking and I thought--maybe the cam to crank timing is wrong? No way that could happen...right? I followed the Diesel Cam Timing Procedure found under the Service Tips tab on PTS for this truck and found that between the falling edge of my CMP signal and the Missing 2 tooth area on the CKP signal I have 17 negative signal spikes--not 11 like is should be. I know a picture is worth a 1,000 words--I will post a screen shot of my oscilloscope capture and a link to the Cam Timing Document I mentioned when I get a minute. I tore down the engine and found that the pistons and valves have all hit each other, multiple broken/bent pushrods and rockers, and imagine my surprise the camshaft timing is off on the drive gear by 6 teeth!!!! The hotline was pretty quiet on this issue--they just wanted my screen capture and the serial number of the ESB. Now I get to do it all over under SPW--the first time was just practice right? My advice--if you are doing an ESB or an ELB--set #1 cylinder at TDC. Its a little tricky without a TDC mark but it can be done. Then look down the rear cover and make sure that the 2 holes for the cam timing fixture are lined up with the centerline of the engine and the centerline of the crankshaft. Also, 180 degrees from these 2 holes is a small dot that should face straight up and be aligned with the centerline of the engine and crankshaft when cylinder #1 is at TDC. Maybe you won't step into a bear trap like I did.

45 hours minimum--maybe up to 15 more if I am buried. We are closed on Saturdays, but I am still here catching up a lot.

The local power company here has went through 6 composite pans from "off-road" debris in their new 2011 F550 6.7 diesel bucket trucks. Last one, the driver ran it a little too long with no oil in it and seized the engine--so I got to do my first body-on 6.7 longblock. It was not a lot of fun, but at least is was customer pay. They were pissed when they found out the new longblock came with a steel pan instead of the plastic one. They have ordered all steel pans for their trucks and want to retrofit them and then add a skid plate as well. Evidently it only takes a small impact to shatter the bottom out of the composite pans, as opposed to a dent that might be survivable.

Check out the South Park episode "Smug" and it pretty much says it all.

Bravo, Mr Rowe, Bravo.

We put an engine in a Class A motorhome for a guy and he was camped out in our gravel parking lot for a week or so getting ready to continue on his trip and he died in his RV! Nobody saw him for a day or two and then the family called the sheriff worried that they hadn't heard from him and found him dead in the bathroom of an anuerysm. It was a sad deal to say the least.

Well, eye patches kinda look dorky too. Good advice--thanks. I'm going to share this story with my sudents at the ATC I teach night classes at and maybe it will motivate them to keep theirs on!

I'm sorry that was actually 0.8 hrs to diag and replace 1 injector--that was the time they settled on after the tech and svc manager had a little meeting.

Our warranty clerk does in fact get a bonus to keep our 126 average at .5 or below. I feel your pain. It pisses me off to no end that they don't want to pay a fair time to R&R a component and they would like to pay nothing to diag it! We are also a Dodge dealer, and all I can say is that they have far fewer diagnostic operations that can be claimed than Ford and are much less willing to pay M time (they call it 00 time). The dodge diesel tech that works down the wall from me recently diagnosed a new cummins with a runs rough concern and to diag and replaced 1 injector total time paid 1.2 hrs! So, when I'm feeling really down about it, I thank my lucky stars that I only do Ford warranty work.

THAT is a SWEET box!

Thanks Bruce, I'll look into that.

Thanks for all the advice on that guys. I've been working out of 2 Craftsman top and bottom ball bearing tool boxes, 1 heavy duty Snap-On roll cart, and 1 small Blue Point cart for 15 years--adding on to my mismatched menagerie along the way. I too have tools that don't have a proper organized home. I've always said that I was saving up and waiting for the right deal on a Snap-On box and I agree that they are awesome. Hopefully I can find one of those deals. I've got a Matco and a Cornwell guy who are twisting my arm hard to buy one of their 84" custom premium boxes and they are offering a great deal. They are very comparable boxes with heavy duty casters, drawer slides, drawer locks, the gauge of steel looks hefty, locks are good, and they come in lots of color choices, and I can order the drawers any way I want. It is tempting, but its also a lot of money to spend and I don't want to be sorry later that I didn't wait for the right deal on a Snap-On box to come along. It seems like the consensus here is what I've thought all along--that despite being overpriced, the Snap-On boxes are the king of the hill. Does anyone have one of these newer Matco or Cornwell premium boxes that could offer a review on it? Thanks gentlemen.

I have outgrown my current toolbox and need to move up to something bigger and better. I was just wondering what kind of experience everybody has had with different brands like Snap-On, Cornwell, Mac, Matco? I have always looked to the Snap-On boxes, but they are extremely expensive compared to the others and I'm not sure if the quality difference justifies the price? Or is it just the name? I know if I were planning to sell it in the future, the resale value would probably be higher with a Snap-On, but I'm planning on buying one big enough and good enough to last me long term. The Mac, Matco, Cornwell premium boxes all seem to have similar construction (my Cornwell guy says they are built by the same people, but that is a salesman talking too) and have very nice drawer latches, drawer slides, casters, heavy gauge construction, locks, etc. Just wondering from some of you that have these boxes what your experience has been and what you would recommend. Thanks.

FWIW. Our powerstroke guy was here yesterday and showed off a flyer and an injector cut away of 6.0 reman injectors. I was interested in the end cap groove they have to help alleviate stiction and got to see it up close and personal. Not to pick on any brands or anything, but he mentioned Alliant reman 6.0 injectors and the differences between motorcraft reman and them. The aftermarket DOES NOT replace the coils and wiring when remanufacturing an injector--motorcract does. Also, as a consequence, the end caps for the spool valve do not have the added groove to prevent stiction. I have never worried about cutting a few off since I found out that they are replaced anyway. Unless I'm changing the injector for an electrical failure or something and don't want the electrical portion to be tampered with.

We had a lady who bought a new F350 King Ranch fully loaded 6.7 a few weeks ago. The other day she came in complaining about this noise--it was the worst one I've heard so far. I gave her a copy of the original SSM and explained it as best I could with a straight face. She freaked out and went on a tirade about how much money she had spent on this truck and how it should be PERFECT!!! because her truck payments were so high! Anyway at that point I punted to the service manager and went back to work. It wouldn't bother me if it was my truck, but I can see how someone would be concerned by it because on some trucks it is quite loud--others don't make it at all.

Thanks Bruce, thats what I'm coming up with on this end too. The only way MicroCat shows it is with the turbo actuator cooler and thats a little impractical just for a missing plug. Hopefully our local hydraulic place has one.