Question 1

Turbo Coolant/Oil line leak

Accepted Answer

The Problem: You have oil or coolant in the valley of your truck which presents itself down the back of the engine. The Fix: The best way to fix this problem is none better than removing the upper & lower intake and making a visual inspection. The best way to remove the upper intake is to loosen all the bolts that hold it down and try prying upward on them to get their fasteners out of the plastic. Most notably on the 4 bolts which attach at both of the intake manifolds to the valve covers. These are typically the ones which get hung up. Do your best to remove the passenger side first in a counterclockwise rotation. Typically you can pull the upper intake past the coolant by-pass, from there the intake should come out freely.

Question 2

2011-2014 Turbo Failures

Accepted Answer

The Problem: In earlier model Ford Diesel Trucks, turbo failure was a problem. Why: These trucks have a Garrett G32 Turbo with ceramic ball bearings. The reason most of these turbos failed is a result of the ceramic ball bearings in the turbo. Here’s the kicker, we’ve seen quite a few 2011 & 12 trucks with their original turbo and no issue. What’s their trick? REGULAR MAINTENANCE. Changing your oil every 5,000 miles and using good quality filters and oil will prevent this problem from happening in the future! Also keep in mind that these turbos have coolant running through them so keeping up with your coolant flushes and keeping your radiator clean is another way to keep your turbo in great shape!

Question 3

CCV Code

Accepted Answer

The Problem: P04DB, P04E2, or P04E3 Or also know as a Crank Case Vent Code Why Did it Happen: The best scenario we’ve been able to come up with is that the residual oil that sits in the crank case vent inlet causes the sensor in the crank case vent to fail The Fix: Simply order a new CCV vent from your local Ford dealership. If your vehicle was built on or before Nov 11,2015 your vehicle may be covered under provisions of your New Vehicle Warranty from an extended coverage program. Call your local dealership to see if your vehicle is covered for free! If you are planning to pay for this repair out of pocket you’re probably looking at a $250-350 cost.

Question 4

Turbo shaft play

Accepted Answer

Turbo Shaft play is common among all diesel pickups, typically those which haven’t had their oil changed regularly. Turbo shaft play is difficult to diagnose in writing and most technicians measure it by feel. You can measure turbo shaft play using a dial indicator, but most of the time it’s obvious when a turbo charger is going out. Typically, the customer will state that they hear a funny whistling noise, lack of performance, or an awful noise coming from under the hood which is usually loud and high pitched. When checking for turbo shaft play, you will want to check for vertical & horizontal movement as well as thrust movement. If you see that the turbo blades have struck the walls of your turbo housing it’s definitely time to replace your turbo as this is too much play.

Question 5

Glow Plug Failure

Accepted Answer

The Problem: On early 2011 model ford 6.7L engines, the glow plugs have a tendency to break causing catastrophic engine failure. Why does this happen: The material used to make these glow plugs is weakened over time and the tips break off The Fix: Replacing these glow plugs with genuine OEM Ford glow plugs is the best fix for this problem! The best way to go about replacing these is by removing the fender wells

Question 6

Oil Cooler failure

Accepted Answer

Like is predecessor the 6.0, Ford 6.4 Engines also exhibit oil cooler failure. Although they look similar, the ford 6.4 oil cooler is slightly different then the 6.0, but both experience the same issues. When a 6.4 oil cooler fails, it allows oil to transfer into the cooling system. The reason the oil pushes over to the coolant system is due to the fact that the oil system runs between 15-45 psi while the cooling system has a maximum pressure of 16PSI (before the cap will start to release pressure).

Question 7

HPIP regulator failure

Accepted Answer

The 6.4L Ford features a different injection system than the 6.0 & 7.3. The 6.4 utilizes a High Pressure Injection Pump, also known as HPIP. This pump creates a rail pressure of roughly 24,000 PSI at maximum capacity. This high pressure is needed to vaporize the diesel to allow it to combust in the cylinder. These pump tend to fail due to a built in regulator which controls the amount of fuel being pushed to the rails. Unlike newer CP4 pumps, this regulator cannot be changed thus causing the entire pump to be replaced when it fails. If you are experiencing sporadic rail pressure changes more than likely your regulator is failing. In a few cases we have seen that the fuel rail pressure sensors can be at fault more often we see that the pump itself is bad.

Question 8

Cracked pistons

Accepted Answer

Cracked pistons is usually the result of an over worked, over boosted, or over fueled engine. We typically see this problem arise when customers have aftermarket tuning installed and are not mindful of how they are driving the truck.

Question 9

Blown head gasket

Accepted Answer

Blown head gaskets on the 6.4 are less common than the 6.0 but we still see them from time to time. Aftermarket tuning, running the truck too hard, low coolant level are all factors to blame. Just like your Honda civic if you don’t keep the correct amount of coolant in the cooling system, the vehicle will overheat and it cause head gasket failure. The engines are designed to run at a certain temperature. As crazy as it sounds, we’ve seen head gaskets blow due to a small leak from a radiator. Over time that coolant continues to leak and eventually your vehicle doesn’t obtain the right amount of coolant to keep It below its desired operating temperature.

Question 10

Failed water pump

Accepted Answer

Water pump failure typically results from broken blades on the water pump or shaft play that causes the front cover to wear so bad that the water pump cannot effectively move water through the cooling system. Bullet proof diesel has created far superior product vs OEM which features a billet aluminum wheel opposed to the plastic one from the factory.

Question 11

High pressure oil leak

Accepted Answer

High pressure oil leaks can be very difficult to find without the proper tools and devices to identify leaks. The best way to identify high pressure oil leaks is to energize the system with shop air via the IPR port or the ICP port and listen for air leaks around the oil rail nipples, or at the stand pipes or dummy plugs. 9 times out of 10 we find leaks on the stand pipes. In some cases on the 05 and up models we’ve seen them leak at the T fitting on the back side of the high pressure oil pump. This pump, under WOT, creates around 3,000PSI of pressure so identifying these leaks is critical to the performance of your truck. My 6.0 Powerstroke truck starts when it cold but not when its hot or after its been running for a while. This is something we see quite often, and its pretty simple to understand once you realize this; When oil is cold it is considerably thicker than when its warm. This covers up some of the leaks in your high-pressure system as that thick oil can still create enough pressure to start your vehicle. Why does it still run after its warmed up? This is due to the IPR compensating for your leaks, your IPR will close off more than it should to make sure your truck will stay running after its been started. The reason your truck wont re-start after its warm is because the engine can’t turn over quick enough to create the 500PSI it need to begin firing the injectors. In a 6.0, your high pressure oil system needs at least 500PSI for the injectors to start firing.

Question 12

IPR failure

Accepted Answer

IPR failure can cause many strange issues on the 6.0 motor. The IPR controls the amount of pressure your high pressure oil system creates by opening and closing a valve on top of the high pressure oil pump. This valve regulates oil pressure by allowing some oil to bypass the oil rails or forcing more of the oil towards them. If your IPR isn’t operating properly it can cause drivability issues, no start issues, and lack of performance.

Question 13

ICP Failure

Accepted Answer

ICP failure on a 6.0 can cause your engine to also do many funny things. Your ICP is reading actual pressure of the oil rail. The computer uses to ICP to determine if the IPR is doing it job correctly and to adjust for more of less pressure in your high- pressure oil system. Keep in mind that this does not read your low-pressure oil side it only reads the high-pressure side. A good way to check if this sensor is bad or not is to un-plug it and look inside of the ICP sensor itself. If you see oil present, its time to replace the sensor. Another fact about your ICP sensor. It doesn’t need to be plugged in to run your truck. When the sensor is unplugged the computer will automatically assume that the high-pressure oil system is at its desired PSI. However, leaving this sensor unplugged will produce a check engine light. Your low-pressure oil sensor sits on top of your oil cooler in the valley and is a single wire connector. Your truck doesn’t actually read how much low-pressure oil there is it only says if there is or is not pressure, this is why you won’t see your oil pressure gauge on your instrument cluster fluctuate with high RPM’s

Question 14

Injectors

Accepted Answer

Injector failure is somewhat common on the 6.0 and one of the cheaper trucks to fix, at least when we’re talking about the price of the injectors alone. The nice part about 6.0 injectors is that they’re easy to identify when ones are bad. By using our Ford IDS or a scanner which has a contribution or power balance test you can see how injectors are performing in real time. Injectors which exhibit +- 8 will need to be replaced soon. Injectors with greater then +- 20 need replacing immediately and are almost non- operational. Make sure to look at our FICM diagnosis before proceeding with injector replacement as your issue could lie here!

Question 15

FICM Diagnosis

Accepted Answer

FICM issues are a huge problem with the 6.0 diesel engine. Your FICM converts the trucks 12volt power into 48 volts which is what your injectors run on. If your FICM voltage KOEO (key on engine off) is less than 45 volts it’s time to replaced your FICM board. When the vehicle is running (KOER) and your FICM volts are less than 46.5 volts it’s also time to replace your FICM. In some instances, bad alternators and bad batteries can cause this issue as the FICM really needs a consistent 13.5 volts to operate properly. You’ll need a scan tool or reader which allows for data logging to see if your FICM is operating properly.

Question 16

Glow plugs

Accepted Answer

Glow plug failure is common across all lines of diesel trucks. Not changing your glow plugs can cause hard start issues in cooler weather.

Question 17

Turbo Veins/ cleaning

Accepted Answer

Unison ring failure is a very common problem in the 6.0 engine. What typically happens with the 6.0 is that the unison ring (the ring which opens and closes the veins in the turbo to allow for more of less boost) becomes caked with soot. Over time the unison ring will become stuck causing over boost issues (which can lead to blown head gaskets) or will waller out the hole which the VGT utilizes to open and close the ring. In most cases if this happens the ring will crack and you’ll be forced to replaced it with a new one.

Question 18

Major oil leaks

Accepted Answer

• Oil pan o If you own a 7.3 you already know that they have a tendency to leak a little bit of oil. In the case of a leaking oil pan on a 7.3, in our opinion, there’s only one sure way to fix the leak. According to the Ford service manual the correct way to fix the leaking oil pan is to remove the engine from the truck, place it on an engine stand and flip it over to re-seal it. We’ve had our fair share of lessons when it comes to re-sealing these and we’ve tried everything imaginable to re-seal them in the truck, but it hasn’t ever worked for us. If you plan on taking on this job yourself, we highly recommend grabbing an oil dipstick seal kit while you have the pan out (make sure to use OEM parts here). Furthermore, the block surface of the 7.3 DOES NOT adhere well with anything other than the Ford RTV designed for 7.3 engines. In fact, this has proven so well for us on the 7.3 that we use it in all sealing applications around the shop now. Lastly, use up every bit of the tube of sealant as it might not look pretty but it’s better than pulling your engine out again because you didn’t use enough. Make sure after you flip the engine over that you allow it to cure for a full 24 hours in an environment with a temperature above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.   • HPOP gasket leaking
o This issue typically presents itself with oil in the valley of your engine. Just because there is oil in the valley doesn’t mean this is your issue. The best way to identify this problem is by using a mirror and a flash light to see if the seal is leaking. This seal fits in between the high pressure oil pump and the back side of the front cover.   • Steel braided lines blown off
o This problem is very easy to diagnose and it a very messy one. These lines from the factory have proven to weaken around 200k+. These lines take the oil from the high pressure oil pump to each cylinder head. When one of these lines blow off your vehicle will turn off and you will see massive amounts of oil on the ground.

Question 19

Tuners

Accepted Answer

There isn’t much out there for the 7.3L other than the 6-position switch. In most cases these will add between 30-150HP. The 7.3L can be a very reliable engine but not a very powerful one. These 6 position switches can help add power, torque and fuel economy. We recommend using Edge for your Ford 7.3L

Question 20

Injectors

Accepted Answer

Injector issues can sometimes be difficult to diagnose on the 7.3L because we aren’t able to read a graph to identify which injectors are under performing. However, there is one test available which informs us which cylinders are under performing. In most cases this test proves right and changing the injector out will fix your issue. Keep in mind that the 7.3L falls into an era of transitioning from mechanical components to electronic. Sometimes this can make diagnosis difficult as we are unable to look for certain parameters in the data which would normally help us in our diagnostic quest.

Question 21

Priming fuel system

Accepted Answer

If you’ve run your 7.3L out of fuel, restarting it can be very difficult. The reason the 7.3L is difficult to restart is due to the design of the return fuel system. Unfortunately, the engineers didn’t design the 7.3L with return lines from the injectors but rather from the fuel bowl. If you’ve run your truck out of diesel, the passages which take the diesel from the fuel bowl to the injectors have filled with air, creating a vapor lock. Pair that with a sub-par low side fuel pump and a starter which will drain your batteries and you’re in a bad situation. The best way we have found to prime the fuel system on the 7.3L (with an electronic fuel pump (1999+) is to remove the fuel filter cap and key on (don’t start) which will allow the fuel bowl to fill up with diesel. After your fuel bowl is full again, replace the cap and filter and try to start your vehicle. 1997 and below trucks have a mechanical fuel pump with rides on a cam lobe. In this case the only way you are able to prime your fuel system is to continue cranking until it builds enough pressure.

Question 22

Oil cooler failure

Accepted Answer

On the 7.3L we don’t typically see the oil coolers fail but rather the o-rings give way. In most cases we recommend replacing the entire oil cooler as the labor doesn’t change and we are unable to determine if there are any internal leaks, we choose to be safe rather than sorry!

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