Hey ya'll

Recently bought this 02 F-250 w/ 146,000 on here... Overall, I think the motor sounds healthy, but I'm questioning some things.. See attached files.

Wet oil/fuel on back of passenger side head. Wet oil from EBPV. Soaked intake boot. Opened up air box and found a disgusting K&N filter, but also noticed some fluid down pipe before the electronic box, but also outside of the turbo.

I have a DashDAQ hooked up to it and I can't seem to get over 9psi of boost. Any ideas on what any of these leaks are coming from and what can fix them? I do have 4 new boots coming as I think they may be leaking, which could obviously impact boost.

My coolant temperature also jumps all over the place on my DashDAQ, so I think I need to get a new coolant temperature sensor.

The previous owner said the cap to fuel filter had cracked and fuel had kind of went all over the place, which I'm assuming has caused some of the grime, but where oil is wet, something is obviously leaking..

Thoughts, questions, concerns...

 

I have a suggestion, clean that thing. In one pic, it looks as though the fuel line may be leaking at the clamp. The compressor wheel also looks suspect. Was the air filter housing sealing right?

 

Trust me... I want to! What's the best way/thing to clean all this grime and crud off of the engine?

Spray with cleaner and hose off, or is water not a good option on diesel's?

I'll get some better pics of the compressor wheel when I take all the intake tubes off tonight... Actually - the K&N was sealing pretty well. I didn't really see dust inside the tubes, but it looked like some had gotten by because it looks like it's stuck on the metal before the compressor wheel.

Will try and post some close up's of wheel tonight and actually get to move it around a bit to see how it feels.

 

I thought I saw a coolant leak on the heater hose, which would cause the mud near the fuel line clamp... or it could be fuel from the line at the clamp. Diesel odor? There is no coolant sensor on the OBDII port, so ignore that. The temperature gauge on the dash is all you have. Compressor looks a little rough, but not overly bad. This was mine (left) when I replaced it, and it was still delivering 30 PSI (hot side of CAC)

 

I'll take a better shot of the compressor tonight and upload it. I'll also see if there's any play or wiggle in it.

I'd really like to put the PSD Wastegate on from Diesel Site, but I have to get my turbo to boost more than 10PSI before I should even worry about that... Maybe I should confirm that my DashDAQ is reading the correct thing for boost... I'm using MGP (Manifold Guage Pressure), is that right?

What would you recommend using to clean all the goop, grime, oil, and dirt from the engine area? Especially the valley..

 

alot of people soak it with 100% simple green degreaser, let it soak in for 10 min. or more. rinse with garden hose and repeat until clean.make sure to cover power steering fill cap,alternator,air cleaner if not covered,try to avoid electrical connections or cover.clean your radiator,ac condensor,coolers while your at it.

 

I've read that in multiple places, but I've also seen that Simple Green can cause some issues as well, such as eating into things.

Thoughts?

Is steam cleaning an option? If so, who typically does that?

 

I doubt Simple Green could harm anything - it's pretty gutless, which is why it's good for more delicate cleaning. Rinse well after using, of course. I would also partly warm the engine (not hot) before cleaning, so that the cleaner works a lot better.

After you wash the engine, drive it long enough to get it good and hot to dry off any connectors, etc.

 

Ditto. Simple Green is fine. Purple Power will start eating stuff. I wouldn't steam clean or pressure wash it, too easy to force water past an electrical seal. Good idea on the warmer water.
What is a DashDaq?

 

Sounds good... I'll give Simple Green a try.

DashDAQ was used on my 08 6.4 for tuning and monitoring. I got it from Spartan Diesel, but the generic codes also work on my 02. It's probably similar to any other tuner than can read codes, etc...

 

So I finally had the chance to tear into this thing... The manifold boots were obviously leaking so I ordered all new manifold boots and got them put on tonight. I've taken some more pictures of the valley while the Y-pipe and boots were off.

I also confirmed that my Glow Plug Relay is bad... It's only reading 10.5 volts when key on, but 12.6 on the HOT side...

It looks like after replacing the manifold boots I've gained a couple more lbs of boost. Here's my question on that. Is it accurate to use the "Manifold Gauge Pressure" reading on my DashDQA for measuring boost? This reading comes from the MAP sensor.

Wondering if it'd be worth replacing the intercooler boots as well? Cost is around $100, but I doubt that's my "lack of boost" issue. It's looking more and more like this issue may be caused by low compression. Or, can an exhaust leak on the back of the turbo cause a loss of boost?

 

YES! Yes, that is all your drive pressure. If it is not going through the turbo it is not helping it spool up.

If you think it has low compression do a blow by check, by pulling the oil cap with it running and see how much is coming out. If your getting a steam train puff puff puff, you have issues. If it is just a little bit, and doesn't have much pressure, (It doesn't blow the cap off when you set it on upside down, though it will rattle off if you let it from engine vibrations) you are probably fine, but if you have an air box that is not sealing and a dirty K&N that has not been serviced/oiled properly and it was passing dirt it would have dusted your turbo wheel (like it looks it might have) and all that dirt ends up in the cylinders.