Well after reading up on everyone's 4-7 cylinder 7.3's, I figured I needed to donate some blood to my truck. On Thursday morning I fired up the truck and it was idling on 7 cylinders; no CEL and it ran better after I drive it for 5 minutes or so. There are some rough patches of asphalt between my place and the highway, which (after reading up on FTE) may have helped the truck run better.

So after work, fired up the truck and I could've made a milkshake if I had a glass of milk to put on the engine, CEL came on right away. What a gutless shaking trip home it was, I felt like someone had swapped out my 7.3 for a '78 2bbl 302 with 3 burned valves.

This morning I dug into the engine and after checking the resistance on both plugs, determined that the RH bank was the culprit. I pulled of the valve cover and sure enough, the plug was nearly apart. After spending 25c on parts, retorquing the rocker pedestals and injector hold-downs, that side was buttoned up and ready to roll. I figured the other side couldn't be too far behind so I did it, too; it was fine but I spent another 25c to repair it as well.

Which side is easier? About the same, I'd say. Fired up the truck and smooth as can be, for only 70K miles.






(PS. Dear Ford, your foil-wrap sucks.)




Dave

 

Well done Dave! Sounds like you got a few cuts on your arms from the foil on the intercooler pipes which most of us have removed. Removing it makes the turbo a little louder but not much. If you want it can easily be removed with a knife and some paint stripper to get the glue off. Congrats on a job well done!

 

Thanks! I came away with only a couple of scratches though; I think that when I have some more time I'll remove the foil. My only concern is the fitting on the PS pump has rubbed part way through the insulation, but I suppose a piece of rubber pipe around the IC pipe at that area will protect it.

 

I think the passenger side is much easier...less stuff to remove to get to the valve cover. But they both are pretty easy like you say.
Hopefully you solved your problem. If for some reason down the road you begin to have the same symptoms, then check the harness for a burned center pin. I had that happen to me but it took something like 18 months for for the symptoms to resurface.

My theory is that a burned center pin is more likely to happen if the plug comes loose but may never happen otherwise. If my theory is correct, then anyone who has had a UVCH come loose may be at risk of developing a burned center pin issue down the road.

Here is a link to the thread I posted that has some photos in case you are curious what to look for.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...enter-pin.html

 

Thanks for the info, I'll check that out...hopefully it stays the way it is! I really notice a decrease in engine "rattliness", if I could use the term. When I pulled into our friends' yard, the first thing he said was, "Wow, it sure is quieter now!"