Hi all - I have a 95 PSD F250 7.3 ZF5 4x4 which I bought earlier this year. It served me well over the summer, hauling the camper and the summer toys but coming back from the last trip I had a very sudden and dramatic loss in power which I traced to 2 burned injector harnesses. No biggie, found out what I needed to do and got the parts. Pulled all the GPs to test and 7 were Beru or Bosch and the 8th was an Autolite. Any guesses as to which one came apart in the head?
So I tried everything short of of cranking it to shoot it out and now it is in there good. The head has to come off. This is Cyl #3, I believe, 2nd from the front on the passenger side.
I have done the head gaskets on a 7.3 IDI, but this looks like quite a different beast - in fact it looks to be an easier job.
Is there a good write up anywhere on removing that head?

It appears that all I have to do is remove the exhaust manifold, rockers/pushrods, the coupling from the turbo pipe and then the head bolts.
Can the injectors stay in? (I already removed the one injector to try to fish out the tip)
Any tips/advice/complete write up would be appreciated!

 

Must also unhook high pressure oil line, fuel line from rear, uppipe from exhaust to turbo....Ohh, almost forgot, there's a bolt holding the auto trans dipstick to the back of that head.. Also, if you're thinking of doing a new downpipe, this will be the perfect time for that. You can just pull the old one right out without cutting apart. ( I had to do this last summer. a LOT of work to get hold of a glow plug tip and pull it out) Good Luck

 

Thanks 91 Dually. It's good to hear from someone who has done it. I hope you don't mind if I throw a few more questions at you

Did you leave the injectors in?
aside from the head gasket itself, are there any other gaskets that I need?
I have read some references to a dipstick o ring ending up in the oil pan but no details. Any idea what that is about?

I think my biggest nightmare is going to be the exhaust manifold bolts. Mine are severely corroded and flaking. I bet I am going to break off at least one of them. Did you remove your exhaust manifold to pull the head?

And one last thing - when I did the IDI, there were a couple of pushrods and head bolts at the back of the head that could not be removed/installed with the head in place. They had to come out with the head, and prior to installation they had to be in the head on the bench. I used elastic bands to hold them in place. Is the powerstroke the same? On mine it looks like there might be more room than on the IDI.

 

I don't think you have to remove the manifold do you? I've not removed one of these, but I'd think you could unbolt the uppipe from the manifold and leave it bolted to the head.

I have no other good information for you, like I said, I haven't removed one of these.

 

Gaskets.. You may want to replace the donut at top of the up pipe since it will be apart......valve cover gaskets are reusable if rubber seal is good....I removed my manifold, broke a couple bolts, drilled out and tapped........There may be enough room to r and r the up pipe without removal of manifold, not sure.... Passenger side, all bolts and pushrods can be placed after head in place...Drivers side different story.....Injectors need to be removed to get to some head bolts......Ohhh, one more thing. Have a husky friend come help with removal and replacement of head, or use engine hoist as I did. One head, without injectors, rockers, pushrods, bolts, weighs 112 pounds. Very hard to install alone without junking new head gasket.

 

Thanks again - great info there. I'm feeling a whole lot better about doing this job now.

One more thing though - as far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with my existing down pipe. Are they prone to failure and is that why you mention replacing it?

 

Not failure, but most beleive they are restrictive because of flat design. Most of us have replaced the oem pipe with at least a 3 inch round pipe for better flow (more power) This is one that is available Diamond Eye 3 inch downpipe 94-97 7.3 - 1994.5-1997 F250/F350 - Exhaust - Ford Powerstroke 7.3L

 

ah, ok, thanks. I think I am just going to leave it as is since I want to get this back on the road, but thanks for the info. I am quite happy leaving this vehicle as stock as possible. My Jeep, on the other hand.....

 

yeah, but that aftermarket down pipe will give you more power to tow that jeep to the trail quicker....

 

Just read about the pancake downpipe and you'll convince yourself to change it when you pull the head.

 

More power...Nooooo! The main reason you replace that DP is for , um, better fuel economy.....and lower exhaust gas temperatures. Yeah that's it! at leats that is what you tell the wife...

 

You guys are bad, bad, BAD!
I started looking into 3" downpipes. Thanks a lot!

So.......just how much firewall massaging needs to be done? I read a write up which talks about it and one of the pics even looks like a piece of the firewall was cut out . Is it major surgery or we just have to bend back a 1/2 inch of pinch seam or something like that?

Also, I live in a small city in BC. There are no performance diesel shops around here. I presume that a muffler shop should be able to get me a 3" downpipe that will fit nicely for a reasonable price? There is a shop where the owner is pretty 'modification friendly' and he would be all over bending me up a pipe to fit in place. Maybe that is a way to go?

 

Just order a 3" DP. That is all you need. No muffler shop is necessary.
There is a pinch weld where the top of the cab and the bottom are joined together. Just cut the pinch weld on each side of where the pipe goes down and bend the weld till it is flat. That should be all you need to do.
Also it will be WAY easier since you will have the head out.

Replace your uppipe donut gaskets while you are in there.

 

I can get the BD diesel downpipe for $247 Canadian through a local flaps. Still mulling it over.

 

Old down pipe ...



New down pipe ...