I have a thread about my current troubles under "Wiring Harness$?" Truck is currently in the shop for intermitent Hot no start, intermitent stumble at speed, and itermitent no pedal response at a complete stop. Diagnostics have not been done yet, but hoping that it is just dummy plugs and standpipe on HPO system.

When talking to the owner of the shop I took my EX to he was very familiar with the 6.0 and works on them all the time. He was talking about bulletproofing them and as far as he was concerned that it was well worth the investment. He was not talking about the equipment under that brand name, but upgrading the EGR cooler, CCV reroute and other things.

I've been definately wanting to do the EGR upgrade or delete, but just haven't made it a financial priority as of yet, but with the troubles I'm having now I'm ready to do this. I won't have the funds available till March-April of '12, but I want to start making a list of things that I will have done. What things do you all suggest to have done and in what priority? Also, if there is anything that needs to have the truck torn down to the same level as replacing IPR, dummy plugs, and standpipe, I'll consider having them do it this week.

 

personally for me, i'd rather keep them all going stock for now. as wif any kind of mod, once u start doing one thing, u'll have to do another jus to not overload another part of the engine or jus to keep everything in good balance or harmony.

there is no such thing as doing one mod or upgrade and everything will be fine forever. a list of stuff to do will ensure.

no offence. i'm not trying to knock u down, but tink carefully bout it, consult wif the other guys so tat u can make an informed decision. i'll be doing a couple of simple upgrades which should not affect the 6.0 too much, like the fuel pressure regulator upgrade (blue spring) & the hfcm upgraded plug. minor things.

even my oil i'm keeping to motorcraft. works for me so far. i've tanked my intake, changed out hoses, did my coolant flush, regular oil changes, changed out my egr cooler, changed out oil cooler.

the 6.0 requires constant maintenance, and she'll continue running until u swap her for a new one.

hope this info helps. if u were offended, i humbly apologize. jus my 2 cents.

 

That all depends on your priority, be it funds, reliability, etc. Off the top of my head, coolant filter, blue fuel regulator spring, turbo oil drain pipe, HPO upgrades (standpipes, dummy plugs, STC if you have it), oil cooler if needed, EGR cooler upgrade/delete, and head studs. I did a few of the easy ones and then had everything else done when I had an HPO issue. I'm a believer in doing it once and forgetting it, but that doesn't always fit with the wallet.

STC if you have it, turbo oil drain pipe. It would be great if you could check the condition of the oil cooler before they open it all up.

I can't think of any of the normal bulletproofing upgrades that would require that anything else be done lest it be overloaded, off balance, or whatever. Most of the bulletproofing parts are OEM parts that have been upgraded over time. Some notable exceptions are coolant filter, head studs, and EGR cooler upgrade/delete, and even those do not require you to do any other upgrades (other than slightly modify the tune to not throw a code in the case of EGR delete). People normally change many of them at the same time simply because it's much more cost effective than to do one at a time and pay labor for every one when it costs minimal additional labor to do them all.

 

Thanks Me2. I don't think that mine has the STC fitting, but if so the guy will difinetly upgrade it this go around. How does one go about telling if the oil cooler is bad? I already dropped the truck off at the shop. From what I can tell you check the difference in the Oil Temp and the enginge coolant temp. Is that correct?

Another Mod I'm going to consider is to open up the exhaust. Not sure where to put that one in the priority listing either.

 

Bulletproofing depends on your pocketbook IMHO. Headstuds, gauges, exhaust and do the maintenance. Everything else you fix as it breaks. That's the simple answer.

 

Great answer. I'm going to do the EGR Cooler upgrade or Delete, and CCV reroute, but I'll try and tackle these items as well.

I've looked at the differnt guage threads, but with the Scanguage II, I should only need a couple of guages correct? I thing EGT would be one, help on others would be good. I don't want to do more than 3. I'm also leaning towards the Edge CTS and adding a back up camera. I could route sensors to the Edge from what I've read. Is this correct? or a bad idea?

 

You are correct. There are actually 3 things you can't read through the OBDII port. Fuel pressure, EGT's and lubricating oil pressure. Fuel and EGT's can be added to the EDGE. Lubricating oil not necessary IMHO even though the dash gauge is worthless.

 

Awsome. I don't want a bunch of aftermarket guages cluttering things up. Even the pilar mounted ones aren't attractive to me.

 

For those of us who have to rely on others to do some of the work on our trucks (everyones cut off level may vary) the success of your bulletproofing lies more with the quality of the shop and it's staff, and slightly less with the mods or the brand of part chosen (yes they are important too).

With out going into some of my experiences, make sure this guy knows his stuff. Really knows his stuff!! Snazzy titles, logos and websites don't necessarily equal a good knowledgeable shop.


Been there, done that. Best of luck with your work!!

 

Now THIS is great advice. One of the best Ford tech's I know has a rather ratty looking shop that you'd probably drive by thinking "I'd never take my $50K truck there" and you'd be making a serious mistake.

 

Thats about right. The best shops in my area are run down looking yet the mechanics are old timers that are willing to take the extra 10 minutes to show and explain what the problem was and what they fixed...its nice to find those guys.

If anyone is in the Manhattan, KS area I can recommend a few good shops.

Sorry for being off topic...

Thad

 

Why is that? I was thinking of installing two - LPOP and Fuel - I have no plans to tune, so EGT wasn't on my list.

 

We spent about 20 minutes today when I dropped the truck off talking about what the possible current issues are. He assured me there is no guessing with him and his shop and he goes by the book diagnostically and has the right equipment and personel to do the job right. I really feel at ease now that we spent that time together. We spent a little time talking about what I'd like to have done in the future too. I'd love to have taken the truck to Bsmic "Mark", but not a option today. For where I live to have somone 15 minutes away with the experience his shop has with this engine I'll take a chance and see how it goes. Otherwise it's a crap shoot trying to find someone I have no knowledge of in Houston. I attend chruch with this guy's brother and I went to school with his older sister. He might even be one of the tech's on this site by the knowledge he had. Hope it turns out well.

 

Thanks partsman.

Unfortunately past experiences have caused me to change my signature to what it is today. So I always hope all the stories, threads and posts we read here have good outcomes and nobody gets financially hurt and disappointed.

 

If you lose LPO the truck will shut off because you lose HPO. It's a built in safety and the useless dash gauge will actually show that. I know lots of people who don't run tunes that have EGT gauges and almost nobody that has a LPO gauge. I know this doesn't sound right but it's a basically useless gauge in this truck IMHO.