With less than two months of ownership, I already "get" to bulletproff my new to me X...

When I picked this thing up (about Feb 15th) it was having some fuel delivery problems and the techs at the dealership that I purchased it from convinced me that it was an issue with the tuner from people test driving it and bouncing back and forth from extreeme to fuel mileage, ect...

They tinkered with it and the last two times I drove it before I bought it, it ran perfect.

Within a few days, the problem was back on the first warm-up of the day. After a lot of research, I decide that it was probably injector stiction. I tried the majic snake oil RevX ($70). It seemed to help for a few days but its hard to tell because the weather here is never consistant so it might have been running better due to a warmer morning. It didnt fix the problem though.

About 3 weeks ago, it started spitting coolant out from the res cap. AND, just about a week ago I started getting multiple engine missfires.

So, I guess its good news / bad news for me.

The good news:

1) I think I found out what the fuel probem is... The FICM...

2) I found out what the coolant issue is... Since the EGR cooler has already been removed, it has to be a blown head gasket that is allowing my cooling system to pressurize.

The bad news:

Its going to cost me just over $3500 for head gaskets replacement and possibly another $500 for a new FICM...

Thats with a few "bulletproofing" items done along the way.


Sooooooo, Ive been working my tail off trying to earn enough OT to cover the damage and it sucks!

At least I wont have to worry about having to do it later down the road...

Oh, and before you ask.... Yes, I did talk to the dealership that I purchased the vehicle from. They pretty much said as far as repairs go, I can go sit on it and rotate. However, they will be happy to give me a good deal trading out of it...

 

Go to 6.0L powerstroke section, there is a FICM guy who fix your FICM cheaper and he can also give it a tune...

 

Sounds like you bought a stock truck with a tuner. Can't blame it for popping, thats like 6.0 101. Especially after the guys at the dealership told you a bunch of "test drivers" had been throttling the **** out of it (including them).

How much are you filling your coolant reservoir? They revised the fill line, if you fill to the min line it is prone to blowing coolant when hot, even if the headgaskets are fine.

I agree go post it in the 6.0 forum there are plenty of gurus there who will ask the right questions and get you pointed in the right direction. $3500 for just headgaskets sounds steep. I'd get some other quotes before I pulled the trigger on that one. You will want to at least do studs while you have the heads off.

 

Yep, Ed at FICMRepair.com He's a supporting vendor here at FTE.

Send him a PM and see if he can help you out.

Stewart

 

Thanks for the PM, Stewart! Yes, we'd be happy to help you out with your FICM. We repair them day in and day out with a result that is dramatically better than the dealer for a small fraction of the cost. As others have said, we can also provide you a custom program on your FICM to dramatically increase the driveability of the truck by reducing the amount of time you have to wait until the turbo spins up while also giving the possibility of better fuel economy (I'm seeing 2.5mpg better in my 05 Excursion and am just beside myself thrilled).

Before we get into all that, though, has someone actually pulled codes or determined the output voltage of the FICM so that we're sure that that's the issue?

In related news, yes, Rev-X is a great product, but there are others too. While we are distributors for the Hot Shot Secret line of products, a relatively new kid on the block is Archoil - check out http://www.evergreenamerica.com/inde...oss-solutions/.

I hope this helps soften the financial load!

 

One more thing - before you go changing out head gaskets, recognize also that there have been a number of revisions to the degas bottle cap. It may make sense to get a replacement cap to see if that solves your puking issue as well.

 

Don't forget: While replacing head gaskets, spend the extra $500 for ARP head studs. They will prevent this from happening in the future along with other "bullet proof" upgrades you are doing in the process...

 

Not really stock, it just hadnt had the studs done yet...


Thats was the assumption, not a fact... Eitherway, it wasnt an accurate cause for the problem.

No, Im not going for more quotes, this is the local Powerstroke juru. I will use him. BTW, note that I said the quote includes a few more bulletproofing items too.

I already replaced the degas cap with one from the dealership. That was the first thing that I did when I noticed the problem. I checked at the local parts store first, but those caps look like POS's.

If he doesnt end up rebuilding my FICM I will get with you later. As of now, I had to tow the Excursion to his shop, so if it has to get a new FICM there to drive it home, so be it.


Yeah, Im going with ARP's...

Here is what is being done:

ARP studs
Victor Reinz head gaskets
New Oil Cooler
Blocked EGR Cooler (welded factory cooler)
New "Updated" injector rail plugs
New Thermostat
Flushed coolant system
Re-assembled with new gaskets and O-rings throughout

Parts: $1567.02 Labor: $1875.00 Total (after tax): $3571.30

 

Why not OEM head gaskets?

 

Why OEM head gaskets???

 

Research on 6.0 Forum. Most people there think the OEM head gaskets are better than most aftermarket gaskets.

 

I have done a lot of research on several forums and from other sources and have found enough good to support both sides of the arguement.

Plus, this guy that I am using does this exact job at least 2 to 3 times a month and he said he has had great luck with the Victor gaskets. Thats good enough for me.

 

It is hard to argue with success. You are right to have your local guru do it his way.

By the way, I think you are getting this job for a bargain. Wait till you see your Excursion 8 feet in the air and then you will know why it is somewhat expensive.

 

I dont wanna nag ya, but I had my gaskets done twice before I figured out to have the heads checked for warpage and flatness of the mating surface. Its an extra day at the machine shop but for piece of mind....priceless!

 

If it makes you feel any better I bought mine in Alabama and on the way back to Austin it quit on me in Lafayette (6hours from home). Left it at Hub City ford in Lafayette and got a rental car home. Hub city told me the up pipe was blown and the alternator was shot and quoted me $2700 for the work and that was if the turbo wasn't shot. I have a great 6.0 guy myself and decided to pay $650 to have it hauled back to Austin. My guy looked at it and all it was was the clamp on the up pipe and alternator. I decided to go ahead and bullet proof it with Arp studs, new oil cooler, sct tuner, egr delete, and garrett turbo. He's gonna do a few other things, but I'm looking at around 6k and I still have only driven it about 6 hours. I'm hoping to have it in a week or so, but all I can hope is with 88K on the odometer I don't have another major repair for 100K. Guess thats if the tranny doesn't quit on me in the meantime. Hope that makes you feel a little better.