I feel like I’ve been taking a lot of pictures of the work I’ve done over the last few weeks, but haven’t had time to post them. work’s still crazy, so the FTE posting AND progress on the engine have both suffered - not sure which one i'm more upset about :-) I’ll save you the 30 pictures of many of the same things and just post the highlights below.

After getting the new valve springs and rosewood stage 2 injectors the rest of the head reassembly was just an exercise in following the shop manual. …not always an easy/fun thing to do, but the final product was a nice sight to see.





And having read some posts on guys with injectors that didn’t seat right and then the engine not running right, I laid a straight edge across the injectors on each head after install. They were not all EXACTLY the same height, but were all within 1/16th of an inch. Maybe 1/32. At least if I do have any issues when I finally start this sucker up again, I’ll have evidence of which ones sat which way after install…





Next up after all the injectors, rocker arms and such was some basic bolt-on stuff: valve covers, water pump pulley, etc.
Then, I dove headlong into the engine side of my DIY efuel system. There are many good write-ups on FTE here, so I wasn’t planning on another one, but if anyone wants to see more pics or needs more info, let me know.

In brief, I used:
this regulator: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FST-307030 on a homemade 7 ga steel holder bracket,
¼” 0.035 wall 304SS tubing for the local head runs,
3/8” 0.035 wall 304SS tubing for the supply and return lines,
Parker a-lok fittings for all the connections (pricey, but easier than flaring everything and supposedly extremely vibration resistant),
a 3/8 NPT wye-fitting as the split from the 3/8” supply to the ¼” head supplies
a flat steel plate and a u-bolt (not shown in the pics below) to hold that fitting in place
this tube bender (which I highly recommend for anyone in the market) for all the bends: McMaster-Carr (it says “for soft metals,” but it did great with the 3/8” stainless tube from McMaster and I’m sure would handle ½” SS easily as well).

OK, here’s the pics:

Overall view – the right side head supply runs under the T4 adapter plate, but off-center so as to leave access to the old fuel pump hole for the turbo oil drain line fitting (which is yet to be made . The left side head runs above the plate on a diagonal, but with plenty of clearance under the turbo. It runs into a straight a-lok fitting, which runs into the original, funny 45 fitting that lived in that spot. Its turn about 45 degrees downward though, now.





Regulator and top-side supply/return lines. That funny service look in the supply line is my attempt at leaving access to the IPR (since I’m reusing my 200k mile old one).





Front view
I must say - and i may be biased, but all that stainless tubing is a beautiful thing! This picture doesn’t do it justice and the re-installed oil cooler hides some of it, but the most work by far in this project was getting these supply/return lines to run right up next to the front cover, behind the front oil cooler mount, through the “pass” between the head and HPOP reservoir, past the HPOP and to their homes. Probably a good 4 hours of fiddling right there. …and two tries on the supply line. …and even with all that, the supply will still contact the accessories bracket on that side. I plan on a p-clamp on the side of that bracket to hold it off. …we’ll see.



i also started a little work toward finalizing the t4 uppipes. i think i have a turbo location that actually allows the 4" DP to clear the head. i'm sure that means lots of firewall cutting, but i'm OK with that. i'd rather do that than section the heck out of the DP. Bill - a question for you if you're out there - how was your 4" DP in relation to the right side frame rail. the mockup i had going today cleared the head and up pipe fine, but looked like it swung kind of wide away from where the tranny would be. i could always just cut it down there and weld it back on rotated, but i'd give a go this way first. just curious of your experience... ...or anyone else who was stuffed a 4" DP and S366 into our trucks!

 

Looking good

 

Beautiful work! Hope your enjoying the build! I'd love to build a 7.3 on the stand..

 

Thanks guys - it has been enjoyable. I just can't wait to get tearing into the truck and give the engine it's new home though.

it is nice doing all this on the stand. Probably not possible any other way with some stuff. It was tough enough snaking the fuel lines in and out on the stand!

 

Outstanding work, JP. That all looks really good!

 

Looking good!!

 

Tha looks good JP. At least one of us is making progress. Did you pull the pan off. I can't remember. I know you were talking about it

 

Oil pan? Yes I did pull it. I think you can see the pickup tube in one of the pictures. It was getting rusty up front so figured I might as well put a fresh one on while the engine's out.

I'll be welding in a DIY dipstick adapter and using the Moroso oil pan gasket that Clay carries. I'll be sure to report on both :-)

I was just away for work on a baja buggy driving trip in NV this last week though. Tons of fun, but no little elves came and worked on my engine while I was gone!

 

I would check out some review on that gasket. I've heard mixed things. After over 300k my pan was still sealed good so I'm going with the motorcraft goop.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'll poke around for some reviews, but I've already bought it, so I'll prob just use it.

The directions say to still use RTV around the corners - where the front and back covers meet the block, so I wonder if that's an update to deal with some leaks they've seen. I have a tube of Motorcraft gray goop, so I'll load it up good around those spots and hope for the best.

I do like that the gasket came with studs as well. Should look nice even if it leaks like a sieve :-)

 

Lol. That's rich. I like it

 

Looking good JP! I built a 3.5" dp for mine. It is a little close to the frame rail, but not too close.

 

I'm always jealous when I see someone working on a 7.3 on a stand. I looks like fun. Keep up the good work.

 

Hopefully you had a 1/4" to spare, meaning mine will fit :-)

And thanks!

 

Thanks - and yes it is fun. Like everything though, I just wish i had more time for it. It's supposed to be in a running, driving, newly painted truck by now!