That's a loaded question

IMHO it comes down to personal goals and strategy- and determined by your financial and time commitment.

I believe o-rings are as much about AGE as they are about miles. So are UVCH, glowplugs, and valve cover gaskets.

If you've got the time and skills/helpers to do it, they aren't a bad thing to do, if they haven't been yet.

Orings (Alliant)- $80
UVCH (Dorman integrated)- $80-$160
Gaskets (I used Dorman integrated UVCH, so no separate cost)
Glowplugs (OEM)- $80

Also rebuilt turbo, including pedestal orings- $100

So for around $400 parts, plus whatever you do for labor, you can broad-stroke some of the most frustrating problems plaguing our aging trucks.

Of course, you'll be removing and reinstalling turbo/CAC tubing and boots and exhaust, so inspecting and cleaning and then testing for leaks when reinstalled.

Again, all good stuff.

But it is a pretty significant chunk of time and you would do well to have an experienced person helping- not just for expediency, but to notice anything wrong (ie, my turbo housing was worn and needed replaced).

You would also be inspecting your turbo while off (have an experience person check your turbo, to be sure), which answers another one of your possibilities

But those decisions are up to you. I decided to go that way and am really glad I did. As with many things, though, it comes down to personal choices.

Edit to add: My Ex runs more than twice as well as when I got it. I added a tuner, which added even more to her without pushing too hard. I did the FRx and HPx while in there, too. Noticeably quieted down the noises under the hood

Hope this helps a bit

 

Isn't that a LOT of fuel for idle?

 

From this current thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...creenshot.html


HPOP (same as ICP?) 480.5
Pulse Width 3.192
IPR 10.1


That seems to be in the ballbark with his readings. I have a higher IPR, but lower pulse width.

 

Could you change the scale on the right for ICP to 0-3000 psi, with it set the way it is it makes it look jumpy.

 

Better?

 

The end game here is simply a reliable truck that can tow 8,000 lbs anywhere in the country. Right now after going through Vermont and Maine, I can't claim to be there.


I've done UVCH - in the winter after one side failed, I did both to be safe. I'd be fine with a planned O-ring, glowplug replacement. I just don't want to get caught up in doing PM work that's not really needed.

On the flip side, that doesn't mean I want to wait for things to break before getting them fixed.

In the big picture $400 isn't bad. That's the towing bill if I break down on the road. I'd be happy to spend $400 per year on parts for preventative maintenance work on the truck. It's just a matter of getting the order right. Right now 1st on the list is to get the performance up to par.

I've probably spend 50 or 100 hours on the low boost issue between test drives, leak tests, up pipes, etc.

It would be great to have an experienced person helping, or even a local shop that I could depend on with respect to their ability to debug issues and do work on the truck. My helper is FTE at this point.

I'd like to hear more about your worn out turbo housing....

I had the turbo out for the up pipes, I don't think it needs to come out for the injector o-rings though. I didn't do much inspecting other than to make sire the EBP moved freely and there was no play in the wheels.

 

Your idle graph looks good to me. I sure would be tempted to rebuild the turbo but I still don't get the high EGT's.

 

yo mike...what egt #'s you seeing and is it towing or just you n truck...just to throw my ongoing saga, because i think were in the same boat...stock truck, intake, no chip/tuner..etc. I just did a 700 mile roundtrip up the 395, here in CA. The Sherman Pass (some may know what im talking about), is straight out, BRUTAL. To crest the hill (20min of 7% grade), i was in 2nd gear (zf6), holding 3k+rpm with egt's flirting at 1200ish, sometimes 1250/75 on p/s egt reading..(p/s reads 50-75 degrees hotter, no matter what). Had in tow about 10k. Most ive thrown at her....anyhow, with nothing in tow, yes, i can hit 1k* get'n on freeway or at anytime given that matter.....Tug thinks' me gots a exhaust leak, from my posted T.P. #'s

 

We're in a similar boat. My pass side gets hotter just like yours. With about the same delta too.

I have to go to 2nd gear (auto) too on a long grade. I found that I had to keep RPM low - below 2250 in order to manage EGTs. Even If the truck had the umph to speed up, the egts would prevent me from doing it. This seems different from your experience.

I think this 2250 RMP max holds for smaller hills too. I could be going up a smaller hill at 2500 RPM with plenty of power and have to back off the throttle to 2250 in order to manage the EGTs.

I'm pretty sure I cat get to 1000 degrees with nothing in tow, just WOT on a 30-60 MPH run.

One thing that confuses me is that higher RPMS/More Air is supposed to lower EGTs and this is not what I'm seeing at all.

 

We share similar goals

Also my thinking, which sent me down this path. As I tell my daughter, sometimes the best solution is to push through a problem, even if you can't narrow it to a single definitive item, yet use a broad brush to address a group of the most likely issues. Cost/time/benefit analysis

Not always 100%, but get into the 90%+ likelihood, figure out the cost in dollars and effort, and weigh the benefits of the work- both with and without it solving the immediate problem.

I wouldn't attempt to make that choice for you, but happy to share my thought process, pics and stuff, and end results...like most folks here on FTE

Maybe put out a request for help thread and find someone nearby? If you were closer to PA, I could probably set something up with my buddies and I...

This is where experience helps. It looked okay to me (what do I know about turbos, first one I've had apart ) but my buddy showed me play in the shaft and said that it was out of spec with too much play.

I saw it then and agreed, but I might not have noticed it on my own.

I understand your dilemma. For a while there it seemed like "Okay that's done, now do this, then do these 3 things, then this, then mod that..." LOL.

But I can tell you that there is a "base" or "core" of things that almost always should be done. Relatively inexpensive and eliminates so many current and potential issues.

Add to the list I posted earlier: Fuel bowl rebuild, Hutch Mod (with clamps/lines as appropriate), FRx, HPx (some like it, some don't, but it's like $50), Coolant flush and switch to ELC (with new thermostat), check your clutch fan, 6.0 Trans cooler and John Wood Valve Body with fluid and filter change (if towing).

Turbo and uppipes, boots and intakes: only as needed and tested bad. These start getting pricey and can easily for into multiple $k's depending on what you do.

Once it's squared away, a Tuner is a GREAT idea. It has made a HUGE difference on my Ex after bringing it into what I consider the upper 90 percentile of condition. I dropped $500 for Hydra with custom Gearhead tunes.

I've also shared this philosophy with my daughter: "Perfection is the enemy of Progress" Waiting for the 'perfect' plan often takes so long that a 'good, smart' plan will net better and faster returns- even if you have to readjust after wading in, LOL

But that's me, YMMV

 

Going with the imbalance between sides, one side is not holding up its end of the bargain - making the other side work harder to provide the oomph you need. It's also possible one side may have an injector not atomizing correctly, making a very hot burn. This would theoretically show the tell-tale sign of one cylinder burning all the oil off the block.

 

mike...i think, with you applying more pedal to increase power..etc to pull the hill, the truck just cant overcome its load. it needs the downshift to then, get ur on her way. Same physics applies for me. I need to grab a lower gear, get them rpms's racking, to stable egt's and to get ur up and over...if applied pedal in say that 3rd gear, which most of the hill was in that, that last 1-2 miles of hill, it just wasnt happening..3rd held most of it(good 8 miles of her), but noticed having to get out of her, to maintain egt. Once the hill itself had more resistrance then what the truck had thrown at her, is when she went to 2nd.......i know most of what i just said, is common sense, now that i just reread it, lol..coffee hasnt kicked in..smh


Tug...hope that hypothesis is true, in regards to a bad injector..etc iIS the "cooler" side. I think istretched #4 hold-down some yrs ago, when i came across the rocker arm/inj hold bolts that need re-torqing. #4 went for a spin. Last time in there, 1-1/2yrs ago, everything was at 8lb, #4 was 3...haha.

 

8 ft/lbs, eh? That is precisely what what kicked my *** all over the West coast when I first replaced my injectors - less-than-thorough torque wrench work. I didn't know any better and I used a ft/lb torque wrench, but 10 lbs is the bottom of the scale on the wrench I used. Using a torque wrench at the bottom or top of the scale is less than accurate. I have since purchased a 240 in/lb torque wrench, with the injectors in mind. 120 in/lbs is the spec, but I now wouldn't go less than 125 in/lbs. I've had countless rounds of "whack-A-Mole" with those sticks when I tried less than aggressive means to get injector bolts to stay put.

 

ya, got me a 1/4in in/lb torque wrench...i meant 10lb / 120in/lb...not 8lbs, lol. But #4 hole WAS at 3lbs when retorqing them...think a new bolt there is in order with locktite

 

Tips on that: Don't use the Loc-Tite gel on injector bolts, it's a waste of time. I use the Lock-Tite or Permatex blue and apply a dab on one side of the end of the bolt. If I do a proper cleaning in the hole, the blue stuff really works.