Anyone try drilling the injector hold down bolts and safety wiring them? No clue what if anything you could connect them to. Did anyone ever figure out if they are loosening or stretching?

 

I was thinking that maybe they sink a little further into their holes after they warm up and clack a little.

 

I appreciate the offer. It probably is a good thing you don't live nearby otherwise you would be drinking a lot of free beer.

I did not think of that. I know it's sitting in my garage somewhere along with the wire to put in its place when I remove it . I guess I'll have to hook one of them up to do the buzz test. Curse you PMS!

I did not find anything informative for IDM codes with my Google-Fu either. I may have to drop by my local dealership and see how much it would cost to pull those (and clear them) if my next dive doesn't solve my misfire.

I have absolutely no idea where you would anchor them too.

I think they loosen. This is based on absolutely no empirical evidence or scientific data. I've done a hot torque a couple of times before replacing my injectors and the bolts. One of them was not that long ago (at least 280K miles) so I don't think there's a lot of stretch left in those bolts (again, I'm no scientist) so the only logical option to me is that they s-l-o-w-l-y back out due to all the vibration and force of the injectors firing. There's no 'locking' perse of the bolt in the hole or against the injector plate and objects tend to follow the path of least resistance (that IS science) which would be to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction and loosen. Again, I'm not an engineer, researched scientist, nor do I hold any credible certifications in anythinguseful or pertinent to my statement...which makes this conjecture purely my opinion.

Since these are new bolts and were 'loose' in 6K miles I can only speculate (with absolutely no certainty) that they may have stretched a bit too since they were new. If I end up doing this again this year I may end up going with some Loctite and a few extra in-lbs to try and cure this as Rich (Tugly) did.

I was very careful when installing the injectors. Only light taps and you could definitely tell when it seated. Made sure they were all about level before I even tighted the lower hold-down bolt. Checked again when I was done to make sure it was level across the top of each bank. The truck idled for a solid 20 minutes to get nice and warm and then hot torqued everything. Did one more level check across each bank to make sure all was still level.

At this point who knows what phenomenon this might be. This wouldn't be the first time something was less than desirable from an engineering or production standpoint.

I'll see how long things go before they start knocking again and then decide my course of action for any future preventive or corrective measures.

 

OK, so who has marked the injector hold down bolts at the 1200 position with a dot of welder's pen to see if they came loose or not?

 

I've never heard of a welder's pen (I'm a city redneck) but that sounds like a great idea so of course I haven't done that.

This next round under the cover(s) I will try to remember to scratch the head of the bolts (with an awl or pick tool) at the 1200 position to see what happens.

 

This is like the ones I have, there are other versions.
Welder's marker

 

So after walking away from the truck for a week before doing any more work on it gave me a rejuvinated start to dive back in. The truck sits outside so I'm subjected to the weather when I'm working on it. Taking a break from wrenching was a nice interlude but mostly out of my interest in avoiding 2nd degree sunburn. The first day I could work on the truck was 114F outside without a cloud in the sky. The next weekend it was only 95F so out I went.

Rather than shotgun my troubleshooting I decided to take a more methodical approach. I've been following along with the discussion on the FORScan program and how it's the greatest thing since sliced bread and cordless drills, so I figure this is the time to finally jump into it. I've only been paying cursory attention to the threads but took this opportunity to dive and be one of the cool kids!

Time to validate my resources for this:

- Laptop...check. I downloaded the latest non-WINE version onto my laptop.
- Communication link...check. I got the OBDLink SX USB-OBDII cable a while ago but haven't put it to good use yet.
- Tons of Google-ing...check. Information overload.

I was all excited when Sous chimes in and says...
And just like that...BAM! My life is ruined. It just went downhill from there:

I have to fire up the program, go to a menu, find a code, go to the FORScan website, go to the forums, enter the code, get a temporary registration, put that into the program, blah, blah, blah. I think somewhere in there I have to create an account too. Too much to do just to run a buzz test and maybe pull some IDM codes (don't know if FORScan can do that). I have a finite operating window for this round due to family schedules so I don't have time to try and learn on the fly for something that may not work anyway. Looks like I will have to experiment later with FORScan when I'm not under a time crunch.

Even if I do find the misfire there's nothing to say the other sticks aren't in jeopardy of that soon anyway. Even if FORScan would have told me where it was I would have been compelled to pull both VCs just to make sure the other side didn't have a problem too. Curse you OCD!!

So I pull my tools out and begin to re-do what I had recently done. Deleting the hot torque portion did save me 45 minutes or so. I avoided the warmup and it was easier to put everything back together when the block/parts are not hot.

I am not the professional VC puller that Tugly is but I am getting better at it; which is good but sad at the same time. It "only" took me about 4 hours start to finish.

I got to work and pulled all the interference out and removed the VCs. Whipped out my flashlight and inspection mirror and hoped that it would be something easy. Started on the driver's side because it's much easier to reach/inspect. Nothing.

Before losing all hope I moved to the passenger's side and started front to back. #1, 3, and 5 looked fine. When I got to #7...



I don't know how the harness plug got disconnected. I'm not glad that it did but I am glad that it was an "easy" fix that didn't cost me anything but time.

While I was in there I took Walleye Hunter's advice and marked my injector hold-down bolts. I bought an oil-based Sharpie and put a white dot at the 12 o'clock position of the front four injectors (#1 - #4) as they were easy to reach and would be indicative of the whole set. The next time I get a knock and go for a hot torque I'll know for certain if the walk out or not. As for stretching that will always be a possibility since I have no way of measuring that (and is more cumbersome than I am curious).




I connected the 42-pin and batteries and fired it up just to make sure it wasn't bucking anymore. Sure enough it was as smooth as a garbage truck again. As I was going to shut it down I noticed that my SES light was on. Seriously??!!?!?! What now.

Hooked up my code reader (yes it's a generic Actron but it will read the PCM codes that set off the SES) and it was for IAT high. My intake was out and the IAT was disconnected so crisis averted. *Whew*

Put it all back together and installed another intake tube from S&B that they tell me will definitely work this time (this is the 3rd tube they've sent me)...nope. Still can't get the power steering reservoir cap off. I can slide it all the way over until the dipstick touches the neck wall which is better than the other two. At least now I can use an inspection mirror to see the level and a narrow funnel to fill the power steering without removing the intake tube (which the other two require just to see into the reservoir). Did I mention that I'm not a fan of this intake? To their credit S&B has been working with me to resolve the issue and their customer service and tech support have been outstanding. They sent me a replacement tube (all I paid was S&H) when they found out I had the original design tube. When the second one didn't work they had another tube to try and sent that to me for free (no cost to me). I'm not sure if others with the S&B Gen II are having the same issue I have or if I'm an isolated incident.

So tube #1 didn't fit well (to line up adequately I had to remove the plexiglass cover and angle the filter up) and had zero access to the power steering reservoir. Tube #2 had a near perfect fitment and minimal access to the power steering reservoir. Tube #3 had good fitment and marginal acess to the power steering reservoir. I did not have the time or desire to take the intake apart and re-install tube #2 so #3 stays for now. Tube #3 does not have a hole tapped for the filterminder and I didn't feel like taking that kind of time as my OCD would take over and it would take me an hour to do it "just right" and clean up the bore. So for now my filterminder is in layup...



Tube #2 came with a hole (and a plug). When I have to take my intake out again for something else I'll put tube #2 back in with the filterminder. I don't have another smog check for almost 18 months so I have time.

Took it for a test drive of 60 miles or so to run some errands and it's running great. It's now parked again until I can chase down my coolant and power steering leaks.

When I had everything out I looked around the power steering and things point to my A1 Cardone gearbox. Time to sweet talk the wife into a Blue Top. I also have a small amount of moisture (weepage?) at the fitting inside the cab at the firewall above the brake pedal. Don't know if that's going to be an issue or not.



As for the coolant I have no idea. It sat for 9 months so I'm not taking anything for granted. It weeps from several locations so an overpressure seems like a good deduction but there is nothing in the degas bottle besides coolant (no fuel or oil). I think the first round is going to be a new cap (not relieving pressure?) and lower hose connection. It's been quite some time since I replaced that connection on the water pump.

Lastly, vendor update:

Gearhead - Back in my good graces. Since they kicked Kenton to the curb they have bent over backwards to help me. Anything they offered/promised was delivered the same day or the next morning. I told them I'm happy right now and that there are other truck issues I'm coming through so I'd let them know. They said no problem and re-iterated my lifetime updates and to let them know if there's anything I want/need. Yes they are lifetime updates but many places that do things like that are not that receptive to the customer actually enacting that policy. It doesn't seem to be the case with Gearhead. Whether it's their general demeanor or if they have sympathy for my plight with them over the last year they seem genuinely interested in (my) customer satisfaction.

P.I.S. - OFF THE CHRISTMAS LIST! After they dangled the carrot of some customer service they have fooled me for the last time. I e-mailed them a month after their promise to deliver a tune or two from another vendor to see if the truck runs better on them. Yes, I know they are not obligated to do this. No, I'm not looking for free stuff. They offered this "solution" which I graciously accepted. Once you volunteer something it becomes an obligation. All they had to do was tell me that they would work with the tuner I purchased from or to just pack sand and I would have been fine with that. Instead they offer something for my troubles (1+ year's worth) and I appreciated their generosity. So I send them this e-mail and get a response the next day. They have a vendor that is willing to work with me if I buy a set of tunes with them for $250. Really? Not what we discussed and I have more tunes than I can juggle anyway. No thanks. I sent them a "thanks but no thanks" e-mail and, since my injector warranty expired, I would not be pursuing any more services or products with them. It's been radio silence from them since. Good riddance.

At some point I'd like to get this "legendarily" reliable 7.3L working so I can finish these write-ups!

 

Brian, pretty sure you need AE or IDS to read codes from the IDM, but normally people can root their way around Forscan to find the trouble with the IDM. I only learned this recently.

The temperatures you stated made me remember times in the desert working out in the heat supporting the forward missions.

You made my wife and I laugh when you said your truck was as smooth as a garbage truck, that was a good one.

Great idea to mark the bolts at the 12 position, I will try to remember this if/when I replace my injectors.

I too have the "weapage" that I discovered when I was looking for the hydro-boost problem I recently had. There isn't even fluid below the shaft of the pedal or on the firewall, so I said it is what it is and moved on.

I too would try a new MotorCraft cap for the degas bottle and remedy the leaks if they continue.

It seems you are well on your way to earning your ribbon/medal for attaining a legendary 7.3.

 

Brian, I had the exact same thing on an OBS I bought last year. Guy said it misses and he was sick of dealing with it. Got it home, took off passenger valve cover and bam, saw the disconnection. I plugged it up and it idled perfect. That plug gets knocked off many times when putting the passenger cover back on due to the tight fit. I am glad you are getting it figured out and at least the misfire was an easy fix! How does it run now?

 

 

Interested to see what you find out on the injector bolts backing out or stretching if you are ever back under the valve covers again

 

I've been under the VCs at least a half dozen times in the last few years. I know they are new bolts but I went 6K between hot torques to start with. I'm just hoping to go a few MONTHS before having to go back in there. When (I wish it were "if") I do, I'll definitely post any observations on movement.

This is the first time I've had that issue. I was only cursory before but I will definitely be inspecting all my connections for a good fit before putting the covers back on from here on out. Up until now I was "gentle" when moving valve covers but now I'm going to be cautious.