Stumped
My work schedule lately has been 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. So when it came time for some vacation I took full benefit from it. I also saved a few days for repairing the ol 7.3.
Here's the latest.
I had very little success trying to perform the Cody test. Either it passed or I didn't do it right. It would have been better to have the correct fittings and a gauge and shut off valve but I didn't so I stuck the air nozzle in the HPoil line and listened. Didn't really hear anything.
I had purchased the o rings for all of the injectors and VC gaskets and wiring harnesses for both sides. A high pressure test gauge and hose.
This is my first attempt at really 'getting into' this engine, it's just been sensors up to this point. I performed a buzz test of all of the injectors first. Actually number 8 is the only one that sounded suspicious.I pulled the driver's side cover off and replaced all of the o rings because it is the easiest to get to. No obvious signs of leakers but I'm an amateur at best. The truck wouldn't start so I couldn't run it with the VC off before hand. After I replaced the injector o rings I hooked everything up and the engine started! - all of the injectors were spitting oil like they should. I quickly turned it off and reinstalled the VC and tried it again - it wouldn't start to save my life. I was fit to be tied. It was doing a long crank time before the oil pressure gauge would show anything so I thought I'd take the ball valve under the HPOP out and clean it. It didn't look bad but at least this could be written off the list.
It's at this point that I went to NAPA and bought some fittings to dead head the HPOP. It hit approx 4000 in just a few seconds.
I put everything back together and tried it just because I was getting sick of this thing beating my hands to death. My steel lines are a bit frayed and poked holes in my fingers. I taped them up while I had them off - time for some new ones.
Anyway I hooked the computer up to the truck and it cranked for quite a while then it the injectors started to fire... could this be... yes!..... It started ! Now I'm as happy as a cat at a dairy but deep inside of me I am wondering what really happened. Did I actually fix it? or did I? It's running, hard to argue with that. I found no smoking gun. The wires under the VC were in pretty good shape. It appears one of the glow plugs wasn't working but I can't testify to that in a court of law, it just looked different than the others. Profiling as one would say.
I still need to do the other side since I have the parts. Here is the question....Since the #8 injector sounded a bit muffled compared to the others I suppose it should be replaced? Is there a different way to check proper operation? I've read here somewhere that the buzz test only really tells you if the circuits are good to the injectors, not the proper operation. Could someone please elaborate ? thanks
Here's a screenshot of the truck idling after it had been running for about 20 minutes. Does this look normal? Running stock injectors and the tuner was removed.
Last edited by axmrdr; May 12, 2018 at 06:55 AM. Reason: clarification
Is there a test in the AE that will tell me if it isn't working perfectly?
I'm changing all of the glow plugs so I don't care to test the old ones. I'm trying to get this truck as reliable as possible. Replacing possible worn parts with new Ford parts.
I will check the wiring that I can get access to and reperform the buzz test on my next day off. This sounds like a rookie question because I am a rookie - Are there any other tests I can do to check proper injector operation?
Due to my current work load the truck was down for about a month because I just didn't have much time to deal with it once it died. This has put ALL of my other chores behind as well. Hopefully in a week we will be back to 40 hours a week instead of 72. Life will get better after that.
The truck is running really well but I'm planning a trip in Oct and plan to have the new PS o rings in place by then and change the front DS wheel bearing out (already did the PS bearing) to hedge my odds that there won't be any trouble while out on the road.
Last year while on a bike/truck trip 1100 miles from home the truck broke down and it costs $2500 only to break down again 180 miles (and a state away) into the return trip which added 2 days of extra burnt vacation, motel room bill and another $1500 garage bill. While I did recover a good portion of the first bill the unexpected stress to put it bluntly "sucked"........ Reliability is a good thing.
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