Thanks for popping in Pocket. That's the best I've heard it explained yet. Should give him some real good things to think about.

 

Thank you Pocket.

I did some more investigating earlier and once I saw how the injectors are set up and function it totally makes sense. I was previously seeing 6.0 injectors disassembled and didn't realize ours are totally different.

I'm tossed on whether this will become a 'daily driver' or just a tow vehicle, that'll probably sway my decision between shimming and replacing the injectors. This poor thing needs lots of love to be 100%, but I'm whittling down the list as fast as I can.

I originally fell in love with this motor in '95 when I had one in my F-450 company truck, I finally own one and just love driving it and tinkering with it.

 

Yep, the 6.0L injectors use a spool valve. Stiction on those injectors comes from a design flaw on the coil assembly end cap. In a nutshell the end cap will stick when there's a layer of cold viscous oil. Ford re-designed the coil assembly end cap to include a notch on their reman injectors in order to evacuate that layer of oil, eliminating stiction permanently. But of course the injectors have to be replaced in order for that fix to be applied.

The injectors on the 7.3L are a different animal and don't really have mechanical design flaws like that. They are just like anything else.... age gets to them and they eventually wear out.

Shimming can work for a short time if your budget for replacement injectors isn't there. However, you should still plan to replace the injectors in the future before you put too many more miles on them.

Good luck whichever direction you go.

 

Be careful what you wish for. It doesn't take long before you graduate from tinkering to PMS (Powerstroke Mod Syndrome).

 

I know for a fact I will not go off the deep end with this thing!

Just like I knew I wouldn't wind up with 8 million things when I got into reloading, I'm only at 7,992,385 things because I have self control.

 

That's exactly what I said when I bought mine 10 years ago.

 

Yea, it's easy to get crazy, but I think I have a relatively solid plan with it. Only performance mods desired are: an exhaust system to free up the restriction & lower EGTs. A tune to get rid of the lag in pedal response and lower the cruising shift points. The lowest tunes are around 50-60 HP and that's plenty for what I need. A high idle just because. Maybe a hot-rod tune for the occasional rice burner idiot that needs spanking. I borrowed my buddy's SC 1705 and ran it on 'tow safe' and that was plenty good for me. When I do injectors they'll be whatever's best for longevity and economy. A HD hitch and probably air bags are on the list for towing comfort, and possibly an OD unit for highway cruising.

 

"Just like I knew I wouldn't wind up with 8 million things when I got into reloading, I'm only at 7,992,385 things because I have self control."

I am in the same boat, but mainly because I'm out of room for more. LOL

 

That's a good plan. I've had a race tune for years and used it once. I had the original sticks at the time and didn't feel much different plus I'm not big on exceeding the truck's limits as this is my daily driver. My "upgrades" have been calculated with that in mind but I have still encountered issues along the way (and still am).

I will tell you that it's getting pretty hard to teach a ricer a lesson anymore. Sure I can take down a Cavalier after thousands of dollars in repairs and modifications but a Fiat 500 Abarth not so much. I spent more money in the last 3 years on repairs and modifications than his car probably costs and it was no contest. Cut me off then, by a stroke of luck, caught him sleeping at the light (playing on his cell phone). Sweet, time to let him know you that he can't **** off a 4 ton highway brick! I had already switched to my performance tune after he cut me off so everything was set. The light turned green, he was still staring at his phone, and off I went. About half way up the onramp he blew by me and the proclaimed teacher became the embarrassed student.

That's when I realized that the goal for the truck was solely based on what I wanted it to do, not how it compares to everything else.

When a Camry has 301 HP and the Ford Eco-Boost 2.3L can pump out 310 HP you can't compete with that, especially at 8K lbs.

 

Turning a 4 ton diesel truck into a dragster is gonna be spendy. Doing it with a DD is gonna be ludicrous $.

I towed my boat yesterday morning and it did ok considering the load, over 13k lbs. and a bit over 13' tall. It'll be a little lighter going home tomorrow after ridding some fuel & water.