A big shout out to all the 7.3L guys and the rest of the gang!

I've been away from the site for a bit and away from my Excursion. My health is recovering nicely, still a few months to go. It's only been a year and to call the improvement 'significant' would be an understatement. Working at putting the rest of our lives back together. It's been a whirlwind

Still have not resolved the rebuilt injectors problem, trying to nail down which one(s) are causing the rough idle and I have one with a very loud and noticeable tick when plugged in (I was unplugging drivers side injectors to find the rough one, no luck yet).

The front one, in the cylinder I replaced the cup, has a loud tick to it.

If I can narrow it down, the injector reman guy (Jim) said he'll gladly take care of it. I just am having trouble finding it.

I'm considering buying a 9th injector at 160/80 to start swapping injectors to find the trouble. Unfortunately, they are quite pricey because of the mod (80%).

I tried to capture the sounds on video, but my camera didn't distinguish the higher pitched ticking from the other normal noises. But it is very noticeable with the ear (even my bad ones!), lol.

So that's about it. I wanted to thank all those who called, texted, emailed, PM'd until my box filled up, etc to check on me. And a special thanks to those who were ready to help my wife sell the Excursion if things had gone differently.

Gotta run for now, but I'll get some updates on my Excursion and finding the injector troubles shortly. Until then, keep your diesel dry!

 

Glad to hear you are getting better..
When attention turns back to possessions like a truck it indicates major progress in your recovery.

 

I know we chatted a bit over email recently, but it is good to see you back!

We are here for support in whatever way it is needed.

 

 

Glad to hear an update John! I'm echoing what (Colorado) John said, was getting a little worried about ya. I'm getting ready to head into work, but I'll be mulling it over and hopefully have some guidance when I get back.

That is if Rich doesn't beat me to it

 

Thank you. Yeah, missing my Excursion is a good sign

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Thank you. I have to renew my membership for the larger inbox. I'll get on that this weekend. I won't post in the open, but you can ask one of the other guys for my email if you like. Anyone who has sent me logs for graphing has it, too

Thanks. We had reason to worry, touch and go for a while, but the outlook is good. The Good Lord saw fit to grace me with another stretch. Guess I need a lot more work! LOL.

I really appreciate it all, guys. Now I just gotta get this Excursion whipped back into shape as a second vehicle. For a while I couldn't even make it to the garage, but last night I popped that hood in the driveway and pulled the drivers side valve cover without much effort. Notice I didn't say "the crappy side"....er....passenger side, LOL.

The Excursions have that extra bump out from the firewall that makes the cover particularly finicky getting it in and out. I usually just pull the AC and scoot it out of the way a bit.

If the rain lets up, I might pull that cover tonight and see if my phone picks up the high pitch ticking.

 

Glad to hear you're feeling better!

I also have a loud tick (replaced ALL my cups and 8 injector hold-down bolts). The tick was only noticeable at idle but grew to be noticeable even at speed around town (~35 mph). Pulled the VCs (have to really work at the passenger's one since the lower alternator bracket makes moving the A/C bracket beyond a PITA). All lower injector hold-down bolts were loose (at least 1/4 turn). I'd only put about 5K miles on the truck since doing the hot torque. After that I picked up a rough idle due to a misfire which turned out to be #7 becoming unplugged. Went BACK under the VCs to fix that and check all other plugs/connections.

I don't know why they were so loose in so short a time (all new stuff in the holes? ).

Even a few miles after doing all that I have a noticeable tick at idle again. So far it doesn't sound too bad so I'm chalking it up to the engine's personality with the new injectors.

Again, glad to hear you're up and around!

 

 

Going in from the wheel well is a little easier for the lower bolts but getting the wheel liner in and out (plus the screws) isn't worth it IMO for the amount of bolts you can reach. I just use a 1/4" ratchet with a shallow 12-pt socket for those guys and can reach from the top with little issue.

My problem is always getting the VC out and back in.

 

Mark mentioned that today, too. I hadn't thought about checking the bolts on that injector. I've been away from it for a while, Thanks for the heads up

So yours is all up and doing well now? Great news!

Thanks for the kindness.

 

Yep

Removing the serpentine belt and then pulling the 4 bolts holding the AC pump in place allows it to move about 4" without removing A/C lines, which is just enough after removing the CAC tube and other stuff...

 

Up, yes. Doing well, no. The injectors are doing well (thank goodness since I had problems with P.I.S. and my warranty is up) but I'm battling an intermittent oil leak and the fact that I'm weeping coolant out of several places. It looks like a cup might not be fully seated or that the sealant failed but there is nothing but coolant in the overflow bottle. Not looking forward to the re-work if that's the case and even less looking forward to telling my wife.

You are not alone in your frustrations!

Unfornately my lower alternator bracket goes "over" (on top of) the A/C bracket making it incredibly time consuming to loosen the A/C bracket so I work with the A/C in place.

 

Man, You gotta go back to Old Skool, Get you a Long Broom Stick,Stick one end into your One good ear hole and touch it to the top of each Injector, water pump turbo, whatever....... if you can't find a Tick still....you need hearing Aids.!

Welcome Back!

 

Haha! I can hear the tick of the #2 injector. But I can't notice a difference in the stumble of the idle when unplugging an injector. Or rather, I cannot "not notice a difference" which would indicate I unplugged a not-firing injector.

Leaning over the engine on the topside creeper, there are lots of sounds. I am missing a number of top and bottom frequencies that let most people pick out sounds amidst other loud noises. Unfortunately, it may be those sounds that overwhelm what I do have and I can't pick out what I need to. Or I could just be getting OLD! LOL.

Thanks for the welcome back

BTW, rain tonight. Pittsburgh is soon going to convert the stadium into an Ark....

 

If you cant use the broomstick as a stethoscope, atleast you can use it as an oar...tough loss for the Keystone Krew