Hello All,

Does anyone have any experience with or know directly the quality of short blocks put out by The Engine Forge in LA California? Looks like I am in need of a short block. Still waiting on final facts and figures from the Ford dealer who is working diagnostics on my truck right now. Should have the final verdict early this week. Thanks, B.

 

No clue. I am in the process of getting ready to build an engine myself.
I picked Kill Devil Diesel as my supplier.

https://killdevildiesel.com/collections/6-0-powerstroke

 

KDD seems to have nice stuff. The pic of their short block shows it has an O-Ringed deck. Not sure if that's a good thing. I would think the heads would be better to O-Ring. B.

 

My order will be for O-ring heads and not the block.
However they will be aluminum and have stainless steel valves
The cam will be a stage 2 and coated pistons.

Give them a call and tell them what your looking for.

 

I sent them an email asking some of those and more questions about two hours ago. The nerve of those East Coaster's to be asleep at this time of day (LOL). As such I won't hear back until tomorrow. B.

 

What happened down below?

 

Not sure yet Jack. It's at a Ford dealer having some testing done. Hopefully will have a solid answer this week. I have not updated my HG thread as yet as this old girl is still fight me. I think we're at round 10 now (LOL)? B.

 

Well, heard from the 6.0 Tech at the dealership today. A contribution test showed #6 and #8 weak. BUT, a manual leak down/compression test discovered air blowing into the intake from one of the intake valves on the number 6 cylinder. Number 8 was solid and within allowable limits. So, they want to pull the head and see what's going on. I wonder if it sucked one of those new valve seats or a valve slapped a piston top and got bent. Wait and see I guess. I guess that's some good news that my bottom end is still good. B.

 

Your back to 6 and 8.

When they did the heads, was there any indication they dressed the valve stem tips to compensate for the amount of material taken off the heads? It should be more than just what was taken off the decks; it has to also compensate for the drop of the rockers.

 

Yes, the machine shop told me they do compensate for that geometry change when the heads got decked and the new seats installed. I guess we will find out for sure next week won't we. B.

 

I've had all 32 valves hit the pistons and never had a bent valve. Not to say it can't or won't happen. Also, 40K miles later when I pulled that motor all the valve imprints were gone from the pistons. I wish I had pictures of all that, but it was a long time ago. I got a set of heads from Jared before he started KDD and they are still running 8 years later, but it's a different block too.

 

Speaking of KDD I placed my order today. The engine build in a box.
Aluminum O-ring heads and a KDD stage 2 cam and upgraded lifters.
Also going to go with coated pistons and a few other goodies.

 

If my problem is the head and not a valve, I will be shoving those up the machine shops rear that rebuilt them. Then buying a set of KDD's iron o-ringed heads to install. I will be relieved if the problem is in the head actually. What "other" goodies Sean? You can't leave us hanging like this dude (LOL). B.

 

Other goodies.
Going to replace the A/C compressor, receiver drier and orifice tube.
Then also going to ut the EGR back in with a BPD cooler do to the
stupid things this state is now doing. Not much else I can think of right
now. You know how builds go. I likely will find more down the line to add.

 

Sean, My experience with KDD is poor - dumped them as a supplier some time back for their failure to answer phones/emails - basically they were non-responsive.

Four Seasons/Murray is one of the OEM suppliers to Ford for FS10 (and other) A/C Compressors. Did compressors in two F-350s (leaf spring front ends) the past two weeks with the Four Seasons compressors, also a F-250 (front coils) last year -- all running fine. Installation tip: pull the cooling fan stator, pull passenger side front tire, and "preheat" (with a blow dryer) the lower fender splash shield, then pull its retainers/fasteners, bend upward slightly out of the way -- this provides better access to the compressors bolts:

(2) M8 x 107mm
(1) M8 x 96.5mm

Don't forget to pull the dowels from the old compressor for reuse -- many of the new/remanufactured don't come with the dowels. I also (typically) replace condensers as they're all but impossible to flush (I've tried and got marginal results)......you might also consider replacing the 4-cavity binary switch (located near the compressor) -- my data shows (mean time between) failure rates around 50K-65K and its cheap insurance to protect the system from high pressures (before they destroy the new compressor, pop the safety valve).

Not sure if you're EPA 609 certified, but please protect the environment using refrigerants.................