So, I decided to shim my injectors not too long ago as my truck has about 355k miles on it and was trying to last through winter with what I've got. Since doing the shim, there's a serious lack of power. I was getting a mix of white and black smoke depending on how hard I was hitting the skinny pedal (white as it idled, some black when in gear under load).

The fuel pump sounded like it was going out, it was very noisy, so I threw a new Bosch in there. No change. Rebuilt the fuel bowl while it was out, no change.

Did a boost test, found some small leaks around the plenums so i pulled those off and resealed, no change.

Turbo was out for the plenums so I installed new Riff Raff up-pipes and collector in there. I can hear the turbo spool better, but again no change.

I will be checking fuel pressure from the relief valve on the bowl tonight, will report back with that number.

Maybe MAP/EBP/Baro? I swapped the EBP sensor (was showing 47 psi at idle, tubing is cleared of soot), MAP shows what it should (14.XX +/-), but my BARO was showing 8.XX if I recall. I currently use an SCT-X4 to monitor while driving and have read the SCT may throw off the BARO reading. I have not checked it on FORscan, tbh. EBP still shows crazy high, SCT issue there as well? Will double check with FORscan as well. Will also run another boost check later tonight.

Hoping this isnt a turbo or injector issue, both are a bit out of my price range at the moment... Do you guys have any ideas?

 

Really need to get FORScan plugged up and see what is going on with the HPO system, ICP and FIPW. I would suggest logging the PID's pertinent to your ZF6 in the thread below by BWST.

Related link: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...d-q-and-a.html

Your observed EBP and BARO are not right, but as you indicated may be due to the SCT as I am not familiar with the tricks it may be teaching your PCM. Baro, EBP and MAP should be within .5 of each other on a cold engine with the ignition on and the engine off.

Unplug the MAP and see what happens.

Check the EOT reading to make sure it is where it should be.

You replaced/serviced some of the major fuel system parts, do you know what the fuel pressure is at idle and/or under load?
Related link: Fuel Pressure The Easy Method

Any other abnormal running or starting conditions you have noticed?

 

I believe i have unplugged the MAP chasing this problem prior to the plenum/up pipe job, i will do it again tonight just to double check. There was no change last time.

I will get into FORscan tonight and log this stuff so we can take a better peak at it, figured I would at least get this started while I am slower at work and in case there was something obvious i may be missing. I will report back with the BARO/MAP/EBP numbers as read by FORscan and post them with the log.

Rented a fuel pressure tester from the zone, will report back with that later as well.

Nothing abnormal that I can tell. My EOT really never gets about 170*, highest I have seen it is about 190* during the summer. IIRC, the EOT has always shown that, even when I had power and boost.

I do not have the EBPV hooked up, so i have a soft code being thrown for that. I deleted the valve itself and broke the sensor where the pig tail connects, would not having that plugged in have anything to do with it? Again, was broken when i had the power, wouldn't think that would be an issue now.

 

The EBPV soft code is not a concern a the root cause of your low power/no boost condition. I ran with my sensor unplugged for years before purchasing the code delete pigtail from Riffraff with some other parts one day.

 

Ran into some issues, have not been able to do what I would have liked to do over the past two days. The fuel pressure tester i rented did not fit the back of the fuel bowl, because of course, so i do not have those numbers yet. I also tried run some PIDs on FORscan but cannot for the life of me figure out how to save/email as a CSV from the iPhone. I read through the instructions @BWST posted, and saw that it was an issue, but have not found a fix.

Anybody who has an iPhone have any success with this? Am i missing something easy here?

 

I don't use iPhone products, so I will stand by as someone more knowledgeable with the process of saving a data log file on that device comes along.

On the loss of power issue... I was watching a video on Stihl outdoor power equipment yesterday familiarizing myself with service, maintenance, etc. The video creator mentioned the spark arrestor can sometimes get clogged up if the tool is not run at 100% throttle enough.

This "sparked" my memory that some 7.3L owners have reported clogged up catalytic converters in the past. I know that the catalytic converter was not a common part on these trucks, but I believe some of them rolled off the floor with them. Perhaps that was. a CA thing, I don't know.

Worth a thought at the very least as the financial cost is zero and the time involved is a few seconds to check if there is one under the truck.

 

Have you thought about unshimming the injectors? Just seems like a logical step since that’s when this issue began.
What was going on to make you shim them in the first place?

I have read that running 5w-40 synthetic oil will help extend the life of aging injectors. Dad’s 325k truck responded well to T6 oil.

I am an iPhone user but haven’t used FORScan yet. I assume the files will be saved in the “files” app and could be emailed from there. Waiting on BWST to come along and share his wisdom.

My local Stihl dealer said the equipment is made to either idle or be wide open. Extended partial throttle can cause then to carbon up. I have also dealt with mud dobbers building nests inside the exhaust.

My original experience with the 7.3 in an OBS had a CAT. It was a DOG (pun intended). The CAT was found to be plugged and caused major performance issues.

 

Unshimming is my next step if the log does not show anything out of whack, trying to avoid going back under there if I can. I shimmed them when i had the covers off doing the .50 mod. Took the solenoids off a few and the clearance felt a bit tight with my feelers so I figured while i was there i would do it and try to get through the winter before i upgrade.

No cat on the truck. 5" from downpipe back

 

Shimming tired injectors seldom fixes their problems. Armature plate gap is just one of many wear issues that causes poor performance and often people shim without understanding what it does. What clearances did you start and end with? Did you measure all the way around or just one spot?

At 355k miles, the injectors are suspect. If original, they have exceeded their average lifespan by 100k miles. If rebuilt or replaced, chances are high it was not a quality rebuild or it’s possible they are some cheap, chinesey knock-off injectors that are notorious for not working well for long if they ever work right.

The best remans you can buy right now are only $1350 for stock injectors or add $50 to put a 30% over nozzle on them for a little more power without needing a chip/gauges. Going to bigger injectors requires a chip and gauges and adds a fair bit of expense.

https://bitterrootdiesel.com/collect...ured-injectors


By all means, rule out all other options before spending $$$ on injectors - but don’t be surprised if this is where you end up.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I can't remember what i started at tbh, but after the shim they were .004" at all 4 corners of the armature. I was looking at Bitterroot when I do end up getting the injectors, like I said earlier I was simply trying to make it through winter with the ones I had. I also do not want to throw new injectors at it if there is an underlying issue and be right back at the same spot. Once I figure out how to get this file from FORscan to excel and get it posted and can see whats happening, I will feel better if the injectors are actually the ONLY issue.

 

Sir, have you had a chance to review the iOS devices directions from FORScan in the 7.3L PSD Tech Folder? I have linked them below for easier viewing. I scanned through them and there is some information on how to save the .csv file, but I am not sure if the instructions will answer your questions.

• FORScan Lite Instructions - iOS

 

I have reviewed it many times trying to figure out. I am having the same issues @Dmco was having in the Forscan class / Q&A thread where you go to save it or email it as a .csv, you see the spinning wheel for a split second and its gone and nothing happens. I was able to save it as a .txt file, so maybe i can pull it off the phone that way and figure out how to convert it to a .csv for uploading.

 

I'm sorry for the delay - busy work week for me.

I'm just getting into the iPhone world, and got it to work with my iPhone SE and a BAFX Wifi OBDII dongle tonight. Try this, once you have your data and have hit stop:

1. click the Save icon, then click Send CSV by email.
2. Enter your email address where you want the file to go.
3. Keeping FORScan open, go to the iPhone Settings app, and change your Wifi connection from the OBDII adapter to your normal Wifi network.
4. Go back to FORScan Lite and hit the "up arrow" send button. It will complain that it can't connect to the dongle, but the email with the CSV file should send, and show up in your email a few seconds later.

 

My issue is I cannot get to step 2. I hit save icon, click Send CSV by email, and get a spinning wheel for a fraction of a second and nothing happens. The only option under save that works is "Save". Cannot save as CSV, cannot send as CSV, cannot email, can only save it as the txt file. I have not had an abundance of time to try and figure it out, but should come Saturday. Appreciate everybody's responses and patience, life's needs is battling life's wants at the moment!!

 

@acdiez , any updates on this issue of saving/sending the .csv file?

On an Android device, when I select save, the process of actually saving the file can take several seconds based on the overall file size. The file size is directly related to the length of the log file.

Once the save is complete, the log file is located in the "download" folder.

I have never tried to email or send the file as BWST does.

If you have the text file, perhaps upload it here and one of us can try and manipulate the data to fit into columns and rows as it would in the .csv format.