Talked to a salesman today about installing a pyrometer, volt gauge, pillar mount on my 05 truck..He asked me what kind of mods i had..I replied and said 4"cat back exhaust and a predator programmer....He said take the predator out and throw it out..Quote: It will cause major damage to your vehicle...Head Bolt stretching...because it raises compression...

I am running the 65 hp mode, great gas mileage and some extra power ..has anyone ever heard of this..he also said after 5 colds starts the preditor will leave a code in the system that an after market device was attached to my truck that ford can see.....

According to diablo..no trace

Please help...don't know what to do.....Should i remove the program and return to stock

 

Please read? You must be a. salesman b. marketer or c. spammer. First thing I'd do is put the appropriate title in your thread. "Please read" is kind of irratating and alot of people more than likely won't because of that.

 

Guess it was edited...don't know why a "Please read" would be irritating though.

Head bolt stretching has been seen on programmed and non-programmed 6.0's. Seems to be more prevalent on super programmed engines.

My Predator never gave me a bit of trouble but, it never left the 65 H.P. setting...ever. I have blown coolant...with and w/o the programmer installed.
Just puked a little the other day towing a whopping 2,300 #'s...Programmer removed for the last 3,000+ miles.

It is my understanding that yes...a well trained eye, (technician), can tell that a programmer has been installed. Not due to any codes however, if you have been diligent with your deprogramming. Ford_Doctor & Matt would be able to provide more detailed info.

The salesman? that you mentioned may have been just trying to be helpful but, probably is just relaying something he heard from someone that heard it from someone else....or his brother-in-law works for Ford.

An engine doesn't have to be programmed to be abused BTW.

Adding or removing any mod is a personal choice...no one will be able to guide you on that decision.

A little more test driving on the recall work I had done and I will be re-programming mine.

Haven't seen or heard of anyone killing a 6.0 on the 65 H.P. setting.

Hope this helps a little and safe trucking.

 

Edited yes..Couldn't think of the proper subject heading.
Thanks for the information....I love that 65hp setting..never tried the 100 hp...maybe i'll de-program it for awhile...i'll miss that extra power though..The sales person at the website sold the predators also....He said not good for the 2005 6.0l's..something about ford changing the bolts on the heads..2004's were ok with the predator..he also said that the EDGE was far more superior but not as aggressive as the predator

 

I run the same tuner and no problems with my 04 F-250 got 27,000 on her now.

 

Apparently this guy said 04's were ok with the predator..something to do with the head bolts changing

 

I haven't heard anything about a head bolt change for 05. The 6.0 Bible 05 update section doesn't have anything about a bolt change. Has anyone else heard of this?

 

The predator generally makes about 390hp to the rear wheels on most trucks in the 100hp setting, any programmer thats making those same numbers is going to have the same effects, good or bad, everyone has the idea that the predator causes puking anymore than any other programmer or box that makes the same power. It's just not so.
I ran the 100hp setting on the predator for a year without any problems, blew a little coolant thru the cap but no head lifting or compromised gaskets, I also know guys that ran the edge predator stack for 2 years with no problems.
05 bolts are the same as 03's, not sure about 06's yet but I'd bet there the same as well.

 

Intersting info....All i did was call this guy about some gauges and then he tells me this bad story about the predator and higher compression causing head bolts to stretch.and inturn causing head gaskets to blow....My truck has 325 hp stock..with the 65 hp setting thats makes 390...i don't know at the wheels or not....I can't see 65 hp more over stock can cause these type of head problems....
I did notice with the predator sometimes it didn't want to shift into the next gear during full throttle from a 10 mph roll....if i punched it ..it would rev to 3600 rpm's and i would have to let up a bit so it would shift...this happened a few times....

 

so, what year trucks do those numbers corrospond to? 390 at the wheels on an 05??? an 04 ?? an 03???

and what of the scmt ?

I just have not seen many dyno numbers on tuned 6.0's, and the ones i have, they are all over the place.

 

Frankly, I don't think the "guy" you have been talking to knows his head from his ***.

Compression is the ratio of cylinder volume at bottom dead center stroke vs cylinder volume at top dead center stroke. If someone has a programmer that will change it, I will most certainly pay top dollar for it I think what was meant to be said was an increase in cylinder pressure. Yes, the Predator will increase the cylinder pressure in various ways, but if the truck is mechanically sound before you flash the truck, it will be fine afterwards. If the Predator itself is causing coolant puke, ect. something wasn't right to begin with- it may simply have not been evident with the stock tuning.

The "5 cold starts" thing is just the learning cycle recommended by Diablo, that it absolutely irrelevant to reminent evidence of flashing. The whole "leaving a code" subject has been beat to death here, by myself and several others, and I don't honestly feel like posting any more details about it. TAKE IT OUT DAYS BEFORE THE TRUCK GOES IN FOR SERVICE- COMPLETE A NEW DRIVE CYCLE AND THERE WILL BE NO ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE OF A FLASH. If an engineer shows up on a claim, there are 1001 ways for them to tell...there are also 1001 ways to cover it up. I'm not going to get into the ethics of screwing Ford out of a warranty claim (I honestly don't care- it isn't my business, it is the business of FMC and the claimee) but if anyone is that concerned about getting caught using one, they should either a.) not use the programmer, b.) pay for possible damage themselves, or c.) find the correct pin on the PCM and hook 120 volt to it if need be---trust me, there won't be any "evidence" after that.

As for the Edge....that's almost funny.

The Edge is about the only product on the market that runs HIGHER injection timing than a Predator, not to mention a very touchy pedal map. As far as I'm concerned its far more aggressive than a Predator, and addresses the transmission issues with the most absurd of all solutions- none at all- welcome to the world of fuel modules.

Just out of curiosity, what company does this salesman work for?

 

I'll be glad to give you the link...this guy really got me thinking....and i de-programmed my truck.....after reading your post..i'll re-program it..it works fine and i never had any issues except for the shifting issues...here's the link http://www.pmtchips.com/_e/gdept/06/Gauges_Pillars.htm

 

What was the salesman's name? I have nothing better to do tomorrow than call to **** him off

There are several FTE sponsors that carry what you are looking for as far as gauges go...I'd give either Mark at DPP or Ken at Motorhaven a call; I'm sure they'll price match (if they aren't cheaper to begin with) and at least they know what they are talking about.

 

Either he didn't mention his name or i forgot....Just call up and say you would like to talk to someone about some gauges and pods....I don't know how many sales people there are...just mention you called yesterday and spoke to someone about the predator causing problems....I think they will find that person....

Please let me know how you make out

 

find the correct pin on the PCM and hook 120 volt to it if need be---trust me, there won't be any "evidence" after that.
Its funny..i did this years ago on a video product that was causing problems....they took it back..lol