Last Friday I was turning onto Boylston (Boston, MA) and my F350 died, just quit. I coasted to the side and expired gracefully by the Exxon. Spun it over on the starter, nothing - everything works, it would not even hint at firing. On the phone to AAA, get a tow truck.

I note as I idly waste the intervening minutes that the tach doesn't even wiggle when spinning the motor over. Hmm, didn't I read that in an FTE thread - no tach, dead motor ? Tow truck reposits the two of us in my driveway, I reach inside, turn the key and it starts in 2 seconds. And the tach moved. 5 minutes later it quits and the tach doesn't move.

I'd bought a spare International cam sensor a while back from Garrett after reading about the MTBF of the Ford one, so let's find out...It took a crow bar to get the old one out, but other than that it was easy (if you don't count the rain running down the back of my neck...). Fired right up - runs smoother, quieter and definitely happier. Whether this is International vs Ford or simply the slow decay of the insulation, I don't know.

Thank you FTE, that thread saved me considerable time, money and a weekend race. Much appreciated.

Charles

 

Awesome. That is great to hear. This place really helped me out considerably too.

 

Glad to hear the CPS got you back up and running!

 

Yep...that's why we bother.

 

Great story.

 

I love it! I've gotten great ideas from this forum, and wonderful how-to information.

So far, I haven't had a forum thread 'cure' a problem, but I've seen it happen a few times. Just those few times make it all worthwhile.

 

Great, couldn't agree more.

 

I HAVE personally gotten a "cure" from here...its awesome.

 

sweet only if you had it in the glovebox
coulda saved the tow bill

 

Good story! Aside from sharing ideas and tips for mods to make our beasts more fun and powerful, huge part of the forums is these little tips for common problems that occur. Without that knowledge you'd be on your way to a dealer on a tow truck, probably. I'm still surprised at how many weekly posts there are from new folks who don't know about the CPS yet... but that's that many more who will now be informed and prepared for when theirs goes out, if it does.

It's too bad you weren't all set and able to replace it on the road, but at least you only had to get towed to your driveway and didn't have to struggle with a dealership.

 

It must be nice to be able to reach the CPS....tonight while I was climbing around under the truck, I tried to reach up there just to see if I could get a socket on the thing, and my arms are just about 3 inches short..........Must be nice to be tall!! I have the blue one as a spare in the glove box but lord help me if I ever have to change it.....Keep up the great work and filling my tiny little mind full of great mods.....Dave

 

The tow was free - after poncing around for years in a '69 914-6, AAA became a way of life :-)

To replace it at the roadside I would have needed either a life raft or snorkel - the roads were flooded from the recent rain. I did have all the requisite tools though, courtesy of the race car, but I'm not sure I would laid down in a foot of water to change it...

Now I need to re-read the "Blue vs Black CPS Challenge" threada to see which CPS I should throw in the fuse box !

Thanks all,
Charles

 

This Forum Has Helped Me On More Than One Occasion.

This Is The Number One Source Of Info As Far As I'm Concerned.

 

Where did you order the international cps from ??
I've been reading about them and everyone says they helped their trucks run better.

 

Garrett @ whatever his new name is now :-)

From a few replies back :
Garrett Shields
Pure Diesel Power
FTE Sponsor
715-498-0707 Call anytime!
www.puredieselpower.com


Mine is definitely happier on the International CPS, but that could be simply because the Ford part was failing. There is a thread here somewhere with an objective, scientific comparison that suggests that the Ford part is better when used in the Ford implementation - not unreasonable...

Regardless, carrying a spare seems a prudent decision as it's very easy to change - unless you get stranded in a small lake like I did !

Charles