I am in need of a good diesel mechanic to look at my 01' Ex in the central Ohio area, preferably around Columbus, Dayton or Cincinnati. I live within an hour of each of those areas.
I have noticed performance issues with my Ex in the last 5 - 6 k miles or so. I have had it at the local ford dealer to look at the problem other than a glow plug needing changed and reflashing the cpu, they could not find anything major. They did test the boost and said it generated about 15 lbs. I change fluids and filters on a regularly and run 100% synthetic through out. My fuel milage has dropped by 5-6 mpg and the truck just doesn't seem to have the hp and torque like to should.
I have 140k miles on the truck and have no entention of getting rid of it any time soon.
What I want is to make the engine as reliable and bulletproof as possible. The 7.3 is a great engine and I know it will give me great service, I just want to set it up for the long haul.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreated.

 

welcome to FTE...have you cleaned the EBPS (exhaust back pressure sensor) tube??? look in front of the passenger side front tire just above the frame rail..you should see a steel tube (looks like a brake line) coming out of the exhaust manifold..it goes to the bottom of the sensor that sits just down in front of the HPOP..take the tube out ..spray with bake clean and run a wire down through it..do the nipples on the sensor and the manifold as well..check tube for cracks or pin holes....

 

Thanks. I have not done that. Sounds like it would be fairly easy to do anything else that I can do at this stage of the game. There are some mods I would like to do, just can't seem to fine the time. Thanks again.

 

Get a good set of gauges. Not only do they help you prevent damage to the engine, they are invaluable in some troubleshooting situations, such as now when it would be real nice to see what kind of boost you are making and what the egts say at the same time. I would check for exhaust leaks in the up pipes and manifolds too. Good luck.

 

thanks fellas. I have a set of gauges ordered. what other engine mods would you suggest. I'm going to do the ccv mod and change my boots. anything else?

 

what is you want to do with X ??? in my sig a link for mod's and fixes..you can find a few things in there to help you out...

 

I found the mods, Now I really have a to do list. I will check the EBPS, or should I just go ahead and replace it? I already have to go with a new glow plug relay and plugs. Do you have any suggestions as to what to replace them with OEM or aftermarket? I need to fix the oil leak at my pedestal, so I will do the ccv mod too.
I don't mind working on my own stuff, when I have the time, I just don't like do it more than once. So, if you have any suggestions as to what might possibly being close to needing to be replaced I would much rather do it now.

As far as, what do I want to do with the X. Right now it's my daily driver, so it needs to be reliable. Hopefully here in the near future I can get something else as a daily drive and designate the X as the family travel vehicle. I want to be able to tow with it, being a family of six I want the room and the power the X has. At this point I have no intention of getting rid of it, not even to replace with a newer one.

After reading more on this site and others, I think I am going to be my best mechanic. Besides I have you guys to guide me, right?

thanks

 

SoilProbe,

You are now at where most of us started. With the confidence that comes along with what you'll gain here, you'll be willing (and really able) to do most anything on your EX. If you don't already have a good collection, your willingness to spend money on good tools will be your biggest limiting factor.

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that the combined knowledge found here exceeds that of "Ford Factory-trained" any day!

No matter what you come up with, it's HIGHLY unlikely that one of us hasn't seen it before, and found out what it takes to solve the problem.

We welcome you to a really great group. There's no such thing as a dumb question here, so go for it!

You have made a very wise choice for your family tow-vehicle. They aren't making any more of them, and someday you're going to be very thankful you chose what you did.

BTW, what's your "handle" mean? I own a soil probe, causing me to wonder.

Pop

 

you could check your up pipes for leaks by looking in back of the turbo and see if there is any black soot on the pipes or fire wall...check all clamps on your IC pipes and under the spider..if your doing turbo o-rings you might want to just do all 4..and check the turbo wheel for dusting or chipping..grab the wheels nut and push in and out then up, down side to side for play..the wheel should be good and tight and spin freely...

 

If your pulling the turbo to do the orings, You might wan't to install the newer style bellowed up pipes, no more leaks! If the factory pipes arn't leaking yet, they will soon. Ask anybody here, they will tell you the same thing!!

 

6637 and DP tuner, DP tuner, DPtuner!!! Maybe a 4 or 5 inch exhaust. You won't be sorry!!!


And welcome to the board. Springerpop said it all. This is a great group so stick around, you're going to have fun.

 

Thanks, for the comments, they are greatly appreicated. Having grown up on a farm, I have learned to turn a wrench or two and not a afraid to learn something new.

I'm an independent crop consultant by trade, and use a soilprobe on a regular bases. To be perfectly honest with you, I was struggling to come up with a handle.

Thanks again.

 

What is 6637? The DP Tuner is on my short list!!!

Thanks

 

Sorry for the PM. I read the whole post, never thought it would answer my ?'s. I am not an independent. I like my company buying me insurance
6637 is the NAPA part number for a CHEAP air intake kit. Do a search. You will find "certain" members trashing it for drawing warm, under hood air, but the majority will applaud it for its effectiveness and cost. It will run you from $30-$50 at NAPA and about 30 if you buy two from fleetfilter.com after shipping. Just go into NAPA and tell them you will buy it online if they dont sell you the filter for $30. They sold it to me for $35, I figured the $5 was worth it for the have it now factor. Go to 7point3.com and tear it up!!!!! You will find all sorts of info on the common mods and problems. Be sure to bookmark it.

 

sflem849,

thanks for the info on 6637's. I'm already running a AFE Stage II with a Pro Dry S filter. Was unsure about running a dry filter, but the oil type where becoming a royal pain. I use a prefilter with it, it's been working well. I had already found the link for the mods. Great site, a big kudos to the guys who take the time to put that stuff up there for everyone. My mod list has now taken on a life of its own.