My most recent order from Clay showed up Friday: a solid HPx line and his new FRx kit. I had hoped to get them both installed yesterday, but only got the HPx done. Removing the spider was intimidating at first but actually pretty easy, and the HPx went on just fine. I had a bit of a set back with the FRx install, and ran out of time before finishing it. So that is my goal for today.

The FRx kit came without instructions. I have been following this post for guidance:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...installed.html

I have the block installed on the fuel bowl, so all I need to do is pull the plugs out of the heads, install the adapters and attach the lines.

My big question is about the plugs in the heads. I think I have found them but want to make absolutely sure. They are on the very corner / edge of each cylinder head, and they have a square top on them. Besides being a little hard to access, I can't find a perfect tool to fit that square head. An 8mm wrench is the closest I've found but I was still worried about rounding it off. I just shot them with copious amounts of PB Blaster and am waiting for it to soak in. I called Clay's cell phone yesteray and left a voicemail, no reply yet. So I figured I'd post my saga here.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! I hope I can get my truck back on the road today.

 

From ITP Regulated return instructions:

24. Locate and remove both square head fuel rail plugs. One is at the front of the passenger side
cylinder head and the other at the rear of the driver side cylinder head. These are just off the
end of the sheet metal intake plenums. Removal is easiest with a 9/32” square socket, 7mm
open end wrench or adjustable wrench (tightened completely on the plug). In any case, make
sure that the tool is all the way down on the plug to prevent rounding the head. It may be
necessary to lift the A/C compressor off the bracket and set it off to the side to access the
passenger side front port.

Just for reference:
http://www.itpdiesel.com/other/FuelS...Kit-Manual.pdf

Hope that helps. This is on my list of soon to be done upgrades!

 

I'm back in town now, left a vm for you. Give me a call and I will be happy to help. Thanks

 

An 8 mm wrench worked just fine for me but your results may vary. There was no need to move the A/C compressor.

 

Thanks guys, I've made a little progress.

I found a 7mm wrench would barely, and I mean barely, slide over. I have the driver's side / rear plug out, and the thread adapter in.

I also found removing the bolt right next to the plug gives you a lot more room to work.

Going to tackle the passenger side / front plug now. I think I will lay the A/C compressor to the side to prevent a lot more cussing.

Thanks again, hopefully I will report back with a smooth running truck this afternoon!

 

Good luck, plenty of pics, don't forget.

 

Keep in mind it will take some time to fully expel all the air from the system. I was impressed with how much quieter my truck ran after I got it all done.

 

Well I haven't had much luck at all today.

Moving the A/C compressor is definitely worth the effort to get the front fuel plug out and fitting in. Maybe my hands are bigger than duck fan's, but I don't think I could have got it done otherwise.

I got the fuel lines installed and put the spider and everything associated with it back together. Fired it up and saw oil seeping out the passenger side of the HPx. I got a wrench on it and tight enough that the visible seeping stopped.

About this time I caught a drip of fuel out of the T of the FRx. I called Clay and talked to him for a while about what to do. My guess was one of the hose clamps, but he pointed me at the barb in the T facing the fuel bowl. It threads in whereas the two barbs that go to the heads are part of the actual machined T block.

There was no way to tighten the barb in the T with it installed on the truck, it just flopped around. So I un-did the connections on the heads and then un-did the connection at the block on the fuel bowl. I put the T apparatus in a vise and was able to get another turn out of the barb in the T. I put it back on the truck and started it again.

Good news is the fuel leak seems to have stopped. So I go back and check the HPx connections a final time. After a few minutes of idling I was able to get a very slight amount of oil on a clean paper towel from both sides. In talking to Clay he said you have to go super extra tight on these fittings, so I did 3 or 4 cycles of start the truck, let it idle, check for oil with a clean towel, then tighten the fittings.

Good news is the passenger side seems to have stopped. Bad news is the driver's side seems to have gotten worse. What was a very small and thin amount of oil is now leaving a big wet spot on the towel. I'm not sure if I have screwed up the o-ring on the fitting going into the head, or the connection of the HPx to the fitting. The thread adapter bottomed out when I installed it so I wonder tightening the HPX too much turned the adapter some too and cut the o-ring.

I had to go way tighter than I felt comfortable and now I'm paying the price. I need to talk to Clay again but I'm done for the day, it's shower and dinner time. I never expected this to take a full weekend and my knees and hamstrings are killing me. Thank goodness the truck isn't the only means of transpo for me and my wife. At this point I'm not sure if I should try to make it work somehow or just give up and put the oil plugs back in. What I'm really wondering now is if I can un-do the HPx and re-install the plugs without removing the spider again. Thanks for the advice everyone and let me know your opinion on my new predicament.

 

More than likely


Yes, you can install and remove the HPX without removing the spyder. The instructions spell out how to install while removing so that it is a step-by-step process. I don't ever remove anything but the intake tract anymore.

 

Removing the spider makes the install easier only frmo the standpoint of allowing more wrneching adn hond room. However, those conveniences are at the cost of the time and trouble of removing the spider. If you can easily enough fit your hands into position and work the wrnches without removing the spider, by all means you should leave the spider in place.

 

What I would do, had to do it myself, and Gasgrunt88 Chris's truck, take it back off not removing the spider, if you can. Check the o-rings, they should be OK but when you tourqe the fittings down, go easy then make sure the HPX screw down is straight so you booger up the threads. Justin, sometimes it takes a little compromising, take your time and you should be OK. Just a bit of info, rebelchevy Mike was nice enough to hook me up with his HPX, just needed o-rings, I used the o-rings from my plugs, still in great condition, no problems yet.

 

Another tip is to start both fittings into the heads, but leave both loose until they are both started... then tighten them up only after getting teh first 2-3 threads going on BOTH sides. That will give you a little wiggle room to get everything lined up correctly before being "committed".