What code is thrown when this harness shakes itself loose? (Essentially: how do I know when this mod is something that needs to be done?)

thanks - Steve

 

P1316 is what code appeared on my truck.

 

It was asked but never answered - estimate how long does this take to perform? Thanks in advance.

 

Depends on how familiar you are poking around under the hood. 1 1/2 to 4 hours. If it's your first time with the 7.3, I'd plan on the better part of an afternoon.

 

What's involved with removing the valve covers - is there a walk-through of this anywhere? Thanks for your fast reply, Chris.

 

Depending on how tall you are, you'll probably want something to stand on, you'll need a ratchet, some extensions, a wobble (swivel or u-joint), some rags and possibly a few other basic tools.

Remove the air intake tube on the driver side, IC tubes (silver pipes on both sides), then on the drivers side unscrew the long bolt in the middle of the square electrical connector on top of the valve cover. Unplug the connector and place it out of the way. The back half of the plug can be taken off the bracket, which will get one more thing out of the way. I like to stuff a rag in the intake tube, and the places you removed the IC tubes to keep things clean. If you do this, make sure you remove ALL the rags when putting things back together. Next wipe down the area around the valve cover so you keep dirt from falling in when you pull it. At this point, just remove the bolts holding on the valve cover. The bracket that held the wiring connector has nuts that are removed to get the bracket off, then the stud is removed. The very back bolt takes a short extension and you have to do it by feel since the firewall is in the way. Save a few curse words for the engineer that designed it this way.

The passenger side is easier to me, but everyone thinks I'm crazy. The plastic tube that you pour oil into can be removed. Go ahead and unscrew it and get it out of the way. There are 2 plastic clips that hold the heater hoses in place. They just snap onto the studs holding the valve cover down. Pull straight up to remove them. If they're stubborn, use a screwdriver to pop them loose. The oil dipstick tube is mounted on one of the valve cover studs. Pay attention when removing this nut. If you start to twist the dipstick tube, stop. I use a pair of vice grips in this situation to hold the bracket going to the dipstick tube, then use the ratchet to break the nut loose. The back bolt on this side is easier to get to, but there are a couple of bolts by the AC that require the swivel to get to. The passenger VC will at first seem like it cannot be pulled out after the bolts are removed, but twisting it around a bit will let you pull it out of there.

Before you put things back together, closely inspect the wiring plugat each injector. Sometimes you can knock one of the clips loose and if you don't catch it, you'll get to pull the valve covers again to snap the clip back on the injector soleniod.

 

Wow - looks wonderful upon skimming. Heading to church but will enjoy the reading tomorrow. Thanks again!!

 

has anybody experienced a quieter engine after doing this mod and tightening down all the bolts or is it just my imagination?

 

My engine got quieter when I did it. I don't think it's your imagination.

 

ok there needs to be a section this can be stuck so it never moves. ive seen questions on this a bunch of times, and this thread is perfect to help many others

 

First I'd like to say that this is a great site with very helpful people.

I did the 50 cent mod on my 99 F-350 today. The service engine light has been coming on intermittently, so from reading the forum, I figured the wiring harness under the valve cover, but when I pulled the driver's side off I discovered that the wiring was tight but something was a little different, so I went to the Ford garage and bought the plastic clips $14.00 for securing the wiring harness. It was then I could see that the plastic clip was already installed. I then went the passenger side and found that the plug already had the plastic clip in it but was coming unplugged and even with the Ford clip in there, it still can come unplugged so I went ahead and removed the clip and installed a quarter in its place. Unfortunately I already put the drivers side back together leaving the plastic clip in there. If I have another problem I'll definately replace it with a quarter.

Thanks,

Bill

 

Glad you got it taken care of. Doing my truck this weekend.

 

Make sure you use a good torque wrench on the injector hold downs. You dont want to snap a bolt off in the head like I did.

 

Franko I will never forget that story! I had my buddy cut my quarters a while back they are just in my center console waiting for the day i venture down that far... This weekend may turn out to be good.

Great video up there^ and awesome questions and answers. Kudos to all.

 

I work on diesels all day long but since its my truck I have like 100000 questions before I do something.

Should the valve cover gaskets be replaced when doing this mod? Im going to guess no unless they pull up or rip.

-AJ