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7.3 Ford School Me Up


rockmeupto125

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Update on the 6.4.  Finally got the EGT sensors I ordered and found a day that wasn't snowing, raining, or 20 degrees out AND I didn't feel like I recently lost a UFC fight.   Changed out both proximal and distal cat EGT sensors.   Truck has about 12 starts and 50 miles on it in short jaunts without a hitch.  It feels a little brighter as well.  So we'll see. 

 

The 6.0 turned out to have a lot more cab rust than the guy realized or related.  Oh well. Stay the course.

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Something Another thing to keep an eye on with the 6.4.  Front center of the engine right behind the fan is a metal coolant pipe that connects to the EGR cooler, right below that is a plastic pipe that connects to the heater core.  That plastic pipe will start leaking at some point.  It could just rupture, but mild leaking seems to the common warning.  Replacing it is a pretty big job, but there's a 'repair kit' from one of the aftermarket diesel parts places that makes it less sucky.  The kit isn't perfect, if you ever have to do it reach out.  I had to re-do it a few times modding shit along the way, the learning is done now.

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1 hour ago, tomek said:

BTW, it is enough to plug it in for 1-1.5 hrs before cranking.

Yup.  Before I shimmed my injectors it was a bitch to start even at 60 degrees.  An hour of heater time and I could feel that the heads were warming, mostly the left which is closest to the heater on a 7.3.  If I was going out early in cold weather I'd set an outlet timer to turn it on about 2 hours before take off and it would fire like brand new, 3 hours to have some cab heat right away.

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1 hour ago, rockmeupto125 said:

Break?

 

Bill, some people at work wear attends because there's no opportunity to go to the bathroom. Not to derail my own thread.............

.....squirrel!

 

You just shown a light on how nice my basement dungeon office is. It's ten steps to the bathroom and the kitchen is at the top of the stairs. I have been unappreciative. Shame on me.

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10 hours ago, XXitanium said:

1kWH @ 12 hrs is just over a dollar. I plugged it in and let it simmer all night.

I never thought to do the math, just saw it as wasteful.  I sit under 9w lights inside while a 1000w heater is burning away outside, couldn't get over it.  Mine's rated 1k, when I checked it it was actually drawing low to mid 900s.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/11/2020 at 7:28 AM, rockmeupto125 said:

I hate throwing parts at something, but a new #2 EGT sensor for the cat is cheaper than taking it to the dealer for a scan. But that doesn't explain the no start.  Supposedly it resets after an hour and will restart once it has shut down.  That actually only happened once.

 

 

 

Update, ordered 2 used sensors off a wrecked truck from a junkyard in Louisianna or some godawful place for $30 off ebay.  They had multiple pictures of the truck they were parting out and it was well wrecked and lower mileage, so I took a light risk they were good.  It took a month or so to get them.  Heated up the bungs and got the old ones out without grief, no-seized up the "new" ones and popped them in, took about an hour laying on the frozen driveway.  Truck has been error free since.  Bought a new OEM one off ebay for $30 to put in the glovebox, I don't want to be in mid-bumfuck and have one let go again without a spare.

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The only spare part I carry in the Ex is a cam position sensor, it's one of the very few things on a 7.3 that'll suddenly fail leaving it dead.  Also about a $30 part.

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I always carried a spare filter in my diesel.  Needed it once after some muddy fuel in East Texas.  Middle of nowhere, truck can't go over 45.  The spare bag should be a big zip loc with the filter, gloves, and paper towels.  This worked great to minimize mess and provide a place to put the bad filter without making a mess.

 

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Many on the 7.3 forum recommend carrying a filter.  I fuel at fairly high volume stations so it's less likely to be a problem, but can happen.

 

I don't look on the 6.4 side, they probably do too.  Replacing the primary filter is a bit of a bitch, especially on a 4X4.  It will dump fuel, not being bathed is a little tricky.  The secondary filter isn't bad.  Both take a big ass socket, 32 or 36MM I think.  You might be able to pull it off with other tools.  I generally start a 6.4 service by opening the drain on the primary and doing everything else before taking the cap off, then it's not too bad.  Assuming the last guy used the right filter as some of the aftermarkets don't fit right, I've had to tear a few apart to get them pried out.  I try to only use Motorcraft on all the Ford diesels; oil, fuel, and air filters.  Plan ahead and get them on Amazon, maybe ebay, way cheaper than the dealer or parts stores.  Many sellers offer a filter kit with both fuels and the oil filter, some with oil also.

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  • 1 month later...
3 hours ago, XXitanium said:

I heard it's cold in PA.

 

https://www.thedieselstop.com/threads/grill-cover-for-cold-weather.395890/

 

Look for the cardboard post. Junior ran 50 minutes home last night and the 7.3L didn't make it up to operating temp?

 

-20 last night.  ...only -10 today.

 

I never understood this.  Shouldn't a properly operating engine thermostat allow the engine to come to temp?  Or is there enough constant bypass to keep it cold in those temps?

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Yeah, it's a thing.

 

We had two weeks once a few years back that the high temperature for two weeks was -10.

 

If you read through the thread, those other guys will attest to it. I don't know how cold it gets by Jo

 

Kind of hard to describe this kind of cold. I was outside today trying to start my sleds. I was out for an hour and a half I got the white one going. The red one wouldn't go. My toes got cold in my hunting boots with 800 grams of thinsulate. 

 

I drove that truck for 10 years. Putting cardboard in front of the radiator was a normal thing. Nothing ever broke, the engine always ran right. Coldest days I'd have to turn down the heat after abou 30 minutes.

 

I might have tried a different thermostat if I cared, but it always ran great in the summer so I left it.

Edited by XXitanium
Clarity dammit.
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