Project: Diesel power

[white_2kgt]

Dont crank it up to much, g/fs dad works at a ford dealership and he said just about every week they get a diesel in with one of those Banks boxes and they need their head gasket replaced. Granted he said every time one comes in its turned onto 5, the highest the knob will go. Just a fair warning, don't let the happy knob get you to happy.

That's b/c banks is total shit. You can easily get 50-80hp with JUST a tune, anymore and you really should look at upgrading Exhaust/intake/injectors/etc like dave said.

...and a guage pod with trans temp, EGTs, and boost.

Ok, this is where I'm trying to help you out. If you just pony up and buy a programmer w/ the screens and all you don't need separate gauges and all that crap littering up the interior. You just mount the programmer's display on the dash and you get ALL those gauges AND MORE at the touch of a button, you can set warning limits where if you hit a certain number in EGT, water, oil, whatever it will beep and let you know, thus allowing you to keep your eyes on the road while towing 10 tons!

[Ryan T]

Dont crank it up to much, g/fs dad works at a ford dealership and he said just about every week they get a diesel in with one of those Banks boxes and they need their head gasket replaced. Granted he said every time one comes in its turned onto 5, the highest the knob will go. Just a fair warning, don't let the happy knob get you to happy.

That's b/c banks is total shit. You can easily get 50-80hp with JUST a tune, anymore and you really should look at upgrading Exhaust/intake/injectors/etc like dave said.

I know the Banks kit provides the most power, which is probably why these guys are blowing head gaskets, but the Banks kit also provides the best fuel economy from what I've seen. The guy that drove the tow truck that pulled Paul's car after the wreck drives a 04 3500 non-dually dodge cummins and has had 3 programmers. He said on the most fuel economic setting he got 15 stock, 18 on the Bulleydog programer and as much as 24mpg on the Banks kit. I've heard this from several Cummins guys and the Duramax also seems to respond well to the Banks kit. Most of the Ford guys I know run the BullyDog programmer and seem to be pretty happy with it.

[Dave]

So, I suppose it is time for an update. Over the past few weeks, I've done a bit of work to my new truck. Primarily, just maintenance, but also a few things just to make it a little better. I'll put up a series of posts to do describe each job for anybody that is interested....



On with the show!

[Dave]

Changed the fluid in the transfer case, pictured below:



This is pretty easy. Using a 10mm hex socket, remove the top plug. Then, use the same socket and remove the bottom plug. Allow to completely drain.

Once it's done, apply a thin layer of thread sealant about 3/4 of the way around 1 thread of the plug, put it into the drain plug. The sealant will spread across multiple threads and will maintain a nice tight seal with no leakage. Torque to 20 ft/lbs.

The next part is the hardest, believe it or not. Basically, you fill it until it pours out of the fill plug, just like any differential. The only problem is there just isn't much room to work. I used 2 quarts of Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF. I found the best way was to run a decent sized peice of clear plastic hose into the fill plug, and push a funnel into the tube. Fill the funnel a little and let it drain. Fill, drain, fill drain, repeat until you're done or it comes out of the hole. If you're wise, you might even park it on a slight decline to get a little extra fluid in there. I spilled a shitload while mastering my pouring technique and had to go get an extra quart (only really needed about 1/4).

Once it's full, apply thread sealant to the plug, tighten to 20 ft/lbs, and wipe of the excess that is drippling down. Done.

[Dave]

Changing the fuel filter.

This is usually a pretty easy thing on a gas engine, and something you don't have to do very often. However, it's very important on a diesel engine, and is highly recommended that you do it regularly; I'll be doing it every other oil change (approx. 10k miles).

First, climb into the engine bay. Literally.


The two nuts holding the plastic cover are 13mm. It's your choice on whether to put it back on. Once you pull it off, this is what you'll see.


The black lid at the center is the fuel filter. Ford sold these as a replacable filter element where you keep the plastic cap. Many of the aftermarket suppliers just sell the cap and filter as one unit.
There are special wrenches you can get to make this a super easy job, but there's no fun in that. The hole in the center was about 1/16" bigger than a 1/2" drive, so that ruled that out, and the asshole who put it on did it way too tight, as always. Eventually, with 2 big screwdrivers, a rubber mallet, and Lindsey's help, I finally got it off.
There is a yellow knob behind the filter that allows the bowl to drain. This is also used to drain water out of your fuel system, a common thing for diesels. If you're anal, you can find the drain pipe at the passenger side front of the engine, hook a hose up, and drain it into a bottle. I put a pan under and let 'er rip; I think I caught most of it. Before you put the new filter in, you have to drain the bowl completely, or fuel will just dump out b/c it will get displaced by the element.


Close valve, install new filter until it's a good seal, ~15 ft/lbs or so, replace cover. Start engine and watch for leaks. Done.

[Dave]

Let's take a break and do some cosmetic stuff.

Replace the peice that has fallen off of your shifter column. Wheeee



And let's get rid of the awful contraption of a cup holder, not so affectionately known as the cup-slinger.


There's a couple screws holding in the front, and when you pull out the ashtray underneath, you'll get access to the rest of the screws retaining it into the dash. Reverse for installation of new bling.


You may laugh, but this was a great thing. Before, if you turned the truck at all, your coffee mug was going bye-bye, end of story. Now, it actually stays, so I now longer have to grab my cup and hold it as I approach a turn. Fairly cheap, easy, and very functional; that's a good mod if you ask me.

[Dave]

Now, I must admit. I'm not a fan of letting other people work on my vehicles if at all possible. But, inspections are a necessary evil, so I decided I would take my new truck to the local Ford dealer, b/c if anybody could find something wrong with it, they could. I asked them to give the truck a look over and let me know of anything they see wrong.

Yes, I know this is asking for it. But it's not like I was going to pay them to do it.

Well, it failed inspection b/c it needed new ball joints. However, they also determined that I needed a new drag link, my rear diff needed servicing, my sway bar end links were shot (bushings) and my left locking hub was locking/unlocking like it was possessed. They forgot to diagnose why my window goes up and down slowly, and didn't even notice the air bag light blinking at them. This was my first sign that their heads were stuck up their asses.
So, the diagnosis for the airbag was a faulty switch and I didn't even bother with the window, I got a new motor for $25 and I'll grease the tracks when I install it.

When I went to pick it up my bill was a staggering $110 for an inspection and look-over of the truck; they didn't even do any work. Not to mention that the total quote on all the stuff it needed was nearly $1700.

David not happy.

We came to an agreement that he never mentioned these exorbitant fees (I was expecting a $50 bill or so) and I convinced him that I would give him an additional $50, making my total $160, and he would fix the airbag switch (that's just not something I want to play with). His quote said this would be $109 for parts and labor, so I thought that was pretty fair.

Payback's a bitch.
He fixed it, but apparently the part alone has a list price of $135, so I guess he had to screw the next three people who got an oil change to make up for it.

DO NOT EVER TAKE YOUR VEHICLE TO BATTLEFIELD FORD IN CHARLOTTESVILLE. You don't even get a reach-around.


Long story short, I let a local shop do the ball joints & drag link(I bought the parts, which are better than the ford ones b/c they have zerk fittings and can be lubed) and got an alignment and my total ended up being less than 1/2 of Ford's estimate.

[Dave]

Power steering flush. (Sorry guys, didn't take any pictures here)

Basically, there's a hose that runs from the power steering resevoir up to the brake master cylinder (except apparently they call it the hydrobooster). Disconnect this hose and let it drain some into a bottle, then push it to the side; it's the low pressure side, so nothing will be coming out.
Now, attach a 3/8"ID hose to the freshly uncover nipple and run that to your jug, then turn the truck on.
Do a series of brake pumps and turning of the steering wheel, all the time keeping your fluid level up using ATF, to flush out the old nastiness. It looks like rootbeer at first, but eventually become a cherry red. I bought a big jug of ATF from Advance and just used the whole thing b/c I'm a wasteful bastard, wanted to make sure the system was flushed, and I didn't want a jug of ATF floating around; in all reality it did take a large portion of it to do the job, so I didn't waste too much.

[Dave]

Changing the differential fluids.

This is a pretty important service no matter what you drive, in my opinion. I'd much rather spend $30 on a quality gear oil than have to buy a new diff, too. I used Mobil 1 75W140 for the rear and Mobil 1 75W90 for the front (those are the recommended weights).

The rear diff is held on by (12) 13mm bolts. Bust them all loose and remove all, leaving 2 at the top. Now, using a putty knife, very thin prybar, or small flathead screwdriver, we need to open the diff. Let the goop run out:


Once it is done, you can pull off the last 2 bolts and remove the cover. The gears look like this:


The ford guy was right, my rear really did need to be changed (there's lots of little flakes)


In the meantime, while the rear is drip drying, I went around to the front and cracked that one open. It is held on by (9) 14mm bolts and a 5/16" allen bolt. This fluid reminds me more of snot and is considerably thicker.


Now that you have both covers off. You might as well treat them and maintain them for longer life. First clean the inside out really good. I wiped them with a rag to get a lot of junk, then used brake clean to blast it and help it out. Also, scrape off all of the old gasket material. A little light sanding (very fine grit) is good here to make sure all the crud is off. I also used a bit of laquer thinner along the sealing surface of the pumpkin and the cover, just to give it a little extra clean. It should look something look this when you're done with them:


Unfortunately, the outside looks like hell still. I wirebrushed the shit out of them to scrape off all the crap and get to spots where rust was starting to form. The rear shell in particular was looking rough. Normally, I probably would have gone ahead and replaced it. However, since it had so many flakes in the fluid and had obviously been neglected, I decided I would be changing my rear fluid again at a shorter than recommended interval and would replace the cover then. This is what my covers looked like after cleaning them up.


Now, you can stop there and reinstall, but I'm a big fan of making it better than I started with. So I made sure they were good and clean, then sprayed both with multiple layers of rustoleum. It's preventative, and it makes it look good at the same time. Bada-bing!


Once the paint is dry, make sure your sealing surface is nice and clean on the cover and apply a bead of black RTV along the edge, as well as around the bolt holes for complete coverage. I spread it with my finger. You want to allow this to sit for 20 minutes and partially cure.

During this time, I cleaned up the surface on the differential to ensure a good seal. I should also note that earlier, I squirted some of the fresh fluid into the diffs in an attempt to drain out some old fluid that might be caught in crevices, nooks, and crannies :-). Can't hurt, right?

Your RTV should be setting up by now, so lets slap it on. Once it is in place, thread your bolts in until you can't turn by hand any more. Torque in a star pattern to ~35 ft/lbs. Allow to cure for 1 hour before you put the fluid in. Go have a beer, you're almost done.


The final step is to literally fill the pumpkin till it pours from the fill plug. Apply a 3/4 turn bead of thread sealant on the plug, thread it in and torque to 20 ft/lbs.

Keep an eye on it for a couple days to make sure it isn't leaking. Voila!

[ScottyB]

so when's the boost get turned up?

jk, nice little wrench session there. honestly i think i'd rather be under the car then working on interior bits, i always break plastic tabs and stuff. keep us updated on yer war wagon! rawr!

[Dave]

I've also flushed the brakes on this. No big deal, except nipple on the driver's rear caliper is nearly impossible to get to.

I changed the oil when I got it, I'll be doing that again soon. I'll probably also collect a sample for oil analysis while I'm at it. This is another non-issue, except you feel like you've struck an oil well when you pull the bolt out, it pours out so fast.
It is also extremely helpful to punch a hole in the filter, which holds more than a quart, I believe, and allow that to drain before removing it. Just don't punch it in the side, b/c it will squirt out about 3 feet. I think you end up using 15 quarts of oil...

[Andy]

that rear diff is ginormous. It's the size of my transmission.

[BLINGMW]

The only problem is there just isn't much room to work.

No big deal, except nipple on the driver's rear caliper is nearly impossible to get to.

These statements sadden me. I've looked underneath my share of big trucks and thought, wow, everything must be so easy to work on since there's miles between components and all kinds of extra space. How did they manage to make things hard to get to?! :lol:

[Andy]

The only problem is there just isn't much room to work.

No big deal, except nipple on the driver's rear caliper is nearly impossible to get to.

These statements sadden me. I've looked underneath my share of big trucks and thought, wow, everything must be so easy to work on since there's miles between components and all kinds of extra space. How did they manage to make things hard to get to?! :lol:

The gas trucks are pretty roomy. It's that freaky diesel/turbo madness that takes up all the room.

[Dave]

no worries Chan, that has been one of my favorite parts. I love doing all this work on the truck and never having to use a jack or anything.

It really wasn't a matter of room for the transfer case, rather my stupidity and impatience. You're holding a funnel, and a quart of oil, over the fill plug, it would be hard no matter what. I was just rushing and pouring ATF everywhere. The real way would be to use a pump.

There's a shield sitting over the caliper that makes the nipple hard to get to. If I pulled the wheel, it would probably be a lot easier. Cool design, I just wish they had put the nipple toward the rear or something so you could still get to it.

[Maengelito]

I think you end up using 15 quarts of oil...

thats gotta be fun. you know you've got a problem when you opt for the shopping cart instead of the hand basket at an auto parts store. the same goes for the liqour store.

[.RJ]

you know you've got a problem when you opt for the shopping cart instead of the hand basket at an auto parts store. the same goes for the liqour store.

:lol:

Funny because its true

[Dave]

Well, apparently my truck decided to piss me off last night and felt that I hadn't given it enough attention yet.
When I went out to go to work this morning, the engine would crank, but it wouldn't start. The "wait to start" light was not coming on, which is a sign that there is some kind of malfunction in the glow plug and heating system.
I replaced the cam position sensor (b/c I had one already and they are known as an achilles heel on these trucks, luckily it's cheap and easy), but that didn't fix anything. Then I replaced the glow plug relay, but still no change. It wasn't getting any voltage when I turned the key to 'on', so I guess there something wrong deeper into the system...
So, I had it towed to the Ford dealer in Madison. Anybody that has been to my house can imagine pulling my truck out of my parking lot...
The dealer got it around 3:30 today but they haven't found anything wrong with it yet. I was planning on driving up to Mass. on Monday, but looks like I'm not going to get to do that now...

I guess it's ok to be pissed off at a vehicle occasionally, but what shitty timing :-(.

[.RJ]

When I went to pick it up my bill was a staggering $110 for an inspection and look-over of the truck; they didn't even do any work.

A tech spent time on it, so they gotta charge that. And for them, this is the worst case scenario since they bill exactly what they worked, unlike most jobs where they bill the book rate and get the job done in 1/2 the time. I'm pretty sympathetic to dealer/shop rates since I've worked in a dealership and my dad is a tech.

I also never understood why truck diffs dont have ffing drain plugs.

[Dave]

Hah, I was waiting for that picture to pop up.

Having worked at a dealership, I totally understand how it works. I had no problem paying a charge for the labor put in, I think the part that sent me over the edge was the way they billed it out. There are three seperate tags, one for the inspection, one for a "look over", and one for a diagnosis. The diagnosis was for items that I asked him that they didn't see when they were going over it themselves. I understand if it was a worn bushing or something, but a blinking airbag light should have caught their attention in the first place, not to mention it can't be blinking for a state inspection. The half hour of shop rate is more than reasonable in my opinion, considering the tech probably spent 10 minutes on the truck.

+1 on the truck drain plugs. I would love to hear their reasoning for that. I guess it's good to pop it off and look the gears over...