Carnage? Anyone?
 

This was a project from three weeks ago.

Driver said started noticing smoke from tailpipe; no noise or odd running. What does a guy do that doesn't own the equipment or hold any financial stake in its repair? Drive it 15 miles back to the shop, of course! He made it 10-11 miles before it started knocking and making a REAL smoke trail. He continued driving the remainder of the way, parked it right in front of the shop door, and shut it off. Restart? No way - hydrolocked.

This is an '06 with 225K miles. I've done an oil cooler, a high pressure oil pump fitting, turbo, and EGR cooler up to this point. Oh, and one injector about 105K miles ago. It's been problem-free as far as 6.0Ls go.

Before I get too far into this, I will admit that I NEVER wanted to work on 6.0L vehicles but I've been into them enough to know that I CAN fix them if I need to. I can have a 7.3L from a 99-03 on a stand in about 2 hours these days as familiarity is my friend. It took me nearly 6 hours to get this engine out and on a stand. I don't want to get used to these as there is just too much stuff that's buried or routed insanely stupid (thank you to the engineers!) or there's just too much interference to slide it right out.

It's back up and running now for two weeks.

What did you do, repair wise? Replace the one piston? It amazing how many broken injector tips happen on the 6.0’s. A lot of people just put a new injector in that hole, and maybe a turbo if the tip exited the cylinder and didn't stay in the piston top. 😳. Not a great fix though.

Was it one of the reman injectors or one of the org that broke?

Chiseled the chunks (two of them) out of the crown and slapped it back together. There wasn't any damage (not enough anyway) that would cause piston-to-wall concerns and the top ring still moved freely in the gap.

225K on a 6.0L that is in a pickup that has been driven 90% of the time on gravel roads over the last 116K miles was pretty hard to justify a $10K investment.

No, different injector than the one that was replaced. If memory serves, I put the new injector in at 148K. The amazing thing is that both injectors were purchased from Ford and the first one cost $352 and this second one was only $235. The first one in #6 was just a dead miss due to something in the oil side taking a dump.

Pretty much the only way to do an engine on these is to do a cab-off. After the first one or two, you can have the cab off in less than about an hour, have the engine torn down in-frame, and then yank the short block if necessary. Much easier than tearing apart the whole damn front end on those.

If I had a two-post hoist it would be a non-issue but everything I do at work is only as far from the floor as I can get with jackstands.

Also, I hope to never have to do another anyway so "the first one or two" shouldn't be an issue.


Still running!

Got an early 04 at the shop. 253K and needs a high pressure oil pump. Man, what I wouldn't give to use the ICP port in the RH valve cover to air check it but no dice on the early birds. I'd buy the first beer for the guy who knows the engineer who cobbled together this fecal abortion.....and kicks him sqare in the noitz.

No leaks of substance from the crankcase but I have gurgling in the oil filter housing. Died on highway - No start, builds 500-ish PSI cranking. If it were a small leak, the 30 degree morning would probably warrant a start and run until warm. Nope. DED.

Next reason the engineers should be castrated....

Later 6.0s don't have this piece. Thanks to this "crossover", the intake has to come off.....which means the oil/fuel filter assembly has to come off....which means I have to get MORE seals and drain coolant.

IDIOTS!

Wasn't there a GM car (maybe a Corvette) that you had to take the engine out to change one of the spark plugs, back in the last century?

There were equally bad engineering designs in aircraft in the 50's. Located things in cockpits that forced the pilot to do bad things during flight, such as bend over and reach down to set something up during instrument flying. Almost guaranteed to induce vertigo if done in a turn.

- Jack

I don't know but between engineers that obviously don't talk to each other about what they're doing and having never had to actually WORK ON the junk they design, well..........

I can't complain too much. I am not able to engineer anything much past fabricobbling some scrap metal into useful things.

Here's a good one...

Gen 1 Audi R8 with the V8 engine. You have to remove the engine to replace the A/C Compressor. Of course, these things failed quite regularly so there were lots of engines getting yanked on these cars.

Glad mine is a Gen 2 with the V10. So far, very reliable systems and things are easier to get at. Although, I don't work on it since it is under warranty, but I imagine the techs appreciate the improved designs.

Nice to see you back, Bill. Anything really catch your attention at SEMA?

Good to be home!

The only thing I really noticed was the significant amount of empty space in many of the halls. However, many vendors also got moved over to the new West Hall across the street, so that would have to also be accounted for. Foot traffic was pretty fair... Not as busy as 2019, but still a good turnout.

As for the sights? It was pretty much Bronco central. You know why nobody can buy a Bronco? It's because Ford seems to have given them to all the SEMA builders. :skeptic: :hmmm:

I was particularly interested in the new GM ZZ632 crate motor. At least until the $28,000 MAP/$38,000 List price reared its ugly head. Just told the guy, "Good luck with that." From his expression, he seemed to kinda feel the same way.

Other than that, all the same stuff. Just another year. :shrug: Vegas itself is always fun. Good food. Things to do. :thumbsup:

How did the event handle the "plandemic" nonsense? I know that flying was probably strict.

Our local little Ford dealer has two actual "Big Bronco"s - of course the owner drives one and the other sits in the showroom with a well-above-retail pricetag. After looking at it from all angles I don't get the appeal. Not my cup-o-tea. The first little teaser Bronco (Escape) was really a turn-off for most folks around here.
Gotta be able to absorb cost of replacement on failures with that factory GM warranty somehow!

I've been watching a few googletube videos/channels that were putting stuff together for this year's show. I can't say that any of the trends going on these days really float my boat. 44", 49", and 54" tires on 16-17" wheels are cool. 38" tires on 24" wheels are not. I guess any tire on a 24" wheel isn't cool unless it's a 24.5" with a load range G or H tire on it.
I'm really glad you're in a place where you can do that sort of thing! Hard work and dedication pays off.

Surprisingly, not horrible. Keep a little cup of trail mix in front of you along with a beverage and you will be considered "actively eating" and don't get hassled about the mask. Honestly, the only people that really seem give a crap about the masks are the Gestapo types who have control issues and love to tell people what to do. Of course, the attendants have to follow policy, but there are some willing to provide as much latitude as possible.

I really don't get it either. It has some really cool features like a pretty solid ground clearance and the ability to lock one of the rear wheels to make a dead 90º turn like a skid steer or track steer. It is also very well balanced. One of the thing exhibited on the Bronco course was they would drive up ramps so that one front wheel was on a ramp and the opposite rear wheel was on a ramp, and then the vehicle would actually sit level with two wheels off the ground. I found that to be rather impressive. Outside of that, the only bronco that really got my attention was the one with the track kit in place of the wheels. I could see some fun snow time or dune time with that sucker.

That's provided that it actually comes with a warranty. :shrug:

Big 44" mudders on 15" wheels was what I grew up with. 24"+ wheels do not impress me at all. Of course, people like what they like and it's not their job to impress me, but don't be disappointed when I show a lack of appreciation for your aesthetics.

It's been a long, difficult journey. And I would be remiss if I didn't extend credit to those who have been there for us over the years. I clearly didn't do this by myself, and we would not be where we are without all of your effort and support. I'm also especially grateful to Jay who was there for us when we lost Wil, lost our home, and I nearly lost my mind. He kept things functioning when Angela and I were just not physically or mentally capable of doing it.

SEMA has its place, and for me it's mostly just to enjoy the hard work that people put into the industry.

Anyway, thanks for the conversation. :2thumbs:

0 for 2 on 6.0L repairs at home.

Punting it to the dealership with a new pump, 7.4 hours of labor, and no invoice.

$1900 into 6.0Ls that I don't own. Sweet. Beginning to reflect on life choices. I guess I will know better next time. There's a reason certain shops specialize in these piles of garbage.

What is the latest 6.0L doing?

What are the symptoms? Is it the normal hpo problems?