First trip of 2014

Helmsey · 04-17-2014, 11:08 AM

So we finally got a long weekend where we could take the 5er out. We decided to run over to Defeated Creek campground in Carthage, TN and we absolutely loved the park.

We got setup on site #9

Back side of our site

This was our view from the front of our site before the other sites filled up:

This place has some good size sites! I wish I had a better angle to show the size, they were LARGE in this section

Another good sized lake front site. FYI thats 3 trucks, a camper, a large enclosed tent, and a jetski on a trailer at the site. The water is about 20 yards away from their site.

The wind did pick up the first night, and not everyone was prepared

Overall we had a fantastic time. It's a 3 hour drive from us, but an easy 3 hours if that makes sense. It is one we will definitely be back to!

golfmedik · 04-17-2014, 04:09 PM

Wow! Finally! I am glad you had a good trip. How did the 450 do? As if I need to ask!

Beautiful park.

Helmsey · 04-18-2014, 10:43 AM

Well, that truck was disappointing honestly....there is something up with it I think.
We don't have the largest of hills on the route we took (I-40W from Knoxville) but I wasn't able to hold 65MPH going up many of the hills. There were times when the truck would downshift to 4th and still loose speed going up the hills...It wasn't the experience I had hoped for. When we got there I looked under the hood to see if there was anything obvious wrong or missing but nothing jumped out at me.
When we got back I ordere fuel filters just to know that I had them done and when I pulled them off, I saw this on the cup for the frame mounted filter:

I think that chip\piece missing is above the o-ring, but can't say for sure if it would be causing air to come in. So, I now have a new one to put on tonight.

While looking a little better under the hood at home, I noticed the resonator box on the air intake looked a little "off". Upon a closer look I found this:

The dadgum thing had just broken off at the connection and was letting air in on the wrong side of the MAF sensor. Note: this pic I had removed the resonator box, it was still there on the truck, just not connected.

I just picked up a new air intake from the Ford shop this morning and also will be getting it installed this evening.
I really hope between those 2 issues it runs better. If not, it will be headed back to the dealer to let them look at it. We are heading to Florida on 5/3 and don't want to worry about issues while we are traveling.

One thing that is funny is that as soon as I started having issues going up a hill I thought I needed to PM you about this. You were the first person I thought of that is pulling the same trailer with the same motor and I wanted to make sure what I was seeing wasn't "normal". Now I'm 99% sure it's not

Cajun Po-Boy · 04-18-2014, 11:29 AM

At first glance...that appears to be your culprit.

At least when you head to FL, your heading downhill the whole way! ,)

Helmsey · 04-18-2014, 01:21 PM

I cant imagine air getting in that isnt compensated for will make them run real good

golfmedik · 04-18-2014, 02:15 PM

I too believe that is the culprit. You should have no trouble at all anywhere in the SE with a 6.7, and surely not an F450 with the gearing it has. I would have it scanned to see if has any stored codes in though. May have set a soft code on this trip. Make sure you use ONLY MOTORCRAFT filters for the 6.7L. Oil, fuel and air. Well, air doesn't really matter that much, but the others do. You did change the top fuel filter too right?? If you have time, then hook up the 5er and take it for a spin. You should see a difference. Let us know what happens please. I would also suggest you look into buying a scanner of some sort that will read the 6.7. These things have a habit of shutting down due to a bad EGT sensor. The display will read "STOP SAFELY NOW!" When scanned, it will probably be an EGT sensor. I carry 3 spare EGT sensors with me as a precaution(Around $40 each). I know I don't need 3, but two other 6.7s go with us a lot. It takes a 13MM flare wrench(best) to change them. Actually, I would snip off the wire to the bad one, take it out with a ratchet/socket and install the new one with the wrench. I only have 3500 miles on mine now and I am going to take all 4 sensors out and put a good quality anti-seize on them in case I need to do this on the side of the road. Some trucks never have a failure, but some have had 2 or 3 in 50k miles.
Monty

Helmsey · 04-18-2014, 02:18 PM

While I was at the dealer today picking up my parts I asked if they could scan it for codes and they told me to make an appointment for next week. I politely declined..... I will go see another dealer and see if they can fit me in for a quick scan.
And for filters, I will only use motorcraft. I put in a new air filter about a thousand miles ago and just did both the rail and the motor mounted filters last night, and that is when I saw all that stuff I posted earlier.

My plan is to get those 2 things replaced tonight when I get home from work and tomorrow hook the 5er up and take it to the scales at the truck stop. I don't have weights for this setup yet and would like to have them. And, as an added bonus getting back on the interstate will put me on a decent, longer hill that will test the pulling power. Once I have done that I will be sure to post the results.

golfmedik · 04-18-2014, 02:24 PM

Good. I edited my last post during your last entry so re-read it please. You can go by Advanced or Auto Zone and they will scan it for free. I have an Innova scanner, plus I have an Edge Insight CTS to monitor all my engine parameters for towing. It has the capability of reading and clearing codes.

Monty

Helmsey · 04-18-2014, 02:27 PM

I have a funny feeling that an Insight CTS is in my near future, just need to convince DW that I need it

Thanks for that extra info as well.

Helmsey · 04-19-2014, 12:46 PM

Well, got the 5er hooked up today and took off to the scales, I need ed to get weights with this setup anyway. It felt somewhat better in the 5 or 6 miles that I drove to the scales but wasn't convinced so I did some extra driving. While there was some improvement, it's not like it should be.
So, I called my dealer and dropped it off with them today. Their "truck guy" doesn't work on the weekend so it will be Monday before they can look at it. Hopefully they will be able to find\fix this quick since we are leaving in less than 2 weeks for Florida.

dave961 · 04-19-2014, 02:43 PM

Dang, with a 450 beast you should be able to throw a chain around the mountain and just haul it out of the way. Something must be wrong if it's struggling. My last truck was a 250 diesel and it hardly worked at all going through the smokies.

golfmedik · 04-19-2014, 07:48 PM

That really concerns me.. makes me wonder if you have a turbo problem. If so, should be an easy fix. Good luck and let us know please.

Monty

Helmsey · 04-21-2014, 11:15 AM

I'll definitely keep everyone posted on what comes of it.
About the time I was pulling in to the dealer lot on Saturday the check engine light had come on, and shifting was getting rough. I have read some concerning things about the rough shifting on the early 2011's where a new TC and flywheel was the fix..hoping thats not the case. I went back and looked at a pic i took of the cluster and it showed the tranny temp about 217 which I think is about normal for towing so not sure if there is actually an issue there or not. I will be calling them later today to see if they have an update for me.

golfmedik · 04-21-2014, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helmsey

I'll definitely keep everyone posted on what comes of it.
About the time I was pulling in to the dealer lot on Saturday the check engine light had come on, and shifting was getting rough. I have read some concerning things about the rough shifting on the early 2011's where a new TC and flywheel was the fix..hoping thats not the case. I went back and looked at a pic i took of the cluster and it showed the tranny temp about 217 which I think is about normal for towing so not sure if there is actually an issue there or not. I will be calling them later today to see if they have an update for me.

There is a TSB for the rough shifting. Some that have not been corrected end up with a messed up shift solenoid. Not a big fix at all. Can be done in about 4 hours. These 6 speeds do run a little warmer than the 6.4s. Scared me to death watching the temps the first heavy tow too. After the solenoid has been replaced, some of them benefit from a TCM(transmission control module) reflash. With these new diesels though, the engine light can be numerous things. The great thing about setting a CEL(check engine light) is that the problem is already identified and the techs can start the repair process.
Let us know how you come out.
Monty

Helmsey · 04-22-2014, 11:01 AM

Just got off the phone with the service guy and he said the secondary cooling system was bone dry....no coolant at all in it. I asked how much coolant lives in that system and he told me 2 gallons max. I know Saturday before I hooked up I gave everything a once over and there was coolant in that resivour on top of the fan shroud. He said they left it pressurized with water last night and they came in this morning and did not find any leaks. They are going to pull the EGR pipes off and see if they can see anything that way that might be causing this issue.
The CEL was showing a code for a low pressure in the secondary coolant system, makes sense if there wasn't coolant in it, and that is why i was feeling the loss of power. When that particular code is thrown the engine will derate itself..understandable.
They are supposed to know more this afternoon and he will call me with an update.

golfmedik · 04-22-2014, 01:09 PM

Wow..ok..totally didn't see that one coming, but if that is the case, it makes sense to start with the coolers. Only heard of this one time. I spend quite a bit of time over here on the 6.7L Power Stroke Diesel - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums forums with the 6.7L. Check it out if you have time. Some of the guys/gals here are over there too.

Monty

Helmsey · 04-23-2014, 11:36 AM

I have spent some time recently browsing those forums, they can be dangerou$ for me however so I try to limit my time there

I was happy with my old Duramax until I started browsing their forums and was introduced to EFI Live tuning....it got expen$ive after that

Helmsey · 04-25-2014, 11:12 AM

Update time.
Just brought the truck home from the dealer. They were unable to tell me where the coolant went, but suggested we replace the EGR cooler and charge air cooler as they have seen those be issues in the past. By replacing those they told me with 99% certainty that it will resolve the issue of losing coolant. I did purchase an additional powertrain warranty when this truck was purchased but of course this is not considered powertrain so I had to fork out the $$ from my bank account...perfect timing as we leave for Disney next week.
But on the bright side they did detail the truck and it looks fantastic! Just hated to drive it back to the office in the rain, again perfect timing.

I am going to storage tomorrow to hook up the 5er and will take a nice little ride with it for an hour or so to see how it does. Fingers crossed all goes well.

golfmedik · 04-25-2014, 02:14 PM

Good luck. Sure it will be fine!

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Helmsey · 04-26-2014, 03:36 PM

Well, got the 5er hooked up today and pulled through 50 miles of various hills, and it went FANTASTIC. I was able to set the cruise about 65 and never had to touch the go pedal, and never dropped a gear trying to make the top of the hill. This is part of the exact route we towed on the way for our last trip and it was night and day difference.
One hill in particular on the way home I dropped about 15MPH on, this time I was able to hold cruise no issues. About half way up the hill I hit the go pedal and easily accelerated to 70MPH so no worries now if I need to pass going uphill.
This puts my mind at ease for our trip next week, no worries now.

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