Alert! Ford 7.3 & 6.9 Liter Diesel Problems
Matt
This is a repost from another thread. I am posting here because after
asking other Ford diesel owners no one seems to be aware of the problem.
After talking to some heavy duty truck mechanics I found out that the heavy
trucks have a coolant filter with the conditioner in the filter.
Alert! Ford 7.3 & 6.9 Liter Diesel Problems
Owners Have Found That Their Engines Have a History of Coolant Lose Due To
Pin Holes In The Engine Block Causing Coolant To Leak Into the Oil
Resulting in Major Engine Damage
<Picture>Has This Happened To You?
I am an owner of a 1989 Ford F350 PU that has a 7.3 Liter Diesel Engine, or
should I say had. After 108,000.00 miles my motor developed pin holes in
the block that have caused major damage. I have serviced the truck
including changing the coolant and have maintained records. However it did
not help because I never added a coolant conditioner which is very
important in diesel engines. Ford does not even mention this conditioner in
there maintenance guide. And to make matters worse, two local Ford
Dealerships that have serviced my truck in the past said they never heard
of this problem. I now have a truck that is useless. After calling Ford and
informing them of the problem I was told that the truck is out of warranty.
That doesn't help me one bit. If there are other owners out there who have
this problem please E-Mail a Message so we may futher assist Ford in
recognizing this problem.
Responses From People With the Same Problems
1.
THIS IS A SAD CASE OF BS FROM FORD. YOUR NOT A LONE IN THE PROBLEM IM A
MECHANIC IN CALIF, WERE WE DON,T REALLY HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE DCS/DSC LEVEL
TO OFTEN THE REASON THE LEAKS OCURE IS THE CASTING PROCESS IS TO PORISE AND
THE VIBRATION/FREQUNCY CREATED IN THE ENGINE WHILE RUNING MAKES THE OXYAGEN
ACT AS A BORING TOOL. THUS THE PIN HOLE AS FORMED IN THE CAVITY OF THE
ENGINE OIL GALLEY OR THE LINER BORE OR THE SUMP/OIL PAN. THERE IS NOTHING
BUT LOWERING THE CAP PRESSURE AND ADD MORE NALCOOL OR WIX COOL TO THE
SYSTEM. THE ANTI FREEZE SHOULD BE 50/50 OR BETTER.
RANDY R&K ENTERPRISE
2.
We have encountered the same problem in man 6.9&7.3 engine also in the new
6 cyl in-line ford diesel. We repair them by installing a repair sleeve in
the effected cylinder. Philip Ingram Auto & Diesel Machinist Inc.
Birmingham Al. PDI1@P* com
3.
You may be interested to know that U-Haul, a major user of these engines,
uses heavy-duty coolant practices to prevent the cavitation problem Thiese
practices typically include:
1 Use of a "Fully Formulated" diesel coolant meeting Maintenance Council
Recommended Practice "RP329" (The Maintenance Council of the American
Trucking Association)
2. Use of Pencool (formerly Nalcool) supplemental coolant additive to
maintain the coolant quality and prevent problems with cavitation.
Some antifreeze brands that meet RP-329: Navistar FLEETRITE, Prestone
Heavy-Duty, Old World's FLEETCHARGE, Detroit Diesel POWERCOOL, Caterpillar
Heavy Duty Antifreeze, Fleetguard COMPLEAT, Quaker State antifreeze, Pronto
antifreeze, John Deere Antifreeze, Autoguard, and Trust. Also recycled
antifreeze from Antifreeze Environmental Service, Superior Products and
Toxguard in Califonia.
More info: Pen...@AOL.com
Ed Eaton
Director, Tech Service
The Penray Companies, Inc.
1-800-322-2143
4.
READ YOUR ARTICLE ON THE FOR ENGINES, AND FOUND IT QUITE INTERESTING. I
HAVE A 1986 FORD WITH THE 6.9 AND AT 98000 MILES I HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM,
WHICH CAUSED THE MAIN BEARING TO SPIN ON THE CRANK, SO I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL.
I BOUGHT A LONG BLOCK AND PLAN ON USING THE COOLING SYSTEM ADDITIVES IN
IT,I CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 30,O00 ON THE NEW ENGINE. I WASN'T AWARE OF THE
PROBLEM UNTIL I READ YOUR LETTER SO THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION.
5.
Date: Thu, 04 Apr 1996 17:41:16 -0800 From: zul...@express.ca (Zulfikar Ali
Manji) To: ana...@interstat.net
I read your page and I have managed to get some info for you from work. I
work for an engine rebuilding shop; last month we rebuilt almost 100
engines of your description. It seems sleeves were installed in all on the
left bank, apparently to stop coolant to seep in to the area with oil. I
have two pages of info if you are interested let me have your address and I
will mail them to you. It will take me ages to type them all to you.
6.
Subject:
Ford 6.9 and 7.3 liter diesel engines
Date:
Mon, 01 Jul 1996 15:03:35 -0700
From:
"Gary A. Spires"
Organization:
Fleetguard Inc.
To:
ana...@interstat.net
Use of Fleetguard DCA4 liquid or filters containing DCA4 will prevent this
problem. Navistar International, the maker of these engines, has long
recognized that they need supplemental coolant additives to prevent
cylinder wall cavitation (liner pitting). Navistar installs Fleetguard DCA4
into the engines at time of manufacture. However, one precharge dose is not
enough. You must add additional doses of these coolant additives on a
regular basis (such as at every oil change) to rebuild the lost inhibitor
package. These chemicals are sacrificial compounds that are used to put a
microscopic coating on the cylinder walls (coolant side). Since they are
sacrificial, the concentrations need to be tested on a regular basis and
more DCA4 added to maintain a MINIMUM precharge level of 1.5 units per
gallon of coolant capacity. For more information on Fleetguard DCA4 coolant
additives and filters contact Fleetguard Service Engineering at
1-800-22FILTER, select option 2.
Special Thanks to: The Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association and all the
People who respond.
revised 07/01/96
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Raymond T. Lowe
In article
<01bbb2c6$e37fe8a0$2dec...@598136622worldnet.att.net.worldnet.att.net>,
Ma...@nowhere.com says...
>
>This is a repost from another thread. I am posting here because after
>asking other Ford diesel owners no one seems to be aware of the problem.
>After talking to some heavy duty truck mechanics I found out that the heavy
>trucks have a coolant filter with the conditioner in the filter.
>
>should I say had. After 108,000.00 miles my motor developed pin holes in
>the block that have caused major damage. I have serviced the truck
>including changing the coolant and have maintained records. However it did
>not help because I never added a coolant conditioner which is very
>important in diesel engines. Ford does not even mention this conditioner in
>there maintenance guide. And to make matters worse, two local Ford
>Dealerships that have serviced my truck in the past said they never heard
>of this problem. I now have a truck that is useless. After calling Ford and
>informing them of the problem I was told that the truck is out of warranty.
>That doesn't help me one bit. If there are other owners out there who have
>this problem please E-Mail a Message so we may futher assist Ford in
>recognizing this problem.
>
>
>Use of Fleetguard DCA4 liquid or filters containing DCA4 will prevent this
>problem. Navistar International, the maker of these engines, has long
>recognized that they need supplemental coolant additives to prevent
>cylinder wall cavitation (liner pitting). Navistar installs Fleetguard DCA4
>into the engines at time of manufacture. However, one precharge dose is not
>enough. You must add additional doses of these coolant additives on a
>regular basis (such as at every oil change) to rebuild the lost inhibitor
>package. These chemicals are sacrificial compounds that are used to put a
>microscopic coating on the cylinder walls (coolant side). Since they are
>sacrificial, the concentrations need to be tested on a regular basis and
>more DCA4 added to maintain a MINIMUM precharge level of 1.5 units per
>gallon of coolant capacity. For more information on Fleetguard DCA4 coolant
>additives and filters contact Fleetguard Service Engineering at
>1-800-22FILTER, select option 2.
>
Its important to keep the DCA level within certain parameters for optimum
effect rather than simply dumping it in all the time. Fleetguard sells a
test kit with 50 strips of chemically treated paper - P/N CC2602. You may
be able to purchase or order these from any heavy truck dealer who sells
Fleetguard filters.
RT
Len Wilson
> >
> >This is a repost from another thread. I am posting here because after
> >asking other Ford diesel owners no one seems to be aware of the problem.
> >After talking to some heavy duty truck mechanics I found out that the
heavy
> >trucks have a coolant filter with the conditioner in the filter.
> >
or
> >should I say had. After 108,000.00 miles my motor developed pin holes in
> >the block that have caused major damage. I have serviced the truck
> >including changing the coolant and have maintained records. However it
did
> >not help because I never added a coolant conditioner which is very
> >important in diesel engines. Ford does not even mention this conditioner
in
> >there maintenance guide. And to make matters worse, two local Ford
> >Dealerships that have serviced my truck in the past said they never
heard
> >of this problem. I now have a truck that is useless.
> - snip -
If the Ford dealers had been paying attention they would have known that
there is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) out on the use of DCA. I'm a
parts monkey at a local Ford dealership and we sell (and have sold) DCA
additive continuously for many years now. The Ford P/N up here in Canada is
FW-15 (Canadian Motorcraft #) but there should be an analogue in the
States.