Pictures here:
http://photos.ford-diesel.com/index....00&thumb=1
I've done the regulator mods on my van. I ordered the parts from Jeg's. Since there is limited room on the engine to mount the regulator, I originally decided to mount the regulator off engine on the lip just under the hood. I moved the vacuum manifold toward the driver's fender and mounted the regulator on an aluminum bracket between the vacuum manifold and the oil filler mount. I changed from this location because I thought that noises from split-shot pulses in the lines were entering the interior of the van. So I made a new bracket and mounted the regulator outside the air conditioner compressor.
On the new mount, I put the regulator "upside down" to help insure that air would purge out the regulator and not get trapped in the upper part of the regulator. On re-routing the hoses to the new location, I realized that I had strapped the driver's side hose to the rear A/C lines, which are mounted to the body just behind the regulator. The noise may have been coming from this line and not where the regulator was mounted.
The factory regulator was shimmed with a 4-40 allen head screw as others have suggested. I couldn't find an allen head at first so I tried a regular screw - but the pressure maxed out at 65 psi. So I had to take it apart again and put the "right" screw in. The pressure will now run up to 80 psi.
So far, I've put over 500 miles with the mod and have not noticed any difference. Milage on first 1/2 tank was 17.4 mpg, about the same as before with mixed highway/city driving. The idle knock is very consistent now, before it would come and go. The hammering at mid range is still present.
To purge air from the system, I disconnected one side and capped the regulator and plugged the line, then ran the key-on, engine-off routine several times. Then I switched cap/plug to the other side and purged it. This was done with the regulator set at minimum (about 20 psi) to help with purging. I did the final houkup and purged the system some more before starting. I'm concerned that there may STILL be air in the system because the driver's side hose runs up to a mount along the air inlet hose then down to the regulator. But I seem to have flow in both hoses as both hoses get very warm after the van has been driven for a while. I left the regulator set at 70psi cold, it drops to 65psi when warmed up.
Some tips:
Pull the square head plugs from the heads first, one at a time. If your lucky, the system is full of fuel and it will siphon down the return line to the tank, emptying the heads out and saving you from spilling fuel.
To tap in the return line, remove the line at the fuel filter, remove the tank cap, and blow air in the line to force the fuel into the tank. By doing this, I was able to cut the line and not spill any fuel on myself.
When you remove the return cap from the housing to shim the regulator, it takes a lot of dexterity and the right tools. I used a torx drive from a handle set in a 1/4" hex socket with a short 1/4" extension and 1/4" ratchet. The 3/8" drive setup would not fit in the space.
A rag under the return next to the fuel line will catch small parts that try to fall in the valley.
A magnet on a stick can be used from the rear to retreive small parts and wrenches which bounce off the rag into the valley. Because the valley is full of recesses, you may need to do some "fishing" for parts you can't see. Look under the turbo with a flashlight.
I have no idea how to retrieve magnets that fall off the stick into the valley...
Put a 5/16" hose on the filter drain line to extend it away from the frame. Some fuel drained from the filter can be used to rinse out your hose assemblies. You'll need this next time you change the fuel filter anyway. I left my hose in place and plugged the end with a 5/16" bolt, and cable-tied it loosely to the lower frame. The bolt keeps critters from building nests in there. The filter drain line is on the passenger side, near the front of the engine. You can see it from underneath, it angles to the rear a little.
Any suggestions anybody has on what I might have missed will be appreciated. I intend to replace the long-lead injector, and then I may switch to the single-feed setup. That will have to wait until after vacation next couple of weeks.
Thomas
Linear Mode
