[mikepb]

I originally posted on this truck with a no start/starts after it sits problem that with the help of this forum I have resolved. In addition I had an issue related to white "goop" in the cooling system which after much flushing I have managed to clean out.

I thought I should start a different post for this problem............

Once finished with that, I started the truck, it runs great in park and neutral but when I put it in gear to drive it there is no power. It will move forward and reverse but takes almost full throttle.

• I checked the transmission fluid and it's OK. Full, good color, no burnt odor.
• The intake tubes to the turbo are connected at the grill.
• I took the intake tube off and I can see the turbo turning.
• The waste gate line had rusted off at the solinoid, so I plugged the line.

A friend of my son's mentioned a possible nonworking variable geometry turbo problem but I don't think this truck has that feature.

It does have an aftermarket Bully Dog turbo control system that reacts like normal when the truck is at idle however when I try to drive it the boost gauge doesn't register anything. I have no paperwork on the Bully Dog so I haven't done any diagnostics on that.

How do I determine if I have the VGT feature? Seems it should be pretty straight forward and from what I can see of the turbo vanes, I don't think it does.. I've attached a picture of the turbo inlet. That should be easy to eliminate.

thoughts?

mike

 

[Mark Kovalsky]

The easiest way to determine if you have a VGT is if you have a 7.3L you don't have a VGT. The 6.0L was the first one with that feature.

 

[mikepb]

Thanks Mark. I did some research on line and that is kind of what I figured but it wasn't entirely clear.

Did you work in Detroit when you worked for Ford?

 

[Greg687]

When you are trying to move it, do you have boost pressure? Does it sound normal? Could it be a dragging/frozen brake? (Rust will do that)

 

[mikepb]

It does not sound normal. It "boggs down" on level ground in forward and reverse and once it gets moving a little it will coast when I take my foot off the gas. Doesn't feel like a brake
problem.

thanks for the input

 

[Mark Kovalsky]

Did you work in Detroit when you worked for Ford?

I worked at the Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering Office in Livonia, MI. That's a suburb of Detroit.

 

[mikepb]

I grew up in Novi. Just off of Walled Lake on the West side down from the Amusement Park. Dated a girl from Livonia when I was in high school. Graduated from UofM with BSME. Now living in Alpena.

Small world.

 

[Mark Kovalsky]

We lived near 9 Mile and Meadowbrook in Novi from 1984-2004.

 

[mikepb]

We lived near 9 Mile and Meadowbrook in Novi from 1984-2004.

I left in '67 for college and didn't return to Michigan until I retired in 2009.

Spent some time on my truck yesterday. Doing one final engine flush and then putting in a new radiator. I keep thinking I'm going to find some electrical line disconnected but nothing so far.

 

[Oneof6]

Mikepb, can we break down the verbiage from bogs down to descriptions with specificity? Let's start with this

1. When in park or neutral, after idlingat least two minutes, will the engine RPM increase, to 2000 - 2500 RPM?

2. If so, will it do it repeatedly and smoothly?

3. If held at 1500 RPM, in park or neutral, does your exhaust temperature go up quickly?

4. Does your exhaust, when standing outside the truck have a hollow ringing sound?

5. If so, does it go away when you put your foot on the brake?

6. Are you certain that the park brake is releasing at the rear wheels?

 

[realdann]

is the exhaust back pressure valve working properly?

 

[mikepb]

Not sure what the back pressure valve is. I do know that the wastegate solenoid is disconnected. The metal nipple rusted off. I plugged the air line but not the solenoid. It's so difficult to get to that I haven't repaired it and based on the research I've done, that shouldn't cause the no boost problem????

I started the truck and it went to fast idle, 1000 rpm. After about a minute, I kicked it down and it went to 750 but about a minute later it went back up to 1000. Did the same thing after about 11 minutes of run time. Per the Bully Dog exhaust temp gauge it settled out at around 170 degrees. The Bully Dog boost gauge never registered any boost.

I was able to vary the engine speed between750 and 3000 without any indication of missing or rough running. I made a video of that and I will try to post it here.

I have the intake tube removed so I could see if the turbo was spinning, which it is, so that may have an effect on the idle. I made another video of the engine, turbo and exhaust but it's too long to upload so I'm trying to break it up. I'll post that when I get it finished. I'm in the process of replacing the radiator so I'll double check the brake issue when I finish that. At this point, after driving it several times down the driveway it doesn't seem like it' a brake issue.

More later.

My video is an MP4 and it doesn't look like it's support for upload here. Any suggestions on how I can get a video loaded?

 

[realdann]

Check control rod on the turbo pedestal to make sure the rod is on the butterfly valve arm and the retainer clip is in place.
The vacuum line goes to the waste gate control actuator. There is a spring built into the canister which should be holding it's rod in the all the way out position forcing against the waste gate control arm holding the waste gate closed. If the rod is freely moving then waste gate is open prematurely dumping boost.
Only with some load on the engine will you begin seeing boost.

 

[mikepb]

Great information. I can see that the retainer arm clip is in place. I'll see if I can get at it some how to see if it will move the waste gate.

Thank you.

 

[realdann]

Waste gate on top, small vacuum canister.

Exhaust Butterfly valve arm, clip, tight space, is at the bottom end of turbo where exhaust down pipe clamps on. Need mirror and flashlight to fully see clip.

 

[mikepb]

Yes. The mirror is a great idea.

Thanks

 

[mikepb]

I'm in the process of replacing the radiator. I had a friend of mine working on the truck and because of the gunk in the coolant, I had him replaced the radiator. I got it home to go through the flushing process and during that time the radiator sprung a leak so I'm putting another one in. He bypassed the radiator cooling section for the trans, left the air over fluid unit hooked up. He's not available to talk to so I need some details on the lines and fittings. I want to have both coolers operational.

I've found some diagrams that identify the fluid flow but not the specific tubes and fittings I need. Any ideas on where I might find something like that? I'm in the process of searching the web but no luck so far. Maybe the auto parts store might have something.

I was able to move the waste gate rod. Took quite a bit of force. Can't get the control actuator off. I tried all the tools I have but there isn't enough clearance for the tools I have. I can get to the 10mm nuts but then can't turn them. I pushed the rod "out", towards the passenger fender. It returned to the "in" position each time I moved it so based on that I think the gate is in the closed position. I'm thinking I'll solve the no boost problem then go back to replace the actuator if I have to.

I posted the results of my rpm test in my earlier post. Runs good I think. I made a video but couldn't upload it to this site. It's mp4 and it looks like it's not supported. How do I get a video on here? My I phone defaults to mp4.

 

[mikepb]

I need a 3/8-18 straight thread to 3/8 hose connection to attach a hose to the transmission lines. I found one but the thread length was too short to reach the o-ring in the bottom of the radiator connection. The original fittings have been cut off and the lines go to the air over fluid exchanger, bypassing the radiator.

I also need to know where the small hose fitting at the bottom of the radiator next to the larger coolant hose goes to. I found on the net that it may go to the bottom of the coolant reservoir but that would require a reducer because the outlet on the reservoir is about 3/4 of an inch.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[realdann]

Autozone part #563953 transmission line fitting?

 

[mikepb]

I'm pretty sure that's the one I bought where the threads are too short. I'll check it out when I go back out to the garage.

I found that there was a thin sleeve in the bottom connector on the overflow container and that the connector itself is the correct size for the hose that goes to the radiator.

Once again, that's what happens when you let someone else work on your vehicle. Although, not being able to talk to him doesn't help.

Thanks.