Host F550 4X4 Motorhome Quad Slide 330

bmcgc said:
No offense taken. I started my camping in the PNW in a 72 VW camper van. I loved going up the gorge and camping out alongside the Columbia River.

In a gasser you have to take it slow and easy in the mountains. A couple years ago I drove I-70 over Loveland Pass in CO. 45-50mph all the to the top.

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Ya while most of those customers wouldn't admit to it I think they were coming up Cabbage with the A/C blasting & were fully loaded & some were towing plus they were trying to go 60MPH or more up it. Most of the gas units I worked on were already close to being at max payload before anything was added. And some of these rigs came with the whole house and an extra kitchen sink sometimes.

Changing an engine in most of these rigs was also a PITA... The engine had to come out the bottom on many of them too so it wasn't a joy to do. Don't know what the newer ones are like but the ones in the lates 90's weren't a great design.
 
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AMS417 said:
He has Kill Devil Diesel heads on both trucks. Alloy on the hot rod, iron on the tow rig. Dunno if there are other options but he’s been pleased with both sets.
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The shop I'm talking with I guess hasn't had good luck with KDD so I guess if I wanted their heads I'd have to order them myself. They've said they don't feel there is a need for o-ring head unless you're building a non-stock engine. I'd thought it was just a better option and good insurance. I might talk to them about me sourcing some heads myself instead of them rebuilding the stock ones.
 
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Wildman said:
The shop I'm talking with I guess hasn't had good luck with KDD so I guess if I wanted their heads I'd have to order them myself. They've said they don't feel there is a need for o-ring head unless you're building a non-stock engine. I'd thought it was just a better option and good insurance. I might talk to them about me sourcing some heads myself instead of them rebuilding the stock ones.
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Do some additional research and see what other opinions are out there. I’m just giving one small perspective. The F450 was a hot shot truck with well over 300k miles of hauling on a stock engine with a tow / mpg tune. Its main issue was cracked stock heads causing compression loss. The turbo and injectors were also on the way out. It got KDD iron heads and a good used set of injectors and turbos. It was bored 10 or 20 over and got all new internals. It’s happy again now.
 
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AMS417 said:
Do some additional research and see what other opinions are out there. I’m just giving one small perspective. The F450 was a hot shot truck with well over 300k miles of hauling on a stock engine with a tow / mpg tune. Its main issue was cracked stock heads causing compression loss. The turbo and injectors were also on the way out. It got KDD iron heads and a good used set of injectors and turbos. It was bored 10 or 20 over and got all new internals. It’s happy again now.
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Now that this is moving forward that is what I am trying to do. Got feelers out in some of the Powerstroke forums and also the FB groups to see what the feelings are about the stock heads. It seems to pop up now and then. And being that this things is pushing 18K lbs as it rolls down the highway it's not like I'm running empty anytime. I'm waiting for a return call from the shop too so I can get a little more information from them.
The shop Ryan linked above also used to make a 6.4 head and I'm waiting for a call back from them too.
 
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After doing a LOT of research and reading it seems that the 6.0 heads crack more than the 6.4 heads. And the cracking seems to happen more around the exhaust seats since they get the most heat. But if they are cracked bad most times they can be repaired and then new valve seats inserted in and they are good after that. So I'll wait until I can talk with the shop and verify what course I should take.
 
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Had a adventure taking the coach over to Medical Lake, WA. Blew a charge pipe hose off just before George, WA. Then again near Moses Lake. After fixing it the second time it held the rest of the trip.
I'll be getting updates along the way so will share when I do.
 
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WOW the shop has the engine out all ready and has found some interesting things.

1) It already has head studs
2) Has Mahle head gaskets instead of stock. These head gaskets were known to fail so fingers crossed this is the problem.
3) Found a bunch of stuff bent or damaged from the previous shop that had pulled the engine.
4) He thinks the high pressure turbo is going bad. He said he heard l sound when pulling it into the shop.

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Bent lines & fittings

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Engine pulled from the coach

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I'll get more updates soon I hope.
 
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Got another update today and it's what I was HOPING wouldn't be the results. It looks like I'm going to have to have a new short block installed. The exhaust valves have contacted the #3 & #4 pistons and the #3 cylinder wall has scoring on it also. This all means that I'm getting a new engine out of the deal instead of just doing the head gaskets. Then to TOP it all off both turbos have excess end play in them. The high pressure turbo has almost 1/2" play and the low pressure just has a little bit.

This is the #3 cylinder which is the worse of the two.

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The shop says that he likes to usually set them up in the .026-.030" range on our engines to be safe. And the pistons in my engine are .036" protrusion out of the block.

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So this is going to end up costing me a lot more $$$$$ than I'd originally planned.
 
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Wildman said:
Got another update today and it's what I was HOPING wouldn't be the results. It looks like I'm going to have to have a new short block installed. The exhaust valves have contacted the #3 & #4 pistons and the #3 cylinder wall has scoring on it also. This all means that I'm getting a new engine out of the deal instead of just doing the head gaskets. Then to TOP it all off both turbos have excess end play in them. The high pressure turbo has almost 1/2" play and the low pressure just has a little bit.

This is the #3 cylinder which is the worse of the two.

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The shop says that he likes to usually set them up in the .026-.030" range on our engines to be safe. And the pistons in my engine are .036" protrusion out of the block.

View attachment 511127

So this is going to end up costing me a lot more $$$$$ than I'd originally planned.
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Sorry about that, brother.
 
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NashvilleTJ said:
Sorry about that, brother.
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I knew going into this purchase that I was rolling the dice on buying a 6.4 but felt with the low miles that I could take the chance.
But now looking at all this I have a feeling the PO wasn't kind to the rig and must have driven it HARD.

Hopefully once I replace this engine I will get to enjoy it.

But thanks.
 
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toximus said:
That sucks!!! Any recourse with where you bought it?
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No it was they typical used vehicle sales with a AS IS disclosure on the sales contract. I am going to reach out to the salesman I bought it from and let him know about the issues. It was a consignment vehicle so I'm not sure how that all plays out on the end of the dealership but IMO the PO KNEW that there were engine issues and was dumping it instead of repairing it. I'm fairly certain of this since the engine had been pulled once already.

It's one of those "Live & Learn" types of things. I didn't do my due diligence by taking the coach to a local diesel shop and paying to have it checked out before I bought it. I just have to look at this as I'm fixing it now and shouldn't have issues with it in the future.
The new engine will have the updated pistons which are one of the main problems with these engines so that is a good thing.
 
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Wildman said:
I honestly don't know but I still should have had it checked out. It would have been worth the $$$.
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Hindsight is always 20/20 Rick. Don't beat yourself up too bad. It SUCKS but it sounds like this shop is doing things right. That should mean you'll have a kickass rig for a long time when you're done.
 
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Mike_H said:
Hindsight is always 20/20 Rick. Don't beat yourself up too bad. It SUCKS but it sounds like this shop is doing things right. That should mean you'll have a kickass rig for a long time when you're done.
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That is what I'm trying to keep in mind. I knew when I took it into him that there was always the chance the short block could be bad.
And yes this was one of the reasons I was looking for a shop that specialized in the Powerstrokes to work on the engine. This shop builds engines all the time and has a good reputation so I feel good about getting a engine from them.

And yes just like your motorhome once it's done I'll be able to enjoy it for a long time I hope. This just pushes back some other upgrades I'd had planned for a while.
 
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Just got off the phone with the owner of the shop that's working on the coach. So from how he explained it if you've got a virgin block that has never been machined the pistons would fit properly. So his thoughts are that this engine has been machined before when it was pulled and whomever rebuilt it didn't know to check the pistons or didn't clearance them properly.
When he builds his engines the blocks are always resurfaced so he runs a shorter piston to ensure clearance. He's got a engine block at the machine shop right now that is almost finished so he can start building me a new short block soon. This will include the updated MaxForce pistons that don't crack like the stock pistons. All the parts that they currently offer updated parts for will be installed. The BIG thing that I'll need to decide right now is if I want to replace my injectors and HPFP or run the stock unit for now. I'll be getting a estimate soon on what all this is going to cost me but it's not like I really have much of a choice either.

https://specializeddieselnw.com/complete-engines/
 
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