forgot to mention
 

I dont know if this really helped but while i had every thing apart,i went ahead and cleaned the little black box that is on top of the drivers side valve cover( i think it is like the pcv valve). I soaked it in a bucket of heavy duty cleaner and washed it out real well and let it dry. There was alot of stuff that came out of it. It looks to be filled with some type of steel wool or something.

Here is the YouTube video I promised showing the UVCH and the quarter shim. Enjoy!

YouTube - 2001 F350 7.3L Turbo Diesel, UVCH

Darren

Update:

The truck drives beautifully now! Lots of power and it seems to run better than I remember after this fix. And no "Service Engine Soon" light. Thanks to everyone for their support and great advice, especially Chris. I am definitely a FTE junkie now.

Did anyone get a chance to check out the YouTube video I posted?

Thanks again,
Darren

Hey Darron.. great job on the video... I am sure that will help someone with fixing those connectors.. I also used a shim but just made it from a piece of 1/16" thick alum.. you get rep points for your effort.. I bet there are thousands of 7.3L's with the same problem, just about to dis-connect..

Good video. Reps to you. If you had gone to the dealer Lord only knows what that would have done and charged you for before they got to the loose UVCH connectors. You saved a BIG bundle of money. :)

Glad to hear you're back up and running. Too bad you forgot to put in a plug for FTE on your video.

Did you find any loose bolts on the rockers or injectors? A couple of loose injector bolts really changes the way the truck sounds.

If you're an FTE junkie now, we're glad to have you. Something you might consider is becoming a supporter of this site. Click on any of the supporter badges you see next to a user name, and you can contribute $20 for a supporter badge. This will also remove the ads from the screen and make things easier to read. It's not required, and your welcome to hang around for free, but the contributions help keep this site going. And I'm guessing a mechanic would have probably charged you more than the 50 cents you've got invested in the repair.

X2
:-X25:-X25:-X25:-X25

Thank you very much. I just finished the passenger side with the quarter shim. Truck is back and running normally. I will do the driver's side on another day to ensure no problem on that side. I know of two other good friends whos trucks had the same symptoms. Both went to mechanics. One got new glow plugs and the other got at least one new injector, possibly more. Hopefully they were'nt sold something they didn't need, but I am sure glad I did this check and fix before taking it somewhere. Thanks again...Ron.

Hey Chris,

Check out the YouTube video now:

YouTube - 2001 F350 7.3L Turbo Diesel, UVCH

I've added a quick plug for FTE at 1:35. I can't believe I forgot to mention it the first time. My bad.

Thanks again.

Darren

There's no telling how much people have spent at repair shops fixing some of the items we see here. You might want to encourage your friends to join FTE so they can learn about this type of stuff.

Nice job with the FTE plug.:-X22

I have to subscribe to this one. I'm gonna be pulling some valve covers soon to check all of this. Nice job on the explanation Chris and great job on the video post Darren.

Chris and Darren, great job on the instructions and video! Reps sent to both. I took mine to the dealer not too long after buying my truck. I think it was on a recall as I recall and haven't had a problem since, but will keep this in mind if I have any problems of the like. Well worth being a supporter for a few hours of time and 50 cents for a repair!

:-drink:-X25

Thanks goes to the guys who put effort into the diagnostics and repair of our trucks, i have learned more about my truck n the past few days trying to find my problem than many colledge courses could teach me about deisels in a year. this thread and a few other HELPED out ALOT. hope i can be of some help to some one one day now that i know the mechanics of a diesel. Just another Thanks!
:-bigparty :-2XX

And how many repair shops have used this information to fix vehicles! 8D

I missed this thread the first time -- great job, Chris!!

What gets me is the ~$100 VC gasket!! What a joke!! Most of the time, they don't need replaced... :-X15

Great post... I think this is a solution to my problem also, having the intermitent ses light also. I can push down on the connector on the driver side valve cover while the truck is running and change the pitch of the truck considerably. Passenger side doesn't change when I mess with it.

Worked for me... only took about an hour to do the driver's side
thanks for the helpful post
mike in indiana

did the test and found evething good on the passenger side but the drivers side showed one injector reading open no reading checked multiple times just to make sure same thing what now?

Welcome to FTE Bulloxor. Tell us what symptoms your truck is experiencing. With this thread, I'm guessing it's running very rough? I'd say you're next step is to pull the valve cover. At this point, you can check the wiring to be on the safe side. Also check where the wire plugs into the injector. A slight miss with the CEL could indicate a bad injector, a really rough running truck could indicate a bad injector solenoid which can take down the entire bank.

A simple test is after you get the valve cover off, unplug the suspect injector and see if it changes how the truck runs. You can also start the truck with the everything still plugged in and observe the oil discharge from each injector. If the open injector is not spitting any oil, that means it's not firing.

how do i know which injector is the bad one, i know which pin read bad how do i follow thru

The wires are in the same order as the injectors. Front pin is glow plug for #2, 2nd pin is gp #4, 3rd pin is injector #2, 4th pin is injector #4, 5th is the common wire, 6th pin is injector #6, 7th pin is injector #8, 8th pin is GP #6, and 9th pin is GP #8.

The injectors on the drivers side are front 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 back

Thnks much looks like ill be under the hood for a couple of hrs or days who knows

Ding...Ding...Ding, we have a winner! The best $20 you'll ever spend for your truck!

I have the connector problem (as diagnosed by FORD for a mere $180). Before I okayed them to make the repair I did a little research, found this site, and then told them I'd be towing the truck home for repairs!

Thanks everyone for all the information as it's great!!! I WILL be joining as a "supporter"!!!

So I figure I may as well do both sides since the truck is out of service anyways... yeah?

Do I need to purchase new VC gaskets? I read on one of the posts that they are usually reusable... I've also heard that they work quite right if re-used... thoughts?

I'll be doing the repairs in the next few days and will let you know how it all works out!

Thanks again!

Welcome to FTE wpkeeper. The gaskets are re-useable. They are a rubber gasket, so no issues there. The only reason to replace the gasket is if the pins in the pass thru connector have problems, or you just want to switch to the updated harness. I've never had to replace a gasket on any of the trucks I've pulled valve covers on.

Take the time to torque down the rocker and injector bolts. It will sound like a whole new engine by the time you get done.

Did Ford happen to give you an estimate for what it would cost for them to fix it? I'm just curious.

Towed truck home this morning... FORD charged $180 to run the codes and "diagnostics" .... They wanted $800 for the repairs. That was the estimate for both sides. For one side only it was estimated at $550.

I'll be pulling the valve covers tomorrow. I'm hoping to have it all done and put back together in one day.

I did see the post about tightening done everything and will do! Got the torque wrench all ready and set to go!!!!

Thanks for all the help thus far and I'll post an update tomorrow night. Hopefully it'll be good as new!!!

Just an FYI... it's throwing the following codes: P1262, P1264, P1266.

Aside from checking the Ohms, is there any indication via the codes as to which VC to pull?

Yep, those codes would be for cylinders 2, 4 & 6, which are the front 3 on the driver side.

Might as well pull both of them while you have the day set aside. It may look like a big task, but just remove one bolt at a time and you'll be in there before you know it. I don't think it will take you all day to do both of them, but go ahead and start with the drivers side.

Just finished... runs like a CHAMP!!!!!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I'm a true believer for sure now!!! From start to finish it took a little over an hour.

I also tried out my buddies Edge Products little computer programmer.... WOW... HUGE increase in power!

Thoughts on it????

You mean itty bitty increase in power? Huge increase in power is when you get a custom chip like one from our sponsor DP-Tuner that costs about the same price as the edge.

Did you do both sides, or just the passenger side? Find any loose bolts when you tightened things back down? If you had found FTE a few days earlier, we could have saved you the $180 fee and you could have found this yourself with a $15 multi-meter. Trust us when we say there are better products than the edge. We won't waste your money.

If I could add a little to this... I purchased an Edge Evolution programmer before I knew any better and I thought it was great... until I rode in a fellow FTE'rs truck that had a DP-Tuner. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THE EDGE!!! If you're gonna spend it, you might as well buy something worth a crap. If I could turn back time, I would've done things WAY differently. just my two cents. Sorry, I'm :-offtopic

Completed repair in December - problem back?
 

Good evening guys, I want to compliment you as others have. I researched the site, found this post, watched the video, and used the quarter to repair both sides, and it ran better than ever, as most folks have indicated.

However, after finding out I need to replace the ball joints, after hanging the new tires on the thing I had been saving up for months, I started having the same problems, but it is acting a little different this time, so maybe it is not related to the UVCH?

It appeared first when I was slowing down for a stop sign. I noticed it seemed to be running quieter than normal. It didn't die, but I looked down and noticed the Service Engine Light on.

I took it back to the house and hooked up my code reader. It pulled two codes p5041 (air intake heater - I expected this since I recently replaced it with the plug) and p1316. I reset them and they came, and the truck is consistently running bad. I haven't started it in a few days trying to think of what to do.

I used the quarter to repair both sides. I think I only had an issue with the passenger side. And as mentioned, it ran fantastic for 3 months after I repaired it.

What would you suggest I check now? I am thinking back to the ohm meter first.

I haven't seen any one mention they repaired the problem and it returned. I will admit that I am perfectly capable of hosing anything up, and could have jacked the repair up.

Thanks for the help.

Caven

I've had my quarters in for about 45,000 miles with no issues. I agree with starting with the ohm test. Be sure to note each of the readings on the injectors, even if they appear to be withing spec. It's possible you've got an injector solenoid going south.

You know the site works better if everyone chimes in now and then. I hope you're next post comes a little quicker than your first.:-X22

:-hijacked kinda, did anyone have major black exhaust smoke coming out? i had a very similar experience, and major black would come out when it "missed" / "wasnt running on all 8" almost like it was chipped to be exact, then it died threw a code, after changing my fuel filter all was good, then it blew the o rings on the back of my hpop? took all apart, cleaned, reconnected everything, works better then before, just my .02
dan

Welcome to FTE. :)
With a p1316, the first thing that I would suspect is a loose connection for one of the injectors.
When it happened to me it was because I knocked one of the plugs loose on the connector for the injector itself as I was reinstalling the valve cover.
I knew right away that I had screwed something up because it ran perfect before I pulled the VCs off. :-banghead

When the 7.3 was still fairly young, I had a company truck, a '95 F250, and had just bought my '97 F250 PS 4x4 (in 1998, it was a new "leftover"). The '95 started acting up intermittantly, and from working with conventional diesels for many years, was a familiar sound, was running very steadily on 4 cylinders- but rockin' and rollin'. On the dozers & such, changing filters or startup after a runout, lots of times a hand primer pump, or on the old dozers & such, a pony motor, no need to bleed all the cylinders, just get a couple to squirt, tighten 'em down, it'll start up and the rest will bleed themselves- so the sound was pretty familiar. The harness problem is pretty well known now, but back then... So the company mechanic, who was "tractor oriented" and also had an acute case of "mechanic's attitude", took one look and sent it to the dealer. Shop kid drives it up there (1/2 hr drive), shakes and rattle on 4 the whole way, parks it in the back lot. Of course when they pull it in, it's running perfectly :-huh So they change the filter, send it back, nothing wrong except bad maintenance is the verdict- which has the predictable effect on the "mechanic's attitude" :eek: So I get about 2 miles the next day and I'm driving a rabid Pinto again- so I start looking at it, and see the wiring harness going into the valve cover- remember, this is '98, and that's a bit "different"- so when I get home, do a little checking and find out about electrically controlled, hydraulically actuated injectors, go out and fire it up, whack the valve cover with a rubber hammer, Pinto turns into a Singer, smooth as silk. Back to the company mechanic, he's glaring at me as I walk towards him :mad: I ask him, did you tell them the symptoms, running evenly on 4, blah blah, "I told 'em it's running rough, they're the experts, let them figure it out" he barks. I deliver it myself this time (I've known the parts manager since I could still buy 427 parts new), they pull the cover- the plug wasn't loose, the harness had shorted and burned up inside the cover- at least 2/3 of it was a crispy critter, caked with burned oil

FWIW, I did have to re-do mine. Put in the Ford clip this time.....we'll see.

LOL. That old guy must have been good with everything else to make him worth keeping. :-D

Replacing harnesses
 

Do you have to change the valve cover gaskets when you change to the new harness?

I know the gaskets are reusable. Seems like I read somewhere that you have to use new gaskets with the new harnesses.

Checked both sides - Ohm out good
 

Good afternoon guys - we are having a great weather day in central KY, hope you are where you live.

I checked both connectors and found no problem. Both were in the range that was mentioned earlier in the post.

I started the truck afterwards and let it run until it was warmed up - no issue. I took it out for a spin down the road - no issue. I shut it off when I got back abd the P1316 is gone.

I didn't do anything inentionally. I did take the drivers side off because I was having trouble reading that connector. Everything looked good under there. Didn't tear down the passenger side because it was a bear the last time I did it.

While I am happy it seems to be running fine now, I am nervous it may show up when I am not close to home. I would sure like some assurance it won't pop up on the road somewhere. It does not run well at all when it does run bad.

What do you guys think? I don't mind putting some money into it for peace and comfort, but I would rather not fish too. I would like to drive it on a trip to North and Central Texas in three weeks. It's a long ride from here - wouldn't want it to lay down on me somewhere.

On a side note - I have a Superchips tuner that I bumped the truck up to tow safe about 4 years ago. Has anyone had any issue with the trucks that have bumped up the power? I don't pull anything, so I could take it back to stock, but it sure runs better in tow safe.

Thanks for the tips.

Did you just check the pass thru connector at the valve cover harness, of did you also check where the wires plug into each injector as Dan suggested? I somehow knocked one of the injector plugs loose on my wife's truck putting her valve covers back on. Did you inspect the pins on the pass thru connector to make sure none looked burnt or bent?

I'd carry an ohm meter around with me, and if the problem happens again, take the ohm readings while the problem is occurring. That will tell you which side or injector is having the issue.