Hi all! I am new here but not to Ecoboosts, I own a Flex EB with 249K and offer lots of help on Flex Forums and other EB pages. I have been the Installer of almost every part on Mikes Car. I rarely get into these debates but another opinion can't hurt. I have a very small shop in the Joliet area, Finishline Cars. I have worked on Mikes car starting with the turbo install to removing the current engine. I have noting to gain or loose here but do have some facts I would like to share and Questions for Dan and LMS. Before I start I will Say Mikes car is one of the most maintained and babied cars out there. He is big into details and Iv'e almost been scared to do some projects as I do not want to make a mistake or damage anything. Anyway I would like to share some info and facts. If You have a question or comment please let me know..
So we Installed Injectors and Intercooler on Mikes car, New Motorcraft Plugs(gapped correctly) and Upstream sensors (fronts) were installed. a Scan tool was present upon start up, These Injectors Flow 30%ish more than stock, After start up a rich condition was observed and the Ecm did it's job by Removing fuel, Fuel Trims were -35% up as a average. The car did set PO172 and P0175 System Rich codes, Watching Sensors and the fact the car was able to correct Mike and I decided to have him drive the 9 mile drive home. He was then given a tune by LMS to drive there. He had no engine light for misfires and no Rich codes on trip. The car was out of my hands from here out until it returned so I have a few Questions for Dan or anyone who wants to chime in
Dan,
1. If a Car came to your shop (especially with a fuel modification that you were not sure of) Wouldn't you Ask Customer to do a Oil change and maybe Just to be safe and even send oil out for a analysis. Also why would you even think to put it on a dyno if there was a 1% chance of oil contamination? I wouldn't have driven 50 feet if I thought the oil might have a issue. We do a oil level and visual on even 500 beaters in my shop before we start any vehicle.
2. As you know ODB Vehicles are able to correct Rich or lean conditions, This platform can go pretty far as Iv'e seen almost 50% correction to keep Lambda (ecm perfect fuel ratio) so Unless your tuner turns that function off, This vehicle should have been able to correct (with a check engine light) A/F ratios, And then you made a Tune so it got even better so Mike could drive it.
3. If you Thought these Injectors were so bad and Could cause such damage, Why did you not advise Mike to tow the car to you, He owns a suv and can always use my trailer for a trip.
4. Your staff Advised Mike his few hundred mile spark plugs were "bad", I installed them in my 249K mile Flex (tuned elsewhere) and am almost at 5k miles with no misfires or issues, I even trust it enough that a Family member has been driving it for 3 weeks
5. You claimed that you had dropped the subframe and make tow driver wait for your guys to put back together. Please tell me how you were able to drop the frame without cutting or unwiring the vehicles LED lighting, I'm sure you know Mikes car has extensive aftermarket wiring. The wiring was hardwired and there are no plugs to disconnect to do repair work(pain for sure) Either your mechanics are way more skilled than myself ( a ASE tech) or didn't happenedd as I had to cut 4 wires in order to remove subframe. Also I'm shocked how you would remove the Subframe without any socket witness marks on the bolts ( do you use high end rubber lined sockets? )