4 years ago I lost an EGR cooler and wetted up my 6.0. Most sensors failed. I decided to block the exhaust ports in the cooler with 1" SS plugs welded in. While I was at it I rebuilt my turbo, installed ARP studs, OEM Gaskets, OEM oil cooler, FelPro gaskets/o rings, (not the same as O rings in the cylinder) paint the aluminum stuff Mercury Racing blue (to make it go faster :liar
etc. I have a Banks Six Gun that I installed on the original engine and seldom tow.
I had to tow a 10,000# forklift through the hulls of West Bygolly Virginia a few months ago and my 6-ho began to loose power, leak fluids, and make coolant vanish. Uh oh! Head gaskets or worse......
I'm not a young man, nor am I growing more motivated with age. Therefore I proceeded to check out Bill Hewett and Powerstroke Specialties. I begin as a skeptic, and I might add skeptical of the ad hominum attacks on Bill Hewett here on these threads. Basically some people are offended by his blunt force trauma. Kinda like some are offended by Trump. So what if they deliver right?
My goal here is to detail my personal experience with PSS in a thorough, fair and honest way- both the good and the bad.
My first point of contact with PSS was calling and leaving multiple messages. Finally I got a call back after 3 business days of trying. Needless to say I was growing uncomfortable fast.
An older man named Dana called me back and he was both gruff and helpful. He spend an unhurried half an hour with me on the phone. I am an engineer and a gearhead and what I heard from Dana impressed me enough to take the next step- tow my Excursion 6 1/2 hours away to Deluth Ga.
I met Scott the service manager there, and had a long discussion of what needed to be done to the 6.0. I also met my mechanic- a young buck named Mike who impressed me as both an enthusiast and a perfectionist. Both are welcome qualities in a mechanic.
After many left messages I received a call from Scott 10 days after I dropped off the X. He informed me that they had tested it and had findings: bag head gaskets! Again with the fargin' gaskets......
I agreed to allow them to "Dealerproof" the engine. Scott advised me that 2 injectors stuck when cold ( i knew that) and advised considering replacing all of them since they were 14 yrs old with 220K miles on them. Injectors are $1,840 for the parts plus $104 for glow plugs. ( I had 4 weak ones) This is already getting expensive.....8K for dealerproofing plus injectors and plugs..hmm that's over 10 grand already and the cab is still on the frame! The alternative is to buy a new or nearly new similar quality truck for $40k so it makes sense to fix the fool thing. Plus I have never met an Excursion owner that didn't regret selling his.
My assessments so far:
1) These guys need a secretary. They are maddeningly hard to get on the phone.
2) The shop is way too small for the work they have. There are 6.0 trucks piled up all over the place (nice problem to have I'd guess)
3) The shop is in a nice part of a nice town however it's cluttered, dirty, and appears disorganized. I'm probably too much the other way, but my OCD kicks in when I see a messy shop. For me at least I tend to make mistakes in a messy work environment.
4) Nobody is in a hurry. That's probably both good and bad. Good because taking your time to do a good job is a plus, bad when no sense of urgency causes slowness.
I'll keep this post updated as this journey progresses and share my experiences with PSS. BTW I haven't met Bill Hewett yet- I'd probably enjoy his company. Maybe on my next visit.