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WOW...such a response. Many PM's and many congratulatory remarks...I appreciate them all from everyone. It has been frustrating, but I really am a patient guy so no biggie. I will attempt to respond to some of the questions and statements relayed so far. Please, get some popcorn or better yet…crack open a cold one.
I drove for over a year with the car that way because attempts to fix the problem did not work. It ran like crap…but still sounded good and looked good…and I did not have the money at the time to try and do pricey replacements.
Dean at PSI did do what he could to try and help fix the problem. He does stand behind his work.
This is the bottom line: After a year and a almost a half and multiple people and shops scratching their heads I tried to be frugal (without spending hundreds and thousands on replacements and diagnosis times) It is now realized that the whole problem began the next day after the install and the belt shredded. Bottom line is...the shredded belt ripped wiring harness wires and caused electrical damage. We never knew it then but No tune, alternator, new intercooler, coil packs, fuel pump(s), upper and lower cam shaft position sensors, etc would have fixed that. I could still drive the car...just surging and power loss was the main symptoms.
I did drive the car anyways. Just never at “full throttle”…of course I could not really do full throttle so I knew it would not damage the engine. It just sounded mean lol.
The last Dyno of 220?HP at Dyno Day at PSI was conducive to having another diagnosis from PSI the following week. I already knew the car was not running where it should. That diagnosis was that the intercooler was leaking water into the intake. Finally the solution to my problems the whole time! So Dean drained and removed the intercooler. He tested it, said it was defective, and did try and get me a new one but Vortech said no. I picked the car up with the old intercooler re-installed and drained of all water. But the symptoms were still there, and even worse because I was then experiencing detonation for some reason. I figured he tried to tune it out by increasing the fuel/air ratio. I did not know any better so I drove the car anyways with an empty intercooler for about a month and a half trying to figure how to come up with a plan to get the money for a new intercooler ($800) or a new system all together (Air-Air).
I went to Lethal initially to install a new alternator. The alternator was thought to be the cause of the problems I was experiencing, so Ford replaced it under warranty. The new alternator did not fix anything. But, if Ford offered to give me a brand new one for free I took the opportunity. In addition to my alternator, Ford also replaced my throttle body and MAF Sensor, all under warranty. I took it to Lethal Performance to have the alternator installed. That is where they took the time to diagnose my problem after installing the alternator for me. I did not pay them for the several hours with about half their people all standing and fiddling around the hood of my car. They all had input and ideas and I was not even paying them for that. Not saying that I encourage shops to do that for everyone because they are trying to make a living, but they did for me. And I appreciate that. After a while, they suggested getting the PCM checked, and to bring it by some time for further testing.
The next day, I had Ford check the PCM...something that most aftermarket tuners are unable to check due to high tech gadgetry. Sure enough they indeed stated that they were 95% sure there was my problem due to some strange hard fault codes on their computer. Furthermore, the codes from the BRAND NEW alternator were the same as my old one that was just replaced. I asked Ford to replace it and the PCM was replaced for me at cost minus labor, to my surprise ( just $550). After the new PCM….I was excited to hear when the Ford tech said all of the “hard faults” were no longer present on their scanner…. WOOHOO! But it was still running very, very rich on fuel.
I returned to Lethal Performance for further diagnosis 2 days later. The initial tune was horrible and out-of-whack. Even the surging and loss of power were still present. Dyno tune after dyno tune…and 2 days later my SC Stang went from 220hp to 451hp like I said earlier. It is now a very responsive street monster and I do not want any more HP than I have now. It is perfect for a daily driven street Stang, IMO.
Furthermore, I do not want to be inflammatory…but I was not told to have the ECU checked by Ford months ago. I was told by PSI to have my coil packs tested by Ford. The coil packs in my car right now are the coil packs that were originally in Dean’s 05 Stang. He thought mine were bad and did install them and give them to me free. But the same problem persisted. If I had known to get my ECU checked…trust me I would have. Even Ford would not have thought to check the ECU…it was a suggestion I made to them during the diagnosis process.
An earlier diagnosis would have been prime to get my intercooler replaced within the 3 month…or even 1 year warrantee replacement window by Vortech. But it was obviously NOT my intercooler as the one in my car is the one and the same as the one stated defective by PSI. If it is indeed defective, I can not imagine what my Stang would do with a proper intercooler.
Lastly, anyone thinking of getting a blower on a 05+ do not think this is the typical problem experienced. Most installs obviously go smoothly. Success and failure stories happen all the time, as with any vehicle and any MOD. I guess I can look on the bright side. Due to the fact I could never give full power potential on my Stang…there are many, many “gently used” miles on mine so far lol!
I will say I will NEVER go with a Diablo Tuner again…I am now SCT all the way. The SCT tuner conversion from the Diablo helped nicely with the tune. Not to mention…Diablo is so damn slow to load tunes it is ridiculous lol.
Again, Thank you Lethal Performance.
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