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"How To" Broken DSI Clip Fix

91K views 113 replies 60 participants last post by  lmcd314 
#1 · (Edited)
:: Fix Dat Busted DSI Clip ::

Introduction:
Okay, so I have just fallen victim to the infamous busted DSI Clip. The part costs $9 bucks and wont be available till Sept...mine is on order. Other than that, you can buy a whole new $260 manifold to get the $9 part. Ummm...no.

Thanks to a post from FORDSVTPARTS, I got some direction on how to fix this...but it had no pics. So with camera in hand I did the job to keep me happy till the new part shows up. (oh yeah, this is my first post of a new thread, and a how-to...go easy on me)..oh yeah, and my server is seeing a lot of traffic these days...so if all 7 img's dont show up, refresh.


Lets Go!

First thing is first....grab your tools and take out your intake. If it is stock, you will need to take the entire box out...open it up, take out the filter, unbolt it from the car and pull it up out. You may also want to take the MAF off the side of the box as well to help keep it out of your way.

Amongst a set of sockets and a screw driver or two, you will also need a dremmel or drill, a set of pliers/vice grips/vice.....I used a pair of needle nose pliers.



Once you have that outta the way, stand on the drivers side and look down in at the side of your manifold, right around where the Throttle Body sits...you should see the DSI "Actuator" and a dangling cable w/clip.

See how that cheap crap broke? [:0]
You should see a dot at the top of the actuator, where the post once was....the clip snaps onto the actuator right there.

Here is a pic of the broken post...I popped this out of the clip on the end of the cable using a flathead screwdriver:


and this little gem will be it's replacement:

check that it is the same thickness on the post.

Now grab that screw with a pair of pliers/vice grips/vice and grind it down with a dremmel so that the head of the screw matches the same diameter and thickness of the posts head....go a little at a time and check to make sure it fits snug, not loosely, into the clip.

Here is my grind on the screw head...I also cut it shorter so it didnt hang out too far from the side of the actuator:


If you dont have a dremmel, you should really buy one..they rule. But you can put the screw into a drill chuck and use a file to "lathe" it down. [;)]


Almost there, can you feel the suspense?!

Aight, now you gotta go back to the actuator and pilot a hole for that screw...and make sure its not a bigger hole than the the screw with wide...duh. I used a dremmel cause it fit nicely in there and I didnt have to try to wiggle that actuator out of its home.

Lol, here's a picture of my hole...



I am sure you can see where this is going....screw + hole =



If you did it right, the screw should go in snug. You can reinforce it with some epoxy if you like. But now all you have to do is rock the actuator forward a little and snap the clip over the head of the screw and you are done! Drive your car around and enjoy the satisfying sound of your dsi switching over again. [thumb]

Hopefully this helps ease your frustrations while waiting for those parts to become available. Hell, you could also use this as a guide when you go to replace the part!

Happy motorin'
 
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#83 ·
HMM did a test to day at ford and the system that pulls the DSI did pull the lever but the system did still say that is wass half open [not the right term i know]

Bu it still makes small misfires.. not really misfires just like something is just not right... what do you suggest is a new inlet the answer??

im confused overload now..

and it all looked brand spanking new no wear and so on..

can it be my spark plugs that is wrong??

it runs on ford motorcrafts is there a better brand?

Morten from little denmark
 
#84 ·
How do you know if it is broken if you have an after market intake and a cfm 67 throttle body
 
#94 ·
DSI Problem unsolved

Hello guys, please help me, i have reconnected the DSI clip and have cleared the error code, but the engine management light has come back on and it still makes the noise for the first 4 or 5 seconds when i turn my car on, after that everything runs fine, other then having the engine management light on.
Cheers
 
#96 ·
Imrc?

Getting the P1518. Clip is good, and the cable actuates when I start it up and at 5-6k RPM. Sluggish low end & terrible MPG. Have started to notice at a long time idling the RPM's will dive for a split sec then jump to around 2-3k, then slowly come down. Tonight I saw the cable actuate when this happens. Just double checking before I order the IMRC. My best conclusion from all of your folks great info here, is that my IMRC is spazzing out. You guys agree?
 
#97 ·
personal opinion about using the CFM DSI clip that is aluminum. I would be worried about what may break instead of the clip. I would rather replace a 17 dollar part every 80k miles than find out the motor is stron enough to break something else more expensive. Could even break the motor itself if its to strong. Happened alot on the Jeep cherokees around 2002 or so.
 
#102 ·
i have had my car for the last 3 months and makes that horrible noise constantly. i have checked the DSI clip and yes it has broken but also the noise is coming from the silver actuator box. If i buy the actuator will this come with the DSI clip? And how easy is it to fix? Will i have to take the whole manifold out? Thanks

Michael
 
#103 ·
Just got this noise today on the way home. After doing this fix, I got a just few seconds of the noise followed by the CEL. Looking at the cable, it was barely nudging the lever before it stopped trying to work after about 5 seconds. I later unhooked the cable to see what would happen, and upon start up, it seemed to move the normal amount (and it would keep going non-stop). Sooo, I figure I need a new IMRC. But I wonder, does the clip and IMRC fail at the same time very often? Could the failure of one of those cause the other to break?

Oh yeah, and I assume I'm not going to hurt anything besides my gas milage while driving it this way until I can get it fixed proper?
 
#108 ·
You don't even have an SVT...

Google is your friend, but DSI stands for dual stage intake. You do not have one, so don't worry.
 
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