Ford F-Series Powerstroke Diesel Problems

1184 messages,  Last post on Dec 02, 2012 at 10:59 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford F-250, Ford F-350, Diesel, Truck

    
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#1041 of 1184 1997 Ford F-350 dies while driving and wait to start flickers by dabroketruck

Oct 21, 2010 (2:41 pm)

Hi,
I have a 1997 7.3 Diesel F-350 crew cab truck. I have a problem with it. At times it will die out while i am driving and won't start back up. The "wait to start" will flicker inconsistently and the second relay on the driverside under the hood clicks with the flickering of the light. In this relay area there are four relays that are all the same so i changed them around and the relay second to the way still clicks. Also, while this is happening there is a click in the engine on the passengar side top end which clicks but not as often and last there is a solenoid which when clicks, the engine wait to start engine light blicks twice and is ready to start.
I did have the camshaft sensor changed with Ford dealership so it's not that.

#1042 of 1184 1997 Ford F-350 dies while driving and wait to start flickers by dabroketruck

Oct 21, 2010 (2:41 pm)

Hi,
I have a 1997 7.3 Diesel F-350 crew cab truck. I have a problem with it. At times it will die out while i am driving and won't start back up. The "wait to start" will flicker inconsistently and the second relay on the driverside under the hood clicks with the flickering of the light. In this relay area there are four relays that are all the same so i changed them around and the relay second to the way still clicks. Also, while this is happening there is a click in the engine on the passengar side top end which clicks but not as often and last there is a solenoid which when clicks, the engine wait to start engine light blicks twice and is ready to start.
I did have the camshaft sensor changed with Ford dealership so it's not that.

#1043 of 1184 Re: HELP!!! 1999 F250 7.3L 2WD Smoking problem [dellfam] by cowboy9

Oct 21, 2010 (3:34 pm)

Replying to: dellfam (Oct 21, 2010 11:22 am)
Now when they are cold they will smoke some. If it didnt clear up after a mile or two then I would worry.

#1044 of 1184 Re: HELP!!! 1999 F250 7.3L 2WD Smoking problem [cowboy9] by cowboy9

Oct 21, 2010 (3:38 pm)

Replying to: cowboy9 (Oct 21, 2010 3:34 pm)
Guess I should have ask what color of Smoke, Black it good, Blue usually means oil is getting into your Exhaust and White the Turbo is starting to wear out.

#1045 of 1184 Re: HELP!!! 1999 F250 7.3L 2WD Smoking problem [cowboy9] by dellfam

Oct 21, 2010 (7:53 pm)

Replying to: cowboy9 (Oct 21, 2010 3:38 pm)
The smoke is definately white in color. How can I determine if it is the turbo?

#1046 of 1184 Re: HELP!!! 1999 F250 7.3L 2WD Smoking problem [dellfam] by gerlad1

Oct 23, 2010 (10:40 am)

Replying to: dellfam (Oct 21, 2010 7:53 pm)
I am a shade tree mechanic and definitely not a diesel mechanic although I have worked on my 2004 6.0L more than a few times. I thought white smoke meant that there was coolant leaking into the combustion chamber? oil coover ? or EGR cooler? These are typical failure points.
I have a turbo boost gauge on my truck and it is not difficult to check the turbo boost and either it is boosting or not. Any mechanic should be able to easily check that out. Or so I would think. Kinda the reverse of a intake vacuum gauge on a gasoline engine. I also have an exhaust gas temperature gauge. 150,000 miles on truck. Amazing to me how many folks just pull off the highway and shut down their diesel engines--there goes the turbo. Takes mine about 2-4 minutes to cool down enough for me to shut down the engine after running on the highway.
Gerald

#1047 of 1184 2003 F-250 6.0L by hazardous1

Oct 23, 2010 (7:54 pm)

Most of the posts I read are negative probably because anyone that has an issue is more passionate than someone that has a truck that is running great. I bought an 03 6.0L new. The truck was built in January. I knew better than to buy a first year motor but I needed a truck for my business. After 3 sets of injectors and a couple of sets of hubs I finally have it running right for the last 150,000 miles. However the first 200K were rough and put a dent in my wallet. What I find to help is using fuel improver (Lucas, Texas oil refinery, and others) and blowing the carbon out of the EGR when it starts running rough. I also use An injector cleaner fairly often. The truck now runs great and I average 16 Hwy and 11 towing a 7000 lb trailer. I also change my brake pads when they show 50% wear. I have not had to do anything to my brakes except change pads in the last 120,000 miles. . I hope Ford gets it right on their own diesel. If Toyota ever brings the Hilux to USA they will take over the market.

#1048 of 1184 Re: HELP!!! 1999 F250 7.3L 2WD Smoking problem [dellfam] by jamnutt

Oct 24, 2010 (8:03 am)

Replying to: dellfam (Oct 21, 2010 7:53 pm)
I don't know if anyone here has found out yet, but the white plumes of smoke & loss of power are due to the faulty fuel cells installed by ford. This problem is known as delaminizing. This occurs when the coating inside of the fuel tank flakes off and contaminates the fuel delivery system. If the vehicle stalls, and it will, you can wait 15 minutes or so and restart. The only fix is to replace the fuel delivery system. Victim,2000 E-350 / 7.3

#1049 of 1184 Re: 2006 f-250 4x4 6.0 egr cooler problems [gatorfan352] by chips4

Oct 26, 2010 (12:49 pm)

Replying to: gatorfan352 (Mar 24, 2010 4:28 pm)
Hey you're not alone. EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation, which is a fancy way of saying that the engine sucks exhaust gases in before the turbo and pumps them into the intake, thus inducting the exhaust gases back into the cylinders to be burned again by the engine. This reduces emissions to comply with Federal laws that were put into effect back in 1998 that demanded manufactures make their vehicles burn cleaner. It's a good idea in theory, but wreaks havoc on the engine. Just like the Government!
 
Because diesels by their nature burn so dirty and create so much carbon, pumping 1,200 degree exhaust into the engine would cause melt downs. The cooler is supposed to cool down this gas, but ends up doing nothing but getting plugged with carbon and if left unchecked will force carbon into the fuel injectors, and give you another $4,000 bill. This problem can be avoided by bypassing the cooler all together.
 
So by plugging the cooler, you can not only eliminate the cooler from being used, thereby eliminating and chance of it getting plugged, and create a much more efficient, cooler running, more powerful engine. Now your intake will be taking in clean, fresh, cool air free of any exhaust gases.
 
Unless you live in California, do it ASAP and save yourself a world of headaches down the road. Depending on where you live, I highly recommend taking your truck to Bill Hewitt down in Georgia. The cost of him going through your truck and bullet proofing your engine is a heck of a lot cheaper than pumping EGR coolers, turbos, and injectors into your truck. His website is www.powerstrokehelp.com
 
Hope that helps!

#1050 of 1184 Re: 2003 ford 250 6.0 diesel [farm_livin] by electrowolfe

Oct 26, 2010 (4:36 pm)

Replying to: farm_livin (Sep 09, 2010 5:13 am)
have you checked your fuel injection control module (ficm). your injector has two sets of coils. low and high side. during start up the ficm needs to send 48 volts to the high side of the fuel injector. if the module is going bad it will not send the needed voltage to actuate the coil thus very hard start with extreme rough idle along with surging ,sputtering, and sounding like its about to die out. i just went through this several weeks ago and after replacing it made a world of difference.if indeed your ficm is going out you will have trouble codes that will not always throw a check engine light.reading your description of start up sounds i would lean toward this being your problem.
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