Non-Mopar: NEED HELP- 1995 Ford F-250 Diesel

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73SwingerBuild

73SwingerBuild

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Thank you all for viewing. My cousin has a 1995 Ford F-250 pickup with the 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel motor. He bought it used, and it was previously used/maintained as a fleet vehicle.

He was driving home Monday and the truck started to stumble and eventually died. He changed the fuel filter on the side of the road and it started back up again but died about a minute later. He could get it to run, but only above ~1,500-1,700 RPM. It would not idle at all.

He got it towed home and we have since checked the following:
-All terminals on the existing PCM were checked for proper resistance, and another PCM was plugged in from a running truck (same year, make, model) and it still won't idle.
-The fuel pressure after the lift pump was measured and verified (holding at ~70psi).
-The fuel is indeed flowing out of the lift pump.

The truck won't run now. He can get it to run in his driveway, but again, only when he holds it above ~1,500 RPM.

Has anybody owned/maintained one of these and run into a similar problem? I want to say it's a dying injector pump, but I'd hate to see my cousin spend $500-$800 and have that not be the culprit.

Any and all help greatly appreciated. Thank you all again.
(and sorry it's not a Mopar. If it was, it would probably be running :tongue3: )

-Mike
 
I know it sounds dumb but have you checked the oil lately? They are Heui Injectors and need oil pressure to operate.
 
Lots of things go wrong with these. There are some things to check but a scan tool is necessary. The high pressure oil for the injectors is regulated by the PCM. The IPR solenoid controls high pressure oil. It almost sounds like a high pressure oil problem. As previously mentioned, make sure it has oil in it. If you can hook it up to a NGS scanner you can read injector pressure.
 
X2 Also check fuel Psi when cranking.The fuel pump in the tank could be bad,Or switch the tank form front to rear.Watch out you can run the High Psi res empty and it wont start.Check and make sure it is full.Try to see if there any codes. Mark
66dartman said:
Lots of things go wrong with these. There are some things to check but a scan tool is necessary. The high pressure oil for the injectors is regulated by the PCM. The IPR solenoid controls high pressure oil. It almost sounds like a high pressure oil problem. As previously mentioned, make sure it has oil in it. If you can hook it up to a NGS scanner you can read injector pressure.
Click to expand...
 
Good suggestions in here.

I agree with checking the oil level in your HPOP unit. Low oil pressure and low oil level will shut that engine down. DIrty old oil makes the injectors unhappy too.

Great site for PSD's http://www.thedieselstop.com/
 
the guys with the oil pressure are completely dead on. theres also an oil galley plug in the block behind the front cover that likes to crap out and bypass pressure, causing this issue. also, the HEUI injectors wiring harness is integrated with the valve cover gaskets, and are also notorious for falling apart, realize too before you go jank around wires to see if itll fire, those injectors run on some serious power and they will make a spark plug jolt feel like a picnic. if the oil hasnt been changed in forever, change it. those engines have 2 oil pumps, a low pressure pump for the engine bearings, and a high pressure pump for the injectors exclusively, these have been known to fail as well. Also, this ULSD fuel plays hell with any diesel, the lack of sulphur essentially removed most lubrication that was relied upon to make the system live, so worst case scenario it ate an injection pump. Best of luck.
 
remove the turbo inlet tube and check the Compressor Wheel for excessive play.....up/down/in/out/damage.

I was also going to hit on the injector harnesses too....they are integrated into the valve cover gaskets and are notorious for failing.

I have a 8k mile warrantied turbocharger and a Y-pipe Flange from a 99' 7.3L....if it turns out he needs a turbo....cheap....its about to go on Ebay.
 
It smokes a little once we get it started, but it's been between 30-35*F when we've been working on it, and his exhaust right now conists of a length of 3" pipe leading off the turbo and dumping at the passenger side footwell, so it's really tough to tell what is residual smoke from start-up and what is actual smoke from running the truck.

dartcuda1 said:
X2 Also check fuel Psi when cranking.The fuel pump in the tank could be bad,Or switch the tank form front to rear.Watch out you can run the High Psi res empty and it wont start.Check and make sure it is full.Try to see if there any codes. Mark
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that there weren't any pumps in the tanks. That's what my cousin and his buddy who owns the same truck says. I thought that was weird though. Seems you would need something to get the fuel to the engine, but apparently the lift pump in mounted up on the engine... Strange Ferds.

I did not know about the high and low pressure oil system. I will definitely have him look into that.

Thank you all for responding.

-Mike
 
besides high pressure oil check that there are no injector drive module codes it is aseperate computer for the injectors
 
There should be a seperate Fuel Injector Control Module (FICM), and I think it's on the driver's side inner fender. If you have a buddy's truck to swap parts off of you might look into swapping this out.

How long did the truck sit before he bought it? I don't know if you have different blends of diesel throughout the year, but could it have summer fuel in it and be gelling up?

One thing I remember from my 7.3 days was that if it was below about 30 degrees outside, it'd better be plugged in or it wasn't going to be happy in the morning. It would lope and smoke like crazy until the oil got warmed up. Just something to think about if you're working on it outside. Good luck with it.
 
Thank you all for the excellent suggestions. It actually ended up being the cam position sensor, which cost a whopping $30 to fix. Not bad for a weeks worth of diagnosing lol.

This will be a great reference for anybody with a 7.3L tow rig though. Thanks again.

-Mike
 
glad you got it fixed. i have learned that with the newer stuff that you can plug a scanner in to thats were you start and go from there
 
Ahhh the CPS... totally forgot about that one.

I carry a spare CPS in the truck at all times.

Good you got it sorted out. The pre 97 trucks had some substandard cps's installed.
 
cps are notorious on those but will ussually cause a No start at all. the replacement sensors are a Huge upgrade. i use to put these in on my back in the parking lot at the dealer. was much easier than towing them in for the few minutes it takes to fix one. the 7.3 was much better than the 6.0 and all that followed in my opinion.
i agree with clean oil and a good diesel fuel supply are a must. they will run a long happy life if taken care of. cps and glow plug relays were a regular occurance for me back in the dealer days.
 
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