Truck is sick! Really need you help guys!

[taylorking]

So a few days ago my truck started acting up. My dad drove it to charlotte to prica a job, and when he got in it to leave, it wouldn't start. I had to drive down there with mom about 40 miles to get him. But when we got there my dad grabbed a can of ether out of the toolbox (truck we brought), disconnected the glowplugs, and sprayed a little bit on my intake (DIY).

The truck fired right up, and we drove it back home.

We've noticed it idles a little weird; it kicks the rpms up a little above idle every minute or so. We've replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter (routine maintenance), cam position sensor, and computer. The darn thing still acts up.

When the engine gets warmed up, and you cut it off, it will not start back for anything. It has to be ethered. Of course we have only done that twice, and i know it is bad for the engine.

Guy at the Ford place said it could be the HPOP, or an injector O-ring letting oil in the cylinder making it dead. When it is idling, it kinda shakes a bit, kinda like it is missing.

This sucks bad!

[taylorking]

btw i was messin with my dad about it...I told him if it turned out to be an injector problem, we would just have to take all of them out and replace them with Stage I's so that we knew for sure it was fixed.

[HVAC SuperTech]

Is your truck keeping the fuel bowl filled? Check it after its warmed up and ran for a while, could have a leak maybe. What about your HPOP resivior? full? hows your oil level?

[taylorking]

it has used a gallon of oil in about 800 miles....where is my hpop reservoir?

[HVAC SuperTech]

Its right in front of the engine.in front of the fuel bowl. it will be about 2 inches wide by about 10 inches long. Sounds like you have a good size leak. is your engine valley a lake of oil? if so, check your HPOP lines comming out from beside the fuel bowl.

[97 Powerstroker]

A gallon of oil in 800 miles is a serious leak. I would address that issue first.
As far as the hard warm start. How long is the truck sitting before you try to start it again. Does it refuse to start right after you shut it off or is this after it sits for a half hour or an hour?
It could be the injector o-rings. Drain your fuel from your filter housing into a glass jar. If it is dingy gray or black your injector o-rings are bad. Another sign is blue tinted exhaust smoke. You can also check the fuel regulator screen for rubber chunks which would be your o-rings.

If you show these signs I would replace asap. Bad O-Rings can really screw your stuff up. Especially when they dump fuel in your oil.

[taylorking]

the truck doesnt leak at all, because we've kept a close eye on it since we just finished it. Nor does it blow tinted blue smoke. Is the fuel bowl in the filter housing? In the pump?

If the truck sits for a while and cools down, it will fire right up. But after it is ran for a few minutes and warms up, after it is shut off it will not crank for anything.

where could that oil be going?

The truck id sit for 2 years until we found it and bought it. Maybe the injector o-rings are in bad shape now that they didn't get any lubrication?

[97 Powerstroker]

Sounds like injector o-rings to me. If you are going through that much oil without a physical leaks it has to be going past the o-rings. When o-rings go bad a lot of different things can happen and hard starts is one of them. As far as where your oil is going its probably going into the combustion chamber and also being returned to your fuel tank in your fuel return line. It's not uncommon for a early powerstroke with your miles to need new o-rings, especially since they are not the updated o-rings.
Drain your fuel filter housing which is located behind the high pressure oil pump.
The drain is a yellow lever located on the left side on the ff housing. Make sure to run a hose from the drain to a jar to get a look at your fuel. It should be dingy yellow color. If it is blue or dark, oil is in your fuel.
I would definitely check your fuel.

Another possibility for the hard warm starts is your HPOP is having problems. It could have leaks that are causing to oil to aerate. Which would really stand out when the motor is warmed up. After running awhile the oil is aerated up from a bad hpop, you shut it off and then try to start it again. It will refuse to fire up because there is too much air in oil so you can't properly pressurize the injectors. So if you let it set for a longer time the oil will loose some of that aeration and will fire up upon cranking.
If your HPOP is aerating the oil your truck should run worse warmed up as oppose to being cold. It will hunt at idle and run rough.
Another quick test for this is when the motor is completely warm pull the dipstick and check for bubbles. It's fine to have a couple bubbles but if the oil on the dipstick is laced with bubbles, thats bad.
Sorry for the novel. Check this stuff out and let us know.

[97 Powerstroker]

I have 201000 miles on my truck and I may use a quart of oil in 4000 miles. Using a quart every 200 miles or 1gal. every 800 is excessive.

[taylorking]

(97 Powerstroker) Thanks for the info, I'm gonna check for bubbles later today when i get home from school. i hate to run this thing when its broke, because it can't be good for it.


Ill let you guys know.