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no power, sounds like its misfiring, and stumbles

5K views 35 replies 8 participants last post by  Detroit_Diesel 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I took the risk and purchased a 2001 F350 7.3L powerstroke through a repo auction. There's a bunch of paper work from Ford dealers showing usual oil changes, fuel filters, etc, etc so I think the car has been decently taken care of. The fuel filter was also replaced at 143000 miles according to the recent invoice. Its clean title with approx 145000 miles. On my drive home today I gave it a WOT just to see how she performs and all of the sudden I lost power I had to pull off to the side of the freeway because the pedal wasn't doing anything and I was slowing down on the highway to nearly under 40 mph. The car was stumbling and idling rough like it was working off a few cylinders. I turned the car off and let it cool for 15 minutes and fired it back up and it ran fine, but as soon as I hit a incline highway the same thing happen. There are no fault codes. I had to pull off about 4 times in a 30 mile radius before I made it home. This is my first powerstroke and I don't know where to begin since no fault codes were active. Even when I don't give it a WOT as soon as I hit a incline highway and give it some load it loses power and stumbles. :|
 
#3 ·
Sounds like your high pressure oil pump. Mine went out about 230k, anytime it got over 2500rpm the truck would literally lose all power and do all but die. So I'd put it in neutral and coast start it. I would start by looking into that. And good luck, HPOPs aren't cheap.
 
#5 ·
#7 ·
I may unplug the ICP and take it for a drive and see how it reacts, but the car starts up fine. I may also removed the valve covers and unplug 1 injector at a time and see if it makes a difference. I'm new to these powerstroke engine so it may take a little time to pick up on everything. Ill keep this thread updated.
 
#9 ·
A little over 1/4 tank and I filled it up with 20 gallons last night and it still has the same issue. As soon as I hit a incline road the truck has no power and when I got to my driveway it sounded like it was misfiring or running on 6 or 7 injectors. I may remove the valve cover soon and start unplugging injectors while the engine is running. I wouldn't mind putting in 8 reman injectors, glow plugs, harness, and a hpop just to avoid any future issues.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Oil level is good. I removed the valve cover and I checked the harness to make sure there wasn't any loose pig tails or obvious signs of rubbing damage and they were okay. I started the engine and wiggled the harness several times and nothing changed. I unplugged each injector one at a time and noticed cylinder #1 has a weird audible sound and it would go away when It was unplugged...almost like the ticking was much louder.. it's sorta hard to explain, but didn't sound like the others. So I think I'm going to replace all 8 of my injector with a new harness and glow plugs. The sound was more audible the warmer the engine got assuming resistance would increase and the injector wouldn't fire as properly especially under heavier load. Anyone know a good place to get injectors from? I found these I don't know if they're trustworthy... Ford F250 F350 7 3 7 3L Powerstroke Diesel Fuel Injector Superkit Master Kit | eBay

I will also check the fuel filter bowl and replace the filter along with the oil and filter.
 
#13 ·
I think I'd start by adding 5 or 10 gallons of fuel. As Corey was alluding to, if the problem resolves with more fuel, the pickup tube screen in the tank is broken off. If it doesn't get better, I'd put a fuel pressure gauge on it and see what the fuel pressure is at wide open throttle, under load. It should stay above 45 psi or so.
 
#14 ·
I carry the injectors you would want. But, I think you would be well ahead of the game by purchasing a a quality scanner or software like AutoEnginuity before throwing $2000 of parts at is and still possibly not knowing what the issue is.

AUTOENGINUITY TOTAL FORD SCANTOOL BUNDLE SP03 '99-'14 - TOOLS/ENGINE DIAGNOSTICS

I would always be very leary of DIY kits if you dont know what you are doing and no access to a flow bench. If you screw something up, you could be replacing the engine too with a potential stuck open injector and hydrolocking a cylinder.
 
#15 ·
The problem hasn't changed after I filled it up with fuel. It has almost a full tank. I need to find a website that sells fuel pressure gauges for the power stroke.

Thank you I will purchase that software asap. I know throwing parts is a waste, but i figured since I have them removed i might as well drop in 8 reman injectors with a new harness. I know cylinder #1 is weak, but I don't think its enough to cause it to have zero power on a incline or under load and when coming to a stop its stumbling like its only working a few cylinders. Do you sell external fuel pressure gauges or will that software show the fuel pressure?
 
#16 ·
Yes, I do. But you can buy something local on the cheap side for now if you want. At least to get you in the right direction troubleshooting.

Or if this is a truck you want to end up keeping and putting money into, I do carry Isspro, Autometer gauge kits, or the EDGE Insight CS2 and CTS2 monitors. The EDGE stuff still doesnt monitor fuel though without the extra kits.
 
#17 ·
I just purchased the autoenginuity Ford software you posted up for this situation and future reference. I do plan on keeping the car for quite a long time since it's work related. I didnt visually inspect the fuel filter cap, but is there a special socket or tool to remove it? I want to make sure there is fuel inside. I also saw a video on YouTube about the sending unit filters getting plugged.
 
#22 ·
The OP indicated he "unplugged injectors with the engine running". I know this is a common trick to check cyl balance on gas engines, but is this a good idea on a Power Stroke?

I've been on here a couple of years and have never seen anyone mention using the unplug the injector technique. I would think it risks damage to the IDM (not to mention the guy doing the unplugging) because of the voltage, and should set injector circuit codes too. Which need to be cleared.

Am I right or wrong?
 
#25 · (Edited)
I installed everything and changed the oil, fuel filter, and air filter. The truck runs great, but I still feel like it loses power on a high incline road. Does anyone know what pressures I need to see with autoenginuity while driving the truck? I'm still seeing a little smoke from the excessive oil that was dumped into the exhaust system.

Edit: I found this. I did the buzz test and contribution test and it passed. The fuel pressure at idle is around high 500 and I haven't driven it or put it under a load to see if it reaches around 3000 psi.
http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/tech.htm
 
#26 ·
Fuel pressure should be in the neighborhood of 60 psi, but you can't see that with a scan tool; there's no sensor for it. The 500 psi you're seeing is ICP, and that's about normal at idle. What is your IPR duty cycle at idle? Normal range is around 8-11% or so. Were there any stored trouble codes?
 
#28 ·
No its sluggish uphill. It finally threw a fault code P1211. The injection control voltage is 3.30, injection control pressure at WOT under load read only 2546 psi, and the injection control pressure duty cycle is 38%. My barometric is also reading 146 PSI.

I'm suspecting a bad IPR? I can't touch the truck yet its still cooling off.
 
#29 ·
I don't think it's the IPR, personally. The numbers you posted don't really point to an IPR problem. If the PCM was commanding more than the 2546 psi ICP, the IPR duty cycle would just keep right on climbing, possibly as high as 64.2% on a stock truck. I'd be interested in seeing a log of the data to maybe figure out what is setting the P1211. Also, a P1211 can be set by low fuel pressure and it should be the first thing you should rule out. Do you have a gauge you can plumb in to check it at WOT under load? There are test ports in the filter housing with a -4 ORB thread. The lower one is the post filter port.
 
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