misfire??? cracked nozzel??? NO CEL???? Please Help!!!

[superjoey03]

I have a 03 f350 with a 7.3 and i have a very confusing problem that has myself and numerous diesel tech stumped. Every morning when i start my truck it has what feels like a misfire on what i can figure 3 cyls. I let the truck warm up for about 10 min and head out. As I drive the cylinders clean out and runs great after about 6 or 7 miles and the motor warms all the way up. It feels like the motor is turning on the cylinders one by one. thru all of this if you step on the gas it puts out a steady light stream of black smoke. just cruising down the road there is no smoke but under acc there is. Even after it clears out it still has the smoke issue. this truck is not chipped. All i have is a diy intake and 4in downpipe with 5in strait from there back. The only thing i know is that the truck is getting to much fuel. Whether that be from a stuck injector or a cracked nozzle. I am trying to get to the bottom of this before i go and spend the money and replace injectors, glow plugs and uvch. I will if i have to but why spend a couple grand if i dont have too. Help me please!!!! Any opinions are appreciated.

[melmount]

Mine has been doing similar symptoms. I had 2 bad injectors. They came up with the scanner though. I still have some smoke and a vibration. I have one more failing but pass the tests. Half of my injectors are reman now. I am replacing 2 more drivers side and hoping it fixes it. If not then i will do the last 2 on pass side. Sounds like injectors too me.

[dazdillenger]

whats the mileage on your truck?

[superjoey03]

I see what your saying, but if im getting black smoke then that tells me that im getting fuel and its burning just too much of it. i was also told that if the glowplugs were not working on a cyl then the injector is just dumping fuel till the cylinder warms up and then burns the fuel of and stops misfiring. Im ASE cert P2 Parts Specialist and i know motors very well just this is my first diesel and it WILL NOT throw a code for misfire. Im really getting frustrated. I dont know where to start or where to go to find an answer that is correct and not just a guess.

[superjoey03]

260k on the truck and i bought it with 254k

[dazdillenger]

do injector o-rings and glow plugs. Get the BERU glow plugs, not autolight, and for o-rings, get them on ebay (60 bucks shipped for all 8). If you go to ford they're roughly 15 bucks per injector, and international was 19 last I checked.

[dazdillenger]

If you're a tech you can get a spanner wrench and pull your injectors apart to check the plungers/barrels. Its fairly obvious if they're bad. As for a cracked nozzle, that too should be easily detected.

[superjoey03]

Originally Posted by dazdillenger

do injector o-rings and glow plugs. Get the BERU glow plugs, not autolight, and for o-rings, get them on ebay (60 bucks shipped for all 8). If you go to ford they're roughly 15 bucks per injector, and international was 19 last I checked.

Thanks. That was my first thought to do when it started. i just dont want to do that and not fix it and have to pull everything apart again but it makes sense

[superjoey03]

Originally Posted by dazdillenger

If you're a tech you can get a spanner wrench and pull your injectors apart to check the plungers/barrels. Its fairly obvious if they're bad. As for a cracked nozzle, that too should be easily detected.

Im not a professional mech. I know gas motors inside and out but not a tech. Im a certified parts specialist. basically im a glorified parts guy. I know my fair share about gas but not so much diesel since this is my first and i really want to do this myself and learn these motors too.

[dazdillenger]

I just did a set in my dd at 280k. the bottom o-rings on #1 and #8 were melted, and several others were brittle and had chips. Truck was hard starting and blew lots of black/grey smoke on startup. I picked up around 3mpg as well as a much smoother engine. Changed the GP's while I was in there. cost me 100 bucks.

If you have the OEM v/c harnesses, they get brittle with higher mileage/age. Be careful and make sure you plug them in completely.

as far as not wanting to redo it-it took me an hour to do both sides (not my first rodeo) so I'd say give it a shot.