New guy, new truck with issues

[Dave7.3]

Howdy all, I'm new to this forum but have been around FTE and PSN for quite some time. I've been having some problems with my newly acquired truck and quite a few guys on those forums directed me over here for assistance.

So, lets get started.

A little back story:
I bought this 2001 F250 Super Duty XLT Lariat ECLB with a 7.3L powerstroke diesel, 4r100 auto 4x4 with 307k miles on it. The engine had a intermittent knock which sounded to me like an injector. With a rebuilt 4R100HD, clean body and new front axle, I thought it was worth the $2000 I spent on it. Drove it home and got to work.
Engine ended up needing a ton of work. Block bored 30 over with a sleeve put in #8. Replaced both heads as the originals were cracked. Replaced all 8 injectors with a good used set (120k on them) and swapped to a cam that wasn't pitted. Sent in my HPOP and had it terminated (T-500).

Fast forward to this past Monday:
Got the engine set in the frame and primed the entire system. Started after a few tries but ran pretty rough. Sounded like it was running on 4 cylinders and I had to keep it to the floor to keep it running. After 5-10 minutes it evened out and ran decent. Still sounded a little off.

Went out Tuesday morning to start it. Crank Crank Crank Crank...no go. Checked all the systems and everything was up to snuff. After an hour of crank and rest, it finally fired. Ran like crap and once again had to keep it to the floor to keep it running. Ran rough enough to shake the entire truck until 5-10 minutes passed and it smoothed out. I then drove it to town to try pushing the air out of the oil system. Put on ~30 miles.

This morning I went to start it and it was the same story as the day before. This time I checked it a bit more thoroughly. HPOP reservoir was full up to about 1/2" from the threads at the port. Pulled the ICP and the oil rail was full. Checked the fuel bowl and it was also full. Plugged in my SCT Livewire and checked for codes. Nothing showed up except a P0541 code (AIH delete code).

This has me at a complete loss. I almost want to say that the "good used" injectors are faulty, but it kinda sounds like an oil issue? Something isn't right and I'm out of my league here. Wishing I had AE right now to do a buzz test. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I also have some video. Got these just after getting back from that ~75 mile trip. As I mentioned, something is a little off that I can't put my finger on...

[STROKED_NY_023]

Did you check out the injector harness?? It dosent sound like an oil issue to me. My guess is that its fuel related. I would go through everything fuel related... Fuel filter, fuel bowl, FPR, lines, pickup in tank, pressure at fpr. Is there fuel in the bowl?


Sent from my Galaxy S2 while my wife is yelling at me for being on my phone...

[Dave7.3]

Originally Posted by STROKED_NY_023

Did you check out the injector harness?? It dosent sound like an oil issue to me. My guess is that its fuel related. I would go through everything fuel related... Fuel filter, fuel bowl, FPR, lines, pickup in tank, pressure at fpr. Is there fuel in the bowl?


Sent from my Galaxy S2 while my wife is yelling at me for being on my phone...

Whoa, thanks for the fast reply!

One of the first things I did was check the harness. Everything is good, clean and tight.

At first, I too suspected a fuel issue. But, there was plenty of fuel in the bowl when I checked it. In fact, I discovered I didn't snug down the cap enough and it sprayed fuel all over my engine compartment when I first fired it on Monday. Ooops.

I should also mention, I do have a RiffRaff FrX system installed with the gold spring (~61-65 psi).

I don't have a fuel pressure gauge, but I can pick one up tomorrow. I'll drop the fuel tank if I have to, but I figured I would seek assistance starting with the simplest/easiest stuff first and work my way up.

[STROKED_NY_023]

You will want to check it at idle and also under load while driving. How old is the pump? I wouldny drop the tank until you have ruled out everything else. How about GPS and the relay? Its a long shot I know, but its worth a shot.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 while my wife is yelling at me for being on my phone...

[Dave7.3]

Originally Posted by STROKED_NY_023

You will want to check it at idle and also under load while driving. How old is the pump? I wouldny drop the tank until you have ruled out everything else. How about GPS and the relay? Its a long shot I know, but its worth a shot.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 while my wife is yelling at me for being on my phone...

I am unsure how old the pump really is. It looks like it has been replaced at some point but who knows with the kind of miles this rig has. I'm starting to wonder about the in-tank filter cartridges the more I think on it. Those are a real job to do and I bet it has never been touched.

No sweat btw, I appreciate any help I can get. The GPS seems to be functioning and I put 8 new Motorcraft glowplugs in it when I had the engine apart. I didn't see even a puff of smoke while cranking or running at all either. I suppose I could try jumping the solenoid to make sure the plugs are coming on. I'll give that a try in the morning if it gives me fits again.

[Dave7.3]

Update:
Manually cycled the glowplugs this morning and attempted to fire it up. All crank and no go. I tried cycling the fuel pump several times before giving it one last try with manual glow to fire. All crank and no go again! This time I could smell exhaust though, so I suppose that is a good sign. Not a puff of smoke as per usual.

I'm going to take apart the engine harness tomorrow and clean the heck out of all the connections. Here is hoping this solves my woes.

[Dave7.3]

This evening I unhooked the entire wiring harness and cleaned the heck out of every single connector with a toothbrush. A couple of them were kinda grimy but came clean with some electric cleaning spray. I jumped in and crossed my fingers...no start. Figures.

Mentioned my woes to my friend that helped me rebuild it and he mentioned trying to swap to a better CPS. He doesn't know much about these as he usually works on old school stuff but I figured it was worth a shot. Did a little searching and came up with the BWD CSS1603 looking like the best option. Went over to O'reillys and grabbed one for $27. Popped out the old grey crusty Ford CPS and threw this new one in. Crossed my fingers and no start like usual.

I've done the best I can and failed. Dragging its sorry *** to the stealer next week to let them have at it.

[Codum]

How does the truck run once it has run for the 5-10 minutes. You said it smothed out. Does that mean it ran normal with normal power, with little smoke execpt on a hard acceleration. Just tring to see if this is a start up issue only?

[Dave7.3]

Originally Posted by Codum

How does the truck run once it has run for the 5-10 minutes. You said it smothed out. Does that mean it ran normal with normal power, with little smoke execpt on a hard acceleration. Just tring to see if this is a start up issue only?

Yep, once it smooths out it runs like a bat outa hell. Never smokes though, not on start up or even under hard acceleration. However, like in the videos I posted, it idles just a tiny bit off for some reason.

[Codum]

So its a start up only issue. Lack of fuel or lack of oil to cycle injectors to supply the fuel? But it runs great once it gets going, so I say it's not a fuel issue, it's an oil issue in my opinion. Your sure after it sits the hpop resivoir is still full of oil before you try to start. Once you try to start the lpop is filling it up then it eventually starts. I have read about a check valve that keeps the hpop resivoir from draining down. Let it sit 8-10 hours and then check the resivoir before tring to start.