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Heater core leak and a "mis-fire?"

2K views 15 replies 4 participants last post by  howardtm 
#1 · (Edited)
If it ain't one thing, its another. I think I need to have an exoricist pay a visit to my Beastie. Ended up on a "short" (about 400 mi one way) run a couple of days ago and noticed the distinct smell of anti-freeze coming from the defrost vents. Turns out there was a major, to my thinking, leak somewhere in the heater core. Looked under the hood and everything was clean (relatively speaking) but underneath there was a fast dripping of anti-freeze as well as some leaking onto the floorboard/pass. side. I stopped at a service station and picked up a gallon of anti-freeze and 2 bottles of BarJan stop leak. Well, it appears the stop leak worked, and I might add rather quickly. Topped of the resovoir(sp) and finished the run and made it back home without any leaks, but I still have the strong odor of anti-freeze whenever I turn on the blower fan. So I'm guessing I need to somehow remove the core cover and wash it out. I know the core will have to be replaced but finances right now just won't allow it. (so broke I can't even pay attention) Also, and I think the most important thing here, it this damme engine miss. Which I'll try to explain in 43,000 words or less..(fat chance guys..LOL). This "miss-fire" (which feels like its from only one cyl.)seems more pronounced when, A: the tranny upshifts a bit too early into 4th(?) and/or O/D and drops the RPM down to 14-1800. When this situation happens the engine really struggles and I usually have to manually turn the O/D off. The RPM's jump up and it "smoothes out". I'm sure it's still there just less noticable. B: Whenever I'm climbing a grade and she downshifts out of O/D, the miss will shake the heck outta the truck from aroud 2700 RPM and up. It's always there(the miss) just more pronounced during these 2 conditions. Now to my rather simple-minded thinking, I have either a bad/loose harness, or a failing/weak injector. To my recollection, it started doing this after Allegheny Ford replaced the PCM, and seriously, I don't have the money to take it somewhere else to have codes read. Trying to get this Beastie running right has put me so far behind on my bills somethimes I think I'm ahead. I know that the reader they have down at Advance Auto Parts won't read anything on this Beastie so thats not an option. And any work that needs to be done will have to be done by me and on the REAL cheap. She doesn't have much power, dogs a LOT on grades and on a really GOOD run, I'll see 10, maybe 10.5 MPG. If she's actually got a bad/mis-firing injector or a loose UVC harness, on just ONE cyl, thats 12 1/2% of my mileage AND power. Any thoughts one probable causes, ie what to look for first and go from there would be of tremendous help. And while I'm here, and to add another chapter to this Novella, going up hill, "pedal-to-the-metal, the most boost I've ever seen is about 13psi...isn't that just a tad bit low???
 
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#4 ·
03 E550, 7.3l, auto, 4.88 rear, full guages, no chip (yet), 4" exhaust down pipe won't fit and can't find a decent intake..but one of these days I'll have time and money to just make my own. The engine has the date of (05 Feb 99) on the valve cover label so I have no idea of the mileage on this puppy.
PS pics are posted in "my garage"
 
#6 ·
Sounds like mine did couple months ago. Buzz test number 2 injector did not buzz. That was the same injector that was replaced 9 months prior. Injector was fine, wiring was the problem. Replaced valve cover gasket and under valve cover harness.

Chris
 
#8 ·
I was up in Tenn visiting my parents, no warning, started skipping, try driving up a 6 degree mountain, climbing 1800 feet in six miles on 7 cylinders (If you have to do this stay in second gear). Went back down the mountain to an Autozone, the scanner they had did not pull any codes. SES light was on, would go off and run fine every once in awhile. Drove it home 230 miles and sucked down a tank of fuel, getting almost 1/2 the MPG as normal. Took it to a local guy that was the FORD certified diesel tech and a couple years ago he opened his own shop. He ran the buzz test for no charge, told me number 2 sounded bad, I replied just replaced that one 9 months ago. He replaced the valve cover gasket and the under valve cover harness. When I had the injector replaced we changed the UVC harnesses on both sides, I suspect it was probably just the connectors on the gasket was bad, anyway he did both valve cover gaskets and both UVC harnesses while he was in there and charged me less than 300.00. I am hoping I am good to go for awhile. I think my truck knows when I have extra money and it finds ways to get it from me.
 
#9 ·
Man...I know EXACTLY what you mean...our trucks must be secretly talking with each other. In all honesty here...I wish to he*l I'd never gotten a diesel. They're noisy, maintence intensive, unforgiving in that maintence, and it seems go south more often than any gasser I've ever owned in my life. And when they go wrong...they do it in a very expensive way! My 350 and 550 both have about the same miles on em and side by side...the 5.4 in the E350 will run circles around the diesel. It has NEVER failed to start, Never failed to get me where I needed to go AND back again, and the most expensive repair was replacing the right side head..only because the idiot replacing an exhaust gasket busted off 3 manifold bolts in the head.( which I had to pay for!)..All that..well, can't say the same for the 7.3, I've owned it for a year now and been nothing but a moneypit. I pray daily to the Diesel God, that one day it will be as dependable as my 14 footer 350, but somehow, I doubt that will happen.
 
#10 ·
Take it to a local Oreily's or Auto zone and see if they can read the codes. They usally do it for free. As long as the guy running the reader can follow directions and its's putting out a code it should give you a starting place.
 
#12 ·
Plenty of luck...just all the wrong direction. I still want to make it down there to have you look at this thing, I don't care if all it is is loose connection somewhere. I trust you to do the job right and not "fix" things that aren't broken. As it stands right now..I MIGHT be able to scrape up 5-600 bucks in the next few days (excluding gas money) to come your way (I'll bring my own tools..maybe save a few bucks if I do some of the dirty work), which probably is no where NEAR what it'll cost, but maybe I can get at least a real starting point. This recent problem only started after Allegheny Ford's resident genius replaced the PCM, which leads me to think maybe its something electrical...but I know just enough about this thing to be dangerous...well, maybe more like Lethal!
 
#14 ·
Well...like I said before.."be careful what ya wish for.." LOL
Looks like maybe...just maybe, I'll get my 350 sold today. Am selling it at a he*l of a lot less than its worth but I need the money and can't afford the insurance on something I don't drive anymore. So...what are your plans for early in the week (or this weekend..?lol)
 
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