Low power?

[AZBLACKSMOKE]

Hello evevryone. This is my first Powerstroke ive owned, But Im fairly familiar with other brand diesels. Anyway, I bought it about two weeks ago from a local dealer. 2nd owner. PO used it as a service truck so im guessing tons of idleing. It only has 160K on the clock. Sounds great, starts great.

I tow around 4500-5500 pounds on average. Nothing crazy. I live in part of AZ that has some good grades and some mountains. I never see smoke out of the tailpipe ever. Takes a good bit of time to get up to speed and then it seems to take alot of energy/pedal to hold that speed. I wouldnt say the truck struggles, but it kinda feels like the brakes are dragging type low power. Im not sure of the % of grades, but I usually hafta downshift even with an empty trailer....I know it can do better. Somethings not right. Its not terrible, but other trucks with heavier loads pass me up the grades. I dont have any SES lights. on my first trip i checked my milage and got around 13mpgs combibed empty and pulling, which I think could be better for the small loads I have...but Im constantly flooring it, so I think milage could definiatly improve. Even with no trailer at all, I feel like Im being held back. Powerstrokes should run better than this?

Any ideas where to start? Im a few weeks away from installing gauges and exhaust. I have access to a snap on scanner. What kind of things should I check? I did clean my EBPS tube and replace the EBPS sensor because it was caked, but I didnt see any difference. Any thought would greatly appreciated.

[Greenman01]

Check for boost leaks on intake and exhaust side.

[cncrestoration]

yea mine did that last summer it was a vacume line on passenger side goes from black thing on firewall to the head

[99bft]

The gauges are going to help you alot. I like to see how much boost your pushing. Have you checked any of the filters( fuel or air)? Has the oil been changed recently and with the right weight? The exhaust will def help you in the power and mpg department. The 7.3 has never been known for blowing doors off. Ive drove some trucks that run much better than others. A good tuner will help you out alot. As far as the snap on scanner, you can look at your hpop pid to see if its healthy. i dont know if all snap on scanners will pull a map/boost pid. If it does you can watch that untill you get a boost gauge to get a base line. I know my truck without a tune is sluggish up hills but the stock auto tranny soaks up alot of the power. Maybe someone else can chime in and be of more help. Good luck with the truck and

[burdman36]

I felt the same about mine when I purchased it. 25,000 miles ago. then found this site and did the zoodad, diy 6637 CAI, and straight piped my stock exhaust(3.5inch). Much different truck now. better low end torque through all gears. these trucks need to breath and then get it out so it seems.

[AZBLACKSMOKE]

Originally Posted by Greenman01

Check for boost leaks on intake and exhaust side.

What is the best way to heck for that? Gauges? I guess I can make up some pvc fitting with a tapped gauge and air shrader valve to see if it hold air presssure. I did somthing similiar on my duramax a few years back to chack for IC and IC boot leaks.

Originally Posted by cncrestoration

yea mine did that last summer it was a vacume line on passenger side goes from black thing on firewall to the head

Are you talking about the map sensor?

Originally Posted by 99bft

The gauges are going to help you alot. I like to see how much boost your pushing. Have you checked any of the filters( fuel or air)? Has the oil been changed recently and with the right weight? The exhaust will def help you in the power and mpg department. The 7.3 has never been known for blowing doors off. Ive drove some trucks that run much better than others. A good tuner will help you out alot. As far as the snap on scanner, you can look at your hpop pid to see if its healthy. i dont know if all snap on scanners will pull a map/boost pid. If it does you can watch that untill you get a boost gauge to get a base line. I know my truck without a tune is sluggish up hills but the stock auto tranny soaks up alot of the power. Maybe someone else can chime in and be of more help. Good luck with the truck and

Yes. I am very curious to see what boost im getting. I know im getting somebecuase there is zero, and I mean zero black smoke at all times and any situation. Usually I can get a truck to puff a little, but not this one. I have gone bumper to bumper with serviceing. New air, fuel and oil filters. I use 15w40 synthetic oil from Lucas. I also put royal purple in the transmission and Shaeffers synthetic ATF in the transfer case and synthetic 80w90 in the rear diff from BG. I also jacked up all the wheels and made sure that something wasnt dragging or holding up. Tires keptr spinning for days after I gave them a good push. I also listened for the fuel pump to make sure its at least coming on. Is there a shraeder valeve or port that I can check fuel pressure at?

Originally Posted by burdman36

I felt the same about mine when I purchased it. 25,000 miles ago. then found this site and did the zoodad, diy 6637 CAI, and straight piped my stock exhaust(3.5inch). Much different truck now. better low end torque through all gears. these trucks need to breath and then get it out so it seems.

I plan to do these mods, but I too think my truck should do a little better without the mods either. If I have something wrong, I dont want to mask it, or make it worse by covering it up with a mod.

Thanks for all the replys. Ill will try a few things and report back. If anyone has anything else to check, please chime in. Thanks guys. Its good to finally have a powerstroke and somewhere to go for info.

[AZBLACKSMOKE]

Whats a zoodad? I guess Im off to search for the zoodad.


EDIT: Looks like an intake mod. Can anyone provide a link to the instructions or original mod thread?

[Greenman01]

Originally Posted by AZBLACKSMOKE

What is the best way to heck for that? Gauges? I guess I can make up some pvc fitting with a tapped gauge and air shrader valve to see if it hold air presssure. I did somthing similiar on my duramax a few years back to chack for IC and IC boot leaks.

That is exactly what you do. Here is a link anyway.
Boost leak detector - PICS! - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Also check your up pipes for exhaust leaks.

[burdman36]

Yeah, based off what you said I would say mine was getting better mpg(15ish) and more power(when wound up) so not covering something up is a great approach. I may have so I'm very interested in what you find out. Keep us posted:-) The zoodad is easy to find on here with lots of pictures and different ways to do it. Some say why do it if your doing a diy 6637 but that zoodad mod shoves fresh air to any CAI your running and I myself would recommend it. I did it before my 6637 and the truck loved it even with a stock intake.

[AZBLACKSMOKE]

Originally Posted by burdman36

Yeah, based off what you said I would say mine was getting better mpg(15ish) and more power(when wound up) so not covering something up is a great approach. I may have so I'm very interested in what you find out. Keep us posted:-) The zoodad is easy to find on here with lots of pictures and different ways to do it. Some say why do it if your doing a diy 6637 but that zoodad mod shoves fresh air to any CAI your running and I myself would recommend it. I did it before my 6637 and the truck loved it even with a stock intake.

Will do those things and check back. Thanks for the tips.