Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum banner

7.3 Lacking Power?

27K views 16 replies 4 participants last post by  sbluke55 
#1 ·
So I am not sure if my 7.3 is lacking power or not.. but my dad's old 7.3 (2000) felt WAY faster/had more power than my 7.3. Mine is a 1999 with 228K on it. his had 330K when we sold it and it still had a ton of power. I live in Cincinnati and the other day I was towing a Dodge charger from Columbus to Cincy (120 ish miles) it was on a Uhaul trailer and going up hills I had absolutely NO power, I'd keep my foot into it (about 3/4 down) and I would drop from 70mph to around 55mph. and it felt like it was struggling to go up the inclines. May I include this dodge charger was STRIPPED it's a police model so no carpet, backseats, headliner, center console etc. it is a VERY light car, My guess is it was about 5000 pounds total I Was towing and that is probably even pushing it I am pretty sure the car was about 2,000 pounds and the trailer 1,500 pounds. Anyways, I am pretty positive my dads truck was STOCK, besides the straight pipe, everything else was stock, no chip, no tuner, no intake. It was a F350 mine is an F250. Even when I go go up a incline with no load on the truck i'd be going 40 miles per hour and going up the hill i'd drop to 20 ish. My Mother's Kia sorento takes the incline better than my 7.3 does, and that kia only has 190HP.

Anyways enough rambling on, do you all believe I have a problem with the truck or is this how its suppose to act? I do have a AFE stage 2 intake, (AFE Dry S) and Straight pipe, The truck does not smoke black, or white even when cold, If I put my foot to the floor still no smoke or tire spin.

I am considering taking it to a diesel mechanic to get it looked at today at around 3pm EST. (Tri-State Diesel in Milford OH) OR if anyone has another diesel mechanic they'd recommend me take it to around the Cincinnati area let me know. This guy I called him, he charges 95 a hour for labor and said he would charge $95 to look at my truck and see if anything is wrong with it (Run tests like fuel pressure, drive it, etc.)

So back to my question and sorry for rambling so much, What is your guys opinion? Do you think I have a problem? Should I go get it checked out?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Definitely sounds like its low on power. I would start by checking for up pipe leaks and cac boot leaks.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Forgot to mention, I only work on gasoline engines. I have NO idea what half of the parts are on a diesel, I can do simple things like fuel filter change, air intake, oil change etc on a diesel. but not much else on a diesel as I don't even know what half of the parts are called. I can do almost anything on a gas engine. And also I have never owned a car with a turbo, only a supercharged car (01 Regal GS) So I don't know much about how to check for boost leaks etc. Someone also told me to drop the tank and clean the fuel filters inside of there, think this could be a problem?

EDIT: I also have a BAFX code reader that I had a boost gauge on (Even though these aren't really accurate..) at the FLOOR I got 12.9 I am pretty sure. I don't hook it up because it messes with the trucks computer (Causes it to turn off and only start in "N" etc.) but when I did have it connected I believe I got 12.9 PSI
 
#4 ·
Yes I would possibly clean the tank filters. the up pipes come from the manifold up to the turbo collector pipe. They have gaskets that tend to leak. Look for black soot around those gaskets and on the firewall. The cac boots are the charged air cooler boots. From the outlet of the turbo intake side. Follow the silver pipes to the front of the truck. Then one back back to the intake spyder. There are 4 blue boots that can leak or rip.
 
#6 ·
Sorry for bad pictures, truck is to tall for me, but this is what I see under my hook, looks like Soot in the last picture.

EDIT: look at number 3 picture on here and look at the boot that goes to the turbo from the intake, is that leaking? I just noticed that in these pictures.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Those are all the charge boots. You need to look at the exhaust side from underneath the truck and behind the turbo. The last pic is oil build up. Google ccv mod youll find how to fix it. You need to look at the up pipes and see if they have soot. This people will show you what you are looking for but keep in mind the turbo is removed in this picture. So you will need to get out a flash light and take a good look around. http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=8125&d=1168996721
 
#9 ·
Took it to a mechanic to get the full engine checked out, no boost leaks, or air leaks. but fuel pressure is under 11psi than what its suppose to be he said, what do y'all think the problem is? he did test it under a load. When I first got the truck the air filter was black and oily (its suppose to be silver and non oiled) so I bought a new one. and the fuel filter inside the bowl was dirty, it was even stuck onto the top of the lid and I had to take a screw driver and pry it off.

Do y'all think the restriction is in the fuel tank? or do I have a weak fuel pump on the frame rail?
 
#10 ·
iirc fuel pressure should be at 55-60ish at idle and hold 50+ on a pull I'm sure more will chime in with better experience but sounds extremely low to me
 
#12 ·
Post back with the exact psi.
 
#14 ·
PSI is 43-46 at idle

39-41 under load

ICP I think the paper says .15-.24 (Can't really read the hand writing, I know .24 for sure not sure about the beginning number though)
 
#15 ·
Tank screens would be a good place to start. Good preventative job if nothing else. New fuel filter too. That should fix all of your restrictions. Unless the fpr isnt holding the pressure.
 
#16 ·
I am taking it to him on Wednesday to replace the filters in the tank. I did the fuel filter in the bowl and it was pretty dirty, the filter wouldn't even come off the cap I had to pry it with a screw driver. I did the differential fluid flush yesterday and the fluid was pretty watery and milky/muddy. looks like the previous owner use to mud with the truck wouldn't surprise me of some of that dirt clogged the filter inside the tank.
 
#17 ·
Google hutch/ harpoon mods. Worth the money.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top