HELP - High fuel consumption

[ckelsoe]

Greetings,

I am at 1600 miles of a 2600 mile trip from VA to OR. I picked up a 35' horse trailer (less than 10K weight) at around 500 miles. (some background).

At around 1400 miles in the trip my fuel consumption became drastically worse. For example, I am now at around 100 miles per 30 gal. of fuel.

Air filter was cleaned well before the trip. Fuel filter replaced at around 1500 miles in the trip and changed again today by the dealer (it had less than 100 miles on the new filter).

The dealer found code P0263 and replaced defective injector #1. They also found P1211 and cleaned the fuel pickup screens. They cleared codes and retested.

So I hooked up and pulled out. Within 10 miles I had codes again along with loss of power under load and some other issues with the engine. I turned around - while waiting on traffic, the check engine light went out. Pulled back on the interstate and everything was fine until I pulled a hill. Then the check engine light and loss of power. I should also note that 70 miles ate up almost 1/2 tank of fuel.

There are no leaks - fuel or otherwise. Truck runs like heck with no load.

So I am back at the same hotel waiting till morning for the dealer to open and start over.

I would appreciate any insight someone may have that could be causing or contributing to this issue. I do not understand where the fuel is going. I do not notice any smoke from the exhaust (white / black or otherwise), however , that does not mean that there is some and I just cannot see it.

Thanks, Charles

[Rob]

man, i have no idea. here is a bump for you, and by the way, welcome to the site!

[ckelsoe]

To add to this, I found out that there is also a P0478 code. I tried to get the dealer to hook their computer up with the trailer attached and record what is happening when the codes are thrown. They will not do that. So now waiting for the mechanic to show up so he can guess more about what the issues may be.

[ckelsoe]

The mechanic put a fuel pressure guage on and we test drove with the trailer attached. Same codes. Since one of the codes could indicate issues with the oil they are now doing an oil change. It is interesting to me that the issue occurs when the engine is hot and under load. Turn off the engine or idle and the check engine light goes off until going up a hill (load) occurs then it comes back.

[Action Rick]

Originally Posted by ckelsoe

The mechanic put a fuel pressure guage on and we test drove with the trailer attached. Same codes. Since one of the codes could indicate issues with the oil they are now doing an oil change. It is interesting to me that the issue occurs when the engine is hot and under load. Turn off the engine or idle and the check engine light goes off until going up a hill (load) occurs then it comes back.

Have they checked ICP & IPRdc % when you are having the problem?...

Could be IPR o ring or injector o ring ,Or an injector poppet....

[mschn99]

sounds to me like a fuel pressure issue...

[Action Rick]

Originally Posted by ckelsoe

The mechanic put a fuel pressure guage on and we test drove with the trailer attached. Same codes. Since one of the codes could indicate issues with the oil they are now doing an oil change. It is interesting to me that the issue occurs when the engine is hot and under load. Turn off the engine or idle and the check engine light goes off until going up a hill (load) occurs then it comes back.

Did he say what the fuel pressure was ?....

[ckelsoe]

There was another part that was replaced that cleared up the issue. I will post later with exactly what it was as I am back on the road and trying to make up time. Plus I do not have the paperwork with me just this moment .

[ridgerunner98570]

I had a similar problem with my 99 under the same cercumstance pulling a trailer. It was algae in the full tank. Every time I would hit a hill I would lose all power and my full millage was down to about 7 mpg. When it would start acting up I would pull over and shut off engine for a few minutes and then start it up and it would be fine till I hit a hill again.Then same thing. What was happening was when I got into a hard pull the fuel pressure would rise and algae would then plug my filter intakes in the fuel tank. As soon as I would shut the engine off the the pressure would reduce and the algae would fall away from the pickup intakes. The Ford dealer in Butte Montana fixed it for me. They had to remove the tank and clean it and the filters in the tank. It has been running great ever since.

[fathead]

sounds to me like a catalytic converter stopped up, esp if its loosing power under a load or like climbing a hill... check it out, or take it off.. lol