E550...same o same o problem

[howardtm]

Same problem again. had another short run again last night, lost power several times. Waited a couple of hours, fired it up and it ran reasonably well, all things considered. Stopped back at Allegheny Ford, they pulled codes..P1211 was back (which I figured since the SES light came on twice) also a P0478, which showed up the other day, and a new one, P0470. They again took it for a test drive and nothing! Ran like a charm..sort of. It seems to run fine some of the time then like squat at others. When it loses power, feels like its missing really bad and a pronounced knocking(injector knock I presume) seeming from the right bank. when It revs up, it still has no power. If I shut it down for a few minutes, like perhaps 10-20 minutes, and fire it back up, it seems to run fine, at least for a while...and so far ALWAYS when the tech takes it for a run. I really need some help on this before I go completely insane. Also...referral to an HONEST PSD mechanic/shop in western Pa!

[guzzle]

It's really tough to try to diagnose through the internet without actually seeing the truck, but with what you have done so far I am wondering about a couple of other areas that your recent post indicates should be looked at.

P0478 and P0470 have to do with the Exhaust Backpressure Valve. Has anyone removed the EBPV sensor (front passenger side of engine) and the tube between it and the manifold? It will get plugged with soot or actually get a hole in the tube causing the EBPV to close. If that happens, you will feel as if the engine looses all power due to a loss of boost. I have also heard of cases where the EBPV will simply stick in the closed position due to carbon build-up. If this were the case, you should be hearing a loud hiss coming from the engine and exhaust while running tho.....

I also wonder about the fuel system itself....pump and potential areas of the pre-pump fuel lines that are susceptible to air infiltration. scott had mentioned this in an earlier post. If you are leaking a lot of air into the suction side of the pump, the engine will dramatically loose power, usually while trying to work hard. A fuel pressure guage mounted to the fuel bowl will show if you are loosing pressure to the fuel rails that would cause these symptoms including injector knock (air in fuel). In-tank modifications along with pre-pump fuel line modifications (known as the Hutch Mod) will eliminate these problems but will also require the installation of an aftermarket fuel filter (pre-pump filter). On another forum, had a mechanic with a customer complaining of similar conditions and was advised to do the same mod with a kit from ITP Diesel and cured the no-power complaints of his customer. It would be worth watching what the fuel pressure does while running rough to determine if this is a potential problem.

[~CrazyDiesel~]

Havent forgotten about you..


I think you should take it to another dealership.... i really do, have a set of fresh eyes, ears and hands look it over. Cant hurt imho.

[camrod]

First if all howard, i'm new to this site, or at least have'nt been a member untill lately. I HAVE however been a mechanic for fifteen years, and 4 of those at ford dealerships in Minnesota and Iowa. I also own, maintain, and repair my own 1999 F-350 with the 7.3L, and 460,000 plus miles on the odometer! So, let me tell you what I Know; YOUR DEALERSHIP MECHANIC DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING!!! I've read this from the beginning and laughed every time you stated what they told you was wrong. First of all, it was'nt your PCM that was the problem, it was the chip that they should have seen the first time they tried to reflash with no luck. Those chips are designed to be installed from the outside of the box through a porthole type connection directly onto the circuit board. They alter the PCM's memory, and while they are plugged in, reflashing the PCM is impossible. SECOND of all the dealership should be able to read your Parameters while testdriving the blessid van! That would have told them that your exaust back pressure was too low, therby explaining the SMOKE, THE LACK OF POWER, AND THE POOR MILEAGE!!! Not to mention setting codes that make the SES light come on. If I was you, I would be demanding money returned for several of the repairs that you mentioned, and bringing it to a different dealership. Preferably, to one that deals a little more with the bigger trucks. That TURBO Should be whistling NON-STOP!! With as much as that thing weighs, Hell it should be SCREAMING!!!!:nono:

[~CrazyDiesel~]

And this is the stuff I have been saying all along, albeit less strong.

Allegheny has been needing to get off of this truck since the 1st bad repair.

Notice, i've been telling him this the entire time... Does he listen? Nope!

[howardtm]

first off...the last couple of test drives, I've been with them and they've had the puter hooked in, they replaced the back pressure sensor AND cleaned the tube...absolutely no change. I got about 40 miles down the road, with a delivery on board, mind you, when the SES light came on and it started losing power again. I managed to limp back home, transfer the cargo to my smaller E350 box and make the delivery to North Carolina (on time I might add). Secondly, Allegheny Ford seems to be the only one in this whole area that has the facilities to work on 20' box trucks. I talked with a tech from Hunter Truck Sales and Service, and although they admit they could probably do the engine work, since its an International built engine (I assume) they can't read through the Ford electronics, which sounds to me more BS than fact. HOWEVER... on the way back from the NC run, I kept thinking about this thing and maybe...just maybe, I received an epifany from the Great and Almighty Diesel God. In all the trips to Allegheny Ford, they have not once, checked out the electrical system! It would seem to me, although I am simple-minded in this matter, that if, and granted its a big "IF", the wiring circuit leading from the PCM to the IPR was intermittently shorting out, was frayed or corroded somewhere along the line, then the "instructions" being sent to the IPR would be corrupted in-route and thus the IPR would be getting "bad" instructions. The P1211 seems the one constant code in all this, and with the IPR already having been replaced TWICE, Would the most common denominator here be something in the wiring?? Being that the problem started out as a rare occassion and has become more constant. Time before last, it lost power COMPLETELY, leaving me at a dead stop inside the Squirrel Hill Tunnel after about 5 miles of total driving. This last time, I was able to limp home, about 50 miles, managing to keep about 35MPH max. I returned it to Allegheny ford last week (as of yesterday they hadn't looked at it yet) with a list. Topping that list was to check the electrical system/wires/connectors. One of the local geniuses looked over the schematics and found a "PCM Relay" that appears to have a direct connection to the IPR, and said that it (the relay) could be going bad. His "partner-in-crime" said "no, if that was the case, the PCM would not power up."
The 1211 code also note a probable cause as a leaking HPOP, injector O-Rings etc...if those were leaking, wouldn't they leak ALL the time rather than just occassionaly?(noting here that in October, I went from Pittsburgh to Houston, on to Tucson, then up to Sacramento and from there to Up State New York and back to Pittsbugh, the SES light came on twice and no loss of power at all) It seems to me, and again I'm a semi-idiot here, that since none of the other "possible causes" seem plausable, and the other "fixes" haven't been, about the only thing left that would make any kind of sense would be something in the electrical end? What think ye all? Is this reasonaby possible or should I just have this thing declared a Lemon and buy a horse?