7.3L w/ 70K towed (How embarassing)

[tierhog774]

Well, I got beat up with the I told ya so's today. I have a 03 f250 7.3L
I turned the engine off after a smooth effortless 20 minute drive (second drive of the day)...dash said the truck was happy...and parked at the bank. I turned the engine off, did my banking, returned....turned the key and

crank,crank,crank....no start. Recycled, let it sit for a hour, everything. No dice. It went from perfect to dead. It has 70K so it is ford bound but I dont want to wait until the 25th until they look at it. Any idea's? Thanks for your help.... I am hearing the "I thought this was a bombproof truck" from everyone, so I need a solution quick.


Thanks in advance.

[purduefarmboy460]

Sounds like a CPS problem, or just not getting fuel maybe

Got any codes or a way to pull them from the truck? (reseting the battery may have cleared them anyways)
Have you check the fuel filter?
Does the Tach move when you crank the engine?
Does the Oil Pressure Needle move?

More help on the way!!

[Jon]

[tierhog774]

I dont recall seeing any movement on the instrument panel. They idiot lights would come on. I did see the glow plug light "flutter" and return during cranking, which it ordinarily doesn't do. I didn't disconnect....wife was pis*ed and it was 95 out. So It was towed away.

I didnt have the "tool" to check the fuel filter, and since I am not an engineer, wouldn't know what to do with it once I had it. Didnt have a code reader with me, nor did I have the book to interpret it. Tow seemed only option.

[mschn99]

either a battery problem or a cam sensor would be my guess...but without further testing i cant say for sure...

[99Smokin73Stroker]

Did or does the truck's SES light come on at all? If you can hook up a scanner to it regardless of if it's on or not try to see if it reads any codes at all. It could be a cam sensor, that's usually the first guess in a 7.3, but there are likely other possibilities.

[tierhog774]

Ended up being the CPS. I looked later....it sure is tucked in a hard to get to spot......Thanks for your help.

[mschn99]

Glad you got it running...funky lookin green guy

[fordnut85]

Glad you got it fixed man, most 7.3 guys around here (including me) keep a new CPS and the tools to change it in the truck since it's a comon problem. I would recomend as soon as you can, buy an extra and throw it in the glovebox!!

[Maintain]

here is a write up from one of our members, Maintain....

Aside from the grammar, I'm sure noone cares about lol, I would add that housing a 3" extention, 10mm 6pt socket on 1/4" drive in your truck with a spare CPS is the best solution. Make sure you are EXTREMELY careful because if you round the bolt off then you are opening up another can of worms. Also, apply some engine oil to the Oring with your finger when re-installing. Here is a picture of location and the part itself to help -> http://www.geocities.com/pitfool03/CPSlocandnew.JPG

There has been some quarrels as to which is better, the International "blue" CPS or the Ford "black" CPS. Many owners state that with certain mods that the blue CPS (since it slightly retards the timing) is an upgrade, but if your truck is stock or even modded, the safest way is to really go with the Ford "black" one.

Many people make the mistake of buying a CPS from a dealership at a cost of nearly $200.00. Check E-Bay first, you can usually pick one up for about 50 bucks. Part number is F7TZ-12K073-A or do a search for "FORD CPS" or Click http://search.ebay.com/search/search...bay.com%2Fws%2 F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=ford+CPS&category0=

Figured this would be a good time to bring this out in case others were to view this.