95 PSD Van running rough... Doing all I can.

[ratio411]

New user here.
I work on my own stuff and am learning a lot about the PSDs.
I have used up all I know, so here I am...

Working on a 95 PSD van.
196k miles, always ran great.


*Thursday AM:
Routine oil change. Used 20-50 as always.
Added a quart of fuel system cleaner (Diesel Kleen). Never used this before.
The van only had 1/4 tank of fuel. Told the driver to fill up immediately so the stuff would not be overconcentrated. He forgot and drove about 40 miles before refueling. Still running great at the time.

*Friday AM:
Still running great.

*Friday Noon:
Downpour of heavy rain.

*Friday PM:
Rain stopped.
Driver picked up a trailer, ~4000# tandem.
The van soon lost 90% of it's power.
Chugging, no smoke, rough idle, slow to rpm, etc...
I was called.

Checked air filters first. If they are dirty and get wet, you get no air.
They were dusty but okay. Replaced anyway. No help.
Drained fuel filter. (changed 3k ago) No help.
Drained most of the fuel. In case bad diesel picked up or Diesel Kleen causing problem. Added new fuel. No help.
Checked all fuses. (one of our trailers blew 3 fuses on another van the other day causing drivability issues) Okay.
No way to read any codes. No CE light anytime during operation.
Temps normal/oil pressure normal.

*Today:
Read extensively on this board. Found it by Google.
Picked some ideas up. Played around with a few simple things.
The van is not condusive to major tinkering without good cause. It is very cramped to get to even the fuel filter.

Anyway... Nothing has improved, but I found one thing:
When I take the passenger rear connector off the valve cover gasket, there is no change in running rough.
Remove any other connector and idle roughness gets much worse.

Where do I go from here?
I intend to order a reader or reader/tuner... but that won't lead me right today.

On that subject:
Is there a tuner with code reader that folks recommend?
I know tuners don't allow multiple vehicle tuning, but does the code reading portion of the tuner read codes off other vehicles? Or do I have to buy a separate tuner/reader for every PSD vehicle I have?

Thanks much!
Dave

[fordnut85]

Ok, first of all it sounds like the running on un-diluted diesel clean may have damaged an injector. Here is where you go from here, First of all there is a difference in a code reader and a scanner. A code reader will give you a list of the stored codes. A scanner however will tell you much more about what you engine is doing along with allowing you to view any of the sensors and watch them on a graph of some sort. There are a few good scanners out there that even the home mechanic can use with good results, one of them is Auto Enginuity (www.autoenginuity.com), the owners name is Jay Horak and he is the abolute best when it comes to cust service. It is a simple program and cable that allows you to plug your van into either a PC, Laptop, or handheld pc. Before you buy any scanner make sure to contact the Mfg. to be sure that you van is covered since it is a 95. As far as Jay's stuff he claims it will work on the 95 as long as you have the latest flash (posted on his site ever 2-3 mo. and they are free). This is where your going to need it. Before you go any further you should do a Cylinder contribution test and an injector buzz test, that will allow you to pin down EXACTLY which injector is not performing. I would seriously look into a scanner since you do have a small fleet and do 90% of your own work. If you got a buddy or can take it to a shop and have them run the test i described let us know the results and we will do our absolute best to help ya out.

[ratio411]

Okay.
That is good info.
Now I know the difference between readers and scanners.
When I refered to 'tuners', I meant like Hypertech for example.
Some of those have code readers built in, and I was wanting to upgrade the tuning in one van to see if it offered better towing and mileage.

The scanner link doesn't work.
I will investigate though. I am in the market for diagnostic tools.
One perk of owning the business is being able to write-off neat little tools and stuff when this sort of thing comes up.
We had a gas engine go out last month...
So I went on a spending spree getting a hoist, engine stand, compression tester, etc...
Good stuff to have around.

Dave

[fordnut85]

http://www.autoenginuity.com/index.html Try that.

Yeah the whole tax write off thing is great, our accountant told my wife and i we needed more expenses this year for "business stuff" and my wife said OK, I swear i heard angels singing that day lol

[ratio411]

This scanner is offered by a vendor of ours.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...1374_200181374

Easier to buy from vendor that we have an account with.

The thing that scares me about this one is that it only shows Ford OBD1 support on "EEC VI". That is a gas burner term, so I am left wondering if it will work on OBD1 diesel...

Dave

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Last edited by ratio411 : 09-25-2006 at 01:47 PM. Reason: updated link

[ratio411]

Originally Posted by fordnut85

...our accountant told my wife and i we needed more expenses this year for "business stuff" and my wife said OK, I swear i heard angels singing that day lol

[fordnut85]

That's not a gas burner term it a diagnostic term.

The Autoxray is a good unit, i even looked at it before but the price is the same for that as i paid for my ipaq and AE stuff, and i got a cool ipaq

[ratio411]

Originally Posted by fordnut85

That's not a gas burner term it a diagnostic term.

The Autoxray is a good unit, i even looked at it before but the price is the same for that as i paid for my ipaq and AE stuff, and i got a cool ipaq

What is "ipaq"?

If I go with the AE stuff, should I use a laptop?

[ratio411]

I suppose this isn't a 911 emergency anymore.
I have resigned myself to waiting on my scanner to come in UPS.

I went ahead and took a chance with Auto Xray. I hope it communicates well with my vans. Reading on diesel scanners, it seems to be kinda hit and miss because of their exemption from strict OBD standards.

I have come to the conclusion that my 95 has at least one damaged injector and my 97 has a CPS on the fritz.

I suppose we'll see when I get the scanner. Hopefully tomorrow.
I will update and let folks know how much info that Auto Xray 6000 gives on the PSDs.
It was a spendy unit, but I figured what the hey.

Any further insights are welcome though!
Dave

Edit: This is the unit I ended up getting. Quite expensive...
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...1374_200181374

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Last edited by ratio411 : 09-25-2006 at 01:50 PM.

[fordnut85]

It will be a good investment for you. Let us know what you come up with and we will go from there