[c.powney92]

2002 F250 Crew Cab 4x4
250,000 Miles - Original Owner

This is my father In laws ranch truck. It has served the last 15 years on his ranch. He has brought it back to me to run through every system on the truck. He wants another 15 years out of it.

This is the first power stroke I have worked on but do have some common knowledge of the platform. My diesel knowledge is only worth about 1 year of experience as I have been working on a 1998 12 Valve Cummins with the NV4500 (ain't your grandpa's truck either....)

I will be sharing my experience and progress through here. Feel free to offer guidance or advice.

My work is limited to the weekends with limited tools. Having a shop built and hopefully it's done by June. That is when I will be able to bring all my nice fancy tools out.


Will be adding to pics later....here is a teaser

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[Lakeman1966]

His truck is just like my truck but mine is a 2000

 

[Domingo Acosta]

I haven't been able to find the information I need for a long time, but now there are no more problems related to the search. Thank you for such an interesting post. I will use the information provided!

 

[Domingo20Acosta]

thanks a lot

 

[JustinOOO9]

Welcome to the org! read the 7.3l section and in no time you'll have a solid understanding of the major concerns, commons maintenance and repairs. To help save you some grief try and stick with oem motorcraft parts for sensors and filters and a good portion of parts. Just gonna save you a ton of hassle from having to do jobs twice.

at that year/miles I would replace these: I know there an an old motto don't fix it if it isn't broke but at the age/miles it can save you some time with the keeping it for the next 15yr goal in mind

Engine
-ICP-it can cause no starts/rough running and takes 5 minutes to replace
-IPR-replace it and the pigtail its under the fuel bowl and usually covered in oil/fuel/heat cycles. it can cause no starts, rough running and all sorts of issues
-hpop lines THE ONE TIME i didn't go with oem i got replacement lines from cncfab llc a simpler/stronger and cheaper design the oem lines are near $400 for a pair and have way to many o rings...
-fuel bowl and fpr o ring kit from riffraff diesel performance or diesel o rings
-check dipstick adapter mine started leaking maybe 2018 and the international repair kit didn;t last so i bought the $$$ dieselsite kit and it worked very well!
-UVCH-the under valve cover harness connects your main harness to glow plugs and injectors and at that age is on its last legs
all 8 glow plugs-valve cover is off anyways for UVCH
*I replaced both valve cover gaskets at the same time.
-intercooler boots-get a complete kit from riffraff diesel
-turbo pedestal o rings(also look at the EBPV delete) common source for oil leaks and really simplifies the the turbo/system on trucks.
-check battery cables- i got a complete set from custombatterycabbls llc since ford doesn't make them for the 7.3l anymore. worth every penny and more.
check coolant hoses/water pump, vac lines etc
*i did the ccv mod from riffraff diesel it keeps the intercooler/ turbo/engine bay cleaner in general but do your research for me it was a big blessing

Drivetrain/suspension
Shocks-rancho seems to be a solid brand but there are more expensive and cheaper ones depending
check ball joints
check steering box
check for grease zerks
brakes

those are basically what I've done not including mods and Lord willing the truck will last another 15yrs or more.

 

[Lakeman1966]

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[c.powney92]

Here she blows... literally lol this thing has the best rust inhibitor ever. Oil.

I was trying to dig around the top side to get a clear indicator on what is leaking but I couldn't belly surf for that long.

I have a topside creeper coming as I have a feeling I will be putting quite a bit of time on this engine

Something is actively leaking oil. The starter is covered in oil and the lower bell housing is caked. Experience tells me that sometime like a valve cover gasket would cause this.

Still trying to understand the anatomy of the V8 diesel and intercooler piping and such. My explanation of what is where will get better.

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[c.powney92]

Finally got my first item marked off the list.

I pulled the fuel tank module out and I removed the fuel screens inside and put a SAE J30R10 style hose in place of the plastic footer. After 20 years of being on the road there was no debris inside this tank that will plug this line completely say like a small rock or something.

Fuel screens:

Rubber hose:

External fuel screen. Racor PS110-2. This has the 3/8inch NPT fittings. I am waiting on a ball valve to come in which will go on the inlet side of filter. The first one I got had chewed up threads.

I used double fuel injection clamps on all hose connections.

Now time to start working on the engine and finding the source of a major oil leak. I think it is the oil plug on the backside of the passenger side rail

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[c.powney92]

Gunna be making the first order from riffraff. I really do not want to go any deeper than replacing the valve covers....There are no problems (that I know of) that show the injectors are leaking and not performing optimally. After this round, I will start working on driveline components

1. CCV Delete
2. EBV Pedestal Delete
3. GTP38 High flow outlet
4. Downpipe clamp cause the original one was broken
5. New wastegate Actuator lines
6. New O-ring kit for the fuel bowl
7. International Water pump
8. Water pump gasket
9. Valve cover gaskets
10. New starter contacts
11. Oil dipstick pan thingy
12. Fuel pressure relief kit

 

[c.powney92]

Boy-O-Boy what a weekend to work in a metal shop with no AC. I got alot done, the truck runs, but I have a leak between the turbo compressor outlet and spyder intake, I need to get a better alignment, I thought the V band clamp would forced them together and with the oring give me a good seal, but ford being ford, obviously you need precision alignment. New O ring and a new clamp on the way.

The coolant tank is cracked, so I am going to get an aluminum one from Mishimoto. Need to put new fluid into the PS pump. I am going to be driving it around daily after I knock these items off the list. I want to see if the front main is actually leaking, I replaced the CPS sensor and something tells me that might have been what was leaking up front.

Before:

After:

Shocks are done too.

 

[JustinOOO9]

Weclome back! Personally skip the aluminum coolant reservoir if you really dont need it. Money is better spent on other items to get the truck to where you need. Stay away from autozone/napa brand reservoirs and order a ford one online. I got mine from riffraff diesel performance and Clay the owner has been in the 7.3l game longer than most of the truck owners themselves lol.

 

[c.powney92]

Weclome back! Personally skip the aluminum coolant reservoir if you really dont need it. Money is better spent on other items to get the truck to where you need. Stay away from autozone/napa brand reservoirs and order a ford one online. I got mine from riffraff diesel performance and Clay the owner has been in the 7.3l game longer than most of the truck owners themselves lol.

Hi Justin,

My worry is that the coolant degas bottle, if I were to buy one new, the same thing will still occur. You have owners buying the new bottles only to find out the new one cracks within a few miles.

I could only be so lucky that if we got a new one, it will crack and then I lose all the coolant. If we are out in the middle of nowhere which is where this truck is going to be driven, we really don't have any option to get it to the ranch.

A tow truck would cost the same amount as the aluminum degas bottle.

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[JustinOOO9]

If it helps my original reservoir from a Cali truck lasted 19 years... I mostly replaced it since I was replacing the oil cooler o rings, draining the coolant and did thermostat, and hoses etc. Its your truck though. I just like to help folks save money etc. Reservoir failures are not a super common issue on these trucks unless folks use dorman, autozone, napa or o'riley brands etc.

 

[Spirit]

18–19 years for mine also

 

[Spirit]

18–19 years for mine also

Scratch that…16 years…

 

[c.powney92]

Well the one here is 20 years but has a crack on the top of the seam. And from reading it seems it can be a crapshoot to get a good one.

But 300 bucks is a drop in the bucket to be honest. I have the piece of mind that the tank won't crack spontaneously.

So far what I learned is the best powerstroke is the one that erases all the ford engineering. Lol if only ford made it a pure dedicated overflow tank inside of actually trying to hold 16 PSI would I have more faith in it. And I don't.

I know a bad design when I see one and that's one of them.

I will have to wait hours for a tow truck and even then, I have zero way of getting back to the airport to fly the plane back home. That being said, the tow truck is my ride back to the airport. Then I Rip the tank off, send it back in for replacement under warranty. Get back on plane, Bring coolant, put tank back on, refill that little bottle of coolant and then I can go on my again. Only to hope the same thing does not happen again.

All that being said, I have wasted a weekend working at the ranch because I didn't go with a bullet proof coolant tank.

A cracked surge tank is the last thing I want to deal with.


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[c.powney92]

Truck is still hanging around....I think the front leafs are shot. They are pretty much flat. Probably will replace all 4 for good measure. Up next is to bleed brakes, swap the fluid in the power steering resevior, and R&R on the right rear caliper. its hanging

 

[c.powney92]

Hope you guys did not forget about me. I am back in action mostly, was on hiatus because I had to literally build my own house.
flushed the power steering pump yesterday afternoon. Pretty simple task took about an hour, was a PIA just going back and forth pumping the brakes and steering and then going back up to till the reservoir. If you got a helping hand, use it.

Next on list is to flush cooling system with distilled water then im going to replace the water pump and T stat. After that, i gotta rebuild the rear hubs the seals have blown out for some time because the breather was clogged (now fixed) but I am not looking forward it. Need to find the part numbers.

It might be on its way home after that. My FIL doesnt want me to fix everything entirely which really its just suspension and steering that needs to be replaced. He has a reliable air port truck now so it will keep on keeping on for a good while. Unless Brandon makes diesel more expensive than gold.

more to come.

Got a new shop with a new tool

 

[JGK]

Just a general comment about Ford engineering and the degas bottle as discussed earlier here. Even the most discussed problems on these trucks happen very rarely. I have about a half dozen friends with 7.3 super duties, and I’ve had mine for eight years. I have group texted them regarding the tools to address some of the common super duty issues, and they all responded they’ve never had a problem with their trucks. Remember that millions of the east things were built, and you got an almost infinitesimal chance of having any of these “common“ problems occur. They SEEM far more common because the entire world is dialed into these forums, and every problem will find its way here, whereas those of us who continue to drive our trucks trouble free do not start threads bragging about that.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 30 years from now, when it does break, then fix it.