Hello again. I embarked on a 200 mile trip today for Easter and had a couple of hiccups. Was gonna see if I could get some opinions and advice. '01 F250 4x4 Ext Cab AT, 7.3L.

Issue #1:
This one has happened before, and only happens at a certain part of this trip EVERY time. It happens when I am going thru this small town with 1 red light, but a long stretch of the road is 30 mph. I guess the road is slightly up hill because I have to give throttle barely above idle to keep at around 30mph / low RPM. The truck doesn't like it and will act like it wants to shut off. If I stop at the redlight, and then give it the throttle, it will jerk a little and act like it wants to die again. It didn't cut off on me today, but has before. Once I get going about 45-50 again, there is no repeat. Only happens in that one small stretch of road.

Issue #2:
I got behind someone going a little below the speed limit and was going to pass them. This was the 4th or 5th vehicle or so I passed on the trip. I gave the truck full throttle from a cruising speed of about 50 mph, and began the pass. About the time I got parallel the other vehicle, still on full throttle, it just seemed like I wasn't gaining any speed or RPM. I was at about 62 mph. Then a big puff of blue smoke is what I saw in the mirror. It didnt continue to smoke, and the check engine light came on. 5 minutes later the light went off. This has never happened before. Any suggestions?

 

post the code that is stored in the pcm. that is the diagnostic starting point.


how many miles on the vehicle?

 

340k+. We took it out for a spin today. We simulated the same situation. Cruising along at around 50mph, floored it, got up to about 65 mph. Check engine light came on. Blue smoke. Truck wouldnt go any faster and was kind of sputtering. I don't know if the two issues are related or not. I'll try to get to a code reader Monday. The light went off again around 5-10 minutes later.

 

DTC's are always good point in a direction..

Issue #1 opens up a few possibilities, code/s would be helpful, for either..

Issue #2 seems to follow fuel pressure/volume..

A fairly common issue for the 7.3, more so for higher mileage trucks was fuel starvation. Questionable fuel quality could/would aid delivery issues as well. If you are getting a 'flat throttle' under steep pedal angles it may be the cause. If you can duplicate the stumble or hesitation under heavier loads and/or grades,, and 'back off' the throttle a little bit and it quickly smoothes out (?), it would be suspect.

Fuel filter would be a start point, but takes quite a bit of debris to restrict the filter. Water in the fuel also makes for poor performance. If it hasn't been changed, or checked (?) might a point of interest.

But the higher mileage trucks,, we've had the fuel module screens restrict and in high fuel demand and conditions causes the engine to stumble, misfire, and genrally a flat throttle. The key to the symptom, generally if the throttle and drivability correct quickly when/if you back out of the throttle, not completely, but just enough to reduce the high fuel demand.

Inside the fuel tank is the fuel module, on the nose is a standard pick up screen. Inside the housing there's a couple of cylindrical micro screens that can clog and restrict fuel flow. The housing comes apart and the screens can be cleaned.

Generally only noticed at higher throttle demands, high RPM etc.,,, steep grades, towing heavy, or a combination of..

Code/s may point elsewhere,, post what you find...

 

Well, the plan was to get her home today and check the codes tomorrow. Also in the plans was a fuel pressure gauge and a bluetooth OBD2 (Just bought Torque Pro). If I had poor pressure was going to clean the tank screen and move onto a the Hutch / harpoon Mod. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Long story short I came home and the F250 didn't.

I loaded my trailer (single axle, 6x10) with an ATV, a couple boards. I put another ATV in the bed of the truck and got ready to come home. Keep in mind I live in Georgia, the flat part. I got about a mile from the house and was ready to get above 45 mph after leaving the country roads. I got the throttle up to 60 mph and set the cruise. A few very small hills, and the truck began running rough similar to when I passing the day before. Before I could get over a couple hills the truck down shifted and wouldn't climb over 2k RPM. Service engine light came on. I pulled off about 4 miles away from home, put it in park. I rev'd the engine to 3k RPM no problem and the light soon went off. I decided to turn around and take another vehicle on my trip back. Those 4 miles were the longest 4 miles I ever driven. Truck wouldn't get over 45 mph, and slowly tapered off. Soon I wasn't able to get over 1.5K RPM or 15-20 mph. Tried manually shifting gears just to limp home. I made it home barely and the idle was rough. Before I went on the trip I idles fine for an extended period loading the truck.

So now the truck is 4 hours away, no scanner near by, and my dad is not a diesel mechanic. I am not either, but I have been able to fix a lot of issues reading tutorials here. I have read a lot of posts and have asked him to track down a scanner. I have a lot things we can trouble shoot based off the posts I read. I will send him a fuel filter and tell him how to drain the bowl. I will send him a OEM ICP sensor. I will also tell him to check the IPR for 10.2-10.6 ohms, take it out and clean it, and make sure the tin nut is on. I plan on telling him also how to check the pressure at the bowl for 60+psi at idle and 50+ psi at throttle. Hopefully I can get the truck home soon. I needed it for a trip in 2 weeks! Does that sound like good procedure for starters? Any other suggestions given what happened today?

 

Check the easy stuff first.
Main fuel filter

 

Absolutley. I ordered the fuel filter since mine will be coming up within the next 7k and and the bluetooth OBD2. Sent them to my dad and he said he is going to drop the tank and check the screen. I let him know where to hook up the gauge to test pressure, how to service the IPR valve, and sent him an ICP sensor just to be safe. They had 1 OEM one left on eBay for a low price so I jumped on it. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

I understand that the fuel pressure should be checked when actually driving the truck.

 

So here is an update on issue #2. We dropped the tank and emptied it. Surprisingly enough, it was fairly clean. However, the sending unit was rusted fairly well, the sock screen were dirty, and the pickup screen was also dirty. We tightened up the fuel lines at the fuel pump, and blew the one out that goes to the tank. Installed a sending unit. Fuel bowl filter was also dirty and had rust. I am assuming from the sending unit. I replaced the filter about a year ago (7K miles). We cleaned the bowl out nicely. I dont have my gauges yet, but the truck is running better than before. I will go ahead and order a fuel pressure and EGT gauge. I now have Torque pro installed with a bluetooth scanner (havent done a search yet, but any quick fix for the vehicle turning off when scanning for codes? Tried with and without the 2000-2001 Ford box checked)

Issue #1: After cleaning the fuel system, The truck still died in that same town. I didn't have the scanner setup so I couldn't log it at the time. I have ordered a new OEM ICP sensor, but havent installed it yet. Below is my screen shot of my gauges at idle. Does everything look normal? Should I add some other gauges? I'll try to do a graph tomorrow for my commute to work.

 

Thanks for sharing the information with us !!