Billy from Yorkshire UK here.

Happy New Year to you all!

So I have a awesome F350 7.3 Powerstroke diesel dually. The truck is my dream truck and it is in fantastic condition and I have plans to upgrade a few things and some tasteful mod (that can be put back to standard)

I drove a 450 mile round trip to the south of England. The truck ran like a dream and did not skip a beat. Before I get to the problem i have to mention (in case its related) the pick up needs warming 5 times before it will start and even then its a bugger to start at times. I have had new fuel filters etc fitted, it is almost like air is getting in somewhere?

So i was driving the last 20 miles of the 450 mile trip. just pulled off the motorway onto a small road and was behind some cyclists, I went to overtake them and all of a sudden it lost power big time. I pulled over and left it idling. I could not see anything untoward. I managed to drive it home but it was powerless and took a couple of mins just to get it up to 40mph.
It will now only start with easy start, without easy start it just creates a huge white cloud that is like scotch mist! I do not want to flatten the new battery's so i have left it for now. I would love your opinion on what this may be? I appreciate any help .

I have been advised it is possibly something to do with a recirculating system on the turbo that be blanked off? I don't know if this is correct or not? I am at a loss at most local mechanics are scared to work on it.

Thank you in advance. Billy

 

I will admit, I am not a diesel expert. Maybe someone can chime in.

 

A few things you either would want to check or have checked.

One possible reason for hard cold starting would be glow plugs not working. Could be defective glow plugs themselves or glow plug relay not working.
Plugs can be easily checked with an ohmmeter. They will either have a reading or be open, no resistance ,in which case they need to be replaced.
The glow plug relay is a common problem with them and is located on the top rear of the engine. When the key is first turned on, if cool enough, the relay should close and send power to the glow plugs. That can be easily checked with a test lite or multimeter. The "WAIT" to start light operates independently of the glow plug system.

If the fuel filter was replaced and not buttoned up properly it can cause problems Any possibility of water in the fuel can cause problems like you are seeing.

If air is getting into the system , one of the symptoms is a spongy throttle pedal.

There are other tests that can be done , but they require special equip to perform.

There are a few experts on this forum , hopefully they will respond.