1997 F-250 HD. 5.8 engine 85k miles.
Truck starts and exelerates good in park.
In gear engine has low on power.
Any body have a simular problem or know what could cause this?

 

Can you give us some idea of just what maintenance has been done recently?

There could be a laundry list of things and if we have some idea of what kind of care it has received , that would save a lot of time and effort.

 

This truck was a small town fire service truck that also plowed the city park in the winter, with 79,000 miles when I purchased it.
We have changed the engine oil, Transmission fluid, New exhaust manifolds and exhaust (Catalytic converter had been removed), New spark plugs, Dist. cap and rotor, A/C compressor clutch replaced and new brake lines.
The engine randomly makes a low honking noise, The fuel gauge doesn't show full and at 1/4 tank on the gauge the tank is empty, the rail fuel filter looks new. just recently the engine has a slight rough idle, there is a slight grinding noise in the steering column at the steering wheel.The rear diff has an electrical connection, but there is no switch in the cab for a electric diff lock.
I have been told it could be a bad AIR pump, Spark control unit or coil, Fuel pump/ Sending unit, brakes too tight and bad gauges.
Any advise would be grateful for any advise. lff.romney@gmail.com

 

Truck has had
An engine oil and trans. fluid and anitfreeze change.
Replaced spark plugs, rotor and Dist. cap.
New exhaust manifolds and dual exhaust with cherry bomb mufflers. (No catalytic converter)
Replaced A/C clutch.

 

How did you manage to keep the C/E light out without the converter?

 

Not sure, was done before I purchased the truck.
I am the second owner of this truck.
The gentleman who worked for the city was going to buy the truck and had been working on it, however he took sick before he finished and could not purchase the truck.

 

Sometimes vehicles that have been used mostly locally can use a good run at highway speed to clean out accumulated carbon from the cyls..
There was no mention of fuel filter maintenance. Was that ever changed?
To get a better picture , it might be a good move to check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail..Can this be done?

 

Thank you, I Will ckeck the fuel pressure.
Could it be a spark controler?

 

At this point, could be anything.
What would help would be to get a look at the data stream info. That way we could have some idea of what is going on.

Has anyone checked the exhaust system for any restrictions ?

 

Just a turbo flow muffler for restrictions.
Is there a code reader for an ESS conections?