F350 with 7.3l Powerstroke … issues

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12icemaker said:
Fuel that sits can make a waxy coating on the fuel filter and clog it completely up, just as high wax content oil like Castrol, STP, and others that sits for a long time can cause an oil filter collapse. If you leave your engine sitting un run for more than 6 months it needs fresh oil once the oil has been run through hot and cold cycles.

It got POED because it saw you fooling with the Ford.
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Good points. It’s probably just fuel related.

It really is a badass truck…. It’s a highway cruiser, I mean it just takes off and goes, handling great. And beats the hell out of any trucks capable of carry the weight or towing the weight and providing a comfortable ride
 
There’s probably about 5 gallons of fuel in each tank (yep has 2 fuel tanks) and probably about 4 years old.

I’m thinking of adding 10 fresh gallons to each tank with a fuel conditioner, and new fuel filters with fresh fuel and trying it again, with fully charged batteries.
 
I USED to like Fords. never drove anything much for family cars but them Had Lincolns and Mercurys
Thunderbirds, Cougars, Fords sometimes.

I did mid sized Chevys and Tri Fives

Dodges muscle car list.

Some Ford racers. but I never liked the FE series because of the low head bolt count.

You could build a lot of power in them but you had to reinforce the head with plates to be sure if you went way upon compression.

The Y blocks would spin the center cam bearing and stop the rocker arms from oiling then you would use an overhead oiler kit to oil them but it would cause the mains to wear out from insufficient oil If you did highway driving the fix was to put the center cam bearing in and stake it with a punch deep then take a sharp knife and fine round file dowel and sand paper with a piec of electrical tape in the hole and dress the bearing below contact point.

I started to go south with the Mk8 air ride mess and the 73 aluminum valve guide, rocker pivot pedestal mistake.

I did have a 1977 Grand Marquis with 460 that had 165,000 never used oil between changes, was run 90 to 110 on the highway all the time and had trans fluid, water and oil changed regularly PLUS new hinges on the massive heavy doors.

I messed up and traded it for the Mk8.

That gets me to Sonny's 2014 Focus Titanium that he still has because after 4 years of legal, social media and political wrangling they rebuilt the entire transmission system for supposed to be free but a dealership scalped 950 dollars we have not even fooled with getting back. so he is gonna wear it out till it rusts down.

Went to GM and had good luck with the over 300,000 rides and every one over 170,000.
 
About that old 7.3….

Good news / Bad news:
The fuel filter was gummed-up bad, gunk in filter bowl. So it’s as simple as a fuel problem. That’s my so-called good news.

But it’s gonna be a job to make it all right again. The filter bowl drained ok so I washed it with diesel fuel. More gunk broke up and clogged the drain. Trying to get it draining again I messed up the ‘water in fuel’ sensor.

With the condition of the filter and the filter bowl… the fuel tanks probably have slime in them.

I’m kicking myself for letting the truck sit for so long. I’m gonna chill for a few and mow the lawn.
 
when I have to solve stuff slime in the tank, I use a remote pump with a cleanable pre filter and circulate the fuel , and after a bunch of crap comes out, usually looks like grease almost then add sea foam or the like and circulate for a while. pump the tank dry, add fresh fuel with treatment. repeat for the other tank, you may have to rig a power wire for the tank switch so as mot to mess up the computer etc due to extended key on time
 
Tirediron said:
this could be as simple as a clogged fuel filter if the truck has pretty old fuel in it, after battery voltage, low pressure fuel deliver should prolly be next
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THIS^^^^

Or an algae clump that gets sucked into the fuel pickup as the engine runs.
 
Tirediron said:
when I have to solve stuff slime in the tank, I use a remote pump with a cleanable pre filter and circulate the fuel , and after a bunch of crap comes out, usually looks like grease almost then add sea foam or the like and circulate for a while. pump the tank dry, add fresh fuel with treatment. repeat for the other tank, you may have to rig a power wire for the tank switch so as mot to mess up the computer etc due to extended key on time
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For ‘treatment’ … when I bought the fuel filter, I also bought Clear-Diesel.

The filter from Napa was 40 bucks (rant) but I got a good heads-up from the knowledgeable owner/manager about what can literally grow in old diesel fuel.

If I knew then what I know now…. My world would be a happier place
 
OldSchool said:
Napa also has a product called Bio-Kleen. It kills and dissolves the ‘slime’ but it ain’t cheap. I should probably go with that to clean the tanks.
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Both the products I mentioned were behind the counter at Napa.

I could saved a couple dollars at Auto Zone (cough) for the filter but I wouldn’t have learned what I have today at Napa.
 
OldSchool said:
For ‘treatment’ … when I bought the fuel filter, I also bought Clear-Diesel.

The filter from Napa was 40 bucks (rant) but I got a good heads-up from the knowledgeable owner/manager about what can literally grow in old diesel fuel.

If I knew then what I know now…. My world would be a happier place
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You should have bought a few filters because as the slime breaks up it is going to clog the new filter.
 
Steve_In_29 said:
You should have bought a few filters because as the slime breaks up it is going to clog the new filter.
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Yep I know and thought about it. But fact is the tanks need to cleaned. Then I go thru a filter or two washing out the lines.

Otherwise - it’ll be a never ending battle, almost.

I like to fix things right, and once, without worries down the road.

Still… I’m tempted to put the new filter in and run it. But with what I know now… wouldn’t be the wisest thing to do.
 
I have to disassemble the filter bowl assembly to throughly clean to be sure no contaminates/debris reach the fuel injection system and replace the water in fuel sensor. And, appropriately deal with cleaning the tanks. Ain’t life grand? lol
 
M0del_31 said:
A man has never known true fear until he is a owner of a powerstroke with a check engine light that is fresh out of warranty.
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Or one that the check engine light comes on when several hundred miles into Mexico.

Where Ford's USA warranty isn't valid.

Ford bought that 04 6.0 back.
 
OldSchool said:
Ford made their biggest mistakes ever with the 6.0
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Ford built a lot of stupid into the 6.0 like torque to yield head bolts and a super failure prone up pipe
they should have just told the EPA to f Off and built mechanical diesels
 
OldSchool said:
Anyway, here’s a ‘heads-up’ for preventive maintenance mechanics:

Napa typically has filter discount/sales in spring and fall. At least that’s the case in my neighborhood
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do you have to pre order, or do they just put them on sale??
the local guy do a right from the 1 st point distributor sale, often ending up at 1/3 of the price, and not a pre sale inflated price, what they cost all year.
 
Tirediron said:
Ford built a lot of stupid into the 6.0 like torque to yield head bolts and a super failure prone up pipe
they should have just told the EPA to f Off and built mechanical diesels
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I thought the biggest problem was with the engine oil cooler under the intake manifold. Yep… I’ve dealt with that little problem for a person I used to know, but wish I never meet.
 
I try to leave the pick up diesel stuff alone, and the pickup guys leave the heavy duty stuff alone , saves us both money and time
 
Tirediron said:
do you have to pre order, or do they just put them on sale??
the local guy do a right from the 1 st point distributor sale, often ending up at 1/3 of the price, and not a pre sale inflated price, what they cost all year.
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It’s a published in stock over the counter sale.

Side note: If you have a business account - they seem to raise the retail price on the invoice, but you still save over the average joe - for everyday purchases.
 
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OldSchool said:
This truck I have is pickup heavy duty diesel … puts me in a side-class?

Lol, I’m still comfortable enough here, but not happy with the work I’ve created for myself.
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yes it is a bit of a nightmare, especially the electronic side.
 
OldSchool said:
I was a mechanic for a business owner who encouraged me to buy filters from Napa when they were on sale. And then he gave me hell for using them…

Maintenance costs are the enemy for a penny pinching business owner.

/rant
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timely oil and fuel maintenance saves big in the long run, over service might be a bit of a loss, but still much better than under service
 
For side-note:

I was also a a heavy equipment diesel mechanic (or technician) for a large corporate institution (for lack of a better word).

They brought in a bean counter. He pissed me off enough that I quit, without notice.

Sucks because I liked the job, and the pay was great
 
There was a recall on that year engine; to replace defective Cam Sensor, it was a Free Recall.
 
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