I bought a 1997 F250 for a smoking deal yesterday and was prepared for some problems. But I need to know where to start for some of this.

Truck was hard to start, sounded like bad batteries. They were also puking battery acid all over the place so I replaced them. I apparently also have a drain on the batteries because it is still hard to start, battery light comes on stays on until for about 2 minutes till the batteries are charged again.

I'm going to try the starter next. It cranks pretty slow. A small short in the starter could cause the draining.

The truck also misses when coasting. It clears up after about 4 or 5 seconds of coasting or when a little pedal is applied. What could cause this?

WTS light only comes on for about 1 - 2 seconds.

Lots of smoke when you start the truck cold. GPR?

Speedo doesn't move until 12mph. It then pops to 12mph and is correct till 85.

Temp gauge doesn't work.

Tranny (E4OD) shifts early into 3rd constantly, directly after shifting into 2nd, and early into 4th.

Thanks. I obviously need to invest in a scan tool so what do you suggest that won't break the bank?

Thanks! Will.

 

Sounds like the starter is weak. Missing could be a number of things. The couple of seconds the WTS light is on is normal. Could be the GPR or the GP's. The CPS or VSS could be bad to cause the speedo to act that way. For the temp gauge, check the plug wire on the temp sender in front of the HPOP. The early shifting, not enough throttle, LOL

 

Replaced the starter and it cranked over very well. I'll have to see if there's a drain on the system or if the new starter fixed that problem.

Regarding the WTS Light and the Temp. Gauge not working, could a bad sensor cause these problems? The glow plugs are obviously not warming because of the amount of white smoke on start up. What resistance should the sensor measure if it is good?

The WTS light is only on for a second or two, even at 45*F. Unlike my other 7.3, where it stays on for 5-7 seconds.

 

it sounds like your glow plugs are not working.
i would pull one or two to see what type are in there.
and put a scanner on the truck. if the check engine light came on it has a stored code.

 

Hi William, For your smoking start issue, using a test light, test the GPR (which is under the engine cover -if you still have one- on the passenger side valve cover). There should be power to one of the big wires with the key off, and power to both of them when you turn the key on. If the GPR is bad, then that could be your issue.

As for the WTS light, make sure the Intake Air Temperature sensor is connected. It is in the stock intake housing and should have a little 2 wire connector on it. If that is unplugged, the PCM doesn't know what the ambient temperature is. This really isn't a huge deal though since that light really has no bearing on how long the glow plugs run.

For your missing on decel issue. I think what you're hearing is completely normal. The PCM shuts the injectors off when the truck is coasting and the engine is spinning. In fact, if you let it coast in a lower gear (turning more RPM's) you should hear the injectors go more or less quiet all together. Then as the RPM's come down they sort of cackle and fire intermittently until you get close to an idle speed, when they come in and fire normally. If that sounds like what you're hearing, that is completely normal.

The other thing you can check for your WTS light issue and your rough shifting issue is the EOT (Engine Oil Temp) sensor. The PCM more or less ignores coolant temperature and does all its calibrations off the oil temperature. This sensor is on the front of the HPOP reservoir, up on top of the engine facing the front.

Here is a picture that should help in locating all this stuff:


Oh, and welcome to the site!

 

I have a 97 as well, and my engine temp gauge wasn't working. I changed the sensor and it worked for awhile, then quit again. Come to find out, the connector wasn't making good contact, so I squeezed it closed a little bit and pushed it back on..BINGO!