UPDATE ON PG2

Hey guys, so, i have an issue and im gunna try not to ramble and give you a bunch of useless information even if i think its relevant..

The Truck: [1999.5 - 2000] F350 SD 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel @ 240,000Miles

Symptom: Crank No Start, After Starting and Idling Like a champ For about 35-45Seconds @ 15F. Deg. Engine Chugged and stumbled to death, no pedal response, while starting to stumble, and then Crank no start till battery death. Had a tow truck come to lend me some Heavy gauge Cables so i can try some more After he brings me 5 more gallons of Diesel to throw in her. End Result, Was still a crank no start, She wanted to run so bad just had no fuel to run on.. If i sprayed Coldstart, she would have run on that then died. But i didnt spray any as i have destroyed glowplugs using Coldstart like this before..

What i know so far: I know the glowplugs are Working, I know the Engine Oil Temp Was above 85f, I Know the Fuel Pump Was kicking on, I Know i should have Had alot more then 1/16th a tank of Fuel in her when i parked her, Although i dont think that has anything to do with it. She has 6Gallons of Fuel Minimum in the tank right now.

Things ive checked to help with diag: So, I thought, maybe with the wind and it snowing a couple feet being below 20 degrees and all and having less then Enough Fuel In the tank to prevent Gelling, i thought maybe the Fuel filter or line was frozen or Clogged with gelled fuel. Decided to let her sit till it was 45+f. outside like today. The fuel pump is priming, the Engine Oil temp is above 110f.

UNSURE BUT MAYBE IMPORTANT: I loosened the Fuel Return line off the Fuel pressure regulator and cycled the key about 5-6 times and no fuel came out of that hole. I know its a fuel return, i dont know if fuel will return through the Presure regulator With Key on Engine OFF but nothing was coming out.. Everything underthe hood is warm as hell as i have her still plugged in right now..

SOMETHING I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE: So, about 3 weeks ago, maybe 2, i was under the hood and decided to check the oil level with the dipstick and noticed it was wicked wicked low.. So i threw 3 quarts in her and left it at that. before i put the 3 quarts in.. and i feel ashamed to say, but there wasnt any oil on the dipstick at all to indicate a level. i did a full oil chance about 4-6 months ago and have drivin maybe 5000 miles at least from then.. Anyways, 2-3 weeks after adding the 3 quarts "all i had in the garage" i put the dipstick back in and ran her. never made sure she was topped off as i just got busy and forgot.. Now i know how the Hpop works As well as the Low Oil Side....
WHEN SHE DIED AFTER STARTING IN THE COLD, SHE DIED ABOUT WHEN THE TRUCK WOULD GO INTO HIGH IDLE FROM THE COLD.

Thats what i know, and when i crank her there is no smoke coming out the exhaust pipe meaning there is no fuel being pushed in the Chamber. Not sure if low oil will do this when starting and i dont remember if i saw the oil pressure gauge moving when i was cranking.. (I would check now but i need the tow truck for the cables to try again) I do have Cold start but i hate useing it, when i see smoke maybe ill try the cold start..

 

Here is a help page from Tuglys sig

FORD POWERSTROKE DIAGNOSTICS 1994-2003

 

Are you sure your fuel hasn't gelled?

 

i added a bottle of the diesel 911 Anti gel stuff, Its above 45 degrees, and the fuel in the bowl isnt gelled up, i can drain it to the floor.

 

Looking like a lift pump problem or a fuel pickup in the tank is clogged. At 45 f the fuel should have ungelled. Fuel should have come out the return line when keyed on.

 

My favorite time of year.

Check the oil and add the 10 quarts that is required to bring it back to the "full" mark.

You'll eventually get the air purged from the high pressure oil system.......

Then fix the leaks.

I'm really surprised about the number of people who never check the oil level. I'm at four this season so far.

 

Will adding oil fix the Fuel Delivery? Also, i have seen in the diesel diagnostics fuel injection page that low oil will cause a crank no start as well as an intermitent Idle Death as well.. Also Will cause Some issue Being aplified when in cold ..

But Would The Oil level have any effect on allowing the fuel getting to the bowl and down the return? Also, Above where someone said there should be fuel coming out the return with key on, Is it possible the Valve or whatever is stuck? Not allowing fuel to exit the bowl? Or am i an idiot?

 

the injectors wont fire if the oil is to low

 

Well....

How low is it right now? It takes exactly six and a half seconds to check it......

How well does cold oil flow? Where does the oil go once the low pressure pump distributes it to the rotating parts and high pressure system?

 

Soooooo, when you have the key on, and turn the drain valve on the fuel bowl, does fuel flow to the ground?

 

Dieselfuel2k73, welcome to FTE. Cleatus12r is one of, if not the best 7.3 guy on this site. Do as he says, then check back with the results. Yes, oil is mandatory in these motors to fire the injectors. That's not to say you don't have other issues. But running the motor that low on oil, I guarantee there is air in the HPOP system. That will cause all kinds of problems. It's not unheard of to have to put 100 miles on the truck to get all the air out. Sitting and idling will likely not do it.

Also, the test with the key on and opening the water drain valve on the filter, the fuel should be coming out in force. If done on a concrete driveway, a mess will follow without something to catch it.

 

This is Most likely The BEST Diag Write up Ive Seen For These Trucks ^ TY

Yeah, Fuel Was coming out of the drain when opened and the bowl heater was working, Now, was it gelled somewhere else? Dunno.. Now, Ill Report new And c urrent state Below.

The fuel Wasnt coming out the return when opened and key on. I Have Done work on this though so read below.. To your Question, Pickup Is Not Clogged, And you dais 45f , it was 18f and 30mph winds.

THIS IS WHAT I THINK IT WAS The oil wasnt even on the stick, I went to Advanced And Replaced the 15-40 This as *** hell Oil that was in there with 5-30 Mobile 1 full synth With a new oil filter as well.

Bro, Your "how well does cold oil flow" .. Omg, I never in my life have seen in person first hand how crappy cold 15-40 flows.. Omg.. I have this black drain pan with a little plug you unscrew in the middle and let the oil from the truck drain into the pan and the oil will flow through the hole into the pan.. Last night the Oil .. PLUGGED IN STILL, With ambiant temp around 35f the oil was too thick and molassis like to flow through the hole in the pan fast enough so i had to plug her pan once before it all overflowed lol.

At this time, No it was not. To be honest with you i wasnt even sure if fuel was getting into the bowl at this time.

Ok, Now ive seen a few people say fuel needs to be coming out of the return with KoEoff , I Thought it was for sure fuel Delivery. I went under the truck and had the wife cycle the key for me so i could try to feel/hear if the Fuel Pump was working, witch it was, and if i could hear the pump change in Tone as pressure built up.. It wasnt changing tone, just sounded like it was the same tone from key on till the relay clicked off , every time. A higher pitch tone was the sound. like a higher pitch buzz.

So, Was it frozen, wasnt sure yet, I did add some Diesel 911 Emergency Stuff, As well as enough Fuel for me to see the gauge at 1/4 tank, more then enough for the pick up to reach it .. tried the key cycling agian and still same sound no pressure change ..

[Next thought was, Is Fuel Making it to the bowl or being stopped Before the Fuel Bowl Inlet]

Decided, the next day, i was going to crloosen the Fuel Inlet line on the bowl to see if fuel was coming out with the pump on, .. decided that might not be the best idea, but instead to take the fuel filter in the bowl out, and see if the bowl fills when i turn the key.. and, IT WAS FILLING UP.. FUEL WAS ENTERING THE BOWL..

Checked the oil as that was What i was leaning tward about 70% of the way , only thing i didnt understand was why fuel wasnt coming out of the return? Would low oil cause that too? I dont think so but perhapse..

The oil level was still below the dipstick entirely, but the dipstick feels to be hard to push in the last inch or so where the Dipstick Bends keeping it from vibrating out of the tube while driving.. So i wasnt sure if i should trust the stick.. AFTER Draining the 15-40 That was in there, And there wasnt much ... (Embarassing) I refulled it with 5-30 Full Synth Mobile 1. And the filter, Put about 13 Quarts in it maybe slightly more or less. Checked the dipstick, within operating range.. so, THE OIL WAS LOWER THAN THE DIPSTICK CAN READ.. Most likely causing the Fuel injectors not to fire.. and the thickness of that oil when it was cold was suprising to me.. i dont see how that thick of oil can even circulate in a cold motor..

 

[Ok, So, Now i have Oil Full, Thinner Oil, I know fuel is entering the fuel bowl so the pump, pickup, and screens are good to go, Fuel isnt gelled anymore if it was before.]

Next think i noticed was the fuel filter itself, it was wicked Dirty lookin, with like.. i guess the best way to explain it would be . it looked like it was filtering literally .. dirty fuel for a while.. looked dark and had stains it looked like.. I Had another Brand new Fuel filter on hand so i busted that out last night and threw her in after making sure the Fuel was entering the bowl as stated above.. New Seals and that large o-Ring, Installed and tightened. After that, i tried to turn the key and see if i could hear any diffrence at all anywhere. FIRST THINK I NOTICED WAS THE FUL PUMP WAS NOW CHANGINT ITS TONE, To a lower town, as iff it was going from no load to 1/2 load sound.

Cycled the key a few times, Its still cold out here, And i dont have a battery tender or anything as i was using a towtruck to try and start her the first day if anyone remembers, So All of this stuff ultimatly killed the batteries .. like all the way. the GPR, when engaged pisses the batteries off lol till it turns off . So I obviously didnt have the juice to try and turn her over, nor have i looked at if its returning fuel as i will check right now.

QUESTION: If the Fuel isnt returning is it possible its the Pressure Regulator Spring or mechanical funciton could error or malfunction? Like, Stuck closed Not letting anything Out of the bowl? Although .. if that was the case the pump prolly wouldent have changed load tone because the fuel would have had nowhere to go causing it not to flow.. maybe its fine, i just want to know if its possible, and if that problem would cause a crank no start.. because i feel like , because it was running for 30-45 seconds fine before dieng it makes me think fuel would have been delivered to the motor still from the pump, Im gunna go check right now but what do you guys think?

As of right now i feel everything that could cause the problem is now rectified and verified to be working or replaced. Except to see if fuel was being returned. Im thinking shes gunna fire right up like nothing happened when i get the tow truck here to let me jump off of him.

 

OK, oil gets thicker the older it get. Your 15w-40 that was left in the motor was very likely very dirty, and old which more than likely gave it that real thick appearance.

There's a screen in the return line at the fuel filter housing that can get plugged up. That may be causing the no return, given how dirty your fuel filter was as you described, that may be an issue.

Did you check the oil level in the HPOP reservoir?

 

As low as your motor was on oil, I would bet you have air in the High Pressure Oil System. That will take time to get that out of the system, and the truck will run rough until that happens. Like I said before, it may take 50 to 100 miles for that to get cleared up.