Well, I did it. I finally bought what has long been my "dream truck". My 1988 F-250 IDI has been giving me more and more problems lately, and I'm getting tired of chasing them. So, I finally scraped the cash together and bought the truck I've been wanting since forever.

It's a 1997 F-350 Powerstroke. DRW, with a 12' flatbed. Automatic transmission. Approximately 130,000 miles.

All in all, it drives pretty well. It has a couple issues that I need to get figured out right off the bat.

Issue #1: While driving it home today, I wanted to stop for a cup of coffee. As I slowed to a stop to make my turn, the truck idled down a ways, the tach read just above 500rpm. I turned in to the coffee shop, and it's a drive-through place so as I slowly idled around to the window, the truck actually stalled out on me. I put it in park, it fired right back up, and I got to the window. Shut the truck off, got the coffee, it fired right back up again. No problems getting home, and no bogging/stalling issues idling down my driveway.

What could be causing this?

The guy I bought it from mentioned that he talked to a friend of his who is knowledgeable about diesels, and he suggested that the EBPV tube/EBP sensor may need to be cleaned. But from what I've been able to find via a cursory search, it doesn't seem like the EBPV would be causing my issues. Thoughts?

Issue #2: The truck feels sluggish, not like I remember the '97s driving (my dad used to have a truck identical to this, except his was a 5-speed). And, while driving down the road, I hear an intermittent "whooshing" sound from the engine. These two combined make me wonder if I have a turbo leak somewhere? I remember my dad's truck making the same noise, but I can't remember now what was causing it or how it was fixed.

Issue #3: The steering wheel squeaks while turning. The steering is good and tight, but the squeak is annoying. Is it a common issue? Where should I look to remedy it?

Obligatory pictures coming soon.

 

 

The truck came with the tall gate style bed rails, but they're beat. I pulled them off and will save them for when I need to haul firewood or something. I'll be building some bed rails out of 2x12s soon. I also intend to remove the flimsy cab guard and fabricate a stronger one.

 

Issue #2: What's the ambient temperature when you're hearing this whooshing sound?

If it's cold out I'd be it's the exhaust back pressure valve closing. It acts like a warm up valve. Completely normal, mostly unnecessary though.

Edit: You uploaded the pictures while I was responding. It looks cold haha.

 

Cold. It was 6 degrees out this morning.

 

I think Rick meant to put the word NOT in there. Just unplug the EBPV, its just sticks and causes problems.

 

I've been reading about this option online, and have not yet heard (read) a well articulated justification for removing it, other than warnings of future problems. Being that I live in a very cold climate, I would think that I want the benefit of the EBPV helping the truck warm up. I also tow with some regularity, and I'm reading that it acts as a kind of exhaust brake. That may prove useful.

It seems to me that it makes more sense to address whatever underlying issue may or may not be present (I'm not convinced that my EBPV actually has a problem) so that the vehicle functions as designed.

 

Thanks Glenn!

I have mine. It hasn't caused me any problems. I agree if it's functioning leave it there until it causes a problem. If the worst of it is that it sounds like a jet when the valve closes I have no problem with that.

No personal experience with it as an exhaust brake but some guys here have done it with mixed reviews.

 

I'm not placing much stock in the option of using it as an exhaust brake. I'm simply of the opinion that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Also, the few 7.3L Powerstrokes that you see showcased that run close to, and sometimes beyond, 1 million miles, are pretty much stock. The Ford/IH engineers did their homework.

I haven't yet seen a persuasive argument for removing it, just a handful of guys saying "yeah it was causing me a problem, so I unplugged/deleted/gutted it, and problem gone."

 

I have another question (of many more to come...)

The WTS light only stays on for a second or two when I go to start the truck. It has no issues starting, but it seems odd to me that it's such a short period of time. My '88 IDI diesel has the light stay on for nearly 10 seconds, and I remember in my dad's '97 it definitely stayed on several seconds longer than mine is now.

Is this something that I should be concerned about?

 

Coming from an IDI myself, I thought the same thing. However, it's perfectly normal for this truck to barely require any glow plug waiting. If its colder out, it may slightly longer though.
I LOVE how quick my truck fires up, The IDI was a such a grump when it came to cold starts.


Also, with respect to your sluggishness issue; Check the EBP sensor, its located on the front of the engine right by the hpop reservoir. It has a tube that connects to the passenger side exhaust manifold and measures pressure. I found my truck a little sluggish at lower rpms. I found my EPB tube completely blocked. I bought a new sensor and new tube and it made a huge difference.

 

Thanks, that's on my to do list for today.

 

The light goes out but your glow plugs stay energize for nearly 2 minutes.

 

steering wheel like to squeak on mine, its the metal fingers for the horn and cruise control wiping, quite a few report them squeaking but even after greasing they can still squeak

 

Well that's kind of annoying. Oh well, it's a minor annoyance at best.

This morning it was about 10 degrees out, and the truck wasn't plugged in last night. The glow plugs stayed on for several seconds this time, and the truck started within a few seconds of cranking and then idled kind of rough, not real bad but different, which I would've just chalked up to the cold except that the check engine light came on.

Well i came back out twenty minutes later and it was idling normally, but the CEL was still on. I started driving, and the truck had a small but perceptible surge in acceleration while i was driving about 10mph up my driveway. It would speed up slightly then drop right back down. When i got to the highway and got on it, it was slow to respond at first and then kicked right in, and drove normally all the way to work.

I have a friend with an OBDII code reader so I'm going to pull codes tomorrow, but I'm suspecting that the IPR is failing. Do you more experienced guys agree with that analysis? I understand that the IPR is a common failure and my symptoms seem to line up.