I JUST bought this truck on Friday from a used car dealer. I test drove it, and everything was perfectly fine. I am fairly familiar with these engines, as I grew up around them. However, here is my problem I am having........

I bought this truck about 150 miles from where I live. I drove it home, and it was perfect it on the drive.

All fluids are fine, etc.

However, yesterday and today, i noticed that randomly it looses power and wants to die on me ( today it actually did die once). It is completely random though. When I want the problem to duplicate, I can't get it to do it. It seems like it "misses and hesitates". When i hit the pedal, it wont let me go above 2k MAX if it even lets it move at all. It gets really loud on the passenger side of the engine. Almost as if it was missing spark plugs ( i know it doesnt have any plugs. I am using this as a comparison). When i stop, during this time, it shakes really bad. If I turn it off, and restart it, it will usually run fine like nothing even happened.

Today, when it did it, it actually stalled on me. I went to start it back up, and it struggled, idled at about 1000RPM. hesitating extremely bad, then died. It only stayed running for about 5 seconds. If I hit the gas, nothing happened. I let it sit for about 5 minutes, cranked it, and it started up. I put it in drive, and drove home. For the first 30 seconds, it was shaking really bad, then it drove normal. I got home, turned it off, and then immediately started it back up to see if it would do it again. It did do it again. I had it in park, and I hit the gas to see if it would hesitate badly as before. When I hit the gas, I noticed a hell of a lot of white and black smoke coming out of the tail pipe. This is the only time it has smoked. And it was a lot of smoke. I am at a loss here. Any ideas? from my research, I noticed that its a fairly common problem, but noone has given real good solutions. If anyone has any idea, please chime in. I would like to get this fixed asap. Like I said, I just bought this truck Friday in hopes of using it to pull my alumascape 5th wheel, but now am a little unnerved with it. Please let me know what you think.

And, as stupid as it sounds, please kinda dumb down your answer for me. I am not an idiot, but I am not a diesel mechanic either. Instead of abbreviations for sensors and parts, please spell them out in their entirety. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much.

O, and also, I just went outside and started it up, and it runs like new. I took it for a 20 mile test drive and absolutly zero problems. WTF????

Truck has 235,000 miles on it.

 

Welcome to the site! I guess you have a 2000 7.3 listed in your profile. I would post your thread in the 7.3 section under diesels. Did the truck come with a 30 day warranty?

 

Recommend you post some specifics on your truck to help others respond. For instance, I don't see where you state the truck's year, tranny, and type of diesel engine.

 

If it has 235k miles, I can only assume it's a 7.3??

Sounds like the Cam Position Sensor to me (CPS). It's $20 part and takes 10 minutes to change out, and causes random problems exactly like what you are describing!!

 

I will repost in the 7.3 section if I can find it, lol. It is a 2000 350 PSD, automatic 7.3

 

Here you go!

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31/

Uhhg!!

 

Yup, it is a 7.3, good guess. lol. 2000 F350 Automatic with newer Jasper trans ( 50k ago). Where is the cam sensor located? And how common do they go bad and cause the problem like what I described?

 

Common enough I always carry one with me!!! If I don't use it,,, someone else will need it.

It's right up front,,, the serp belt can be in the way on some.

If you cruise around the link I gave you, you'll find pics and step by step instructions.

I'll see if I can find another link for you.

 

Thanks for the welcome! I reposted it in the 99-03 7.3 forum. Unfortunately, it did not come with a warranty. But, I have bought from this dealer a few times in the past, and have gotten nothing but good vehicles.

 

Thank you very much Snowbunny. I will pick one up tomorrow and see if that fixes it. Should I just get the one from Advance or Auto Zone, or should I get one through International?

 

I go to Napa myself,, don't know it matters.

 

Here's a whole bunch of CPS conversations for you to read through. You'll know exactly what you need by the time you finish this list!! Happy Reading!!

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - Search Results

 

Just in case it is not the CPS. Many states have mandatory warranties which are also known as "lemon laws" usually something along the lines of 30 days if purchased from a dealer and in some cases even if purchased from a non dealer. Provided some other agreement was not entered into. I would notify the dealer on Monday.

 

Unfortunately, Florida does not have any Mandatory Used Car Lemon Laws in effect according to the Florida Attorney General's website. I will try the CPS tomorrow. I am really hoping that's all it is. I can't afford to dump money into this truck.

 

Where are you located in Florida? I am in Palm Bay on the east coast, may be I can help?