Here's my situation - running great !!

Just bought my "new" 2002 F250 with 173K on the clock. I now have almost 175K and I am just trying to decide what I need to be looking out for. I have done a few mods- Banks Cold Air Intake, FS2500 bypass oil filter, and some other non engine related.

But I know at that mileage some components have got to be ready for the check, repair, replace stage. But being new to diesel engine ownership I'm not completely confident in my knowledge base.

I've read lots of guys say keep a (cant remember the name fo the sensor) crankshaft position something??? I think it is on the front of the engine, and is prone to go out. Things like this that are diesel related.

I'm really looking for the a list of the top 10 preventative maintenance things I need to check to prevent a critical failure on my truck.

I love working on my truck, in my driveway, to make it better and more reliable. I hate working on my truck on the side of the highway in the pouring down rain with my wife staring at me through the windshield.

Bottom line is I would appreciate any knowledge you could pass along to help me keep my 7.3 running for many years to come.

Thanx in advance

Wade

 

CPS - Crankshaft Position Sensor. Known failure point. Keep that and a 10MM socket w/ ratchet in the glove box.

Check oil level in the HPOP. Should be about 1/2 inch from the top

Check the bushings in the track bar and the sway bar. If they aren't poly bushings then replace them. You will feel a big difference in the steering.

UVCH - WHen you have time, pull the valve covers and check that the under valve cover harness is pushed in snug. You can either do the 50 cent mod or buy the little clips from Ford to keep this from coming unplugged and causing your injectors to not fire or the glow plugs to not work.

Glow plug relay - If you dont have the California emmisions, replace the factory relay with the big Stancor relay. Cheap and easy to replace.

Glow plugs. Ohm them out to make sure they are working correctly.

Check the IPR tube to make sure it is free of carbon build up. Better performance and mileage

Ball joints. Check those to see if you are going to be due for a set soon.

Needle bearings in the front hubs. Better to have those ready and working than to find out when they fail.

Brake caliper slide pins. Make sure those move freely and lube if needed.

Vacuum lines to the front hubs. To check these, turn on your truck heat to the floor vents, then using the ESOF, turn on 4x4. Wait a fews seconds to see if the air flow changes to the defrost vents. If it does, start tracing the vacuum line back from the spindle to see if you have any cracks or splits.

Check all of the IC boots to make sure they are snugged up. Look for soot on the IC pipes. This is usually a good sign of a loose clamp or a split boot.

Check your VIN at a dealer to see if the CPS and/or the speed control recall has been done.



I am sure others will chime in... that is what I could think of off the top of my head. Any of my suggestions can be easily found by searching for them in this forum although someone will prolly jump in here and post a link for any of those.


Welcome to the site!!

 

Check out this current "Failure Prevention" thread https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...on-thread.html
Nick

 

hehe See Wade....told ya.

 

BillyBob69

Wow - I don't know what to say - I mean you have just taken up, oh i don't know, 3 or 4 months worth of weekends.

Love this forum.

Thanx

Ps - if anything else comes to mind - don't be shy

 

LOL Nawwww you could get most of those done in a day. Replacing the glow plugs and replacing ball joints would be the time killers. But the others you can go through and check and/or replace in a weekend.

 

Well Maybe so, but but thanx a million. You have given me and my truck a new direction of travel - Hopefully after all checks and repairs we will be traveling a long, long, long time.

 

If you really want a thrill...Take that list to a dealer and ask them how much for them to make those repairs.
Then compare it to the approx. $300 in parts for you to do it yourself. HUGE difference.

 

If you've got a 4 X 4 with the ESOF (Electronic Shift On the Fly) hubs then guzzle's maintainence page is a great reference as well. Fully dis-assemble and lubricate everything and put them back on the truck.

Here is a link to Guzzle's page... Welcome to guzzle's Ford PSD Web Pages

Also lubricating your front wheel bearing assemblies throught the ABS hole is an annual "to do" item.

It kind of goes without saying but basic maintainence such as oil changes, clean air and fuel filters are a must.

Transmission and differential service is also important.

 

Nick 99

I also want to thank you for your valuable input. These links are an invaluable source of info. Will be refering to your post many many times

Thanx Wade

 

TinyWonder

Is there a link on the lubricating through the ABS hole mod ?? Sounds like something I need to add to my annual maintenance sheet ?

Thanx for the reply

 

Get up on your engine and look down into the valley. If there is any Diesel/oil holding in there, you may need to overhaul your fuel bowl as the water drain seals at some point will leak. This is about a three hour job, but very easy. Bob has all of the seals you need.

Welcome to guzzle's Powerstroke Fuel Bowl Rebuild Web Page

 

Good thread Ive been wondering about things like this too, I have a couple questions as far as doing some of these things that will help out. How or where does one go about checking the oil in the HPOP? And if its low do you just dump oil into it? I have a vacuum leak and was wondering if I could just eliminate the hose all together for the 4wd because I upgraded to warn hubs

 

you don't need the vac line on the hubs any more, that was for auto lock in which you don't have.

 

On the top of the HPOP is a "plug" that takes an allen wrench to remove. Just remove that. Use something thin as a dipstick to see how far from the top the level is. If low, use a small funnel.

And as night crawler already said.... Yes, you can cap off those lines since they are not in use.