No, Filter and lid must be on. Drain it with the yellow lever in front of the bowl, put filter and lid back on, Crank a few times and remove lid to see if it filled up.

I like your idea of adding some more fuel, Might even try switching tanks it you haven't yet. Also you could stick some like weed eater line or something in the tank to see if you have fuel.

If your not getting pressure then probably pump. If it still has the stock blue fuel lines then time to replace those too and maybe the fuel bowl orings. Everything at Replacement O-rings for Ford Diesel Engines

 

Ok heres an update. I added fuel to the tank and it was full. Next drained fuel bowl and cranked then rechecked and there was fuel. Next i retested pressure and actually got 50 psi reading this time. Also checked oil level under the allen screw and it is right below the screw maybe 1/2 inch. Whats next for testing?

 

Picked up a cps today also so i can put that on to test. Is there a way to tell if i have enough high oil pressure to fire the injectors? I'm running out of ideas.

 

Was it leaking oil at all?

 

I don't believe it is leaking any oil at all

 

You can with a 4000+ psi gauge. You'll need to get fittings, remove a plug in the head in the valley, and hook it there and see what you have cranking for pressure.

 

Ok so I swapped cos and still no fire. I pulled the idm and shook it I didn't hear anything however the top bolt was major rusted. Should I try to find an idm to put on there to test?

 

I had to go back to the first page and read your first post. No smoke out the tailpipe, I'd try to find someone with a 7.3 and try your idm in their truck. That way there is no way to mess anything up with their parts just in case. No smoke means injectors aren't firing. I wouldn't think the ipr would stick going down the road, but that is another possible problem.

 

I've found a couple of used idm for about $100 so i'll try and pick one of those up. Is there any way to electrically test the idm to see if its sending the signal to the injectors?

 

Is there any type of air shutoff on these engines? My father in law worked on fords many many years ago and mentioned something about checking air flow

 

No air shutoff. As far as I know only way to test the idm is try another one. I wish you knew someone with a 7.3 so you wouldn't have to buy one unless you know you need one.

 

Ya i wish i knew someone with a 7.3 also oh well guess 100 isn't too bad if it solves the problem

 

Hey brother, make sure the batteries are charged up good; you need to remember that excessive cranking is just drawing the batteries down. If they get too low, then the PCM won't let the injectors fire. Yes, that damn CPS kicked my butt a few times after I first bought the truck 10 years ago, but the Ford garage finally found the right one or they shimmed it good (I believe my CPS is the new gray body style-- not the old black one). No problems since then, even though I still have an outstanding recall on this for my truck. Also, just for the heck of it, check this: I also have a '97 but recently after my truck started dying on me I poured through this "gold mine" of a forum and that led me to find some shorted wires on my fuel bowl wiring harness! Specifically, this harness is about 18 inches long and wraps around the bowl (and gets fuel spilled on it all the time). It has a big connector mounted right on the passenger side of the bowl, and it has 4 individual little connectors on the opposite end. I unplugged the connector going to the IPR (lift the metal bail to unlock before pulling out) and I pulled back the black plastic sleeve (protective tubing) covering the wires. At the IPR connector, both wires had the last 2 inches of insulation completely gone and the wires were physically touching each other!!!! I carefully spread the wires back apart, gently plugged the IPR back in and it fired right up! So, I did a goofy little jig in my front yard and my wife thought I was nuts!!! The FTE brethren get all the credit for pointing me in the right direction! Those "smoking guns" are hard to find and electrical problems the most likely (doubt your fuel pump crapped out over night). I have since replaced the wiring harness (not cheap!). Recently last month, I had to leave the truck parked for 3 weeks and when I tried starting it, I blew the #22 Maxi fuse under the hood (twice!). Thankfully I had lost my WTS light and it was a quick fix. Lots of precipitation I guess. I remembered to reach in and pop off the fuel bowl heater connection (also on that same harness) and it stopped blowing that 30 amp fuse! (thanks again guys...).

 

This one was weird the truck was running perfect out in the field when we were feeding horses then it just quit just like it ran out of fuel. I've been charging it with my truck whenever we crank it to keep the batteries up. I'll see if i can find thid plug to check on those wires also!

 

dunno if its been mentioned...but is the hpop res full???