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1994.5 - 1997 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel  

97 powerstroke surges and missing under load

Old Jun 22, 2012 | 07:06 AM
  #1  
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97 powerstroke surges and missing under load

Going down the hiway last night pulling my 30' gooseneck trailer empty, everything was going good, pulled up a big hill and got to the top and thought this is really running good for a change after all the trouble i have had with it since i got it, then just like that it started chugging like crazy at about 65mph, i let off it and the rpms would level out and as soon as i would start to put it under load it would start chugging and surging, finally the check engine light came on and it died, i put it in neutral and it took quite a bit of cranking to get it started again, then it started but went right back to the same thing, parked it and had to unhook trailer, then it idled fine until other pickup got there and then it ran fine empty on way home, Acted like it was short on fuel, but i just changed filter 300miles ago, is it possible to have a weak pump in the rear tank or something, i never have pulled it very hard while being on the rear tank and when it happened i never thought to try and switch tanks, Please help Thanks
 
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Old Jun 22, 2012 | 08:43 AM
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Have you had the code pulled?

Fuel won't set a code. To me it sound HPO related
 
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Old Jun 22, 2012 | 09:03 AM
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Fuel pump isn't in the tank, its on the motor.

I'm going to say check over the fuel bowl and make sure things are clean in there. if it felt like a chugging issue and stalled out then took a while to crank then its fuel or oil usually.

Check out the FPR, its inside the fuel bowl, if it gets full of debris, it can cause the issue you state.

Secondly, double check your oil level. They are Hydraulic injectors, which means if your oil is low, then you dont run right and low or starving oil to the injectors causes the same issue.
 
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Old Jun 22, 2012 | 09:04 AM
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From: Ashland City, TN
Originally Posted by fordpride
Have you had the code pulled?

Fuel won't set a code. To me it sound HPO related
He's probably getting sticky IPR issues, I agree.
That or just has low oil.
 
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Old Jun 22, 2012 | 10:09 AM
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Oil level is good, just put injector harness in and new glow plugs and put in new orings on the injectors, still have a little miss when i take off it sounds like a injector trying to fire or like a v-8 gas runnin on 7 and the 8th one is starting to fire a little, Then it comes out of that, could there be air in my hpop from doing the orings still after 400miles, Also i put a bb under the fpr to get the psi up to 65 at idle, What is the difference between the fpr and the ipr? Thanks
 
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Old Jun 22, 2012 | 10:40 AM
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FPR controls fuel pressure

IPR controls oil pressure to the injectors
 
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Old Jun 22, 2012 | 11:08 AM
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How old is the oil?

If it behaves differently based on tank selection, you may just have a tankful of cr@p fuel. As said, it's the same pump, filter, regulator, etc for both tanks.
 
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Old Jun 26, 2012 | 11:53 AM
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oil was changed 500miles ago and is right on the full mark, drove it with a load of hay on today and it ran like crap most of the way, it acts somewhat like it did with the bad injector harness, it is just like a switch it turns it on or off so fast, i was wondering if it could be water in the control mod or another bad harness, the check engine light will come on and go into limp home mode like before and then drive it like that for awhile with no power then let off and it might die or it will take back off and have good power for awhile, then start chugging and bucking and then nothing or it might just die and then start right back up, i also noticed today at idle that the fuel filter cap moves up and down wonder if it could let in air
 
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Old Jun 26, 2012 | 10:30 PM
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Man i wish you luck my 96 acts just like you described at take off when it is at normal operating temperature, it runs on about 7 cylinders then just like that after about 2,000 rpm they all kick in and it takes off. When i get a chance and another rig running i am going to have my injectors tested i guess. Im thinkin that one or more are getting worn and when the oil gets hot and thin they dont pressure up nearly as good causing the miss in the lower rpm. Good Luck!
 
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Old Jun 26, 2012 | 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by onesr
i also noticed today at idle that the fuel filter cap moves up and down wonder if it could let in air
Well that ain't right. Not sure if it's a factor. Perhaps the cap gasket isn't oriented correctly. Did you check to see if it just wasn't screwed down all the way?
 
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Old Jun 26, 2012 | 11:25 PM
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Try cleaning the FPR screen.
 
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Old Jun 27, 2012 | 05:21 AM
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Only time I've heard of the fuel bowl lid pulsating like that is when the fuel pressure is a little too high, like 80 lbs or so.
 
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Old Jun 27, 2012 | 06:31 AM
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when i checked my fuel pressure it was only 65psi after the bb trick, would a dirty screen in the fuel pressure reg cause more pressure. where is that screen at on the regulator, Do you have to take the reg off the bowl to get to it? My orings on the inj were pretty chewed up so i wouldn't doubt if it was restricted. i can try it when i get home on friday.
 
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Old Jun 27, 2012 | 06:42 AM
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You can see the screen down in the fuel bowl about an inch on the drivers side. If its really bad, I'd remove the regulator as you can get it cleaned better. Otherwise you can take a qtip and remove the cotton and scrape it clean from inside the fuel bowl.
 
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Old Jun 27, 2012 | 06:44 AM
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Have you gotten the code yet? As mentioned, fuel system won't set a cel
 
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