I have been having an issue with my 99psd for the last few years I have searched most of the threads here and thought I had resolved it but it happened again today. Every so often it seems to not get enough fuel usally begins under hard acceleration the engine chugs loses power ,recovers a bit and then continues to struggle to run until it just slowly starves itself and stops.
My typical fix is to drain some fuel get it to fire it up after turning the ignition on for a bit and it slowly rumbles back to life and I limp it home. The past two times fuel filter changes have done the trick could it be as simple as that.
I have had the truck since it was new and have already ben thru the tank and fuel line replacement from the flakes plugging it up so should I be looking at another gremlin somewhere besides the fuel filter.
I have previously replaced the fuel pump ( 3 years ago) and a month ago changed the CPS.
You guys have any suggestions what I might look for my plan is to replace the filer tomorrow and inspect the bowl for any crap other than that i am at a loss.

 

when you was in the tank , did you open up a clean the screens in the mixing chamber. you may want to consider the hutch/harpoon mod if you have not done it already. that way you could put a inline filter some where easy to get to out on the frame. you may also want to check your fuel pump for blockage .

 

The best way to tell what's going on is to be able to monitor what's happening. Since it seems to help when you drain and refill the bowl, and you are fairly certain it's fuel related, my recommendation is to get a fuel pressure gauge.

When you say you went through the tank and replaced the lines, do you mean you did the hutch mod? That involves getting rid of the screens in the tank altogether and adding a filter before the pump. If you didn't get rid of those screens, you need to. If you did delete them and add a filter before the pump, have you checked it, and is it the right kind? Filters with paper media can cause too much restriction. It just needs to screen out larger particles.

 

I didnt do the hutch mod the dealer replaced the steel tank with whatever fords replacement was seems to be some type of plastic and they flushed the lines and then about a year later the fuel pump. It happens randomly sometimes a year or two go by other times it happens a couple times year. Can't seem to pinpoint what causes it but the symptoms are always the same. Sometimes I wonder if it's bad fuel or maybe crap gets in there when the tank goes below a quarter occasionally. When I'm hauling and can't find a disel pump.
At least it's a dump body so access to the top of the tank is simple if I should do the hutch mod.

 

Do the hutch mod.

 

I ran my 'fuel filter' for a couple of years...... I have taken it out, looked it over, cleaned it up and stuck it back in... I don't think your problem is the 'fuel filter' at the bowl. If there is a lot of 'crap' in the bottom of the fuel bowl...just think what kind of 'crap' may be clogging your screens in your tank. Nor do I think that it is the CPS. If we rule out electrical, then we move to oil pressure and oil starvation and fuel pressure and fuel starvation. It is possible (not probable) that your oil pressure is having issues and closing down the injectors. You say that this has been going on 'for years'? I would be hesitant to drive my truck if I thought is might slowly die on me somewhere. Does this do this when your fuel gauge is in a certain area... say 1/4 full? or that would not matter. Is your oil always topped off? What weight of oil are you running? Have you taken the cap off the fuel bowl and looked to see if it is fairly full.

 

I think everyone is over thinking this.

If your truck is running like crap/ starving for fuel and you change the filter and it it now running as advertised the the issue was a plugged fuel filter.

How it got plugged could be anything. Its a dump bed so are you filling up from bulk jobsite tanks? Is it a low use vehicle and only get filled up a few times a year?

I would suggest maybe changing the fuel filter every other oil change, it sounds like the filter is doing what it is supposed to and cleaning the impurities out of the fuel.

 

I would do the hutch mod as well. With that much fuel filter plugging up the screens for sure have to be filled with crap.

 

Exactly...

 

Thanks guys my feeling is its simply a filter issue or screen (didn't consider that). I fill at the pump all the time and I change the oil and filters a the recommended time. I think the hutch mod and more frequent fuel filter changes
Is the next step and see what happens. I tend to over think things as well and the reason I posted this Time will tell I guess.
Thanks again off to get filters

 

When you do that Hutch mod, make sure you eliminate the Quick Disconnects and install an external fuel line screen. You are very likely sucking air into the line... and the dust from under the truck at the job sites.

 

Well here's what I found - started to loosen the fuel filter cap and it was super tight, I was turning it thinkIng man this feels cross threaded and just as I'm thinking no way I was that stupid the pressure blows from the pressure releasethe and gives me a nice fuel shot to the face. Cap is nice and loose now so I pull it apart and find a bunch of very fine gunk in the bottom. It almost looked like rust colored sand. I have previously seen trace amounts in the bowl but never this thick and it never was enough to accumulate in the bowl. I pulled the heating coil and cleaned the bowl spotless and put a new filter in.
Changed the oil why I was at it and fired it up same problem so I pulled the pump out of the tank it was spotless no crap on the bottom screen and that's we're I stopped to post and try to figure out were to go from here??.
I don't have the fuel line disconnect tool so I couldn't do much more than give it a quick visual once over for something obvious and look in the tank all appears to be clean.
The only common theme I can pinpoint is it happens this time of year after the truck has sat for the winter. I use it for a month or two and then this problem develops I change the filter and I'm good for the rest of the year with regular service and filter changes. I just have no idea were the heck this rust colored goo is coming from other than an occasional fill at my station who's tanks might be low ( long shot but cannot think of anything else since the event is so random in nature.
Any ideas

 

I had this same accumulation of rust flakes in the bottom of my fuel bowl. It looked like the fuel bowl heater was actually corroding a little. I drained my bowl and wiped it clean, thanking the fuel bowl for collecting it for easy removal and not sending all that stuff to the injectors.

 

you should have a canister looking deal in there, mine was white. open that up and inside will be two screens . either clean those out or just do the hutch mod which will delete's them.

 

Have to pull the white canister apart between the pickup and sending unit. There are two screen inside of it that may be plugged up. The "hutch mod" (search it) eliminates this canister and screens all together.