Driving down the highway my truck started running rough, Rattling HARD and blowning, (kinda white looking) smoke! I immediately turn around and got back home in just a few short minutes. Still rattling HARD and Blowing TONS of smoke, pulled into my garage and shut her down. A while later I tried to start but nothing! The starter tries to engage, but all I get is a loud clunk sound and engine won't turn over. Sounds to me like it's froze up!! I am extremely upset, I fear the engine is toast!! (7.3 diesel)

ANY information or thoughts would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!
Thanks!
Derekdotcom

 

Hard to say. Check the UVCH first though

 

You may have something relatively minor, like a loose injector - or not-so-minor like a broken injector nozzle or cup. These are repairable. Step one is to pop the Valve Covers and pull all your glow plugs out. You'll then need to turn the motor (by hand) and see what shoots out of the offending glow plug and you found your hydrolock. This is assuming the expression "won't turn over" means it won't crank.

 

First we need to know some more info on the truck. How many miles on it, do you have a tuner or chip, and if so are you able to monitor EGT's? Like said above it could be a very simple fix or not so simple.

 

^^Agree


It's happened to me. Loud sledgehammer sound and tons of white smoke. Turned out to be a split nozzle on #5. I had all 8 rebuilt with brand new nozzles and the truck has been good again. I probably have 70k on the rebuild sticks so far...

 

Even if it is something big, its not the end of the road. I am in the middle of the process of rebuilding my 7.3. Mine needs to be bored out due to bad cylinders, but I found out that a block can be re-sleeved. It takes a couple of weekends and some $$$ but if you do it yourself its not too bad. You can follow along as the adventure unfolds https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...gine-work.html I will be posting picture tonight of the progress. Don't get discouraged, there is a lot of knowlegde on this site and we are all here to help eachother.

 

Subscribed

 

Welcome to FTE. The first thing you need to figure out is weather it was oil or fuel that caused your smoke. Check the oil level on the dipstick and tell us if it's still relatively full or way low.

Then grab a breaker bar and socket and try and turn the engine over by hand. If it's hydrolocked, pull the valve covers and glow plugs and turn the crank by hand again while someone watches to see which cylinder fuel comes out of.

Kind of sounds like an injector tip issue so don't try the starter anymore until you figure this out.

 

I have the edge attitude chip, and it has about 300k on it?, not sure exactly cause my speedo stop working a while back. I think brake fluid leaked on some wires and shorted it out. I tried all the fixes, like the sensor on the rear diff. I talk to people on here who had same problem but never did figure it out....also the OD light is flashing.

And, to answer some of your questions, the oil level is the same as when it was running good a few days prior to "D-day" (June 6th)

That's all I can think of for now.

I just want to say Thanks so Much to all you that have responded to my post, I'm feeling much better now thinking that maybe it's not as bad as I originally thought and that there is some hope!....
So, THANKS A LOT! Really, You guys are great!! I so much appreciate all your input!!
D...

 

The Flashing OD light means there is a code or codes present in the transmission that IIRC Ford is the only one who can pull them, Or a high end scan tool. As for the motor issue, I would do what tugly stated, as soon as you pull the VC's look at the big connector and make sure they haven't came slightly un-plugged. The Under Valve Cover Harness or UVCH has been an issue on these trucks without the updated harness. The plug never had any retaining clip from the factory. This is the point where the main 48 pin connector splits apart and allowing the wires to "pass through" to the Glow Plugs and injectors. When the plug comes apart it can cause all sorts of issues that can be easily fixed with doing the "50 cent mod", you will find many write ups if you search that. At 300k if you have stock sticks (injectors) id say your due for a new set.

Another tip is, remove that edge programmer. They have been to cause numerous issues with transmissions in these trucks. Edge products and chips are whats known as "canned tunes" meaning its nothing special and will add a little more power. I believe once you remove the tooner the OD light might stop flashing.

One more thing, what kind of air filter is in the truck and was it changed regularly? Look into the tubes that go to the turbo with a flashlight if there is lots of dust or grit in there.

Keep us posted on what you find!

Oh and Welcome to FTE!

 

Well i finally got started on my truck, I pulled the driver side valve cover off. I was looking at the clip that holds the incoming wires, it looked good but then I squoze it and hear "click" so I guess it had, in fact, come undone. I was just about to go pull the other cover off, but my question is do I need to pull each injector and inspect? Or should I try to start it and see if it was just the clip? Could it be that simple? Also, It was 'hydro-locked' B4, I believe was the term someone used, do i need to turn the engine over maunually (4or5 times) with a socket and breaker bar to get the engine unlocked? I saw a video somewhere talking about that.

I really just need help/suggestions with my next course of action.

I almost forgot, all air intakes were really quite clean, and I clean the aircleaner religiously! There was though, about a teaspoons sized drop of oil next to the turbo intake.
I hope I answered all your questions and maybe you can help me with mine!!

Thanks A LOT to all you guys for all your help! I appreciate it greatly!!
D

2000 F250 X-tra Cab SB 4x4, over 300k mi 7.3, Edge Attitude w/digital gauge leveling kit 35" tires. Air intake (the smaller one) getting the large one soon! but I figured the small air intake was better then stock.

 

.......................

 

I would start with leaving the injectors alone. Pull the other VC and inspect as well. Also remove the Edge, im willing to bet thats the cause of the OD light. Edge and other "canned tuners" have been known to drastically shorten their lifespan.

You need to pull the Glow plugs all out and it might be a good time to replace them. Once they are all out spin the motor with a breaker bar and wrench and watch out for whatever will spit out of the hole or holes, that will reveal the problem cyl or cylinders. Make sure the large 48 pin connector is unplugged while doing this and disconnect the batteries. Whatever is in there will spit out with some force so watch out and cover everything you don't want covered in that mess!

What color is the coolant in the bottle? If its black or very dark brown there could be a bigger issue at hand. Look for an oil sheen on top and take a smell of it. If it smells like diesel or oil grab a cold one and hold on to your wallet!

 

TIP:
Once you have the valve cover off, you will see a white wire going to something next to each injector... that's the glow plug. Lift that connector and you will need a 10mm deep-socket to break the glow plug loose. There's a good chance you can't remove the glow plug with the socket, my socket always got stuck under the rocker arm. All you can do is break it loose to get it easy to spin with a different tool. You need a small piece of tubing that just grabs the top of the glow plug with friction and you can spin it out. I think it's about 1/8" inner-diameter tubing, but I'm unsure. This is a demonstration of what I'm talking about:

 

OK guys, I have all the glow plugs out, Now when I hand crank the engine over I was just wondering WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE COME OUT OF THE CYLINDERS? WHAT IS GOOD TO SEE AND WHAT WOULD BE BAD??

Also one thing I did notice, one of the glow plugs has about 1/4" broken off the tip! It looks like its been that way for a while, it has a lot of build-up on the tip, all others look pretty worn out but not broke.

I'm having a hard time getting the 42 pin connector undone! It's kinda hard to tell where is separates!?!?

I know I keep saying this, but THANKS again for your help!!!

....also, my coolant is nice n green and smells like antifreeze.

THX!
Derek