Thought we would get away for four days. Supposed to leave campground today. Truck seems opposed to the idea since yesterday when we made a run t the store. Idles and runs fine as long as there is no load on it, then it shudders and shakes like a wet dog and barely goes.

Did all the usual stuff and been on the 7.3 diesel forum. Consensus is fuel pump or crap in the tank blocking the fuel line. Either way have to find a tow that can pull our truck and fiver back to Bristol. Would just leave fiver and get truck hauled then come back for fiver, but campground is full and we have to exit our space.

Nice being in the middle of nowhere until something like this happens. Don't realize how dependent we are on the Internet until we have really spotty connection.

Steve

 

No storage at the campground in the back out of the way? Where it can be left for short period.

 

Trying to explore options. We are in a very small campground which is pretty much a strip of campsites on an excellent river for rainbow trout. There is one spot down on the end, but it requires going up and over a short, but steep hill and I am not sure the truck can pull it with the fiver hooked on.

I am going to try our road service in a few minutes and see if they can send a truck that can pull our entire rig out. The road out of here is a winding two lane with short steep grades and I am afraid if I try it and break down, I will tie up a lot of traffic.

We'll see.

Steve

 

Maybe one of the other campers could hook up the 5er and put it there?

 

Possibly. Right now seeing what road assist can come up with. Truck will hardly move. Not sure I can even get hitched. Only one truck here capable of towing fiver besides ours and might have to appeal to him.

Very windy and cold here now. Takes a long time for the sun to reach us down in the valley.

 

I have the truck in at the dealer's I normally use. They are a small Ford dealer relatively speaking but always give me good service, remember who I am, and get my truck right in. I am borrowing a neighbor's truck to tow our fiver back in the morning.

It took about two hours from the time I called Good Sam until we had a roll back. I learned a couple of interesting factoids from the driver. Good Sam uses Allstate so all they do is forward their calls to them and Allstate finds the truck. The driver also said that while Good Sam reimbursement for towing to okay, no one in the area wants to work with them for servicing RVs as it takes too long to get paid. I know I didn't want their work for that reason, but didn't realize I was not alone in that idea.

My service manager said he suspected the fuel pump given it had reached the point where the truck would hardly run and barely move. When I opened the drain valve at the filter it had reached the point where nothing at all came out.

I am also having the alignment checked as my truck tracks much better with the fiver on the back than when empty and I am curious what they have to say. I realize having a dealer do the work will cost me, but strange as it sounds, this time of year is one of the busiest for me. In the spring everyone is in a rush to get going and in the fall they are in a rush to get their rigs put up before cold weather hits. Just don't have the time to do something I have not acquired much skill doing when I can sell the skills I have acquired.

Steve

 

what campground? Although I am fairly far way from Bristol.

 

wataugadam.com

Steve

 

looks like a nice place. May have to stop by sometime.

 

All are welcome to this marvelous southern state!

Steve

 

Steve, I am glad to see you got straight. In regards to getting the truck running right for a long time in the future, check out my post in the 7.3 section about the Hutch/Harpoon mod. I provided a full list of parts/supplies needed to get the job done.

One of the best things I ever did for my truck. Made it run/idle quieter, 6 more gallons of fuel in OEM tank, no more puking fuel syndrome and an external screen for easy access.

TN, north GA, NC area has some great camping. We love it up here...

 

Here's an update. As everything indicated at the end, it was a shot fuel pump. Only 75,000 miles on it, but it is 14 years old.

Now here is sometime I didn't expect. The service manager called me and said, we can put in a new Ford pump for $500 installed, but we can get other brands (Bosch) locally for less than $200, what would you like us to do? (huh, you are not going to push the expensive OEM part?). Advance wants $588 for the OEM pump. So I asked what he suggested and he said if it was his truck, he would get the aftermarket part. He said the pump is easy to get to, simple to install, and probably just as good as the $500 version. He said the shop foreman said the same thing, so I told them to go aftermarket. Saves me about $200+.

Are all the dealers doing this now?

Steve

 

I've never had a dealer recommend a/m parts but then again everything I have is under factory warranty. I won't own a modern diesel without a warranty.

 

What I have found recently is the dealer I use is getting super competitive on everything batteries, tires, brake jobs, you name it.

Steve

 

Not a chance that all dealers or doing this. I had a dealer in my local area ask for $600 to replace a starter on a 2002 Mercury Sable about a year ago. I literally laughed at him on the phone and said "no thanks, Ill pull it out of your parking lot tonight".

If you have time Steve and it is not too late, go this route.

Bosch OEM Replacement Electric Fuel Pump

Clay is very quick with shipping. Alternatively you can find the same part on Amazon for the same price if you have Prime shipping.

The Bosch pump is just as good as the OEM and what most 7.3 guys replace the OEM pump with.

Easy fix, should be done in no time once the pump arrives. Nothing like the OBS trucks, that is for sure.

In addition, here is the parts list for the Hutch/Harpoon mod I completed.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post15275850