Hey guys total Newby here but I am desperate! My 2002 f350 7.3 was given to me in July of this past year. I was 15 at the time and I was told that it was hydrolocked. Funny enough this is where I came to learn how to fix it, and this is the first time I have had to ask a question LOL! I pulled both heads and replaced all 8 injector cups, I also had the heads re surfaced and had 7 injectors rebuilt and 1 replaced. I got it on the road in February around the 20th and since then I have put about 300 miles on it. Today I stopped at a red light and made a left turn and as I went to accelerate the truck jolted forward a few times and it felt like a tire was going to fall off while accelerating(only to 30mph). I pulled into a driveway to check all the tires, then I turned around and my foot was hard to the floor and the truck wouldn't go over 15. Diddnt smoke when it first happened, but after getting it off of a flatbed I turned it around and it hardly had enough power to get up my driveway. And I noticed it was pushing a steady stream of white smoke, the oil is clean and the oil cap doesn't get blown off at idle when I set it upside down on the valve cover. Any ideas? please, I am not afraid to get dirty so any suggestions are greatry appreciated!

 

Welcome to FTE!

First thing comes to mind for low-to-the-point-of-none power plus white smoke is failed fuel pump. The yellow fuel drain lever is on the back of the fuel bowl. Key the power on for the truck (do not start) and the fuel pump will run for 20 seconds. Open the yellow lever and see how much fuel splooshes out the drain pipe. Get a clean container under the drain pipe so you can put it back in the tank. Should be a substantial flow, just a trickle is bad.

Also possible the pump is ok, just clogged screens inside the fuel tank. But there's some place to start.

Other things good to know; how much fuel in the tank? Looking at the coolant, see any oil or fuel on top? Is it red with silver like mine?

 

I tried playing with the fuel bowl and tons of fuel came out. I have about 3/8 of a tank of fuel and there is a tiny bit of oil in the coolant resivour.

 

Is it running smooth or does it have a slight skip right now?

I have yet to drop my tank to fix the pickup tube that fell off but 3/8 of a tank is about where it starts to do what you describe. Once i put fuel in it, it takes several minutes of running to where it runs right again. You may start with 5 gallons of fuel. In the meantime, i consider half a tank empty right now

 

You said the truck was given to you hydrolocked. Did it sit for a long time? If it did I would recommend a thorough cleaning of the fuel system and hutch and harpoon the tank while you're at it.

Fuel sitting unused in a tank can become a petri dish for fuel eating, sludge pooping bacteria. The sludge they leave behind can clog up the fuel screens in the tank and the fuel filter in the valley. You'll also want to invest in diesel biocide to sterilize the system when you're done.

Also on a side note oil in the degass bottle is something to be concerned about. It'll trash the efficiency of the cooling system and it's tough to clean out. More worry some is coolant in the oil. Check the oil make sure it's not milky and that there's the same or less oil than you started with. More is never better. Contaminated oil will destroy your rebuilt injectors quick! Look for a leaking/damaged oil cooler, signs of gasket failure, and double check those injector cups.

Welcome to FTE!

After you get this thing back to 100% you'll get to have the fun of discussing the fun stuff you'll do with the truck. We'll be here to help you spend your money too!

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My friend JoeF250 is sharing an FTE inside joke about encouraging others to spend their money so we can watch these projects. We also like to help others save their money by way of avoiding unnecessary parts and helping you to troubleshoot your own rig.

Did you flush the coolant system after the cup job? Did you test the cups for leaking? If you had consulted with us in the beginning, we would have dissuaded you from popping the heads, because many a hydrolock has been cleared and fixed with the heads in place.

Do you hear the fuel pump running when you turn the key to Run (engine off)?

 

It still runs like a dog and idles somewhat normal but as soon as you give it any throttle you immediately know somthing is not right. Won't get up in rpms without thr whole truck shaking like it's going to fall apart!

 

The truck sat for about 2 years with a full tank of diesel. Mind you I live in NY so we do have winters! I have seen some nasty green diesel once before I can't wait to pull my tank next! Oil is still very clean only has about 250 miles on it. There is probably only 3 or 4 drops of oil in the coolant system I was told it was leftovers from when the injector cups went bad. Thanks you all very much I appreciate the help so far!!

 

I drained the coolant system completely and refilled it with all new fluids afterwards. This is the second time this truck has had injector cups done. The first time they only lasted 2500 miles and that's when the truck was parked and forgotten about. I pulled the heads because it had 145000 miles on it and I figured a set of head gaskets couldn't hurt, plus I don't have the tools to pull cups myself. Other than Machining the heads and rebuilding the injectors I was able to do all the work myself in my garage! I'm pretty sure the fuel pump is working great because I pulled that yellow lever on the fuel bowl and it poured out tons of fuel. I replaced the line from the bowl to the passenger head a while back, soI disconnected both of them at the bowl to make sure there wasn't a clog in the filter ( that has about 250 miles on it as well) Thanks for the ideas!

 

Given the new information. I would suggest you pull the fuel filter back out and check it. Easy stuff first, right? If it's already black, or feels slimy; there's a good chance you've got a petri dish instead of a fuel tank. If this is the case you'll want to purge ask the old fuel. And clean the tank as mentioned above, hutch and harpoon while your there.

I think you said it started this around 3/8 tank. That raises suspicions of a crumbling pickup foot. In which again brings you back to hutch and harpoon being the front runner for a possible fix. To test the theory add five gallons to the tank. If the problem ceases you found your problem.

Good to hear that the oil is likely left overs. Though I will caution that you really want to clean that system out. Fuel and oil will destroy every seal in the cooling system. Ford makes a system flush that is popular with 6.0 guys (they have far higher rate of contamination). I don't know about it's compatibility with 7.3s. I've heard of others using simple green. I would lean more toward a product designed to remove oil from a cooling system as I would worry about foaming with the simple green. After you get that system cleaned out again, don't forget about your SCA's when you refill, or since you already changed the injector cups you might be able to run a HD ELC, like final charge. Either way you should be replacing the coolant again to get the oil out.

As Rich (tugly) mentioned, you don't have to go this alone, and you shouldn't. We're here to help. Try to use the forum as a first resort, instead of a hail Mary. There is a good chance we'll save you from buying unnecessary parts. And looking in the wrong places. When I was your age I pulled an 89idi out of a barn and figured I could go out alone. $1000 later I finally sought help from this forum. And found the $40 fix I'd need all along. The point is these trucks can be expensive to keep moving, but they're far worse without good advice. Don't let pride drain your wallet.

 

I just got into Florida today and won't get back untill Sunday, so I can't try much as of right now. I tried to pull the fuel filter before I left and it wouldn't budge. I stripped the 1/2 drive hole before the damn thing moved an Inch any ideas how to get it out? Thank you very much for the advice I appreciate having the help!!

 

Any chance you could explain what it means to hutch and harpoon?

 

Guzzles version of it

Welcome to guzzle's In-tank Hutch Mod Web Page

 

Strap wrench. FTW! Or a chain wrench. Make sure it's a motorcraft cap. And use only a motorcraft filter.

 

Update guys just got home and tried to start it and it locked up so I freed it up with a breaker bar and after it started it spit quite a bit of oil out of the muffler any new ideas?!