I have an '02 Ex with a 7.3L PSD and 250,000 miles; I will provide all info I know. Yesterday driving home at 80 MPH, everything was fine and then I felt a slight shudder or hiccup. Then a loss of power. The engine was still running but I had the pedal to the floor and was losing speed. Also black smoke pouring out of the tail pipe. I drove it home and noticed that at every stop, I had to put the pedal to the floor to eventually get to speed but it took a 1/2 mile; black smoke out of the pipe the whole time. Additionally, the trans now shifts like it has a shift kit in it, VERY HARD. Got it home, very rough idle, sounds like an exhaust leak or dead cylinders when you rev it up. EGT gauge was reading 100 degrees or less when I was limping it home. At 80 MPH it is usually at 600-700 if I recall correctly. I have no idiot lights activated on the dash but I will put a code scanner on it anyway and see. It is well over do for an oil change and the K&N A/F looks dirty but really shouldn't be due for a cleaning. I believe I could still hear the turbo whistle but now that I think out of it, it may not have been as loud as usual. Tried a cold start this morning and it won’t start at all. It is slightly over due for an oil change if that makes a difference. I am at a loss, any help would be appreciated; THANK YOU.

 

Sounds to me like the turbo took a dump, but hard to tell. So no boost gauge? Black smoke is usually over fueling, but one other thing that the turbo does is clear up the smoke when you punch it.

 

Turbo is out or you tore a boot is my guess...

 

Moved over to the 7.3L PSD forum.

Stewart