Hello everyone its been awhile since I had a power stroke but I finally got one again, just trying to troubleshoot something's as its newer one than im used to (I had a 95 7.3) and this excursion is a 01 cali motor. So got the truck to haul the family as we are getting bigger, shes got some.miles on her tho about 335,000 miles, great shape cosmetically and not too bad mechanically, just doing ball joints. Front hubs. And had to trouble shoot the GP's cause it wouldnt start unless plugged in, when I looked at the truck I knew when was tired cause she had some.blow.by and it would.puff out the oil fill.cap.so.i knew there had to be a weak cylinder. When I did the compression test on the driver side front to back.i got 360,330,200,360 and on the passenger side 370,380,340,380, mind you this was at about 30*f after sitting for a couple.weeks in the garage. So I found the weak cylinder, was hoping it wasnt that low but you dont notice it while iit's running, and with the glow plugs they werent working I tested them all and they all ohmed out under 1.5, I wasnt familiar with this glow plug. Module and frankly i didnt want to spend over $100 for a new one so I converted it to a basic system with a solenoid/relay I just capped off the wires that go to the pcm and utilized a momentary button in the cab to activate the relay (I realize that will cause check engine light but idc about that) now that you have the background the questions are.... is the glow plug set up I did ok or will those pcm wires not going to that module cause issues? And as far as the compression goes.... with the 7 other cylinders being pretty good for a motor with 335k on the clock, what could be the cause for the low number on cylinder 6? Should I be worried or is there anything I can do other than tear it down? My plan is to run it till it goes then replace it with a used engine but if I can make it last some more.miles Id.like to.... but like I said doesnt miss or skip now just smokes a little.
thanks in advance.

 

About the compression could be a valve not seating correct corrosion on the valve/seat or stuck piston ring. Should of kept the GPCM, just FYI all 7.3 X's came with the GPCM. Assuming you wired the GPR correctly the momentary switch should work.

 

I know they all came with them but a $15 relay vs $100 gpcm. Plus easier to diagnose in my opinion.... I like things simple not complicated lol as far as compression goes I'm leaning more towards a ring issue bc I have the puffing of blowby, if I didnt have that I'd say the valve could do it but the leaky valve wouldn't cause that I dont believe.

 

Stick a in the cigar lighter and watch what happens when you press your custom GP button. Should drop about a volt. Since it's wired direct doesn't matter if running or not. If no drop then they are not powering up.

I woulda kept the GPCM, but that's just me.

The compression is what it is. Can't do much about a bad ring w/o R&R anyway, so I'd go ahead and run it until that becomes the problem.

 

they are getting power I checked at the plug at the uvch, I'm almost wondering if the uvch are messed up just for ****ts and goggles I'm gonna try flipping the uvch plug upside down and plugging it in, cause it seems like the truck is getting fuel just not at the right time so I'm wondering if the plug needs to be flipped? They were cheap gaskets off Ebay so anything is a possibility,
I did keep the plugs from the gpcm so if I want to switch back to it I can splice them.back in later on,

 

Stock gaskets and sensors are highly recommended. Others can have unexpected results even straight out of the box.

Valve cover gaskets have been seen to not work well, or at all, even when new.. Causes many more headaches than just going with ones that
we know have good results (stock from dealer)

 

yea I know but I was trying to keep it as cheap as possible cause I dont haveball that.much money.... if I'm still having issues after I try it after it's been plugged in I'm gonna message the seller and see if they can do anything, cause it sounds like.its trying to run but doesnt quite get there

 

I did flip the uvch connection's and it got alot better but still.not 100%

 

Most of us understand this point of view. Although, if you consider the time and cost to install a "cheap" part, then the time and cost to install an OEM part after the cheap part fails.

You are actually spending more time and money by installing the cheap part.

Sometimes cheap parts are OK for these trucks, but sensors, valves, wiring, etc should ALWAYS be Ford or International.

 

yea I know but unless I'm in a rush and in this case I'm not I dont mind working on the truck to save $50 or more..... good news tho.... I got it to fire up but I think cause it's on empty it's either sucking air or gelled (the front end is raised cause I have the knuckles off as im.doing the ball.joints) so I'm gonna add some fuel with some additive and see what happens

 

Welp got it started, it helps if you have fuel in the tank.... I knew it was low but the front end being raised must have been enough for it to.suck.air..... added some fuel and she fired right up.... now to test how she starts without being plugged in with the glow plug mod.

 

These have a pickup foot that can rot away, and have a mixing valve with a duck-bill valve in the tank.. They are known to go bad/leak/ect. If you have
to keep it above 1/4 tank to run you have a issue with one or both of these.. There are in tank mods that take care of this, I highly recommend them and the
mod to replace the click lock connections in the fuel lines