I took my 2002 F350 7.3 Powerstroke to a local shop to have it serviced. B I G M I S T A K E !!!!!! After paying $170 for 15 qts.of oil and a filter I drove the truck home. This was on October 30th. On November 29th.I was driving home from my hunting camp and the truck lost power and started knocking,shuttering and finally shutting down completely. Trying to start it was usless. I had to get a roll-back to come get me. I thought the problem was the IPR (that I thought was counterfeit). After installing the IPR I decided to check the fluids because it had been sitting for about a week. I pulled the dipstick and not a drop of oil on it! I checked the mileage since the oil change and had only driven 456 miles! That's 48 MILES TO THE QUART!!!!!! They hadn' layed a finger on mu truck!!!!! After putting 10 1/2 quarts of oil in I had oil on the dipstick.It took forever to start the truck but it did start but it ran like crap. I let it build oil pressure and finally was able to take a test drive. Very little power at half throttle to start with then caught and ran decent.Now the truck is almost impossible to start! I called the shop and talked to the "manager" who told me that he would talk to the owner and have him call me. I waited two weeks for a response to no avail. I finally got in touch with the owner who "diagnosed" the problem as a bad HPOP.
If I haven't bored ya'll by now my question is; Is that the right diagnosis?
Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

That's not a diagnosis, that's a guess. Hard to say what the problem is without putting a scan tool on it and taking some readings. Since the engine oil is the hydraulic fluid that operates the injectors, it's possible running dry could have harmed one or more. Not likely but possible. Possible high pressure oil pump damage etc....

Need to take it to a trained PSD tech and find out for sure because throwing parts at that engine is extremely expensive.

 

AS RLXXI said, that is a guess, not a diagnosis.

Do you have a OBDII scan tool like an OBDLink MX+ or BAFX? If not, check out the link below and see if this is something you want to "invest" in.

Link: FORScan + FORScan Lite: Class Tutorial Q&A

I would ask you, where did the missing 10.5 quarts of oil go? Was there a top side or under side leak that you missed? If not, was the oil ever refilled to a full level or is the shop claiming that the engine is consuming that much oil?

$170 is A LOT of money for an oil and filter change. Even for boutique oil prices. I get it that people need to be paid for their time and shop time is expensive in 2021, but $170... Getting back to figuring out your issue, the HPOP could be failing, but you could have some other issues going on too. If you have access to a scan tool as mentioned above, we can help you figure things out. Some simple checks you can do prior to that are looking for a "wait to start" or "glow plug" light on the instrument cluster, is it there when you turn the ignition from OFF to ON?

Do you hear the fuel pump priming for ~20 seconds after turning the ignition from OFF to ON?

You can check your fuel pressure the easy way by following this link: Fuel Pressure The Easy Method

I would suspect there is still plenty of air in the HPO system if you ran it dry, so you may simply have to crank the engine over a bit more in order to purge the rest of the air out. What are your batteries voltage readings at rest and while cranking? Are you sure the GPR is working properly?

See where I am going with this? There are several things that could be contributing to a no start condition aiding or masking the primary failing part.

We are here and eager to assist you though, so keep talking to us.

 

Hmm so my question is, where did the oil go!?!?! You just had the oil changed! did they short you thinking it would be enough to get you out of the shop??
Personal experience speaking here, if you run low on oil the truck will die, not causing such issues generally, so something else has gone bad in the process?

 

I second, where did the oil go? That is the problem, not the HPOP.

 

What does your fuel filter look like? Black and oily would point to a failed injector o-ring and pretty much explain where the oil went and why you have no power.

 

I in the same boat as everyone else:

Where did the oil go?
Did the shop even do the oil/filter change?
If it leaked out there should be evidence of a massive oil leak( I would think that the shop should have possibly pointed this out)
Never guess on 7.3 and 6.0 Powerstrokes. You need a scanner so you can post findings/numbers here where there is a lot of support from other members

Rob

 

Oh man!!!!! Thank you all for the advice. I do have scan tools( Edge CS2 Tuner and the BAFX). The shop never did the oil and filter change in the first place. The 10 1/2 quarts of oil that I put in the truck are still in it.Sous,what is GPR? The manager of the shop took full responsibility for the guys not doing the service so he has my truck.

 

I forgot to mention that the truck has 297k miles on it with the OEM HPOP. I bought the truck new and the HPOP has never been updated.

 

GPR stands for Glow Plug Relay. It is the device that provides power to the glow plugs to allow for easier starting on a cold engine. I only suggested that as a possible point of interest due to the description you gave to us originally. We get it you are frustrated and rightfully so. These sorts of threads are usually a back and forth discussion between you (the creator of the thread) and several friendly and helpful FTE members.

We need you to be the eyes, ears and hands for us as we try to help you through your issues and concerns.

That is not a big deal for a HPOP. They are generally reliable and can last well over 300,000 miles. Although, they can fail, just like everything else designed or made by humans. I have 263,000 miles on my HPOP and it is tired, but it still gets the job done working hard towing a 5th wheel cross country on a regular basis.

Since the shop has your truck now, keep us updated with what they "find" or "claim is wrong" and we can help you from there. If you like, you can stipulate that they don't replace anything without authorization from you. I would recommend that they only use OEM/Motorcraft parts for sensors and valves, but I don't want you to be charged $300 for an IPR.

You are in a bit of a tough spot right now, but we are here to help when and how we are able.

 

So they partially drained your oil and did not fill it back up? You DONT have a major leak somewhere? I’m confused.

 

No major leaks,no more than a normal 19 year old 7.3. I honestly don't know what was done or not done. I dropped the truck off and picked it up when they called and said that it was ready.

 

Sous and all of ya'll I really appreciate you guys' input. The owner was supposed to take my truck to a 7.3 mechanic on Thursday but it was still sitting in his lot today. Any lawyers in the forum?

 

I would probably make getting the truck away from those folks a priority.

 

mine has 360k on the original hpop.

Also a friend has a 02 7.3..they had someplace change the oil. They live in western Washington, they were driving across ND....truck stopped. Drain plug fell out. Got it towed, filled the oil back up...
100k more miles...no issues.