I have a 2002 7.3 diesel with 300k miles that we just recently purchased. I am an anti-mechanic but trying my best to learn and fix these things as I go.

Driving yesterday after accelerating to about 45mph the engine bogged down and she wouldn't go any faster. I let off the accelerator for about 5 - 10 seconds, tried to speed back up and she drove fine after that. Later on in the evening it happened again except I had to let off the accelerator twice before she picked back up and drove normally.

A month ago I lost injector #1 while going up a mountain and she behaved similarly except that she completely died when I lost the injector. She never completely died in this instance though I admittedly stopped pushing her hard when she started acting up this time.

Any wisdom out there that can help me track this down? It seems like a fuel issue as my oil pressure was fine the whole time according to the gauge on the dash. My very ignorant guess at this point is fuel line, fuel filter, or fuel pump possibly?

I did immediately worry that it was another injector going out but it never fully died so is it possible for an injector to be slowly die?

I have also seen that a lot of people run fuel additives when they put fuel in but I'm not sure what additive to use or how much to use... or if that will even help in this instance?

Any information is helpful! Thank you!

 

I learn on mine as I go, and I'm no expert, but I would suggest if you don't know any of the service history on your vehicle, you should absolutely go after all of the standard maint parts, filters, fluids, Etc.
And down load the FORscan program, and obtain the proper dongle reader to read any hidden engine codes, and operational data.
https://forscan.org/download.html

 

Definitely want to get forscan and an OBII connection cable to read codes and do tests...though if in a pinch you can download it on your phone and connect via wifi. I've not heard of an injector going bad and shutting down the engine...they typically just make it run poorly. When was the last time the fuel filter was changed...oil level good? First thought would be CPS or go pedal sensor, but you really need to see if there are any set codes...

 

I had just changed the oil 2 weeks ago and everything was great. I never would have thought it but apparently there is a non-trivial leak somewhere that I have to track down. She was 8 qts low. I checked her yesterday after topping her off and she had lost about 2 qts in 3 days. Today's task is to find the oil leak. There is no obvious dripping anywhere so I'm super confused how should could be losing that much oil without something obvious.

I appreciate the help and recommendations for forscan.... going to get a dongle this week.

 

Look down in the valley behind the fuel filter bowl and the turbo. If you have oil in the back under the turbo it's probably turbo pedestal seals. If you additionally have some oil in the middle of the valley...check the HPOP lines where they connect to the heads. If you have oil under the fuel bowl look at the HPOP.

 

All I can help with is a similar issue with a friends truck. 360K on the clock. He was losing oil and it was running funny, kind of like yours. Turns out it was an injector seal(s) that went bad and was shooting oil into the fuel system/tank. I might take a sampling of the fuel currently in the tank and see if its 'dirty' or you can tell it has oil in it. Losing that much oil (8 qts is 2 gallons...) without a large puddle underneath tells me this may be the issue. It has to go somewhere.

 

^^^...Good point relative to injector seal. An easier way to look for oil in fuel is to pop the cap on the fuel filter bowl...especially since he'll be right there taking a look...