Repost, but I need the help.

Howdy, longtime lurker, first time poster as I usually get things handled before needing to BEG for advice.

First, I have a 99 350 7.3. Since the day it came out I always wanted one so the dream is there plus the money I’ve put in it makes it not worth just letting go. Only took me about 20 years to get it lol. Flatbed dually, new everything brake wise (thanks Callahan 🤣🤣&#129315[img]images/smilies/wink.gif[/img] new mishimoto trans cooler, 4 inch turbo back, the list goes on and on what I’ve put in this thing. And it’s raw, very raw. I think I still let out an audible “oh yeaaaaahhhhhh” everytime I start it.

But I’ve had issues lately. Won’t go into too many details but a kid I tried to help a few years ago get through some demons, thought it would be funny to mess with my truck. Multiple messages were sent about how he planned to do so. Now that’s on top of getting with my daughters mother while she has been mad because CPS won’t let her around MY kid. So long story short, he planned on screwing it up, and did so in an epic fashion.

I was going down main street in my town, coincidentally to file an order to have her locked up for drug use and three different mental disorders that has her just OFF THE WALL CRAZY. When suddenly I lost my power steering, my brakes and well everything else. I parked it immediately and ran into the building I needed to be at. That was after sliding through an intersection and almost causing a wreck.

I thought it was odd the whole time inside, because I just had replaced about a month and a half prior the harmonic balancer, and the belt. So I couldn’t figure out why it had done that. After finishing my meeting, I went outside to see the harmonic balancer had divorced itself from the engine. Busted the fan up, and well the belt wasn’t looking too hot either.

I got her home, somehow, don’t ask me, I’m ashamed to admit it. And started to pull everything apart. The bolt was still in for the balancer which I found to be odd but I started looking. When I went to pull the bolt, I had a simple kobalt ratchet I used to bust it loose. Anyone who has ever busted one lose knows that’s not a thing you do by hand easily. But I did.

ive done a lot with diesels. Was a diesel tech with focus on welding for a few companies and worked in the coal mines till they went down. So I won’t say I’m an expert on 7.3 engines but I definitely feel comfortable around them. The bolt itself I had replaced with another grade 8, 10.9 for the naysayers and made sure I bottomed it out while achieving proper pressure on the damper but also contributing a lot of the torque at the bottom of the crank. Upon removal I used a surface grinder to lightly remove rust from the main washer and painted it. I didn’t even wait for the thing to dry before I slapped it on, and then used an amazing nut buster to put it back on. I over torqued it by at least a 100 ft/lb which in my research won’t hurt a thing.

there is no way I should’ve been able to turn by hand with a simple ratchet that bolt out. I know the washer went back on because I have the messages to a friend from the day I did the replacement telling him his Chevy would never look that good even underneath. The washer was on there. And as much as I’d like to say my truck is bad enough to blow that thing up, it isn’t. A grade 8 washer like that is usually rated for at least 250,000 pounds. And there was no damage to the inside of the balancer.

A diesel tech from the local Ford that I trust looked at it and said “you know this didn’t happen on its own right?” Of course I said yes, but I’m a contractor, and I go to school full time, plus I’m raising my kid alone full time. I didn’t have the time to beat around the bush about it so I threw it back on.

Let me tell you, 2.5 gallons of oil, in 20 miles is not normal. And that’s what I was losing even after all of that.

I replaced the front seal, didn’t work. Used a punch with a large head to seat it better, didn’t make a difference.

So then It figured I was the stupid one and changed out all the orings I could find within the oil system, didn’t help but was worth a shot if it was drawing down and I didn’t know it. Didn’t help. But it still ran.

no here’s my ****y uppy. I ordered a new lpop because I wanted the extra flow anyways. Well, as god or whoever you believe in decided they hated me that day, one tab broke off for the four bolts but still had enough meet to help it wrench down. I figured I’d replace whatever gasket was on the back pressure sensor while I was at it as I had to take it off to get the HPOP out. One side, was already stripped. So I deducted I would have to carefully re tap it to slightly larger. Not a big deal right? Well with my luck it was. The tap broke.tried all I knew to do for a total of five minutes but knew I was about to lose 35,000 in labor charges alone from a job. So I figured I’d redrill the best I could on the tap and besides it. I figured it wouldn’t hurt but I was WRONG. It plunged into the hpop reservoir leaving a hole. I I washed it down with acetone and built it up with JB weld epoxy. Oddly enough, because of my rush, I clamped it in somehow to where I do not see any leaks at all.

Sucker still poured the oil out. To the tune of 2.5 gallons to 20 miles still.

This was on top of replacing the seal, the orings, and various other items. I’ve never not had that stuff work on anything.

finally when it still leaked I bought a new lpop. Replaced even the dowels to make sure it was right. Replaced the woodruff key to make sure it was right. Put gasket maker down the key way. On the back of the new very large washer. Drove it home, figuratively, and started it up. It ran for 15 seconds and then died. Started it again, 5 seconds and then died. Disconnected the hydra tuner I put MORE tunes on but didn’t replace any of the old.

Sucker still won’t start now. I know the lpop housing got a little tweaked when I first put it on as I wasn’t using a torque wrench. It now I’ve sealed up everything the best I can, and still have no oil in the HPOP. It won’t run. And I’m about to lose 35,000 as an opportunity.

I NEED my truck. It’s how I make money. And I’ve bought so much oil, some many parts, even the seal between reservoir and pump. Only for it to run a second and then die and never start again.

it seems as if the oil isn’t coming up to the HPOP now. And I don’t know why. But I’d appreciate the help in getting it started tomorrow before I run both batteries out lol.

I’ve done all you can think of and even changed the ways the Gears faced to see. Coated them in Vaseline to try and get prime. But to no avail.

does anyone have any ideas where it messed up? I replaced the old CPS sensor, and cleaned everything up. Still nothing

I’m at a loss on what to do and maybe it’s from being tired but I do not see this going well. Thanks in advance.

 

Did you soak the new lpop with engine oil before install?

 

first two times yes lol. Then after the third which was tonight, I was fed up and grabbed the old lubey doobie and smeared Vaseline on every part I could get it on. Nothing. It’s like it wouldnt draw for anything. I even removed the top of the reservoir and cranked it to see if anything would come up and nothing.

Traditonally I’m a machinist and welder. The light scores I saw would not even measure with a micrometer as a difference. But there was a slight amount of scoring after all I’ve done.

the back pressure “cap” I’ll call it was put back in place with RTV, and clamped on until I can fix it better. The hole was basically welded back up that was created in my quick attempt at tapping.

only thing I found other than that after doing all of this was a slight leak in the top of the fuel filter. Which means I’m definitely getting fuel and it is activating so I don’t understand why it wouldn’t fire.

I did add a couple of tunes to my hydra tuner last night to see what would happen but didn’t even touch the original 8 tunes I had. I started it in the one that I found and the previous owner found to work the best after starting it with no tuner at all. It ran the two times and then it was like the tuner wouldn’t even engage it.

 

Oh and I put the old CPS in after noticing it wouldn’t bounce the tach upon startup. The new one I threw in which was in fact the purple one would not do that. I have a good 12+ volts going to the harness for it so I’m not sure why the new one failed.

 

Also should note, I’m not just some dad who wanted revenge on the mother, multiple drugs and lots of homelessness and arrests led me to this point. That all and her own parents calling me to say not to let my child go back was most of the reasons why. She’s mentally ill, very much so. But it’s up to me, to provide this better future with school, to feed her, care for her, be her knight in shining armor while remodeling houses and doing farm work and machinery repairs. I do not have the option to just lay down. So if anyone have any idea on how to even bypass things, please, let me know. I’ll have a bottle of scotch delivered to you even lol. But I’m not changing trucks, I’m not at the point to do so. And I have literally deducted that tomorrow I’m riding an electric bike 17 miles away to meet up with someone I’m sub contracting out for plumbing on four apartments. It’s gotten deep if you can’t tell, and I’ll broke at this point.

 

Depending on where and how the truck is setting currently for safety sake, one option I've read from people here, is to raise the rear of the truck high enough to basically flood the lpop from the pan. That should get it primed and working again. If not then either it has an issue or there's an internal leak in the system it can't out pace.

 

With udsuth78 here. If the oil pickup tube is bad raising the rear to get the oil in the pan high enough to suck directly into the forward mounted lpop might work. And if that works... it's a bad day.

Can you read codes from the truck? Cranky as it is there must be codes.

Lotsa God fearing folks here to support you here my friend. But for the sake of clarity please focus on the truck. We can help with that in spades.

 

lol just needed to clarify, the amount of hell I get is pretty astonishing.

and I do have a reader. Admittedly it’s probably the worst of the worst, it’s a Bluetooth reader. A cheapy from Amazon. I plugged it in and even paid for the OBD fusion app last night. Never have used it, just the janky ones I was able to find for free or super cheap before.

without it actually running, it wasn’t giving me crap to read on, maybe I just didn’t investigate into it enough but I couldn’t find a single bit of help via the OBD port.

 

Also, would a cracked pickup tube allow it to essentially back flow back down even while its running? That was the start of the issue which is what baffles me now that it doesn’t want to pick up at all.

 

You’ll need a scan tool to see why it won’t start/stay running. FORScan Lite app and BAFX BT OBD2 dongle is less than 2gals of oil.

A leak that loses 2.5gal in 20min should be easy to find after cleaning the engine. That aren’t many places that can lose that much oil.

 

It’s more likely the front cover is messed up from whatever the drama was (hard to follow...) installing LPOP. Some pumps require the gears to face a certain way and reversing them destroys the front cover.

 

That would bite.

 

Post deleted.

 

good for you.

 

i thought the same, but I even called into the support for the manufacturer and they said, somehow, they are universal on direction. I really wanted it to be that at that point of typing but it wasn’t.