Patient: 7.3 PSD in an '02 F250 SD 90K miles. No engine heater. Perfectly maintained. Have never used or tried fuel additives.

Symptoms: At start-ups below 40 degrees, engine surges(lopes) abruptly for about five to ten seconds then settles into a standard high idle warm-up. No idiot light indications at all. After truck has warmed up, everthing is fine.

Patient History: Truck has performed flawless until this.

 

Questioneer: What is the area the patient is located in? What does the temperature get down to at night? In the day? Is there smoke present during warm up? What color? Have you changed the filter(s) recently? Why haven't you tried a fuel suppliment or plugging in the block heater?

Diagnosis: Require more information in order to diagnose patient properly.

 

I've got a '01 that has also been perfectly maintained with less than 40K on it and live in Colorado. If I don't plug her in when the temp dips below 30 degrees she lets me know it. I gather from your post you don't have a block heater. If that's so get a magnetic oil pan heater. There is a ton of them for sale on e bay (search under engine oil heater) and they work great. In Dec,Jan, and Feb I find if I run 10W30 and it makes a Huge difference. That 15W40 is like syrup to begin with and with a 444 cubic inch cast iron block that's cold it makes for a rough start on a diesel. That truly is a characteristic of the 7.3L, but also I'll bet your glow plugs are getting a little tired from the sound of it. Try waiting another 15-20 seconds before you crank the key and see if that helps. The glow plugs stay on for two minutes anyway. Even after the light goes out they are still on. All that cold iron and steel is a huge heat sink that robs much needed heat that a diesel needs for combustion when you first fire it up. This is hard on glow plugs seeing how they actually are working overtime.

I hope that eases your mind and gets you going in the right direction,

Austin

 

I don't know if this would cure your loping or not. The HX mod is a pressure balance hose that is installed between the HPOP galleys on the cylinder heads. It's most noticable benefit is a much smoother, quieter idle. I installed mine within a couple of months after I bought my truck last year so have never owned it during freezing weather without the HX hose installed. I can say that it fires and idles perfectly in mildly freezing weather after sitting for several days. (27*) They cost less than $50.00 and an hour or two to install.

 

BigRed350,
1) Live in Seattle.
2) Average minimum temperature window at night: 25-35 degrees (winter months only).
3) During the day: 45-50 degrees (winter months only).
4) Smoke only appears during the surging cycle.
5) Smoke color is your typical 'poorly tuned diesel' whitish-gray(?).
6) Change oil and air filters per recommendations. Have never changed fuel filter (ooops!).
7) Never had a reason to use fuel additives. Should I be?
8) No block heater (not typically an option at the dealerships here in Seattle).

Note: Seattle area weather experts need not 'flame in' on items #2 and #3 above please. Mine is a guess, an approximation, an estimate.

AustinS,
Thanks. It's nice to know my truck isn't the only one with the Flu. Sounds fixable.

Kwikkordead,
Thanks, I'll look into your suggestion too.

 

Just my 2 cents, but I'd definitely change the fuel filter. Don't know if it will help, but it certainly won't hurt! I'd also consider a change to a 5w-40 synthetic blend (I know I'll get crap for this) like the Rotella synthetic. Nowif you'll excuse me, I must begin digging my fighting hole and wait for the impending artillery barrage.

Max

 

Max1775,
Thanks for the input. I'll change that fuel filter for sure.

P.S.
Don't bother with the fox hole. You can join me in mine as I await that know-it-all Seattle weatherman.

 

No Problem. I'm happy to try to help. It comes back around when needed most. Be careful on which filter you buy. The Raycor is what I use. They make the Motorcraft OEM and are alot less money and never a problem yet. Check out these links and try to avoid the mentioned filters...

www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/racor.htm

By all means save some money over the pricey stealership one, but don't step over a dollar to pick up a dime.
I also change mine every 12000 mi. and never had a fuel problem.
The 10W30 in the winter helped the lope on mine more than anything.

Austin

 

check out this too

www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/powers~1.htm

okay, I'm done!

Austin

 

Rocketman, well, most of what I would have said has already been said. The fuel filter for sure, maybe try a tank with some Diesel Kleen in it, it will increase your cetane level and prevent any gelling at lower temps, in any event, I have found that mine starts quicker and smokes less using the Diesel Kleen. I hadn't heard of Kwik's idea before, but I think I'm going to look into it, it sound good.

Good luck!

 

When overnight temps here in Va get below 20 deg. my 96 PSD will do the same exact thing yours does (my block heater is broken so I have no way to avoid cold starts). It's a terrible thing to listen to - I REALLY cringe during start-up and the following 10 seconds. I have to say that I dont think the "idle surging" and the overall cold, rough, idle have much to do w/ the fuel filter. The only reason I say this is because I just replaced my fuel filter a week ago and my truck is still doing the same old thing. I think it has alot more to do with the very-thick-when-cold, 15W40 and/or mabye the oil pump system, or parts of it, are starting to get tired--I hardly know anything about mechanical stuff so don't laugh at me for the "oil pump system".

See ya later--Drew Stuart

 

Here's some info I found on the web that may be the remedy I was looking for. This expert diesel author calls this (not so uncommon problem) "Romp, Romp, Romp". Hope it helps you too:

A Simple Stock Solution to ‘Romp, Romp, Romp....’

The solution: Just a few more seconds of time.

Yes it’s that simple. Just let the fuel pump run a little longer before cold starting. Turn the key to on, and wait until the pump fills up and fully pressurizes the fuel bowl, and then stops running on it's own, before turning the key to start.

In the morning, this fuel pump run time may be LONGER than the time it takes for the Wait-To-Start lite to extinguish. (Generally less than 30 seconds longer, in my experience in moderate climates.) In any case, if one listens, the quiet whir of the electric fuel pump motor can generally be heard during KOEO,(Key On, Engine Off) as long as the radio and interior blower fan are off. When that whirring stops, fire up the motor.

Since the '99 model year began, which just happened to coincide with the frame mounted electric fuel pump, PSD owners, myself included, have reported morning start ROMP ROMP ROMP. This seemed to occur more often in the Northern cold climates, nevertheless as I and many others have experienced, also occurs in the sunny climates of California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida as well. Ford Engineering announced in a TSB several years back that this was known issue, and the cause was under investigation.

Many theories have circulated about the cause and effects of this troubling idle lope. Most have centered around oil. Yet no one particular brand or viscosity of oil has been catagorically shown to either eliminate or excacerbate the romp in all trucks reported with the morning idle romp.

There had to be an "uncommon" factor involved. A human behavior perhaps. So discussion turned to the amount of oil refilled, or the method of oil change, such as the pre-filling of the oil filter before installation. However, user's did not report consistent findings with these practices either. The romp persisted.

Around this time aftermarket chip programs were being monitored for any effect on the morning romp romp romp phenomena, and aftermarket fueling systems then came to fruition. Not to mention the ongoing ICP modifications, resistor tricks, etc. While the chips seemed inconsistent in their effect on cold start idle lope, the radical fueling replumbs and other equipment alterations seemed to change matters, while at the same time causing some undesireable starting issues of their own.

This still left non-experimental users who wanted to "keep it stock" scratching their head about the occasional romp romp romp experienced after a long period of sitting. (...such as overnight, or after a nine hour workshift, or even after a long, drawn-out, pampering oil change/service session.)

After considering the effect of what a partially filled fuel bowl might have on starting an engine, easily replicated by changing the fuel filter without turning on the key afterward to refill the fuel bowl before starting, I applied this same thinking when starting the truck generally, to counteract some of the drainback and loss of fuel feed system pressure that occurs over the time that a truck sits parked.

To this day, I have yet to experience the Romp Romp Romp in the morning after conscientiously following the practice of listening for the fuel pump to stop first, before starting the motor. In the opposite vein, I have also successfully instigated the truck to romp romp romp on command in the morning by firing the motor the instant the Wait to Start lite went out, but BEFORE the fuel pump stopped running. A clear correlation was experienced.

I've been meaning to post this suggestion for over two years now, but I kept putting it off... waiting for the odd chance when my waiting for the fuel pump to finish filling and pressurizing the bowl wouldn't work. But that day has not yet arrived. In my experience, listening for the fuel pump motor to stop before starting has always averted the romp romp romp.

The fact that people indeed have lives, and are often thinking about something other than their truck when they get up and going in the morning, could be the reason why it is not usually noted how much time is alloted before cold starting, as long as the glowplug/Wait to Start lamp goes out. This suggestion involves the extra step of listening for the pump to go out as well. The cause and effect relationship between pump activity, fuel presence and pressure, and romp romp romp then seem to emerge from elusiveness.

I hope this simple stock solution of waiting a few more seconds works for you, too.

End

Well, there you go.

Problem for me now is that the temp is back up in the 50's here in Seattle. Maybe one of you other guys here can test this out and let us know how it works.

 

RocketScience I saw that thread over on TDS too. Did you read the rest of the thread? There was a lot of suggestion to switch to synthetic oil to make it run better cold. A lot of people testified to it's effectiveness.

 

Kwik,
Yes I did. Quite interesting. But...

I've had this terrible stretch of bad luck in my life (kinda funny) with deviating from OEM plan trajectory. In other words, I could swap out my factory stereo, and my starter would die on me. I could go aftermarket air cleaner (saw that great post of yours by the way) and I'd throw a U-joint. Heck, I'm darn near affraid to put Rain Dance in my washer fluid for fear I'd blow a rear end or something! My best luck has been to NOT MESS WITH IT! So, I'll continue to do EXACTLY what my little book in the glove box tells me to do, and not much different. But thanks for the input anyway.

 

Hahahaha if you didn't have bad luck then you'd have no luck at all!
At least try the synthetic, it's on Ford's list of acceptable practices.