93 f250 2WD 7.3IDI 157,000 miles.
My truck stinks of unburned fuel and coughs out little white puffs of smoke when it's not under load (kinda like me ). When I let up on the gas going over a rise or down an incline she'll run ruff and puff. This also happens when we run at any kind of altitude above 2500 ft. I run diesel cleen or lucas as an additive (usually) and it cuts some of the issue, but not enough.

If you're gunna tell me I need an IP, say it gently...please....

Thanks

 

Are your injectors still painted grey? mileage is about right for worn out injectors- do not "pop" anymore, leak fuel, and cause the symtoms you describe.

 

Viking,

My injectors and pump were still painted gray at 205,000 miles and it blew white smoke on start-up, missed, ran rough, and didn't like going over hills carrying its own weight - much less the boat. The fuel additive helped a bunch with the smoke, but didn't cure it or anything else. So, I bought the shop manuals for my truck on ebay, a new injection pump and injectors with the installation kits from Midwest Fuel Injection, and did the job myself over the weekend. I'm not traditionally very mechanically minded, but I can read and pay attention, AND I got lots of advice to fill in the gaps from folks here. Last night I fired it up and once the lines were purged of air it started - without any smoke or acrid eye-burning exhaust - and ran like a new truck. I knew it would be better, but had no idea it would run so well. It purrs evenly at idle and when I tromp on the accelerator it responds quickly and with several times more power than I had before.

For me, it was worth it to do the job myself. THE diesel mechanic in town wanted to slap in a new injection pump for a thousand bucks, and never mentioned changing out the injectors (which were rusty and covered in sooty diesel fuel) and return fuel lines, nor did he advise me to have the cylinder compression tested before investing that kind of money in the truck. I've learned a lot in the past few weeks about my truck and most of the information came from helpful people on this forum.

The manuals were about $100 or so. The compression tester from Matco was about $70. The pump, injectors, return line kit and pump installation kit ran me less than $650.

Hope you're able to get it running right soon.

Tom

 

Well, if you DO end up needing a new injection pump, be sure and ask for a price quote on one for, say, a '99 PowerStroke first. Then when you get the word on what it's REALLY gonna cost you, it'll make your day!

Your turn today, my turn tomorrow, brother ... or, if we're lucky, your turn tomorrow and my turn the day after that.

Cheers!

--Finn

 

Would re-timing the injection pump help?

 

If you have access to a meter it never hurts and someone on here can give you the specs but I would look at the injectors and pump first because it can be a pain getting the timing set exactly right if you mess it up

 

The thing is I'm relocating from San Diego to Nashville next month. The trip out will be my rigs last big road trip before semi-retirement. She'll living out the rest of her days as my fishing and camping buddy exploring the green hills of middle Tennessee. A few puffs of smoke out the tail might just help me find my way back home...

So the real issue is, along with the new tires I need to buy, how can I get her through the high plateaus of New Mexico without busting my knuckles on a fuel system rebuild. I'm pretty sure the compression is low on most of the cylinders but she's still pretty spry.

I could maybe spring for some injectors, but I'd hate to find that wasn't the i$$ue.

 

You will save the price of new injectors in the amount of extra fuel you don't burn on your move, then have trouble free fishing once you get there!

 

91,000 miles on my '94 7.3 turbo.
I had similar symptoms as you describe. I replaced all the injectors (didn't fix it), then the IP (which did fix it, but I'll never know if I needed the injectors or not). Advanced the timing (static) on the new IP last weekend and it runs even better. I wouldn't be afraid of adjusting the timing to see if it helps you. Mark the pump before you make any adjustments and you can always put it back to the way it is now, right? And it doesn't cost you anything...

 

Viking,

I made it from Idyllwild where I bought my 1990 F250 to central Kentucky with a 200,000-mile engine on the original injectors and injection pump in late September. Those long hills on I-40 were a bit of a challenge, but I only slowed from 70 to 60 (well, occasionally 55). It's a wonderful bit of the country to travel through. If you're into geography and landforms, check out Google Earth. The lava flows in New Mexico are interesting; I saw them first from the plane flying out to get the truck and could make out the ancient cinder cones. It was cool to see from the ground what I'd seen from the air. I'm an old air photo interpreter and love the stuff...

Oh, yeah, diesel stuff... Since I've not seen or driven your truck I don't know the parallels with my own truck, but before I spent real money I'd certainly want to start by checking out the cylinder compression. First, forget trying to use the Harbor Freight diesel compression tester; long story - see this. I think it's a reasonable first step, though to test your engine compression; no sense spending real money on fuel delivery if the engine needs a rebuild or, in that case for me fuel delivery wouldn't be the first expenditure. I got a diesel compression tester from Matco with the adapter for a 7.3 engine for about $70. The tester is made by Star Products - TU-15. The adapter is the TU-15-1A. You can find it around elsewhere on the Internet through a Google search on those part numbers. If you do get these tools, don't bleed off the pressure immediately between cylinder tests (little button up near the dial gauge); wait for at least 30 seconds, then bleed off the pressure so you can remove the gauge from the adapter; there's a design problem that will blow the Schrader valve spring through the adapter if you don't wait for the cylinder pressure to leak down. Anyway, after reading many posts here and reading the Ford service manuals for my truck I think that compression testing would always be first on my list for a truck of this age. You remove all the glow plugs for the test and screw the adapter into the holes- one by one - then snap on the gauge. I made a remote engine starter with a push-button switch from CarQuest and some 12 ga. wire and a couple of 3/8-in. terminal rings. Oh, I had to modify the gauge to fit the recesses where the glow plugs are located, and most particularly to get under the fuel delivery lines on cylinders 3 and 4. I removed the 90-degree fitting and used a cast iron 45-degree plumbing fitting. Your local hardware store plumbing guy should be able to help out. It took me a few tries to figure out what five revolutions of the engine was. Lots of noise and confusion at the beginning, but I got it and was able to do the test just fine; you will too. (If you want specific information, PM or email me and I'll tell you what I did.)

For me, the compression test was also another way to get familiar with my engine a bit before this mechanical novice did anything really serious to it.
Kind of a sit-down, get acquainted kind of introduction. Once I knew what kind of compression I had, I knew what kind of truck I was dealing with and was able to make informed decisions on how much more time and money I wanted to spend with it. For the compression test itself, I understand from the manuals and helpful guys here that the lowest value is supposed to be at least 75-percent of the highest value. For example, if the lowest psi value is 300 and the highest is 400, you've met minimums. Although, I understand that some may consider anything lower than 350 suspect for long-term service. I was lucky I guess and had a range from 405 to 445 psi. Hopefully, yours will be up there too.

Check out what the experienced guys have to say on the subject. The'll fill in lots of gaps in my newly acquired experience base. For me, it was fun and (pardon the psychobabble) empowering to figure this stuff out and make it work. Hope you have a similar experience.

T

 

157K miles is just broke in for these engines- the fact that additive helps but doesn't cure still sayes "injectors". period.

 

This novice would agree with Kevin's injector assessment, but I've also read from folks that when the original injectors and pump are of a 'certain age', that it is often prudent to replace them together as the sudden back pressure from new injectors resisting at ~1800psi can cause the injection pump to blow. I don't know this from technical experience, but it seems to make sense to me. They've had time to grow old together and have learned not to press too hard on one another. Of course, one can replace the injectors and see how it goes first before spending the additional $350-$400 on the pump; probably a prudent measure. I'd say it just depends on how much time you want to spend vs. how much money you want to spend.

I never made it all the way up to Powell River yet, but evidence shows they got some pretty smart people up 'ere'...

T

 

Just got back from picking up The Vikqueen's new (used) 'Gator'. We got her a
2003 Navigator 5.4l DOHC. Black on Black, dripping in leather, all options except the power running boards and liftgate, NAV system or DVD. 60,000 miles. Not a scratch on 'er. $15,000 and a full tank too boot. Some soccer mom in Encino had grown tired of not having a power lift-gate, so she's getting an Escalde...muah.

As my uncle Olaf used to say, "Oof-da, that's not tooo bad a deal dare..."

Now that there's a new steed in the stable I can pull my f250 into the garage and get her ready for her last tour of active duty. I'll be starting with the cheapest fixes first, leaks, fuel filter, some gooey Lucas oil treatment, clean out the tanks, and I'll try the Ghetto IP timing trick. Then, we'll start solving the problem the way our government does, by throwing money at it till it goes away.

I remain Angry, but happy about it.

I'll study the manuals while poolside in Florida for the holiday.

 

On high mileage engines the seals and injector connecting hosees harden and leak air into the fuel system causing the white puffing and people replace the injectors and in doing so replace the leaking seals and hoses fixing the problem.

The cost of o rings and some fuel hose is cheap, so swap them out just to see if it cures the problem befor investing in all 8 Injectors.