Hey guys. I need to figure out what is wrong with my 02 F250. I was driving home the other night and after about 5 miles or so, the truck started losing power and stumbling. By the time I got home, which is about 10 miles after I first noticed a problem, the truck would barely drive 20 mph. I pulled in the driveway and put the truck in park. Now it would barely idle so I shut her down and went in the house. Yesterday, I started it up and it idled for about a minute, and died. Now, I cannot get the truck restarted and I get no SES light or water in fuel light. I figured I would look at the fuel filter, so I opened the drain, and get nothing out. I then pulled the fuel filter cap, to have a look. I did not see anything out of the ordinary with the filter or the fuel in the bowl, but something is plugging the drain and the truck seems like it has a fuel problem. (no smoke with loss of power). Does any one have a link for a fuel pressure guage? I wonder if the pump went out? This truck is stock except for the 203* stat and 6637 and it only has 51k miles on it. I really need to figure this out. My wife is ready to give birth and we have a 15 mile ride to the hospital and we keep getting pounded with snow. Thanks.

Nick

 

Nic, Go back and open your fuel drain valve, turn your key on and see if you start getting fuel out of the drain pipe. Watch out there will be a lot of fuel if it breaks free. If no fuel comes out under the truck, check that the fuel pump is turning on. Listen under the front door when you turn the key on, you should hear the pump running. If not start checking fuses be sure # 30 is not blown.

 

Thanks Rick, I will check that when I get home.

 

Fuel will run from the drain whether the key is on or off (that is, if the fuel bowl is full). Key on, fuel should pour out of it.

Nick, turn your key on, lean your head down under your door and listen for the pump. Like Rick said, only unplug the heater from the back of the bowl and see what happens, along with, of course, checking the #30 fuse. Replace it if it looks ready. A finnicky fuse could be your problem, resulting from a bad heater element.

Something is indeed clogged if it won't drain when kicked open. Again, try it with the key on and see if fuel pours out, if it does, then lean to the heater element.

 

Jet, that is what I was getting at, if his drain is pluged, because he said no fuel was coming out of the drain with bowl full of fuel.

 

are you sure there is diesel in the tank? j/k

i agree with what these guys are saying. take the fuel bowl off, and make sure your pump is running. you should get diesel there. (this is easier with someone helping). but do yourself a favor and stop in at oh-rye-lees or somewhere and get a set of fuel line disconnect tools. I have gone through some of the worst cases already. if the pump is running, but no fuel is coming, then you probably got some bad fuel that plugged the tank screen.

you will have to disconnect the pump and then try it to see if it is pumping fuel from the tank. if it runs, but is not getting fuel, then you will need to blow some air both ways. take the line off from the tank and blow some air back into it (make sure to open the gas cap). then reconnect it to the pump and try it again.

p/m if you need me to elaborate

 

Thanks guys, I forgot about the fuel heater #30 fuse issue before my post. That will be the first thing I check. My first thought when the drain wouldn't work, was that I had water in the fuel bowl and it froze, but I got no wif light and it did not look to be the case when I opened it up. I just got word that the wife is in labor, so I don't know how soon I will get to look at it. Thanks
Nick

 

Take care of the wife first. The truck can wait. Good luck. We will be waiting to hear from you about both the baby and truck.

 

Congratulations!!! Good luck.

 

We'll be on the lookout for baby pictures!

 

It's a girl! Emma Marie, born 2/7 at 7:28 pm. She was 5 lbs, 15 oz and 19 inches long. With the F250 out of commision, my wife got to ride in my work van to the hospital. We took tons of pictures, but I haven't gotten them off the camera yet. If I can figure out how, I will post some soon.
I didn't get a chance to do much with the truck, but I was able to check the #30 fuse, and it is good. I tried starting it again, and it acts like it wants to fire, but it will not start. I did notice the tach does not move while cranking, but I don't know if that means anything on the 02 or not. I did have the cps go on my other truck and it did not act at all like this, but I guess that is the next thing to check. Thanks again.
Nick