Just joined and need some help - hopefully I've come to the right place. And I should add first - New to Diesels. Just bought a 01 F250 Crew Cab to use for towing during the winter. It has 175K on the OD. Drove it for a couple of 1,000 miles with no problem. Now, when I do a cold start, and the truck begins to idle up it chokes out and dies. On restart, it acts like a flooded car. I can get it started only by pushing the accelerator to the floor. Once I go through this process a couple of times, I can actually drive it with no issues....but before I take another 300+ mile trip, I want to figure this thing out....any ideas??? Thanks in advance.

 

Im not sure of your problem, but welcome to FTE! Lots of knowledgable guys in here, someone will know what to tell ya.

 

First off, welcome to FTE.
When starting it the first time, do you wait for the wait to start light to go out? On an 01 it's probably a squiggly orange light on the left side of the instrument cluster. Wait for that light to go out, and give it another 20 to 30 seconds before trying to start it. On cold mornings, the glowplugs will burn for about 2 minutes. Let them do their work before you hit the key.

Did you check your fuel filter? There is a screen located on the right side of the filter housing that does plug up sometimes. There are 2 ways to clean it. One way is to remove the 2 10mm bolts on the right side of the housing and move the block away from the housing, and remove the screen to clean it. Be very careful not to lose the rubber o-ring that is there. The other way to clean it is to remove the filter, drain the fuel filter housing, and use some PB Blaster, or WD-40 and spray into the opening on the top right side of the housing. With a light, you can see the screen with the filter removed. It's also a good time to flush out the filter housing, make sure you're outside in gravel, or have a big pan to catch the crap out of the drain tube. The drain on the filter housing is on the left side, it is yellow, and you rotate it 90 degrees to open. Remember to close it when filling it back up before installing a new filter.

 

Where are you and what have the temps been?
If it's cold, have you been using the block heater?

 

What Steve said. we are way beyond the days of giving it "gas" to start a vehicle. Matter of fact, I wonder what vehicle even recognizes this input for startup these days. To recap:

Where are you?
How cold was it?
When was the last time the oil was changed?
Fuel filter?
Was it plugged in if needed?
What kind of oil are you running?

There could be other problems but this is the must start area.

 

His profile says he's up in Michigan. Pretty cold.

In addition to the good info/questions posted above:

During the winter plug in the block heater at night - you'll see a capped plug on the drivers side of the front grill

Might need to add some winter diesel fuel additive (anti-gelling)

Always a good idea to carry a spare fuel filter behind the back seat.


Welcome to FTE!

 

Okay - looks like I got a few questions to answer:
Where are you? Michigan (but the truck sits inside a heated garage)
How cold was it? (50^)
When was the last time the oil was changed? (Don't know - Just bought it)
Fuel filter? (Haven't looked yet)
Was it plugged in if needed? (No)
What kind of oil are you running? (Penzoil)

I'll take a look at the Fuel Filter - But I have issues with that since it seems to run fine after its been running for a bit. I have been doing research on here and it sounds like the Under Valve Cover plugs looking at the other posts...what do you guys think?

 

Don't need to plug it in if parked in a heated garage, above 50 degrees.

Oil could be an issue,,,,

The plugs are also a good possibility. Those valve cover gaskets should be re-usable so be careful when lifting them off.

 

How far are you from Monroe Mich.

 

I'm in Brighton....

 

What weight penzoil? You're fuel injectors run off of the engine oil, so making sure you have clean, full oil of the proper rating is vital. if you don't know the last time the oil was changed, I'd suggest changing it now. Change the fuel filter also, then let us know if you still have the same issues.

I'd suggest getting the basics out of the way before looking any deeper into things. Welcome to FTE

 

Pennzoil?

 

Hey Chris - don't know about the weight - I will go ahead and Change the oil just to make sure. I took some time today to take a look - Changed the fuel filter - Man the housing was dirty! Then after reading the other posts on the UVCH, so I thought I should go ahead and take a look - since the problem described is close to mine. Worked on the DriverSide and shimmed with a quarter. -It didn't look real bad...it was loose...but not real loose. So I was hopeful and took it out for a drive. No luck, got a 1/4 mile down the road and it began to sputter, shake and cut out. So came back home to tear down the passenger side. Fun, btw. That one was loose as well, but not super loose. I went ahead with another "milled quarter" and am in the process of having to put it back together - (had to quit to get the family to church). I plan on going back out to the garage tomorrow and finish it up. Based on how it was (not real loose) - I am not real confident this is the problem....any other ideas?
Thanks - Rob

 

Mine done the same,would only start with pedal on the floor,and would barely idle when floored til it warmed up some

 

Your problem didn't really sound like loose connectors to me Rob, but I applaud you for jumping into this. Low or improper oil can cause all sorts of issues, so it's best to rule that out since the truck is new. I've seen where the push the pedal to the floor trick would get it started with a faulty IPR, but the IPR is kind of pricey, and since it's used to control high oil pressure, we need to make sure we have the right oil to begin with. Since we don't like to see people just start throwing parts (money) at problems, it's best to start off with the simple stuff first.

One thing I would recommend you spending money on is a spare CPS. This little sensor has been the achilles heel of the 7.3. Since it's a good idea to have a spare, you might want to try replacing that and keeping the one in the truck as your back up. A failing CPS can cause some strange symptoms, or just leave you stranded on the side of the road. Don't get one from the parts store. Ford sells them for under $30, or a black one from International does better (but costs more). The CPS is under recall from Ford, but if you have a black CPS in your truck, I'd lean towards keeping it since the replacement has caused some trucks to have a rougher idle.

Here's how to change your CPS Welcome to guzzle's CPS R&R Web Page