I am not finding a screen on the inlet side of the pump . . .
Is this a user-servicable part or is it deep inside the pump where the only solution is pump replacement?

 

The screen is inside the inlet of the pump and can not be removed or accessed without destroying the pump. However, what you can do is plug off the outlet of the pump, spray some brake cleen in the inlet, shake, then tap downward on a solid piece of wood. This should dislodge anything loose in there and cause the debris to come back out the inlet. If you don't get anything after a few tries, then chances are you need a new pump.

To take it a step further, with more effort and little cost you can bench test the pump. All you need is a bucket of diesel, some 3/8 hose, a cheap 100psi pressure gage, a valve and a measuring device of some kind. Quart containers work nice. If you want to try that, let me know and I will expand on more details.

 

Now that is some information I can use! Thanks for the help. I will post my results back after I get a chance to try and clean the screen.

 

I got nearly a tablespoon full of debris out of my pump when I did what FN74 just said.

 

OK . . I have to ask. . .what kind of fuel pump do you have that can grind stuff up? I am now going to pull the disposer out from under the sink to see if I can mod it to fit into my fuel system . . .

 

When I was having probs with my FP, I could get under with it running (all safety apparatus in place, park brake on, etc..) and feel the pump stutter and stop, then take off again. Worked fine unless you wanted to drive it... Let me know if the disposer idea works out!

 

The Ford fuel pump has stainless steel innards too, so there really is no difference between the Ford pump and my pump.
I use a Bosch 69430.

The Bosch 69430 is the one with the 12mm inlet.
It is designed to flow minimum 30 gallons per hour at 73 psi.
They will flow about 60 gph at 0 psi.

 

Not even close to being as knowledgeable as these other gents, however being a second owner I've had plenty fail since purchase and thusly have had the opportunity to experience what may take others years to experience in a short time. So having just replaced my f.p. last night due to similar symptoms and previously experienced symptoms several months ago, I would say that your pump is dyeing or has died a slow death.
p.s. it also accounted for low fuel presure at some injectors

 

I was wondering is the pump under the truck on the frame about half way back towards the tank? I look at the picture posted earlier and it looks like the device on my frame in line with my fuel line.....

I was wondering how much work is it to replace the fuel pump? My book doesn't show or tell me how.

 

The fuel pump is located in the frame rail on the driver's side, almost under the driver's seat. Mine has a black plastic case around it with a red warning sticker that says something like "Warning, High Pressure Fuel System." I don't think it would be too hard to change out. You will need a fuel line disconnect tool. I am going to pull mine this weekend and try to clean the screen. If nothing comes out, I am replacing it. I think the important thing would be to open the drain on the fuel bowl and relieve the pressure by draining the bowl, otherwise you will get a face full of diesel when you disconnect the line from the pump. Wear safety glasses / goggles and plan on smelling like diesel for two days.

 

Well these post got my attention cuz my truck seems to be kinda sluggish when I'm pulling a 12,000lb load (tracked bobcat)... I know thats a lot to begin with but I feel like its working very hard to get up to 45-55mph.

I was looking at the different brands of fuel pumps... not sure if I should go OEM or Bosch? or is there another brand better?

 

DAI532,

It sounds like you fixed your original problem of a miss or stutter at the lower rpm's. While having good power at higher rpm's.

Was there one thing that seamed to take care of that problem mostly? Or multiple things that seemed to take care of it?

I am having similar problem, the mid stutter, good power over 2000rpm. I have a list of things to check from all the info your posts have brought up. i wanted to see if something jumped out at you on it.

Thanks

 

No, I have not totally fixed the problem. I have fixed a problem that the stealer could not find. It seems every problem they wanted to fix by throwing a new injector in and charging me $1000 bucks. I have concluded that my truck may have a bad injector, BUT, my injectors going bad have been because of other issues. Even without an injector problem my truck has NEVER run as well as my Dad's '97 PSD. My truck now idles and runs smoother than it ever has and I attribute it to two things. The first thing is I did the fuel tank mod. I bought the Kit w/ filter from Dennis at ITP diesel (Thanks Dennis for the great service!). Although time, consuming, this forced me to drop the tank. When I discovered the 'turds' floating in the bottom of the tank, I was then forced to clean it. I never would have dreamed that my engine would become soooo much quieter after installing the the ITP kit.
The second thing that made a tremendous difference in how my truck ran was that I was searching for the cause of little gold flakes in the bottom of my fuel bowl. After locating the brass plunger in the FPR (Fuel Pressure Regulator) it became suspect simply because of its gold color and it appeared to have some wear on it. I ended up buying a replacement from a local ford stealer for about $72. It came as a kit which included the new brass plunger, the aluminum sleeve it rides in, a few new o-rings, and a new spring. When I took the old spring out, I set it next to the new spring and could not believe the difference! The old spring had compressed over time and was now about 3/16 of an inch shorter than the new one. I put the new spring / FPR kit in and it made a tremendous diffence. I then did the fuel spring modification and instead of using a 'BB' is used a screw and ground the head down to .13 inches thick and used it to shim the spring and make more fuel pressure.
**** I had read about these modifications years ago and thought it was just a bunch of kids trying to figure out how to waste money on their trucks. I wish now, I had done these two things years ago. My truck would have run better and the filter and reduced air in my fuel system would have saved me a few injectors. The more I think about it, the madder it makes me that Ford did not do it right the first time and we should all file a class action lawsuit to have them pay for the mods that were required to make our trucks run they should have.
-I still have one more problem to fix, just as soon as I can figure out which injector is causing it.