I got my azz handed to me by a Power Stroke with problems I can't seem to fix. Here's the scenario.

1997 F250 2x4 Extended Cab 5 Speed.

1st encounter..........

Guy calls me with a non-running truck. Says it's ran rough since he got it. But now it won't start. He trailers the truck to the shop.

I check:
Valve cover connectors.....all good
Cam sensor.....new, by him
Fuel in bowl was pink, but no water or oil.....ATF in fuel he says
I removed the fuel bowl to discover the FB harness is fried.

I remove the fuel bowl and replace the harness, and delete the heater.

While I'm in there, I pull the IPR and replace the orings....all good. Then reinstall IPR, and Fuel bowl with new hose.

Truck Fires and runs..........but really rough, and white smoke.

I swap IDM's, no change.

I called the guy to say it's running but poorly. I told him I suspect bad compression. He comes to get the truck and he said that's how it always ran, and left with it......

*****I DID NOT CHECK fuel psi, uvc's, injectors spitting oil.


2nd Encounter last night.............

Calls me again, truck starts, then stalls after 5 or 10 seconds. Trailers it in.

I check......

Compression on passenger bank, 1st hole reads ZERO. But I continue down the bank for run, the rest 380psi and above. DID NOT CHECK DRIVERS SIDE BANK.

Checked UVC's on pass bank.....good
Checked Injectors spitting oil on pass bank....all 4 good
Changed cam sensors.
Changed mid body inj oring..(pink one) for fun, pulled 75psi compression in dead cylinder but returned to 0 after a few cranks...oil on the rings from pulling the injector....
Check fuel psi.......40psi.

Truck fires and runs rough, but runs. as good as before. Figured it was the cam sensor and buttoned it up knowing with a dead cylinder, that's as good as it's gonna get. Shut it off and button up.

Start truck and it dies after 5 or 10 seconds....What the hell?
Changed the cam sensor again....same result
Changed the PCM, same result
Changed the ICP...same result.
Changed...ANOTHER CAM SENSOR cuz the tach was doing funny stuff....I suspect cuz the batts are low.

Sent it home on the trailer. I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT!!!!!!!! It should run on 7 cylinders.....it wouldn't even start on Ether!! Now given, I didn't pull compression on the drivers side, but when it did run, it didn't run like it had more than one cylinder missing.

Here's my question: How low can the fuel psi be before it WON'T run? I know the optimum psi while it's running, but I don't know how low it can be before it will die. And it doesn't sputter, it just dies like you turned the key off. I need your help guys, I can't let this truck beat me.

 

I heard below 20psi it will die. It couldn't be the drivers side UVC, could it or did you memtion that? Good Luck

 

my truck has seen 20psi and it would barely still run, that seemed about the limit though
did you notice any algae or anything in the bowl??
it's bad enough that it is running on a dead cylinder, let alone dying every 20 seconds
will it throttle up at all???
have you check oil pressure in the rails while it is running??

 

the fact that it wont run on ether is not a good sign, along with a dead hole, a compression reading of 0 is catastrophic failure in my opinion. there is either a hole in the piston or the head of a valve is missing. does the gauge even flutter while cranking?

do you have a scanner? can you get some codes and live data? that would make life alot easier to diag.

also check the oil level. if its too low then it will do some interesting tyhings. but i really think with the 0 reading you are going to need serious engine repairs

 

check the oil and be ready with a new fuel pump

 

i dont think its a fuel pump, it wont run on ether. he need to find out why one cylinder has a compression reading of 0 before he goes much farther into it. it would be different if he had 7 cylinders at 385ish and one that was 340 but 0???? thats pretty much not good

 

I think cody is thinking that it should be something simple. When it's probably as joe says. Something like, hole in piston, or bad valve.

A hole in the piston would vent fuel into the crank case wouldn't it?
If so, we know checking oil for smell and what not would confirm that.

Guess you'll definitely have to check the other bank for compression.

What a pain. =\

are the wires for the cam sensor good cody? Doesn't look like they have any wear on them up though the harness as easy as you can tell?

What about corrosion on the timing wheel inside? Can that cause "weird" issues? I'm not sure what its made of, so I duno what can happen to it. But I understand its just reading marks inside.

Just my strange thoughts. Maybe they will help. =\

 

97, yes it would throttle up in that brief time. No alge in the fuel bowl, and have not been able to check HPO. I've got a scan gauge, but it's hard wired into my truck. LOL

Joe, oil level was good, but thick. Again, no scanner.

Slick, I'm just helping this guy out, he's not paying me, so HE'D have to be ready with a fuel pump. LOL I just happen to have a ton of parts including a new FP, but I ain't giving it away.

Joe, I agree with you, it's got a dead cylinder...IT'S DONE, no matter what the cause. I wouldn't drive it around the freekin' corner. But the guy is broke, and just needs a truck, so I'm trying to do the right thing and help him at least limp it along. But it doesn't make matters any better that he completely disrespects the truck....no love at all. It's just a truck to him. But he's a friend of one of my guys, so I'm not gonna turn my back on him.

William, you think WRONG. I know the engine is screwed, no compression can only be caused a few ways, and none are "simple" fixes.

However, you have a valid point on the health of the wires to the cam sensor. But I didn't change them, he did. He felt he needed to do something, so that was his one job. LOL Guess I should have checked. But I'm not gonna have him trailer it out to check the wiring on the cam sensor.

Hell, I guess I could change the whole harness and see if that helped. I have a couple of those. But I'm not in a big hurry to give one of those away either. LOL

 

A dead hole is a dead hole. You know that, so move on, it should still start and run. Knock and white smoke tells me a hole inthe psiton or the like, but motor should still actually run decently.

Now, Why The HeII won't it run on starting fluid? You don't need batteries, sensors or one piece of wire on the motor and it should still run on starting fuild.
I use an oil can with a mix of gasoline and #2 and squirt into the turbo, safer than starting fluid. You can crank it over and squirt it in and keep the motor running with it. It should at least do that. If it won't then...

Have you checked the turbo to see if it's spinning? Maybe it's locked up and choking the motor? I bet you have if you've been using starting fluid...

???

Maybe more dead holes on the driver's side. I think the motor will start and run on 4 cyl, not sure if 3 are enough, even with fluid assist.

???

 

Cody, I think you need to solate some items. IMO
You said the fuel is pink and all you have is his word. I would get some KNOWN good fuel in there.
Also check out the drivers side bank compression, wiring etc. You may have more than one dead cylinder
Yes it should run with one dead cylinder but you don't know for sure you only have one bad.
Also you need to get some HPO pressures. That will give you some good clues. You may be loosing pressure in that dead cylinder possibly the injector bleeding off pressure.
Also get some KNOWN good oil in there. you say it is thick? Strange I think. if the oil is thicker than it should be there may also be one of your problems.

You basically are working on something with many problems. It is hard to diagnose one specific problem when you have so many others that may be affecting you diagnosis.


Good luck,
Neal

 

seems like icp pressure or cam sensor issue, or pcm. Ill try to remember what resistance value you should see when the icp is above 500 psi. you have a multimeter?

oh yeah the no run on ether has gotten me

 

Just going by what I'm reading bro, That was what I read, but, I know you know better.
But the whole fixing it for free thing makes the rest of what you wrote out make more sense to my brain.

I basically read you were trying to keep things simple, and since its a free job. I would too!! =)

I can be to literal at times. =\

I could get him something to drive up here for the price he paid in fuel to trailer it around, and he can just give me the truck in trade! hahahaha.

 

I can't give you any rep points, Stupid F-ing sight.

Thanks for being a good person cody and helping others out!

 

i would still go back to the literal basics. it wont run on ether...... that says major base engine concerns. are all of the valves and push rods moving?? i have never seen it happen but is it possible that this engine has jumped time? a nomral 7.3 will run with a complete dead bank.


this site needs to revisit its rep policy. cody deserves some serious rep points for this, he is going way above and beyond the call of duty and i cannot give him that appreciation using FTE's methods.

 

Thank you guys for the help. Yeah, the not running on ether stumped the crap out of me too. When the batts were up better, you could start it, and it would run for those few seconds....as good as it could with 7 cylinders. Idled fair the whole nine yards, then die. And upon trying to restart immediately it wouldn't fire spraying ether in the turbo......makes no sense. Maybe too much ether. Jim, the turbo would spool when it would run and throttle, so I know it was spinning, and there was no shaft play, it was actually the tightest turbo I've ever felt. Spun freely and no shaft play.