If it happens on decal, I don't see how it could be an injector. Am I missing something?

 

I too still have my original injectors with 359K+ on the '02. I also once in awhile throw in a bottle of that Hot Shot oil. Might try that as it isn't too expensive compared to the injector fix. Probably could throw in some Marvel Mystery oil for a few miles too and see what happens. Always try the simple stuff before going nuclear.
Good luck.

 

I figured it out!!!!

It came to me this morning as I was driving to work...

When driving on the Hardy toll road I come across a few hills most of which are usually clogged with traffic. I noticed that every time I'm climbing that hill I'm either at a standstill or slowly accelerating. (25-35 mph) As I'm midway to the top of the hill, thats when it happens...the truck starts to shake and idle rough; it did that two mornings in a row at the exact same spot, I thought nothing of it until this morning...

This morning when I started my truck it the shake and rough idle, but seconds after it fired, I switched the DP to high idle and after 20 seconds or so it went away...

Now on approach to the very same hill where the truck does what it's not supposed to, something told me accelerate up the hill. When I did, everything was as it should be and the truck climbed the hill no problem. I did this with every hill I encountered and the truck ran the way it should.

So ladies and gentlemen, it's a fuel pressure related problem...which tells me that I need to change my fuel filter and look into Clay's Fuel Pressure Crossover.

Proof behind my theory:

On initial startup, fuel pressure is high then low and as the engine idles, stabilizes.

When slowly climbing a hill while stuck in early morning traffic, theres the constant start and stop, sometimes leading to jack rabbit starts. I.e. fuel pressure suddenly goes up and comes back down without much time to stabilize.


So what do y'all think???

Jay, rep points to you and Bob...

 

I think it's not fuel related, but I've certainly been wrong before.

You seem to be relating engine speed with fuel pressure. Not so. it might be true if these were mechanical pumps like the old ones, but they're not.

Higher RPM equals more fuel demand, which equates to LOWER fuel pressure on the output side of a clogged filter.

But a filter is cheap troubleshooting, and you need to do it occasionally, anyway. Go for it.

As I said, I've been wrong before.....

Pop

 

I agree Pop.

 

Where is the level of the fuel in the tank when this happens? If there is a crack in the pickup tube in the tank you could be sucking a bit of air.

 

If you think it is fuel pressure, Something to check is to cycle the ignition on ( don't start ) let the fuel pump run until it shuts off, then repeat the same process a couple more times. Much like when you fill the fuel bowl after filter change. Then start the engine see if it runs normal. This should tell you if the fuel pressure is the problem at start up. Have you done the in tank mods?

 

In tank mods are done, I'll try that in the morning....

 

Cylcled the key a few times and it seems to have helped, but I'm starting to wonder if either my fuel spring is getting weak, my fuel pump is on it's way out, or could my leaky ICP sensor have something to do with all this?

I bought a new ICP and pigtail, those will be installed as soon as I have time...

May try some hot shot secret as it worked wonders when I used it December 2008...

Any more ideas?

 

Bump.......

 

Changed the fuel filter and it helped a little, what made a bigger difference was changing the fuel pump...significantly better throttle response and the engine even idled better...

Can't believe my Walbro started crapping out on me already! My old stock pump lasted me 7 years and the Walbro didn't even make 2 years!

We'll see how this plays out...

 

I don't want to hijack this thread, but we have a similar issue. I too have this condition going on with my '00 stroke. I have only had this truck for a couple of months and don't know a whole lot about diesel maintenance.

I have noticed that each time that my truck acts up, the truck has less than 1/4 tank of fuel. It has done it 3 times now to me... The first time, I was pi$$ed because I just bought a truck with 164k miles and assumed that I was being taught a lesson for buying a truck with a few miles on it.

Anyway, I had my cruise set on "75" and out of nowhere the truck start sputtering quite a bit. It was not climbing a hill or anything, just constant driving on cruise. I hit the next exit and pulled in to a truck stop. Filled it up with fuel assuming that I had water in it or something, bought some off-brand of diesel additive to get the water out of the fuel, pulled out and STOOD ON THE THROTTLE! After a fill up and about 3 minutes, the problem went away. I assumed that the super trucker additive cleared the issue up with the fuel.

The 2nd time, I was on my way to a meeting with one of our customers (and never made it)... I got 1/2 way there, and the truck start sputtering again. I hit the next exit, pulled up to the traffic light, and thought it was going to die. The exhaust was hazing pretty bad, and it seemed like it was hitting on about 4 cylinders. I drove the truck straight to the closest Ford dealer and told them to call me when they figured out what was wrong with it.
The next day, they said their trouble shooting led them to injector #1 and #3. $900 later, I pulled out of the Ford dealer, pulled straight into a truck stop, and filled up the tank (not thinking about the 1/4 tank or less being a possible culprit, after all the professionals just fixed my truck).

A week later, I have two new injectors and my truck just did this again today. (I don't drive it everyday). So, for the 3rd time, I had my truck set on cruise, the fuel was under 1/4 tank, I was running around 70 MPH, and the truck started sputtering real bad. Instead of going back to the dealership for more injectors (), I decided to get some fuel and see what happened if I kept driving. 4 miles later, the truck ran fine the rest of the way home.

Now, I haven't done any mods to this truck, no quarter or 50 cent repairs (haven't read up on what that is yet); just 2 new injectors, 2 new batteries, and a power steering pump. The truck was a farm truck before I owned it, so I would assume that it got normal maintenance by the tractor mechanic at the farm, and that is it.

Sound similar? Any help for an aspiring diesel mechanic?

 

Welcome to FTE hrsepwr2. If your problem keeps re-occurring every time you drop below a quarter tank, it sounds like you've got a cracked pick up assembly. You may also have a problem with the screens in the mixing chamber being clogged up.

Sounds like now would be a good time for your first mod. We call it the in tank mods, and instructions on how to do it are here Welcome to guzzle's In-tank Hutch Mod Web Page

Try that and let us know what difference it makes. Also be sure to keep up the maintenance on your truck. Fluids and filters are vital to making these trucks last a long time. I've got twice as many miles as you do and I wouldn't hesitate to take my truck cross country tomorrow. 164k is nothing.

 

THanks for the pointers F350-6. I actually joined this site back in '04 when I bought an '03 stroke, and ended up having to sell it, so didn't participate much. Also, it was under warranty and I did very little maintenance on it myself.

I will give those things a try. I already did Miesha's overhead console repair and it worked out great, so it looks like it's time to get dirty on some other repairs.

 

Could it be a leaky "duckbill" on the mixing chamber?

The in-tank mods will take care of that for you.

Be sure to add some kind of pre-pump fuel filtration to protect the pump in the event of crud getting picked up in the tank.

Pop