After weeks of hunting down this problem, it's fixed...

The rough idle, poor fuel economy, possessed injectors were all caused by a plugged EBP tube. The tube was mostly plugged with a moist, oily residue that came from using 2-cycle motor oil in my fuel for the past few months. As a direct result, the EBPS was unable to get a clear, much less consistent reading; which in turn caused my truck to noticably and not so noticablyt defuel, which caused the intermittent rough idle, rough starts, and poor fuel economy.

The Solution:

After reading up on what could be done to alleviate the problem with the EBPS, I read about someone removing the sensor, plugging the tube with a bolt, but leaving it connected and exposed to ambient air. I PM'd Jody and Diane to see what their thoughts were and per Jody's suggestion I did the above and ended up with a brand new truck again! (I had an old sensor laying around)

The rough cold starts lessened, rough idle never occurred while sitting in traffic again, power picked up considerably, idle is way smoother, and my fuel economy is back where it was before...18mpg.

I now see why Ford did away with the EBPS on the 6.0....

 

Congrats on the fix and the follow up so we know. I need to check mine. The last time I tried I could not get the manifold end of the tube off.

 

I didn't even bother to go that far...to me that was just asking for trouble since it seems to be welded on from years of use.

Instead, I had an old EBPS laying around, so I cleaned the one I was currently using and used my old one to plug the tube. I hid the old one under the Powerstroke cover and it works flawlessly now, I love my truck even more now....

 

Good thing I have Jody around and he's not just a computer geek.


Glad its fixed!! Now you are up where I am on the MPG.

 

What size is that tube? Is it a -6? I think I'll go to the John Deere dealer and get a cap for the manifold fitting.

 

While the issue is mostly fixed, it's not completely fixed...

Upon cold, initial start-ups, it still acts like an injector or two are still asleep or aren't putting out as much as they should. After it's warmed up, the truck starts without a problem, no sticking injectors, nothing...

So after doing some reading at hotshotsecret.com, it seems the injectors in question may be suffering from stiction. My injectors were doing the same thing Winter 2007 and again in 2008. To that end, I tried some hot shot secret and although it wasn't really for the 7.3, it completely cleared up the problem. Winter 2009, my truck never had a hard start or an injector sticking due to the bitter cold. So some hot shot secret and 404 fire power is on it's way to my door as I type this. I'll follow up as soon after the first oil change...

 

I thought it took a few miles of driving around to notice the results? You seem to be one of the few that have had success with the hotshotsecret on the 7.3 since stiction is more of a 6.0 issue.

How many miles have you got on them now? I disagree, but Jim at Rosewood feels that 200k is the typical time to rebuild injectors.

 

It's true that it only takes a few miles to start working, so maybe I should back that off to the first tankful...

About to turn over 268K...I also disagree since you're pushing 325K on the stock sticks.

 

Exactly one month after running some Hot Shot Secret my truck is running soooo much better...

The injectors are quieter, run smoother, and power has picked up accross the band. MPGs have picked up slightly but not where it was, I'll explain that further down...

I also changed the ICP sensor to newer updated one, unplugged the wastegate, and my performance has improved. The early morning rough starts are still there but have lessened considerably.

A new found issue and the MPG explanation: After running on 80E for months on end, I decided to see what stock felt like again and was shocked at how it drove.

I stepped on the pedal and the truck really couldn't get out of it's own way. I figured that it needed time to relearn things, so I continued driving. Performance did pick up as I drove, but the real issue became apparent when I decided to start in stock as opposed to 80E. With the new gear reduction starter, I figured it would just turn right over and fire, instead it stuggled and coughed to life. To that end, I went to have some tests done at Powerstroke Magic a local shop. They came back and said the injectors buzzed strong but the HPOP was only putting out 1700 psi at WOT with an IPR duty cycle of 85%. (with the DP on 80E) So it was determined that I needed a new, stronger HPOP...

Between Powerstroke Magic and Bob Riley at Diesel Site, both independantly confirmed each other that this is a good explanation for my mileage loss and rough starts. The funny thing is, the DP and my previous SCT did a good job of covering up the issue. Dave Armstrong at Swamps also gave a detailed explanation as to how something like this could happen, which cleared things up even further.

So after a conversation with Bob Riley, I bit the bullet and bought myself an Adrenaline HPOP. Hopefully by this time next weekend it'll be here waiting to be installed. I'll keep you guys posted...

 

Well, the Adrenaline is now and installed and the while the truck runs considerably better, the cold start issue was still ever present...

The solution: After scouring the 7.3 forum for hours I came accross a very small post with a user who was having the same issue and he suggested unplugging the fuel bowl heater. Not having anything to lose, I tried it and it worked! It's been working for 3 mornings and 3 evenings (when I leave work) and I the issue is gone!

Looking back at the mods I installed to counteract this issue, it was money well spent and made my truck run better in the long run...

So problem solved, hope this helps anyone else that has this issue...

 

I am glad that you got it figured out. The only thing that I can see from the fuel bowl heater would be it possibiliy shorting out to some degree but not enough to blow a fuse and just wreaking havoc with your electrical system. Can you take a few reading ( resistance) on the heater it self for me? I am very curious now as to why this was the case........

 

Thanks for closing this loop.

What an ordeal!

Pop

 

Came accross this as going though some of my old threads...

The issue was actually caused by IDM slowly but surely shorting out Post #29:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post10097222

The injectors were fine the entire time...