Traded a gas 3/4 ton Chevrolet last month for a 2001 F-250 Crew Cab 7.3 Turbo. I have several diesel farm tractors but this is my first experience with a diesel pickup. Bottom line, I think I got hoodwinked. This truck has nowhere near the power that my gas truck did. I didn't realize it at first as I didn't know what it SHOULD feel like since it was my first diesel. I noticed it last week when I stopped to open a gate and the right front tire was in a small rut, maybe 4 inches deep. The truck would not even think about pushing out of it, if I mashed the pedal it would just lug and never pick up rpm or spin a rear wheel. I had to put the thing in 4 low to get out. I'm going to need to put this thing on a 24' gooseneck deckover and haul some serious weight with it in the future, and know it's not up to it right now. It seems to make pretty good power above 2000 rpm, but nothing below that. If I come to a stop on a wet road and put it to the floor, it does nothing for a second and then slowly starts easing on until it gets to around 2000 rpm then takes off a little better. I've had it for a month, driven about 500 miles, and I changed all fluids and filters the day after I traded this guy for it, it has burned ZERO oil. It does puff a bit of blue smoke when you crank it the first time each day, and another puff when I first start to pull out of the drive, but no more after that. If you really lay on it, it doesn't smoke, no black smoke or anything. I dug around a bit and someone told me I may have too thin a filter, I just put a 3" motorcraft in it and the 3" is what the technical bulletin calls for. Something odd: The airbox looks like it's missing some stuff, the battery is exposed and the airbox is open along the side until you get to the filter lid. Also noticed there was a piece of red electrical tape covering the sensor on the back side of the box by the filter, removed that and nothing changed. Only other idea I have is that there is a bracket on the dash where I'm guessing a programmer was once mounted. Any chance someone used a chip to turn the thing way down and it's just been left that way? I don't believe the engine is worn so bad to lose that much power, only 130,000 miles and like I said, no oil use at all. Turbo sounds good, spools right up and no issues there.

 

Others will chine in soon but some possibilities are boost leaks, or dusted turbo. The stock air box is known for leaks. Here is a guide to help you tell if the turbo is dusted.

 

I don't like the sound of that butchered air box. Can you post a photo of it?

Try this: start the truck and place the oil filler cap upside down on the filler tube. Does the cap blow off or stay put? If it blows off, that's not good. That means a lot of blowby. Pull the intake off the turbo and look at the vanes. Are they sharp or are they smooth and rounded? These trucks gobble a lot of air and the turbo will get "dusted" in short order if some jackass messed up the air box.

If the truck is that unhappy, its probably throwing codes. Post your location. Maybe another FTE member can scan it for you.

It its down on power and being sluggish, that could be anything from fuel flow to injector wiring to the high pressure oil system to the turbo. No offense, but when you say this is your first diesel pickup and that the turbo "sounds good", I have to wonder. It could be almost anything at this point.

Stick around. These guys will get you going.

 

I am with Sheldon post some pics of that airbox. Definitely look at that turbo might be time for a WW and some changes/upgrades to that airbox by the sounds of it.

You came to the right place to ask the questions...

 

airbox and turbo wheel as a guess, good place to start

 

Sorry for the late reply, the great KY flood of '10 hit us bad on the farm and I've been working some overtime at my "real" job too... Anyhow.. got a half-decent picture of the airbox this evening.. Thought I'd share the link with you... let me know your thoughts.. also going to be ordering a DP tuner as well as someone suggested..

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - IHMANKY's Album: Airbox

 

As long as there's still a filter there, you should be OK. But there are cheap upgrades that do a better job, most common is using the 6637 filter.

Is there anything else done with the truck, exhaust, gauges, (obviously not intake)? I would be doing those things before you put a chip to it. Things can get hot quickly if you can't monitor it, I'd hate to hear you burned up your motor by throwing a chip on it be not the supporting mods.

These things can definitely pull a load, I've posted a "few" pics of stuff I haul around. Hang around here and we'll get your truck running well and doing what you expect it to do.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...work-pics.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...gain-pics.html

 

Thanks Adam.. I didn't really think the box being open like that would hurt, other than sucking a little warmer combustion air from the engine compartment... Checked out your pics... I thought I was the only one that had the patience to mess with round baling stalks.. what a pain! Belt baler may roll them easier.. I roll 'em with a NH 855 chain type... I'm partial to a chain, but since they've long since discontinued them, I guess I better grow to like a belt in the upcoming years...

Anyhow... I'll get me one of those filters.. I've got the Fram toughgard in it now... I am putting in an exhaust gas gauge prior to the chip and only going 60E 80 tow on the chip... there's other things I will probably do over time but want to see if the chip helps me... I think my biggest issue is throttle response... as in it has none... or not great anyway. The power feels like it is right there, I just can't get it spooled up... My 7120 spins up quicker.... lol

ps... You planting yet? We just got 40 acres of corn in the ground a couple weeks ago when the rain caught us... 8 inches and the river getting out later... we are back to zero acres and lots of mud. Going to try to get going monday on some ground that the water never got over... been six days since it got the rain, will be nearly nine by the time we roll into it, it's tiled and it's been disk ripped, so should dry a littler faster.

 

All they did was remove the battery cover. Not a big deal.
I wouldn't cover up that power loss with a chip.
The best you can hope for doing that is to restore it to stock power, but you'll end up with excessive EGT's IMO.
Beyond that I don't have much to say.
Need to run some diagnosis.

 

It sounds like you could have a throttle position sensor problem. The throttle position sensor is located on the accalerator petal, they have been known to cause poor, or a delay in acceleration and lack of engine response. Any one else have any thoughts?

 

Scan the Truck for Codes, that may help.

A Bad CMP Cam Position Sensor will ruin your Day and will not show up in the Codes if it's Bad.

Ford did a Re-Call on them and replaced them with a Defective gray Colored Unit with the Number 1876735C91 (35C91) and since then there is a Dark Blue CMP 1876736C91 (36C91) and it has an improved sensor in it and runs on all 8 cylinders. I wrote this note a while back and I will paste a copy here,

I typed this a while back and I saved it, so I copied and pasted it here to help some people who do not know what the CMP or CPS ia all about.

One of the biggest problems with most of the 7.3L Rigs is the Gray CMP installed by the Dealers after the Re-Call.

If you have the Gray CPS I would replace it with the new Dark Blue Unit, here are the numbers and where to get them.

Mike at Tousley Ford Parts dot com will sell you one for 18.73, the new 1876736C91 and it's the Dark Blue Color, they look black in low light.

Ford Part # F4TZ-12K073-C

International Part # 1876736C91

The bad gray Ford CMP Units are the 1876735C91 ( 35C91 ) is the one you don't want to buy.

Both the New Ford Dark Blue CMP and the International CMP both have the same build numbers,
1876736C91 etched in the top of them. They are the same units, no matter where you buy them.

If you buy from Tousley ask Mike in a note to ship it to you via the 2-3 day Priority Mail and you will get it fast.

Check to see if yours are the Gray units, 1876735C91, if so they seem to use more fuel in the timing and they sometimes skip Cylinders #1 & #4.

They are giving the Gray units away now because of the failure rate.

The newer 1876736C91 Dark Blue units seem to work much better, fire on all 8, so check em out.


Now, What does a CMP Do?

The CMP is so important, it's like the pacemaker of the engine.

As the cam spins there are 12 points of the cam wheel that communicate with the CMP that send a 12-Volt Signal to the PCM and the other parts of the cam are milled deeper so the cam sensor will send a 0-Volts signal to the PCM so it gets Twelve / 12-Volt Signals per revolution. I marked the photo below to show the cam wheel and to explain the general scope of the Cam Position Sensor.

1) Checks - engine speed.

2) Then Fuel timing control,

3) Engine mode selection

4) Injection control pressure

5) and finally Exhaust back pressure.

(That's a lot of responsibility for one electronic device)

This small device sends a 12 volt signal 12 times per revolution,
and all the other voids in the cam wheel send 0 volts.

So it's basically flashing a signal on, off, on, off, on, off, o,n off, to the Computer.
There is an "Air Gap" that the sensor is designed
to have when you bolt it on the truck using a single 10MM Bolt @ 18 Ft. Lbs. Torque.
Be sure to coat the O-Ring with Dielectric Grease before he installs it.

So the faulty CMP's are throwing false readings to the Trucks computer
causing misfires and dumping fuel in the engine when it does not need it.
Also causing high EGT's, Poor Timing, and very Poor Fuel Mileage Per Gallon.










The part number F4TZ-12K073-C (1876736C91 supersedes old part number F7TZ-12K073-B (1876735C91 ) , in other words, the old Gray unit is replaced by the new Dark Blue Unit.

 

Maybe a dumb thought but could the trans be stuck in 2 and not dropping into low

 

I have a grey CPS replaced under recall about a year ago. My engine runs great but sounds like it is probably a good idea to pick up the updated blue unit. Are all grey units potentially bad, only a limited run, or do all the grey units cause the engine to run less than at its best?

 

Good info Van_350. Just curious if IHMANKY has had any progress.....

 

where are you located at in kentucky? im on the tn,ky line in macon county tn and if your pretty close maybe i could offer a little help with it. im no genious with these things but i think i've been thru almost every basic problem with them