Ole Blue: My 01 F350 CC SWB 4x4 7.3d Saga
 

Well, I bought this Ole Blue truck a few weeks ago after wanting one for many years and finding one that seemed to be suitable. Some of you have seen a pic I posted of it here recently, but I'll post more as this thread develops. I had a feeling the truck had been sitting for a while when I bought it even thought the previous owner was adamant it had not been sitting. However, one thing is for certain, it had a gap in registration of about 6 years...

Other signs that it had been sitting for a while was the drivers side seat stitching seemed dry rotted and have subsequently come undone, some hoses were dry rotted (4x4 vacuum lines in particular) and there were other odds and ends that didn't add up to me. But for a 18 year old rust free truck with only 150k on it the deal seemed worth the risk.

This past week, the starter went out. It was apparently an aftermarket model with only two screws holding it in place. There was also a gerry rigged starter wire. No big deal thought I, it'll be an easy fix...I should have followed my instincts and just bought a new wire harness. I reckon that when the end of the starter wire broke off it seemed, to the original owner, a good idea to drill a hole in what was left of the wire end and bolt on an extension wire to the starter and just wrap with with electrical tape. Yeah, you read that correctly. It took me a few hours, but I finally un-assed the mess, soldered on a new eyelet end and got a new starter installed. And just like that the truck was up and running again.

Well, no good deed goes undone don't you know! I figured Ole Blue had a 29ish gallon tank on it and the one time I filled it up, it appeared it was getting about 14mpg. That would make for about 400 miles on a tank. And seeing as the tank registered just over a 1/4 full at 300 miles, I headed to town yesterday for a graduation party.

It was about 20:00 and I was headed home on a rural stretch of road when the truck suddenly started stuttering hard. Fortunately there was a neighborhood pull over right where I coasted to a stop as the engine quit running. I tried to restart the truck and it sputtered and stopped. I tried again, a few times, no love...it was then that my mind recognized that familiar sound a motor makes when it has no fuel. I was pissed. So I called a buddy with a roll back and asked him to come haul me home. On the way we stopped at the local gas and rob and filled Ole Blue up with diesel...26.9 gallons worth.

Upon arriving home I primed the pump several times and attempted to start Ole Blue to no avail. Although, the motor no longer sounded starved. That was enough frustration for one night and it was reasoned in my mind that the best course of action was to have a pipe of tobacco and a whisky since it was now raining pretty hard outside and it was full on dark.

Today's saga started with me popping the hood. I decided to take a good gander around this motor and see just what I'm dealing with. First thing I noticed is there was no engine valley. That's right, what was supposed to be a valley was chock full of diesel soaked rats nest...YUCK! I knew there was some debris in the valley from a casual glance previously and had been intending, once it warmed up a bit outside, to wash it out good. But I had no idea it was this bad. My suspicions are confirmed, the truck sat for a long time. So, I donned some rubber gloves, drug out the shop vac and started cleaning out the valley as best I could. In the process, I found what appears to be the IPR sleeve laying in the mess. But the tin nut is long gone. Perhaps this is partly why it has been so hard to start. I have a new one on order now along with the proper o-rings to just rebuild the darn thing while I'm doing corrective measures.

During this cleaning process, which is by no means completed, I discovered that the bleed off line to the water separator valve on the fuel bowl had been disconnected, probably for a long time. This was part of the reason the rats nest was soaked in fuel. The other reason was because the valve was no longer functioning properly and leaks in all positions, except when held tightly in place by the piece of .032" welding wire the previous owners had attached to the engine hoist loop...yeah, there are some really stupid people in the world.

This little piece of wire that was at one time holding the broken $40.00 valve closed had come loose at some point and started arching off of something (I'm assuming the GPR) and was pretty much melted at the end. *Sigh*

So, of course I removed the piece of welding wire whilst cursing the idiot that put it there and ordered up a new valve and GPR. The latter because it looks pretty well spent and corroded on top.

Currently the truck is sitting in the yard with the battery charger working to get it up to 100% again. I am hoping that once the IPR parts get here I can rebuild that, install the new bleed off switch, fuel filter, GPR, change the oil and filter (might as well since I have to empty the HPOP oil for the IPR repair), prime the thing and get it running again. And then I'll have to address the fuel pick up issue because clearly the foot has fallen off or something has gone wrong to make it go empty when it registers 1/4 tank.

And here I thought I'd get lucky and just have to do some front end work, new tires and drive the sucker...nah, no such luck. Anyways, thanks for all the great posts y'all have made over the years for guys like myself to read and learn from. So far they have all been very helpful. I'm gonna update this thread as time allows and things progress. This is one of those deals for me where I'm in it to win it. I love the truck and am going to do my best to make it into a bullet proof drive anywhere my heart desires with the family or dogs when we want to vehicle.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...8f451c576c.jpghttps://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...24c5a137cb.jpg

The Joy's of owning used. 18 years used. 18 years of half-assed used. I can sympathize.

Sounds like you're on the right track with the fuel pick up foot falling off. Once in there, you might want to do the hutch and harpoon mod with the racor ps120 filter. There are good write-ups on the install here.

The 7.3 sub forum would welcome you and your stories of Ole Blue down the line if you so choose to venture over.

Thank you Carl. I was pretty sure I'm not the only one dealing with someone else's laziness. I do plan on doing the Hutch and Harpoon mods as soon as possible using the kit from DD most likely because time is money and sourcing all the parts would be a PITA for me. At your suggestion I cross posted this over on the 7.3 sub forum so folks can follow along and provide assistance as they see fit.

Just think about how great you will feel once you are done with the repairs. You’ll have a huge smile and that wonderful feeling of satisfaction while you so gently sip a glass of fine whiskey.

The battle is never easy but victory has a taste like no other.

— Dave

Yes, I am sure I will feel that way when it is all done. Right now I just have a bit of a case of the redass about the situation. Seems like today the fuel pump is no longer pumping fuel. All the relays and fuses seem ok so when the rain stops I'm going to pull the engine side line off and see if it is pumping.

Congrats on the new truck, even though it’s having some issues. Excellent choice in color too. Mine is island blue as well and I spent close to two years looking for one that color that met all of my requirements(manual everything).

That's a ridiculous statement. When buying used one should do their due diligence. In OP's case, he should have taken a good look under the hood as well as crawled under the truck. It would have shown this thing had been sitting for a while and was maintained by a sloppy hacker.

I've owned numerous used and well-used vehicles. none of them were bad buys because I did my homework.
I've also walked away from a fair share of hacked up vehicles. No thanks unless they practically give it away.

Solid contribution to the thread. I'm sure the OP appreciates your boost in post count.

@CousinCarl Meh, to me folks that make comments like that are all mind over matter...

Thank you. I really do dig the color. Getting it in a manual would have been nice, but wasn't in the cards at this time. The 04' 6.0 that I drove for years had a 6 speed manual. It was a great truck, except when I was driving down the coast in Cali, it wasn't so great then. LOL!

seriously, nobody finds it a tad weird that someone buys a used vehicle and doesn't take a peek under the hood?

I looked under the hood. I looked the entire thing over. But a person doesn't always see things that are wrong on used vehicles. I've bought a few, I know this for certain. Either way, it's all good, I'm gonna fix it and drive it for years to come. Now if you have some helpful information, I'd be glad to hear about it, otherwise it would be kind of you to stop trying to trash my thread.

The valley of a 7.3 can be quite the black hole. I'm the 3rd owner of mine and after doing a fuel bowl rebuild last year, I inherited a screw driver, an old drain valve, an 8mm socket (rest its owners soul), and a Jack in the Box taco. Just kidding... you know good and well a missing 8mm socket never returns. Anyways, I can see how a rat felt the valley would make a good home. No big deal serving that eviction, so long as the tenant didn't chew any major electrical. Seeming you're driving - excuse me, were driving until recent fuel woes - it sounds you were spared.

Even, having caught the nest and the hacked starter wire job prior to purchase, I would venture to say (as you're showing it to all be nothing you can't fix) you'd still be the proud owner of that sharp-looking rig. They're getting harder to come by in that shape if your photos are doing any justice.

Yes, it is a black hole down there apparently! No telling what else I'll find when it is finally all washed out in the valley. I've looked over the wires very carefully and it doesn't appear there was anything chewed up and that is very good!

And yes, I'd have bought it even if I had spotted those issues. Because at the end of the day you are absolutely correct, finding one of these trucks in the condition it is currently in (good overall) for a decent price is becoming increasingly difficult. And considering I only put about 10k a year on a vehicle it should last me more than a few years with proper maintenance.

sorry, didn't mean to trash it. Best of luck.