Hello, hoping someone can help me out with this one...

Here's what I've got...
03 7.3l F-250 CC SB 4x4 with 125k miles. Mostly stock....Ford AIS intake, HpX. no chip/tune, stock gauges only.

Just installed the:
-RiffRaff FrX
-RiffRaff banjo bolts
-Upgraded RiffRaff CVD plugs w/ gaskets
-RiffRaff CAC boots
-RiffRaff EBPV delete with the RiffRaff upgraded turbo back plate
-New OEM donut gaskets / clamps on the up-pipes
-New red/green vacuum tubes that go into the turbo

I started all of this work because my injector cups failed and I was getting diesel in the coolant.

Here's what I did:
-pulled the injectors
-replaced the cups
-injectors got new orings
-new Glow Plugs
-new valve cover harnesses
-new GP relay
-2x new batteries
-hand cranked engine to eject fuel and oil in cylinders

I did all of this extra work bc I had everything pulled apart, so figured I might as well. I'm all about longevity and reliability so like upgrades that work towards that end.

I got everything back together and and cranked it over. Took a while to start as expected with all the air in the lines and it smoked a ton (as expected).

Next on the list is flushing the cooling system.

Initial drive was 4-5 miles and it smoked quite a bit and ran rough (again, as expected). However, as a lot of those symptoms have subsided, one thing that remains is the engine will not go above 1500 RPM without stumbling and billowing out blueish smoke and there is a definite loss of power. It's to the point that is has a hard time upshifting to the next gear. It almost sounds as though some of the cylinders cease firing past 1500 RPM. At idle is runs great and sounds smooth with zero smoke. When in park and revving the motor, the same thing happens above 1500 RPM, it stumbles and I'll get the blueish smoke that smells like diesel for about 4-5 seconds. Start ups continue to take about 4-5 seconds, but once it starts it runs smooth. This truck has never smoked before this and has good maintenance records.

-I noticed the ICP sensor is leaking oil. Just got the new one in the mail so that'll be going on today.
-I also have a fuel pressure gauge that I plan to test the fuel pressure with just to make sure this isn't a fuel PSI thing.
-I checked the exhaust temps with an IR sensor and they were all around 200-219 degrees F.
-I also noticed the new RiffRaff intercooler CAC boot is imploding a bit (i'm assuming from the vacuum pressure and assume this is normal).
-One thing I don't notice is much of a turbo whine, but I assume this is because the RPMs aren't getting high enough.

I just took it for another 7 mile drive hoping these are just air in the fuel line symptoms but it hasn't improved at all. I realize it takes 50-100 miles to get running normal after doing the type of work I did, but this doesn't seem right. My concern is I have a faulty part somewhere or I didn't put something together correctly. I don't want to do damage like washing out a cylinder etc by continuing to drive it thinking it is just air in the lines.

Has anybody experienced these types of issues or is there anything I'm not thinking about?
What type of issue does this sound like to you all?...
electrical?
fuel?
injectors?

I will update as I go through this.

Thanks for any help!!

 

Oil in the ICP could be the problem but you will know soon enough.

Best way to figure this out would be to get the required items to monitor and log what's happening when it happens. OBD2 adapter and an App are cheap and easy with the help of FTE. Then you can see oil pressure, voltage, etc while running.

When checking fuel pressure you need to do it under a load. Idle and pressing the go pedal in the driveway may look good but it may be dropping when accelerating in gear going down the road.

 

"I also noticed the new RiffRaff intercooler CAC boot is imploding a bit (i'm assuming from the vacuum pressure and assume this is normal)."

If I am reading this correctly there is a problem. Diesels do not make vacuum in the intake or anywhere else. If anything the boot should blow off if there is an flow/connection problem with the intercooler. As far as the stumble above 1500 RPM is concerned that sounds like a fuel delivery issue as mentioned. May be Hutch & Harpoon time.

 

Just got the new ICP sensor and pigtail in the truck.
I also hooked up a fuel pressure gauge to get a reading after all the fuel mods I made.

Started the truck up, it seems to start quicker and easier than the 4-5 sec crank it took before replacing the ICP. This is probably due to the new ICP sensor.

The truck seems to idle smooth and seems totally normal.

However, it is still stumbling when the engine is revved. If anything, it stumbles a little bit sooner like 1400-1450 RPM with the same blueish smoke that smells of diesel out the back pipe.
Fuel PSI is reading pegged at 100 psi. The gauge is brand new from RiffRaff and I tapped it into the upper driver's side allen head bolt on the fuel filter housing. This seems very high and doesn't seem right. I did not bother taking it for a ride.

Would installing the wrong spring on the FrX cause this? Possibly the spring did not go together correctly when I put it all on there?

I also unscrewed the top on the fuel filter canister and noticed rusty dirt material/particulate on the top of the fuel filter. I didn't take the filter out but after seeing that I probably need a new filter. This one is fairly new. Probably has a few thousand miles on it. The actual filter material did not look black but did appear reddish. Again, I did not take the filter out of the housing but plan to replace it.

My next course of action is to get a new fuel filter and take apart the FrX to double check the spring. Perhaps I installed the wrong spring. I have another spring that came with the kit that I thought was the silver spring, but looking closely I could talk myself into it having a goldish tint.

Anyways, let me know what you all think.

Thanks!

 

I pulled the Frx fuel pressure regulator off to check it out. I definitely installed the gold spring however the spring has a bend in it and I noticed that the rubber seal on the regulator piston is mashed and has a hole in it. Perhaps I did not install the Frx Housing evenly causing the spring to unseat or bend and compromise the oring.

So I'm off to the Ford dealership to get the rebuild kit F81Z-9B249-BB for $85.99. I would order it online from a cheaper vendor but I need to get this truck on the road and can't wait on shipping.

I am assuming this is the reason for my high fuel pressure. Hopefully this will take care of the stumbling at 1500 RPMs issue as well.

I'll update how it turns out.

 

The gold spring isn't supposed to make that much pressure.
It should make about 65psi.
Sounds like the spring completely closed off the return port and your fuel pressure is spiked to the max pressure the pump will put out.

Try putting it back together with the silver spring if the gold one is fubar.
Silver spring should give you around 60psi and black spring around 70.

 

Alright here's the latest...

I got the FPR rebuild kit from the dealer. They tried to sell me a kit without all of the needed o-rings, then told me how they don't care what online vendors are selling, since they are a Ford Dealer, if they only have two orings in their kit then that's how its supposed to be. I argued with the guy and told him the o-ring I needed was the one missing and unless they redesigned the part, then the kit should have 3 o-rings. He went back and talked to a diesel tech who "confirmed" I only needed the two in the kit. Finally I had him call another dealership and pull the part to count the o-rings...sure enough their's had three. So good lesson there, always double check your parts and dealership employees think Ford never makes mistakes.

Installed it with a silver spring and started the truck up. Idled great, nice and smooth. Upon revving the motor it begins stumbling at 1300 RPM now instead of 1500. It still smokes for a few seconds after revving to 1300-1500 RPMs. So it's as if the new ICP and FPR kit made the engine stumble more efficiently.

I did not take it for a ride. At this point I'm going to have a hard time up-shifting and will have to putt along in 1st gear.

I talked to Clay at RiffRaff a few days ago and he thought it is air in the lines. Has anybody experienced this stumbling issue with limited RPM before? Should I just drive it and stomp on the pedal to get any air out of the lines?

The plan for tomorrow is to install a new fuel filter (arrives tomorrow). I replaced the glow plug voltage regulator during this process and am thinking maybe I swap the old one back in to see if that is the issue. At this point I'm running out of ideas. If it doesn't clear up, I guess I'll have to take it somewhere to get a scanner hooked up.

The truck ran great before it started getting diesel in the coolant. Thinking I shouldn't have messed with these fuel mods.

I find it hard to believe nobody has heard of these symptoms before but I can't seem to find anybody else with this issue online.

At my wits end and ready to load this truck up with dynamite and light the fire!

 

Oh yea, forgot to mention the fuel psi question.

The gauge read a steady 65 psi after installing the new FPR kit. So that busted o-ring in the FPR definitely was the issue there pushing fuel pressure to 100 psi.

 

Instead of taking the truck somewhere and having someone check for codes which might not be successful due to scanner incompatibilities and not being able to log LIVE data while driving, I would seriously look into downloading a free version of FORScan for Windows or purchasing FORScan Lite for Android or Apple. You will then be able to send us LIVE logged data from your truck. You can accomplish this by using the following thread as a reference: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-cheap.html The el cheapo route will cost you about $15 and the most expensive route will cost about $85.

Have you checked for boost leaks? My e99 was prone to blowing a boot until I modified the spider so that it no longer happens. When there was an extreme boost leak it would barely pull a decent hill and would only achieve about 40 mph on flat ground and would smoke. With FORScan, you can monitor and log boost/MAP v EBP and all of the essential functions with the exceptions of EGT's and fuel pressure. Search for boost leak detector inside this forum for instructions on how to build one for about $10 and install it post CCV: turbo side of CCV.

Have you done the Hutch Mod? What is fuel pressure when driving. It is possible to have great fuel pressure at idle and while stationary and revving the engine due to low demand. The in tank screens could be clogged which would cause low fuel pressure while driving when the demand for fuel is considerably higher. Next, after checking the in-tank screens if they are not clogged and if fuel pressure is dropping while under load while driving, I would suspect the fuel pump. Riffraff has a decent low price Hutch Mod and has the proper OE fuel pump also for a decent price.

What color was your anti-freeze prior to doing the cup job?

 

Also, a bad or good glow plug relay or GPCM should not cause the issues you are having.

 

jhl3, thanks for the input!

I have a BAFX OBDII Bluetooth reader. I forgot I had it. Got it last year to read xmsn temps but my tablet broke so I never actually used it.

I now have a windows PC that it can hook up to. I'll download Forscan and see what I can find. I'm pretty terrible with computers, data and graphs and all of that seems over my head, but I'll try it out and learn something. Seems i'll need to know this stuff if I want to own a diesel.

Definitely planning to build a boost tester that you suggested. Since having all of that stuff disconnected when doing the injector cups, there could be a boost leak issue if something didn't go together right. I take my time and pay attention to detail but I've made many mistakes before so won't discount that.

The coolant was yellow before the diesel fuel started leaking into it. I believe I caught the leaky injector cups within a few days. I started noticing a diesel fuel smell. Then popped the hood to see what I could find and noticed the degas bottle was full. The day prior it was at the proper level so I knew something was up. It was not black at all, so no oil in the system. I've been slowly flushing the cooling system as I am troubleshooting these other issues.

Good to know about the GP relay. I'm just trying to recall every part that I've touched since the truck ran great before all of this. I have my doubts that it is the fuel pick up in the tank but who knows.

 

You might have a contaminated fuel tank, you found rusty deposites which means maybe your fuel has alot of water. When there water in diesel engines they throw alot of bluish/white smoke and smells really rich.

 

Huge clue is the imploding CAC boot.
Did some rags or bags get left in the pipes or intercooler?

 

 

There have been more than a few times that I have put things back together and couldn't specifically remember if I had removed a rag. I'd take everything apart again just to be sure and there have been a couple of times that it was still in there.