Posting for a friend. He has a 2000 F350. He's had terrible luck with mechanics and has been asking me to look at it, but I have never laid hands on a 7.3L.

Last summer he had all the injectors replaced, and his fuel tank started filling up with motor oil. I was too busy to look at it, but was told that the injectors needed new seals. He found someone else to fix it, and they replaced several of the injectors. He has no idea what brand were used.

He just called asking me to look at it again. Said it wasn't wanting to start in the cold even after the block heater had been plugged in for hours. It finally did start but was blowing tons of white smoke. Now its a combination of white smoke and yellow-green coolant blowing out the tail pipe into the snow. And the level in the oil pan has gone up, AND it is making distinct, loud ticking sound when idling.

I told him DO NOT crank or start the engine again. I have not seen the truck or pulled codes yet, but I am looking for initial thoughts from the experts and suggestions about what to look for when I make it over there.

 

Sounds like someone did a good job dorking up that truck. Check fluids and see what what has mixed.

my guess is they didn’t get the cups clean or it has a cracked cup. You can pressurize the coolant system, pull the valve covers and see what you find.

good luck. I hate that he has had some much trouble out of it.

 

If you have never worked on a 7.3, do some reading here in the tech folder. Lots of good info on how to troubleshoot these things. It is not hard, but does take knowing some of their quirks.

 

Fuel, oil and coolant all come together at the injector cups.

 

Check the coolant reservoir I am betting he will find a black layer of fuel floating on top of the coolant. Injector cups and/or injector o-rings.

 

What should I be looking for if I pressurize the system and pull the valve covers? Don't you have to pull the injectors to see if the cups are leaking?

 

Sounds like a couple things. Oil getting into the fuel is injector o rings. Rising oil level points to that. Pull fuel filter cap and look into fuel bowl see if it is black with oil.

White exhaust and slow start could be low fuel pressure. Look in sticky threads at top of forum for how to hook up a temporary fuel pressure gauge.

Fuel pressure is not a difficult fix, new pump and maybe Hutch/Harpoon mods. Identify and fix that first.

But I think new injector cups are in order, and by a qualified mechanic.

I think the point should be made that all of this is fixable, and the engine will still give many years of service. Nothing requiring a rebuild here.

Where is the truck located?

 

I went to look at the truck yesterday. It threw a couple dozen codes but mostly GEM and airbag related. The PCM codes are as follows:

P0562 - PCM has detected low system voltage (the batteries were barely capable of starting the engine)
P0107 - MAP/Barometer circuit low input
P1670 - Electronic feedback signal not detected between PCM and IDM
P0603 - KAM power (almost not worth mention based on my 6.0L experiences)


Other observations:

1. The oil level was 5 inches from the bottom of the dipstick. Nothing unusual looking about the oil, though I'm sure diesel mixes very well with motor oil.
2. Bad oil leak at right rear of engine. Owner says the last guys that did injector work didn't install one of the valve cover gaskets. Oil and coolant can be seen all over the right rear exhaust manifold just in front of the connection to the up-pipe.
3. Bad oil leak (literally running out, not dripping) at front oil cooler seal when engine running. At least I think it's the oil cooler (horizontal cylinder in front of oil filter base)


4. A little grey-black residue on sides of coolant reservoir above coolant level. (nothing I don't commonly see in cars and trucks with over 200K miles) Also no oil floating on top of coolant. Coolant is bright yellow-green.


5. There is so much white smoke with the engine running, after about a minute I could barely see the truck while standing ten feet away from it. Truck is white btw.
6. Under the exhaust tip there is a thick puddle of oil with yellow (assuming coolant) around the edges that's maybe 30" x 48". (Took a pic but can't get it to open)
7. I didn't hear the ticking sound that was originally described by the owner.

 

The truck is now sitting on the street in front of my house waiting for me to finish another project. I need to pull it down the driveway, through the garage, and into the back yard to the shop. In an attempt to minimize the exhaust smoke cloud and oil running all over the driveway, I drained 3 gallons of coolant, and as much motor oil as it took to get the level within operating level (2-3 gallons I suspect). The coolant was perfectly clean. The oil had the viscosity of milk and was transparent like a tinted window. It doesn't smell like fuel, but it doesn't smell like used motor oil either, but I am guessing it's diluted with fuel because the coolant reservoir was full.

Does this still sound like injector cups or something worse like a cracked head?

I am now thinking about changing the oil just to get it down my drive without damaging the engine. Overkill?

 

Both the fuel and oil tend to accumulate in the coolant because both have higher pressure than coolant. So, I dont think the actual cups are gonna be the problem here. The injector O-rings could be jacked up causing the oil and fuel to mix but the coolant is gonna be something else.

 

Chris, it's been 25 years since I last played with my 7.3L, and I only had three years of experience with it.

I'd change the oil before moving it; it's a safer bet. But I'd pull an oil sample and send it to Blackstone for the documentation.

As mentioned earlier, unlike the 6.0L, these can have injector cup issues and can have similar o-ring issues. So far, I'd agree that the coolant side doesn't appear to have an issue, but I'd still consider it in reserve. The oil cooler probably needs to be resealed.

 

Is it possible cracked cups can cause the seals to tear upon insertion of the injector, or is it typically hack mechanics and crappy parts stores seals? I've read that replacing the seals isn't that hard, so what is more likely?

 

Thanks for chiming in Jack. Twenty-five years or not, you're still one of the most knowledgeable guys I know on the forums, so your input is always welcome and educational. And I just knew you were going to say change the oil. Blackstone is a great idea, thank you.

The way the oil cooler leaks I'd say it absolutely needs new seals.

 

The cups would have to be really cracked to tear up new orings. They're fairly tough. I did them about a year ago. But if you dont get good ones, or get them twisted, or dont lube them going in you could f'em up. But they are pretty beefy.

You'll see a theme on here. There are certain parts that you really should get Ford and a known legit source. No ebay/amazon.. Most sensors, wiring are on that list as are things like injector orings.

 

Well I bought the stainless cups and Alliant seals from Riff Raff because I don't want to have to do it again. Should be here tomorrow along with their cup installation rental tools, which according to them, are the bee's knees.

As an avid 6.0L owner for the last ten years, I am quite familiar with said theme.