PLEASE help!! hard to start, and extremely sluggish behavior
 

2003 Ford F250 Powerstroke 6.0L

It all started about 4 days ago... I start up the truck after school which means I have to cold start it after 8 hours of sitting in 20 degree weather.. The truck does its usual sluggish behavior when pulling onto the highway, but instead this time the smoke coming out of my stacks is blue. I was told a couple of months ago that my turbo was leaking oil, but I left it alone and figured I'd deal with it when I had to. Now the truck runs like HELL no matter how long I let it warm up. For a few miles the truck will pour blue smoke out of the exhaust and any time I hit the gas pedal it will not accelerate, it shakes violently and has epileptic fits on me. So after a day or 2 of this I was told by a friend of mine that is a diesel mechanic that my EGR valve could be coked up and stuck in the open position. Well I go through the 2 hour process of yanking the hell out of it without the proper tools to get it out and when I do it seems to be coked up VERY bad. I clean it until it shines and put it back in. The next day after that the truck ran perfect without any hesitation. This morning I go outside to start it and it has an extremely hard time starting (it was plugged in also and 60 degrees out when I woke up) after cranking it 5-6 times it starts up. I pull back onto the highway and it is doing the same thing again, blue smoke, no acceleration, violent shaking.

OK, so my questions are:

Is is possible that oil leaking into the turbo can cause the truck to not start easily, and the blue smoke and all that; or is it even a turbo problem at all??

Is there anything I can do besides buy a new turbo? I am 17 without a high-paying job and it is very hard to come up with $1500..

If the startup issue doesn't have anything to do with the turbo going out, what could the problem be here??

I am not an expert at working on engines as I'm only a few months into my diesel mechanics training, so things will have to be explained to me..

Thank you in advance, I need to figure this out ASAP before the turbo craps out on me and I am out of my only vehicle.

Fuel issue. When was the last time the fuel filter was changed? Also, have you been getting fuel from a reputable station? If not, it's probably starting to gel (meaning the viscosity climbs to the point where it won't pump through the fuel filter).

Next chance, change the fuel filter, dump some Power Service 911 in the tank, then top off with #1 diesel.

i changed the filters about 2 days after it started acting up because i thought that was the issue. so they were changed about 3 days ago. i get diesel from walmart where I have always got it. but shouldnt plugging the truck in make it not gel?

Plugging them in keeps the block warm, not the fuel.

You mentioned blue smoke from the exhaust. Does it smell like oil or fuel. Also did the CEL come on?

are you sure its blue, not white/gray?

Oh, sorry :P

the only time i see the blue smoke is in my rear view mirror when im trying to accelerate. so i cant smell it :/ the only thing i can think of is that if it's leaking oil into the turbo, thats shooting out of the exhaust so therefore i am almost positive it is oil.

nope, no CEL came on.. :/

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yes it is solid blue smoke. not white/gray like on normal cold weather startups

mine never smokes on cold starts, have you tested the FICM??

nope how can i test that? id imagine i have to have a tool right?

No white/gray is good, means the coolant system is intact.

but the blue is either fuel or oil correct?

very easy.....15 minutes https://www.dieselbombers.com/ford-p...procedure.html

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white/grey is fuel or coolant depending on smell

i asked about the blue :p i need to know if my turbo is going out or what the issue is

just test the ficm to get that out of the way

does the ficm have anything to do with not being able to accelerate with out my truck having a seizure?

mine did that, its just narrowing things down.

im afraid if i dont get this problem fixed soon, the turbo could fail on me.

and i dont know what a multi-meter is :nope:

a volt meter...

well now i feel like a dumb ass. ok so after this test if evrything is fine what do i do? itll probably be a couple days before i can get into it.. supposed to snow tomorrow and i dont have a garage

if your ficm is fine, your turbo might be sticking... it may need a cleaning

do you know of any write ups on cleaning the turbo? i wouldnt know where to begin after i got it out without a write up telling me what to do

Blue can mean oil or fuel as well, depending on smell.

how could the fuel be going out the exhaust?

I'm thinking blown seal in the turbo. Do you have a boost guage? If so does it ever stick?

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It's from an engine that's unable to run at operating temp (stuck open thermostat) or an uncovered radiator in cold temps. You'll get a light blue colored exhaust, that will smell like fuel.

I looked up a tech thread on cleaning the EGR (it'll get blocked up from soot, causing the same issues). But it's a no go as the pictures on what to look for are deleted. :argh:

i dont have a boost gauge, but i could probably take the turbo out and check the seals on it.

and i already cleaned the EGR spotless and that only fixed the problem for 1 day.

May have to check it again. This time if it's coated w/ soot, be only one reason. Incomplete combustion from lack of air. Other words, your turbo is out, or it's so gummed up with soot, it needs cleaned out.

Ok will get around to checking the egr again. That thing is a pain in the ass to get out. So theres no reason to buy a new turbo? I can just clean it and change the seals?