03 f250... nada but problems!
 

How's it going, readers? This is my first thread on this site and it's the BIGGEST reason why I joined... and it's all about the problems my truck is giving me. First off, details about my truck. She's an '03 F250 6.0L SD Powerstroke Lariat edition crew cab... She's lowered a little bit, since I have no need for huge lifts in San Diego, and riding on 22 inch Kumho lo-pro's... Okay, now the picture is painted, let's get to the dirty...

Rough time cold starting
Absolutely will not hot start... takes 45 min's to an hour to start again, and even that's not guaranteed.
Rough idle, doesn't matter if it's warm or cold
Has to wait about 10 min's to be able to drive, and even then she's slow.
Takes forever to pick up speed from a dead stop.
At about 50-55 mph, engine does something real weird, as if it's just shaking real hard and rattling, but once you get to 60+, there's no problem.
Runs better at 60+ than it does at 30.
Has a real hollow sound coming from engine. Sounds like a hollow drum beat.
Doesn't like reverse (probably a tranny problem).
Doesn't like climbing hills of any size.
Won't tow anything remotely heavy, like a trailer pulling a 95 Firebird.

So, there's the dirty... some notes, she idles at about 550 rpm. Oil temp and levels are normal. No leaks anywhere. Runs thru the go-go juice like it's cool, averaging about 7.7 mpg. Has to get to about 3k rpm before it'll shift, and it's a hard shift, too... She also has 237k miles on it... and the engine was rebuilt about 100k ago...

So, my new friends of DieselBombers... what do you have for me?! Any ideas of what is/could be wrong with it? I'm open to everything, b/c I need it fixed! CHEERS :c:

Garrett

P.S. I'm planning on adding videos of everything on YOUTUBE next weekend, so you can see and hear for yourselves how it is.

very likely the EGR valve is stuck wide open, won't let it build boost and totally screws with the mass air, has it ever been out and cleaned or replaced? it sits right next to the intake elbow, has the little black cap with a wire connector on it, only has 2 8mm bolts holding it down.

Not that I know of... I haven't done it... I will take a look at that, though! Thanks! :c:

What mods are on the truck?

First things that come to my mind are the STC fitting under the HPOP, it cracks, leaks oil when it warms up and causes the no start issue when warm. It's very common and there is even a thread only a couple posts down here that has the same info.

Second, the shaking at speed and the not being able to drive it for 10-15 min until it's warm is probably just injectors sticking. (possibly EGR issue too). I'd order up a bottle of Rev-X and try that, see if it cures some of those symptoms. I'll bet it does.

Third, yes EGR is probably dirty as all heck. I'd just normally tell guys to order a full EGR delete setup, but you're in Cali, so I'd pull that EGR valve, clean it really well, weld it shut, put it back, and see if you get a CEL. If you do (you shouldn't, 03/04 usually don't) then order a custom tuned SCT (search for this topic, you'll find way more info than you can handle) and it will turn the light off. Might want to look into bulletproof EGR coolers. I also believe GOS Performance offers something similar.

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Probably wouldn't hurt to hook the truck up to a scanner and see if there are any codes.

Wow where do we start I would defentlety clean the egr I would also check your FICM and the rev-x oil tretment is amazing stuff for cold and hard starting trucks I would try some if I was you but sounds like you need to address some other issues first.

Hey every one, thanks for the great info... I'm gonna have to spend all weekend tinkering with it and try to figure it out. The EGR valve was mentioned a few times as a potential problem, so I'll definitely pull that and see what's up... Where can I get some of this Rev-X?

To Mdub707, there are no mods made to the engine. It was rebuilt 100k miles ago, but returned to stock specs. If the STC fitting under the HPOP cracks, wouldn't it leave a puddle of oil under my truck? Just asking b/c there's no signs of leakage (aka puddle of oil on ground)

I think it is safe to start with the EGR and work my way from there. Thanks again! I'll keep ya'll updated. :c:

Yep ! I'm betting on the EGR Valve . When you pry it up gently, wire brush it real good even the stem of the valve. It wouldn't hurt to put some graphite on the stem also.
The main symptom you get when it is stuck besides bucking, spiting puking and gaging is when you step on the pedal it has no power at all. Runs real bad. Some times you can reuse the gasket.

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don't forget to drain the coolant down!:s:

No, there would be no puddle because it is internal to the engine, that cover that has to be removed to access it seals it, the high pressure oil pump is driven with gears off of the cam gear on the back of the engine and it sits under a cover right under the turbo pedestal and if I remember right the intake has to be removed also, wich isn't a bad Idea once you see the gunk that is in the intake from the egr, a shop vac will be helpfull once you start scraping that gunk out of there, its nasty

It's going to be a hairline crack and when the motor is cold and the oil is thick it wont leak at all, which is why it will start cold. As the motor warms up, oil thins out and starts bleeding out and losing pressure... thus why it wont start warm.

the fitting is almost like an aircompressor fitting, it swivels to make it easier for the install at the factory, that swivel wears out from the extremely high pressures it sees, you can pull it in and out with ease, the new one is solid, you put it on loose then after the pump is bolted down you tighten it up %100. my boy and I can do one of these with a egr cooler block off in about 8 hours, the extra set of hands realy comes in handy

@ Doda, where from Southern Indiana are you from? I'm from Vincennes, you close? Also, the whole putting the pedal to the metal and getting no power is exactly what happens with my girl...
@ bobfbigman and Mdub707, good call on the internal part of the deal. I'll take a look at that later on down the road when I have more time to access all that good stuff. For now, I'm able to flush all the fluids, replace, flush again to find anything abnormal, which will be done this coming weekend. I'm going to try and take the EGR out tonight and see what's up there. I'm going to video the sequence of events from getting the truck to start, idling, driving, and then trying to turn back on.

Thanks again! :c:

Okay, so, I got the EGR valve pulled out tonight and found that while it was dirty, it wasn't stuck wide open... After a good cleansing of it, the valve moved more freely, so I re-installed it and I got the same problems. I may just end up replacing it anyway for safe measures. I decided to leave the truck in park and see how many RPM's she'd make at full throttle, and it barely made 3k... Also, on top of the engine under the turbo on one of the rubber hoses, I noticed that there's an oil seeping out, not a lot, just little drops. I'm wondering if maybe the hose is bad? Would that have an effect on it?

Any time you have an oil leak it could be a problem, since our injectors are fired off of high pressure oil...

From your description, sounds like it might be the tubo drain, but hard to tell.

oops
 

ooopppsss, that fitting we are talking about on the HPOP is realy an //05// problem, the 03 uses a totally different pump. we could be looking in the wrong place, maybe a clogged Cat converter?? haven't heard of any issues but a possability,, maybe I missed it but what is your turbo PSI, sounds like your not getting enough air now that I think about it.

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just as a note/ I have an early 04 basically an 03, I have 230k on it and about 185k I had 1 injector fail, but I fixed it, the little nut and bolt/ maybe a 4-40/ on the injector came loose, the nut was off and just laying on top of the head, wound up having a dead mis until I really jumped on it shook like hell at low mph, put locktite on it and put her back on. it was hard starting and stumbled like heck, hopefully when you post the video we will be able to help you out alot better, we are throwing alot of possabilities at you but it will get figured sooner or later.

Hey everyone, just putting in an update. I had a video that I was going to put up, but once I started reviewing it, I noticed THERE'S NO SOUND! so I'm going to have to redo it. Also, I pulled the cat converter off, definitely helped a tad tad bit, but not enough to make a huge difference. I also ran a programmer on it to see if I can get some codes, and no codes appeared. Took her out on the highway to take to a friends house to help me out, could barely get to 50 mph... I had San Diego freeway traffic behind me lining up (embarrassing but oh well) After taking of the CAT my buddy drove behind me while I drove back home and he said that I was blowing a cloud of white smoke going up the hill but not on the highway.

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Hey all, I redid the video and posted it on YouTube. Here's the link: :pca1:

Not good, sounds like head gasket completely blown out or the up pipe to the turbo is completely loose but that wouldn't cause the shaking like a head gasket would, either that or you have some bent pushrods or broken rockers, that hollow sound is normal on the pasenger side, some valve is on that side that makes that sound..

the up pipe to the turbo, is that the little piece of pipe that's in the air intake tube just before the turbo? I know that may sound like a bit of a dumb question but I gotta ask it.

up-pipes are the exhaust tubing that connect the manifolds to the turbo. Those are up-pipes. If you had one cracked or leaking you'd know, they make some crazy noises.

If you have white smoke pouring out while you're driving, you're burning coolant. It's either an EGR cooler, or headgaskets, or both. I think you have more than this going on though. When my headgaskets have failed, I've never lost that much power and still been able to drive it to my destination.

well well well... this is just a strange dillema for me then... I'll be posting another video of the truck on the road later today if not this week. You'll be able to really see what is going on. Thanks for the info... I'll take a look at the up-pipe today as well and hopefully we can take another step into figuring this out.

get a cheap laser temp gun from harbor freight or somewhere else, then on first start up use the temp gun to check the temps at the exhaust manifolds right where it comes off the head, they ought to be close to each other, if you find a cold one then that is the cylinder with the problem, easiest to hit them right through the wheel well, that way you can isolate it to a single cylinder problem. this will find a bad injector/bent pushrods/broken rocker/ basically anthing that would cause a dead cylinder

so i took the truck out to see if I could find one of those laser temp guns you told about and i had to turn around and come home. the truck would not get up to speed for nothing, even going down hill... earlier today I was looking for any chance that the up-pipe was cracked or leaking without having to take apart the top end and I couldn't see anything wrong, but then again i didn't dismantle the whole thing like I figured I would. I didn't notice any smoke though, and while I was letting the truck idle so i could listen and everything, she still didn't smoke. Now, there's the piece of rubber tube that comes up from the head and into the air intake (what I thought the up-pipe was at first) and noticed that there is white smoke coming from it... is that normal? Also, truck still won't hot start... it will warm start (after the truck drives around the block or is idling for a few minutes), but after I took her on the highway to find that gun, she wouldn't kick back over... :argh:

:argh: agreed, something is going on here, try the temp gun and go from there, get a ride to store to keep the truck cold so u can figure it out, let us know what you find,this will help limit the amount of work to find what is going on

My guess is still high pressure oil leak and a combination of headgaskets/egr cooler. Get a picture of the rubber hose you're talking about. I think it's just the crank case vent. It shouldn't have white smoke coming from it at all, that's usually caused from blow-by, which means there is cylinder pressure leaking past some piston rings.

agreed with the little rubber hose, it is just a vent for the crankcase, it is also where all the oil comes from that you will sometimes see oosing out of the air tubes around the turbo, this is basically just a PCV valve, it should be hooked up though but it won't cause these problems

some same stuff on my 04
 

hey so like everyone else said check the egr valve, i'd check the voltage in the FICM (fuel injection control module), high pressure oil pump, and it sounds weird but check the tranny. I blew a tranny an it was lugging, smoking, idleing funny, going into limp mode and wouldnt go over 30. Did alota weird stuff and since u have reverse problems id definetly check it out. My tranny didnt even seem to have problems until all that. I've also blow an egr cooler, a turbo, tranny, and had a bad FICM :argh: Good luck with everythin. And since your in cali you cant do egr delete but id go with the Bullet Proof Diesel egr cooler

powerstroke74... that's what i had thought too at first... I'm taking everything one step at a time in trying to find the problems... she's my first diesel, so i want the best for her, even if that means taking the 6.0 out and putting in a Cummins... :rocking:
but, before I do that, I'm gonna learn my engine ;)

thanks for all ya'lls help! I won't be able to do much to her again until this weekend.

As far as the drum sound coming from the intake i will have to say from rebuilding two 6.0 motors that you have a bad injector or a bent pushrod. Also i am having the same trouble with the whole no power but i think it is to do with the icp sensor. The only way to tell for sure is to have someone with a really good diagnostic testor hook it up to your truck so you can pull codes and view the PIDs.

hopefully it is just a bad injector... thanks for the thoughts... gonna work on pulling the engine apart Saturday... any tips on where to start since this is my first diesel fix up?

did anybody check the air filter?:humm:

Well the first thing you need to do is get a scanner and see which injector it is after you get the code of such cylinder contribution balance has a fault you can start from there. Now from sitting in the truck the cylinder firing goes as this right side from front to back is 1,3,5,7 and the left side from front to back is 2,4,6,8. But more than likely from my experience the most common injectors to go are 5 and 3 but you can't be shore unless you get a scanner. I take that back I have found that if you take the valve covers off and start the motor you will see if there is any oil squirting from the top of each injector the ones that don't are your bad injectors. But I would highly recomend getting a scanner to pull all codes even if your check engine like ain't on you should still have codes on what is wrong.

Doda-yeah I checked the air filter, even took it off... still same crappy problems.

Stroken97-thanks for the tip. I hooked up a code reader and, you ain't gonna believe this, I didn't get any codes! :argh::ouch::s: if i took the valve covers off, wouldn't I have to take off the FICM??

To take the valve cover off you will have to remove the ficm but you could hook it back up after VC is removed, still the easiest way to find a dead cylinder is with a temp gun, even Home Depot carries them in the electrical dept for looking for hot spots in electrical panels but they are like 80 bucks there, hobby shops will even carry them for nitro powered cars, without taking the truck to a dealer it is the easiest way to figure it out, good luck, let us know what you find

I will do that definitely... I have a feeling that if it is a bent rod or just a missing cylinder, it's going to be on the driver's side...

On my truck it was #2 cylinder/ front drivers side/ my problem was a little unique, when you look at the injector it has a tiny bolt and nut that holds two little round actuators to the injector/ that is where the wires are mounted/ anyway the nut fell off and the injector caused a dead miss, so a little blue locktite, tighted it back up and good as new, almost. I have 230,000 miles and that has been the only injector problem I have had. found the dead cylinder the way I described. luckily the nut was just sitting on top of the head and didn't make it to the oilpan

that's interesting... how in the hek does something like that happen?

:s: injector must have been assembled on a Monday after someones weekend bender, never heard of this happening to anyone else--------yet:scare2:

try changing the engine oil. Use an oil for Diesel engines , and change the filter also. Make sure the anti foam additive is there. It takes 15 quarts of oil and about $20 dollars for the good filter. It may be foaming so bad the injectors can't work.:pca1:

Great tip doda that could be a big factor. If you change the oil and still the same thing then yes you would have to unplug the ficm but then plug everything back in along with the intake pipes and just let it lay there while you watch the thetop of the injectors for oil and also watch the rocker arms to see if they are functioning properly.

thanks guys... i'll do that next time i get some extra $$ laying around. which won't be until the 14th... ugh... I want my truck back :dang:

With the no throttle response and no power you may have turbo vanes stuck. All that any of us can do is guess. Have you pulled any codes? What is your fuel pressure? Have you checked ICP voltage or pressure? Don't throw parts at it. Test,verify,repair.