So, I've run into a couple of problems.


They start with a 12 hour round trip. During the trip I found out my fuel selector valve isn't working the hard way. So now I have to find a new valve… Any ideas?


Secondly, My truck broke down on the way back home. I noticed I was getting low on diesel, Right at the quarter mark. Pulled into a gas station and got in line behind another truck. The second I put the truck in park, It started pouring white smoke and the injectors got really loud. I pulled the truck around to the big truck fuel island and filled it up. While there I checked my fluids and found out I was nearly 7 quarts low on oil and two gallons low on coolant. put fluid in and things didn't improve much. If I got the RPMs up it acted alright, If the RPMs were low it ran rough. I decided to risk it and try to limp home. it made it about another 20 miles and it started acting like it was running out of diesel but I had just filled up. While on the side of the rode, the starter burned out. Finally got it back home and replaced the starter today and it doesn't want to start. It will run on either but not on it's own. Tons of white smoke. Also, one or more of the injectors is clicking very loudly. I'm thinking the fuel pump went out.

Any ideas/advice?

 

I have a '97... Just a few ideas.

First off, out of your tunes, do you have a stock tune? If so, diagnose it on a stock tune.

Check all your fuses in the fuse box and in the power point. Check the fuel selector with a VOM to check that the fuel selector is getting power to it... May be a fuse or the switch... Or the fuel selector itself, mechanically or electrically.

Check all the fluids again. On oil- Check that it is just oil, not milky (water) or that it doesn't smell like it has diesel and doesn't smell burned. Water- That it doesn't have oil or diesel in it. Check that the HPOP is full and dip a wire down it to see if it is clean or a dark goop. Anything "in" what it's not to be is going to point to different problems. For instance, oil in the water is going to point to a head gasket... Diesel in the water is going to point to injector cups. Diesel in the oil is going to point to injector o-rings.

Check for water in the bowl drain tube. Use the drain valve and drain it into a bottle. Open the fuel bowl up and inspect it. Change the filter. Cut open the old filter and inspect.

Does it roll over smooth? If not, it could be leak down into the cylinder's or loose of compression.

With a VOM, check the voltage to the Glow plug relay. Get someone to turn the key and check to see that the glow plug relay works (passing voltage). Check the resistances at the IDM plug to check the injector resistances and the resistances to the glow plugs. Google "GB IDM injector resistance test."

If it sounds like you have compression and are getting power and fuel "to" the injectors... then the injector need to pass fuel.

If you gave it a small bit of ether and it tries to catch, it is a not-enough fuel problem... That could be a blockage, air, electrical, mechanical or not enough high oil pressure

Fuel line disconnect tools-
If you already know you have a problem with the tank selector valve, disconnect the hose before it and run a hose into a bucket of diesel. If it starts, it may be that the bad fuel selector valve is stuck between the two lines and not passing enough or any fuel.

The following is going to take more tools... I take these for granted because I have them. But I don't expect others to have them. A volt ohm meter (VOM) is one of my best friends. Regular OBD II tester's don't work with our trucks... But AE (AutoEnginuity) and Car Gauge Pro does. Next is compression, fuel pressure and high oil pressure gauges. Next is an IR temp gauge.

If I didn't have a lot of tools, the next thing I would get (or borrow) is a diesel fuel pressure gauge. Cranking, at the Shraeder valve, it should be between 40-50 pounds. Use a piece of clear tubing, put it in the fuel return and see if it's getting bubbles. OSB's sometimes have a problem with the fuel pickup in the rear tank, where it will suck air if the tank is less than 1/4 full.

If you have good pressure at the Shraeder valve, your mechanical lift pump is good. But then it needs to get through the injectors.

From there, a high pressure oil gauge. Check the pressure from the HPOP. It should be 500 lbs cranking to be able to start. It needs that much oil pressure for the injectors to fire.

Me? I have AE on a laptop. I would run a diagnostics to check for codes, then do a buzz test to check that the injectors are working electrically. Then crank it while looking at the ICM (HPOP) pressure. Thosee basic tests could also be done with Car Gauge Pro. (for about $30 and an Android phone.) But with AE, I can also dump the IDM for trouble codes and check sensors...

Is the smoke white and smells like diesel? Or water vapor? Did it give any indication... such as what did it do before it quit?

If you can borrow someone's OBD II tester... sometimes they will say they "cannot cannot communicate with" the PCM... but when you exit out... they sometimes will display the DTC codes anyways. (One of my regular OBD II scanners does this... but it also does early OBD, CAN and ABS.)

Tell me what you find... and I'll try to keep up with this thread.

 

Sorry for taking so long, Unfortunately sometimes, Life goes on and leaves very little time to work on things. I haven't gotten around to all of the trouble shooting you have recommended yet but heres what I've done.

As soon as I started having issues, I put it into stock tunes.

Fluids are full: Oil is dark, does not look milky or smell like diesel, however does smell a little burned. I'm not completely sure how to check the water other than to look at the reservoir and it looks normal in there. I currently can't get the hpop open but I haven't put too much effort towards it as I haven't had time to dive into anything that isn't a quick check.

It turns over fairly smooth,

The smoke is white with diesel, to black.


when it died, it essentially acted like it ran out of fuel.

I got it to run for a bit today and got a couple of videos of it. I'm going to upload them today and post them here


P.S. I seem to have some blowzy
[color=grey][size=-2]

 

Wow. Does not look or sound good does it?

Loud deep knock? Puffing smoke out the oil dip stick tube? If it's doing that from there, it's probably doing the same through the intake snorkle from the baffle on the driver's side valve cover. That in itself is not good.

Adds fuel to the mixture. Diesels will burn oil. Pull off the snorkle from the turbo inlet and see how much oil it's pumpimping int the snorkle and the turbo compressor. At the least, that oil will soften the o-rings and tubes.

Sorry for you. The first thing I would do is listen with a piece of big dowel (broom stick or long extension) held up to your ear (or just behind it) and see if the knock is high (loudest from the valve cover) or deep down (loudest from the oil pan). I have a feeling the way it's getting blow-by puffing through the crankcase, that it might be the later.

Next would be to put it on AE or equivalent and do a cylinder contribution test. That will tell you which cylinder is weak. I wasn't there personally, but from the video... I think if you pulled the passenger side valve cover off, pulled the glow plugs out and did a compression test... If not a bad cylinder, then possibly injector o-rings on that side.

With it puffing like that from the crankcase, it's most likely got bad blow-by in at least one cylinder. With the way it's blowing through the crankcase, I'm thinking "that" over bad injector o-rings. You would think if it where bad injector o-rings, it wouldn't be puffing like that through the crankcase.

One way to narrow it down, would be to pull the valve cover on that side, start it up and pull the injector connectors, one-at-a-time. It should lose rpm. If it is doesn't, that one isn't firing right. See that it is squirting oil out below the deflector.

It still could be injector o-rings Hope for that!!! If the compression is good, then drain the oil from the head HP Oil passage and pull the non-firing injector.

If that center o-ring is leaking, it will use oil and be pumping High Pressure Oil into the Diesel passage in the head. Between the top and middle o-ring is the oil passage. Between the middle and lower o-ring and the lower o-ring is the diesel passage. It's the middle o-ring that usually fails (between those 3)... Seal kits are fairly inexpensive. Like I said, hope for that.

But usually if that, like I said, It will use oil and there will e oil in your fuel... Any not used by the injectors, wil get recirculated back to your tank(s). You wil see dark, oily fuel in your fuel filter.

Sorry for the news on what I think it is. I'm hoping it's not, but better prepared for the worst right?

Curious what you find... and the why.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Forgot... FYI for you.

Quoted from Bell Performance:

 

I'll do the diagnostics you suggested when i get time. My truck might just be down for a while, which while annoying is do-able. I have two trucks. The second one being a small ranger that is essentially my SHTF truck, so at least I'm not completely hosed.

I'm pretty sure the knocking is a fuel injector because it comes and goes with what i immagine to be the fuel pressure. The truck still doesnt run completely on its own at Idle and actually took about fourty minutes to get it running for the videos.

I'm prepared mentally for cylinder issues. My best guess right now, based on it never being the cheaper, easier fix, that its the piston or the piston rings. Also hoping the cylinders them selves are not damaged. As far as AE goes, I don't own it nor know anyone that does. So that in its self may be another delay in fixing my 7.3. I'll let you know what the next round of tests answer.


Thanks for the help. It is Greatfully appreciated.

 

Do you have an android phone?

 

Nope. Apple

 

I picked up a used Android phone for free. (A friend upgraded.) Picked up a BT/OBD2 adapter for $12 and use Car Gauge Pro ($5.95) for diagnostics and Torgue Pro ($4.95) as electronic GUI gauges... Car Gauge Pro will do everything including injector buzz tests on my OBS PSD.

I have AE (Autoenginuity) and I would recommend Car Gauge Pro as a low cost alternative... I use Torque Pro every day, every time I drive... but if the OBD2 diagnostics part of that had been worked out for our PSD's... (used to be) If you could get a hold of a used or low-cost Android device, just to use for that... Then you'd be set.

IPhone guard's it's data going via BT, so there is a Wireless OBD2 adapter for them (a little more expensive) and their app store has "REV". I have no experience with that app. Supposedly there's a few more OBD2 scanner app's, but the only one I've heard anyone who had a PSD and an iPhone, was REV.

 

I realize this is a REALLY old thread but I'd like to find out what happened? I have a similar issue myself and was hoping to benefit from your experience.

Thanks in advance!