1996 Ford E350 7.3L diesel running rough
 

I have a 280,000 mile 1996 ford E350 van with the PS 7.3 Turbo. The truck was running perfectly. While driving it a few days ago I noticed an immediate rough running motor, and at idle it was like a gasser missing on one or two pistons. It will barely start. Runs really rough. I drove it for about 4 miles and it did not clear up. It barley starts, runs terrible and can hardly be driven.

On the way to work the other day it was running fine....all of a sudden I noticed a drop in power and the engine would barely idle at a stop light.... I turned around and returned the vehicle to home. Over the weekend I thought I would replace the fuel filter and see if that would clear-up the issue...... Unfortumately It didn't. The vehicle was very difficult to restart after the filter change..... After getting it started and running for a few minutes we noticed it was still running rough.... after further trouble shooting we noticed the exhaust manifold on driver side was warm....however the exhaust manifold on the passanger side was cold.... it would appear the engin is only running on 4 of the 8 cylenders.

I did have all 8 glow plugs and both wiring harneses replaced around 18 months ago

Here is what I know:
No check engine light
Fuel pump was replaced about 50K ago
Fuel Filter was replaced today
Engine oil was changed today and the old oil looked ok
Oil pressure appears normal

Any help for this beginner is greatly appreciated.

Idle circuitry is rarely a problem on any engine, diesel or gas. But having a rough idle, seeing a loss of power output, witnessing poor fuel economy as well as an increased use of engine oil can all be caused, says Ford Motor Company technicians by aged, worn, cracked or deteriorated fuel injection nozzle 0-rings. This is standard fare for any fuel-injected engine as the rubber 0-rings always weather with age and heat. This data is in its Technical Service Bulletin number 98-23-13 and covers 1994-1998 engines.

Adding further to the dilemma, this situation cannot be detected with any of the electronic testers. Nor will a trouble light find its way to the gauge cluster. If you find that this is your problem, Ford 0-ring kit, part number F8TZ-9229-AA is the remedy. You may also wish to check and/or replace the fuel filter - per the Ford Service Manual.
see if this fits your problem and welcome to diesel bombers and hope you introduce yourself to us here https://www.dieselbombers.com/diesel...rs-initiation/

Thanks for the tip.

however what would make the exhaust manifold hot on the driver side and cold on the passanger side. it would appear that all 4 cylenders on the pass. side quit working all at the same time?????

https://www.dieselbombers.com/ford-t...uel-issue.html check this out especially the last post about the wiring going thru the valve cover

There are four under valve cover connections (two per side). When you say "both wiring harnesses, I'm not sure what you mean. There are four female connectors that can go bad on the outside of the valve cover gaskets, there are four female harnesses that can go bad on the inside, The valve cover gaskets themselves can go bad (male connectors on each side).

I replaced the valve cover gasket with the pass-thru connector and both wiring harnes under the valve cover....also checked all the wiring harnes, and connections back to the control module.....no improvement after the work was complete.... all four cylenders on the passenger side are still not firingthoughts anyone?

Thanks for the tips everyone.

As it turns out.... the problem was the injector driver module. After trouble shooting from the elecrical diagram, and inspecting the wiring harnes for signs of visable damage... the only thing left was the IDM.

I did a search on the net and found the replacement part for $270.... the part was delivered next day....and today my van if running great again!

This forum was very helpful to me and I want to personally thank everyone who took time to share their knowledge and experience with me..... it is much appreciated!

glad you got your problems taken care of and welcome to diesel bombers glad to have ya