7.3 PowerStroke

D

Dirk

Guest
Anyone have experience with Power Strokes?

Here's the deal.
Picked up a '97 F350 Power Stroke with some...ehhrrr.....issues and 364,000 Miles on the clock. Price was alright and I think I can fix it. :clue:

Previous Owner sad it had coolant in the oil and it had been to three different shops. The last one had it for...
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D

Dirk

Guest
Just got back from the shop..... and I think I found the problem(s).

4 injectors are missing the middle O-ring. Which should separate the oil from the coolant.
These are the left side ones:

both middle cylinders, on both sides, are the ones missing the o-ring.

Injector with o-ring (screwdriver pointing ot it):


and without:


And this is the inside of the valve cover....:eek:


and also this :

rearmost valve on the driver side.....

looks to me like whoever did the headgasket, let the apprentice put it back together and somehow the o-rings were left off some injectors.

Next steps:
replace pushrod, roll the engine and check valvetrain.
send injectors out to get tested and if need be, rebuilt.

I guess this is what happens when you send your diesel to a garage that has no clue about them.
 
Jimbog

Jimbog

Well-known member
Club Member
We Had a 7.3 1999 F450. That had the same problem. Hopefully when they changed the head gasket the changed the injector cups at the same time.We had a couple of them leaking coolant. Donnelly Ford changed just about every part on that motor to the tune of about $12,000, head gaskets,injector cups,all eight injectors,wiring harness, inside the valve covers and outside.Changed the fuel injector pump, fuel pressure regulator. Ours was also hard to start, the changed both the batteries,still did not run right,told us the alternator needed to be changed, still didn't run right. They had the truck for over 2 months that winter. Six times they delivered the truck back to us and said it was fixed. The last 2 times they pulled into our yard and the truck was running like a bag of shit. We told the driver to take it back. They /us never did find out what the problem was ,in the end the weather got warmer and the truck was starting and running pretty good,so we traded it in on a 2008 V10. It sat on the lot at the dealer we traded it to all summer,then this winter the dealership called us and asked us what was wrong with our old truck!!! After they finally got it started,it was blowing white smoke and ran like a bag of shit. We gave them all the receipts from Donnelly and told them to call them! I don't know if the truck ever got fixed right? I hope that you can get yours sorted out with out a lot of trouble. Nice truck you have ,I have a 1995 F350 also ,but mine is a 2 wheel drive and a 5.8 engine. Keep us posted.
 
D

Dirk

Guest
What a nightmare Jimbog. I hope I have better luck.

It was late when I posted the above and I thought I had found the problem for the coolant to oil leak, but correct me if I am wrong.....

There are 3 O-rings onthe injector fuel is sealed in by the top and middle ones and oil is sealed in by the middle and bottom ones, correct?

If so then a missing or damaged middle o-ring will allow fuel and oil to mix but coolant should not be involved at all.

This would mean I still have not found my coolant leak......

Another interesting thing I observed last night is that a few minutes after I pulled the first injector (second from the rear drivers side(#6??)) it the injector hole filled with coolant.

(poor pic, but you can see the coolant in the bore)

I drained the rad before continuing with the other injectors.
Since I am not familiar with PSDs I am at a loss where the coolant came from. But I think its the injector cup/sleeve.

Does the sleeve, #9 in the schematic, sit in the water jacket?

If so, a cracked one would cause the coolant to flow into the injector hole I suppose.

I am also reluctant to suspect the head gasket, as it was recently done, although by an inexperienced shop, and i dont seem to have excessive pressure in the cooling system.

Thoughts?
 
Jimbog

Jimbog

Well-known member
Club Member
I am not a diesel expert, but when I was told that our truck had bad injector cups, I went to Donnelly's and that is what they showed me ,with all the injectors removed 2 of the cups had coolent in them. From what I remember I thought they had to remove the head to change the cup, but looking at the diagram you had looks like it just comes out the top, maybe they need to be pressed out and in that is why they removed the head? I am not sure about the O-rings and what function each one does, but I am sure it doesn't help that there is one missing!!! LOL Hard to beleive that someone forgot them.
 
D

Dirk

Guest
did the 2 with coolant look like this?


All signs are pointing to bad/cracked cups. at about $25 each....be worth doing.
Looking at removal procedure now, I think I read something about a tool to pull them.
 
Farm Boy

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
Dirk, Check with a big rig shop. Most regular garages don't have the first clue about diesels and neither do many of the dealerships, regardless of the fact that they sell them. I remember with Dad's old POS '86 F250 with a 6.9 that we had alot better luck with International dealers (even the farm equipment ones) than we ever had with Ford. You need to go to the diesel pros, asking a regular shop/dealership is like trying to get a ricer to answer questions about a rock buggy.

I suspect that a call/trip to an International (or whoever is local) shop would solve alot of your questions.
(Not that it matters now but they might have solved your problems too, Jim :) )

:beer:
 
Farm Boy

Farm Boy

Bought the Farm
I always wonder when a rod is bent as to why it is bent and what/if other damage is present ??

What is that inside the valve cover? Looks like spray foam to me.
 
D

Dirk

Guest
Agreed, most garages have no clue about diesels. Thats why this engine is in the shape its in IMHO.

I actually called the IH dealer in Arnprior this morning and spoke to the service guy. They were super helpful and confirmed my diagnosis and repair.
pricing for parts vary between IH and Ford, IH being the cheaper one mostly. But in the end Ford is only a bit more and will have the parts for me tomorrow morning.
Also was able to borrow the sleeve remove/install tool set from the local Bus Company. So my weekend plans are set ......

The stuff inside the valve cover is Oil/Coolant foam stuff... Makes a real mess everywhere is touches.
 
D

DasZuk

Guest
It looks like you figured it out pretty good...

I can only agree with the comments so far...

Generally, "dealerships" don't have a clue about diesels.
The truck shop I started my apprenticeship in ages ago was a cummins dealer,
and did most of the diesel work for the local Dodge dealership.

Most of the diesel stuff I work with now is heavy equipment, and all of the
newer stuff has injectors passing through coolant passages in the heads, and
leaking o-rings on injectors are one of the places we check when coolant and oil start mixing.

One good resource for ford diesel info on the web is :
http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f6/

I got some good tips there when I was working on the '87 F250 lawn ornament in my driveway :banghead:
 
D

Dirk

Guest
Yeah diesel stop and ford-trucks.com and powerstrokenation.com have tons of info.

bend rod was most likely cause by the previous shop not getting all the oil out of the cylinder and hydro locked it when they first rolled it. or they didnt install it rigt after the headgasket job, been told it happens.
 
chunkytrunks

chunkytrunks

That's MR.EX Pres to you!
Club Member
Dirk, do you have to pull the heads to remove those sleeves? It may be a good idea and piece of mind to pull the heads. Since the previous shops did such a great job with everything else ;)
But then again it depends on how much the head gaskets are.

I don't know about all GM dealers but Turpin has there own Diesel specialist.
 
D

Dirk

Guest
I hear ya, but I'd rather not pull them. Already further into thie motor $ wise than I had planned to and parts are not cheap... not even reasonably priced.

I am planning on picking up another motor when I find one for a good deal and work it over. :)
 
D

Dirk

Guest
After another 13 hours ....

Injectors out, sleeves pulled and cleaned for new sleeves:

new o-rings

Injector cups changed.


Could not use the slide hammer on the pull tool for cylinders 8, 3, 5 & 7. Made this T-handle and pried them out with a bar.

Replaced pushrod... only straight ones in use now. :)

Engine all buttoned up....but ofcourse it wont start.

I am used to mechanical diesel and bleeding them. But I am a noob at these HEUI injection systems. Apearantly I have to bleed the high pressure oil system by pulling some vent plugs (pretty sure I know where they are) and filling and refilling several times the High Pressure Oil Pump (HPOP) reservoir, whose location escapes me sofar.

Off to do more research....:confused:
 
S

Steve B

Guest
Bet he paid extra for the pink ones,lol:lmao:,,,,I think it's focusing on your rum glass in one of the picks,,,it's nice and clear though.
 
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