couple of Q..new PS owner

[cjchamp]

Well guys I pulled the trigger on a 2000 f250 PS diesel with the 7.3. I found a good deal and decided that towing the trailer and Vintage the 22 year old CJ was too much for Halfie....the 1/2 ton Titan. The truck has 60K miles....other than some pretty worn tires nothing really major is wrong....it looks pretty much new..

However I do have some questions for you PS owners/Diesel drivers

1. Im guesing that the truck could use some new shocks based on how it handles bumps and road defects....what do you all suggest?

2.the locking system is acting odd...its like the actuators are barely working except the driver door. today i unlocked the truck at lunch and tried to get in the passenger rear door. it was still locked....so I double tapped it and no go...I lock it up and find the rear doors arent locking but when I use the push down tabs the work fine....not so sweet for keyless.....Im thinking the cold may be affecting this..:shrug:

it has a chip I followed the wire to the driver kick panel where I found what Im assumong is an ecu of some sort....how would I find out what type of chip it has? no markings ...nothing...

I have many more but im tackling a couple at a time.

[Cresso]

1. First off, these trucks are stiff, leaf-sprung vehicles. It'll never feel good over bumps and road defects unless it has 500+ lbs in the back. I recently splurged for some Bilsteins for my 2000 and I'm pleasantly surprised. I usually can't really tell the difference in ride quality when swapping to a different brand of shock, but these had an immediate and noticeable improvement. I've heard the Monroe gas shocks are basically the same shock for half the price. I didn't feel like testing that rumor myself.

2. Can't help ya there. Mine work fine in the cold, even with relatively low voltage from the batteries.

3. Did you locate the actual chip or do you just see the wire going to the kick panel? The chip will be connected to the diagnostic port of the ecu, if there is one. If the wire passes by the ecu and goes through the firewall, it might be an on-off switch for a 10k mod or maybe an EBPV brake. Both are super cheap DIY mods that will have a single wire coming into the cab to switch it on/off. If it is indeed a chip, I don't know of any way to figure out who programmed it without finding someone with the proper tools to read the programming. Might as well just pull it out and send it to Jody Tipton (www.dp-tuner.com) and not worry about what's on there. Jody will get ya the best 7.3 programming available.

If you haven't already done so, give your local dealership a call and see when you can take the truck in for the CPS recall. The factory CPS on these trucks is prone to failure and will leave you stranded. Most folks have gotten used to carrying a spare with tools in the glovebox (simple 10 minute roadside fix), but Ford just recently announced a recall for '97-'03 trucks to replace the CPS. Get it done soon so you never have to worry about it.

Congratulations on the purchase and good luck with the truck!

[Leon Phelps]

On the door actuators, it's a common problem. Need new actuators. Same PN for all F-series trucks. IIRC it was about 40 bucks a piece wholesale when I did the 1/2 ton earlier this year.

[Big Dave]

Josh,
My lock acuators are shot to shit too. They work "occasionally." It's an extremely common problem with these trucks (maybe even moreso than the CPS??). I plan on replacing mine sometime soon. I've found them online for less than $50 each.

As for the ride quality, welcome to a 3/4 ton truck! I think most of the time you've been in mine it's been with a trailer on the back so it rode a lot better. But empty, they'll ride like a brick. If you wanna compare how yours rides to mine, let me know.

[Jocko]

2.the locking system is acting odd...its like the actuators are barely working except the driver door. today i unlocked the truck at lunch and tried to get in the passenger rear door. it was still locked....so I double tapped it and no go...I lock it up and find the rear doors arent locking but when I use the push down tabs the work fine....not so sweet for keyless.....Im thinking the cold may be affecting this..:shrug:


As said before, this is a common problem. My driver's door started to act up about a year ago. I did a little diggin' on thedieselstop.com and found this (http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/447449-power-door-locks-fixed.html) information. I haven't done it yet, but will give it a go when I get some free time.

Good heads up on the CPS.

No info for you on the chip.

Congrats on the new to you truck

Jocko

[Clint]

1. First off, these trucks are stiff, leaf-sprung vehicles. It'll never feel good over bumps and road defects unless it has 500+ lbs in the back. I recently splurged for some Bilsteins for my 2000 and I'm pleasantly surprised. I usually can't really tell the difference in ride quality when swapping to a different brand of shock, but these had an immediate and noticeable improvement. I've heard the Monroe gas shocks are basically the same shock for half the price. I didn't feel like testing that rumor myself.

Congratulations on the purchase and good luck with the truck!

X2. When I got my 02, I leveled it out and put Bilsteins on it and it made a huge difference. As always, check tire pressure as well. I run different amounts of air in mine depending on what Im doing, and am at 52k on these tires...

[osue077]

Josh,
My lock acuators are shot to shit too. They work "occasionally." It's an extremely common problem with these trucks (maybe even moreso than the CPS??). I plan on replacing mine sometime soon. I've found them online for less than $50 each.

As for the ride quality, welcome to a 3/4 ton truck! I think most of the time you've been in mine it's been with a trailer on the back so it rode a lot better. But empty, they'll ride like a brick. If you wanna compare how yours rides to mine, let me know.

Look into the recall on the CPS. It covers the 97 thu 2003 7.3 psd. I just took mine to lakewood ford on 6th and Simms and they replaced it in 20 minutes.

http://www.ford.com/owner-services/customer-support/recall-information

Plus you can find a TON of info on your truck on
www.powerstoke.org
www.coloradopowerstokeclub.com
www.powerstokenation.com
www.ford-trucks.com

BTW: my door actuators are shot too and too lazy to fix em

[1BGDOG]

osueo77

a lot of your links are wrong. ;)

[Big Dave]

Maybe his "R" key is broken?? LOL

[osue077]

Dang, that is pretty funny. Surley they can be figured out. Sorry

[1BGDOG]

Dang, that is petty funny. Suley they can be figued out. Soy

how I read it. ;) :D

[Rando]

Rides rough??!!
are you kidding?:laughing:
i just bought a 00' F-250 7.3 this thing rides like a caddy compared to the 97 F-350 i had before.
congrates on the truck though, i sure like mine so far.

[cjchamp]

Im sorry I need to clear up what I meant by rough riding...the shocks are the original OME...Im pretty sure the shocks are shot. I understood the truck is gonna ride rougher than a half ton, but it actually rides "like a caddy" other than feeling the road a bit more on bumps and having the shocks not give the dampering Im used to when hitting bumps. I LOVE this truck....its sweet!
should be getting my gauges and intake this week. Diesel manor neglected to call me and tell me that they had to order my intake cause they were out of stock so after a week of waiting for my stuff I shot them an email. and he returned it right away explaining that it will ship this monday..:shrug:
But man oh man.....this truck is cool....IM having to get used to waking up a little earlier to have enough time to let it warm up...in my other vehicles it was get in and go....Oh....im also having to get used to waiting to turn the engine over right away too to let the plugs warm....LOL its been a huge change....but the remote start is going in wednesday, so that should help out a ton!

WHOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO
Josh

[dmeis]

I used this to fix my drivers side actuator. It was easy enough and cheap....

:beer:


As said before, this is a common problem. My driver's door started to act up about a year ago. I did a little diggin' on thedieselstop.com and found this (http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/447449-power-door-locks-fixed.html) information. I haven't done it yet, but will give it a go when I get some free time.

Good heads up on the CPS.

No info for you on the chip.

Congrats on the new to you truck

Jocko

[nord]

Congrats on the truck.

If you don't want to fool with the dealer on the CPS, go out to ebay, buy two for ~55 each plus shipping, replace the one in there, and keep the spare plus 10mm socket/wobbly/extender in your truck for the roadside.

If your truck has cold-start issues at 30 or 40 degrees (not plugged in), check and replace the Glow Plug Relay. Be aware, on 2000's, it is the one closer to the firewall in some/most cases. Other years it is the furthest from the firewall.

2000's F250's and Expeditions are subject to a TSB "No steering autoreturn to center" or some such. Basically, go around a corner, let the wheel slide through your hand to center - if it doesn't do that, your ball joints are shot. Not a steering box. Not tie-rod ends. Ball joints. Another indication of this is that you always have to steer it - it never follows the road and it wears you out just trying to go straight. Towing a large trailer magnifies this.

The fuel system, from the pump back to the tank, will over time start pulling air with the vacuum through the quick-connects. Loss of power and mpg is a symptom. Pull the tank, cut the lines, replace with double clamped diesel-fuel lines. Many fixes for this and most newer trucks have pumps in the tank, so they are always pushing, not pulling vacuum.

Finally, your ride issue - those e-rated factory firestone atx's (that you probably have on it with 60K miles and worn) are the noisiest worst riding things ever, especially when aired to 80psi. Get some new treads, keep your air down to 70psi if you can unless towing.

enjoy!
jon.

[CGuava]

Congrats on the truck.

If you don't want to fool with the dealer on the CPS, go out to ebay, buy two for ~55 each plus shipping, replace the one in there, and keep the spare plus 10mm socket/wobbly/extender in your truck for the roadside.



Great info in Jon's post. Only change I would make to his post would be to go to ford-parts.com and TDS to find the NEW CPS part number. It's like $18 shipped for the new ones. I'd suggest cash in on the recall, and buy the new one.

As for the chip, is it a turn dial "selectable" switch? What exactly did you find connected to your PCM?

Also, when letting your truck warm-up, be careful not to let it idle too long. This could cause wetstacking, when carbon builds up in the cylinder. I have a DP-tuner that has a high rpm setting (1200 rpms) which helps alleviate that problem.

[cjchamp]

Hmmm.....I gues im not understanding you on wet stacking...ill search for that info....I would have assumed the warmer the better, and to be warmer you need to let it sit and idle longer....last couple days it had it warming up for about 15 min or so...

You know what I do get though and it seems to come and go while warming the truck up in the morning, and since im so new to this diesel thing Im wondering if its ok or something I should worry about: When warming or idleing occasionally it sounds like the engine is "sucking in more air" kinda like a sound of a Blow off valve or if I had a conical intake and was tapping the gas every 3-5 seconds. Im not 100% sure where its coming from since I havent hopped under the truck in the snow....and it tends to taper off when the truck has been warming longer then it goes away....

Lastly, the know has a wire that comes from under the dash to the driver kick panel where the pcm is and then looks to have a chip attached to that, and mounted to some thing else Ill try to take a pic tonight....

Im a bit worried about the chip cause there are somany settings and Im not sure whats stock...:shrug:

Josh

[CSP]

I'd be more concerned about cylinder wash than wet stacking. Diesels require fuel to make heat. At idle there is very little fuel being burned, meaning very little heat output. At low temperatures the fuel is not fully combusted and it can stick to the cylinder walls. If enough collects on the cylinder walls it can slowly leak past the rings and into the crankcase, thinning out your oil. That's really bad. Your chip may have a high idle setting, which it should be set to for warm up.

That wooshing sound you are hearing is the exhaust back pressure valve. It's a door on the outlet of the turbo which closes at low temperature and low pressure. It's there to prevent you from spooling up the turbo too fast at low temperatures, when damage can be done due to poor lubrication. The woosh you hear is when it is closed and is perfectly normal. Some people gut the valve to eliminate it and others just disconnect the actuator's electrical wire. It can also be kept and modified to become an exhaust brake.

Sounds like you need to do some research on one of the many PSD websites. Another one not mentioned above is www.thedieselstop.com

[Cresso]

It's there to prevent you from spooling up the turbo too fast at low temperatures, when damage can be done due to poor lubrication. The woosh you hear is when it is closed and is perfectly normal.

I've never heard that reason. I was under the impression it was designed to simulate increased load in order to warm up the engine faster. Either way, it sure does make it run like a tired dog for the first 15 minutes.

Unless the chip is negating the stock functionality, the 7.3s will increase rpms when the temps are low and the engine is cold on their own. Mine will kick up to ~1200 if I let it idle for more than about 2 minutes after starting it on a cold morning. I do have a high idle program, but every time I'm about to move it over to that program, the engine ramps itself up on its own.

The best part is when the rpms kick up, the EBPV is on and you have installed a nice free flowing exhaust. Whew, what a racket! Sounds like one of those high pressure snow makers at the ski resorts.

[CSP]

I've never heard that reason. I was under the impression it was designed to simulate increased load in order to warm up the engine faster.

That's the explanation that was given by one of the Ford designers responsible for putting the PSD in the F-series back in '95 or 96. He did a Q&A for new PSD owners back when thedieselstop was still ford-diesel.com.

[cjchamp]

I definitely spend a good amount of time on every website, but like most forums I wish there was a good sticky on everything important about owning versus just surfing every Ford PSD site available. I have found a good link site at colorado power stroke club though, they have a link forum that has evrything related.....just need to ask more q's and learn...

Glad to hear about theexhaust back pressure valve though...its an odd noise...

[CGuava]

That noise sure worries you the first time you hear it, combined with the lack of any power. But yeah, as everyone has said, EBPV.

Also on that chip, I'd say just try every position floored. If you've got gauges it should give you an idea of what setting you're in. If you feel like the tranny is shifting hard, maybe a tow setting? And if it smokes like a chimney, it could be a race setting of sorts.

Take a pic and throw it up on TDS, bet you'll have your answer the same day, it'll give you an idea of what chip you've got in there.

[cjchamp]

well using an educated guess, I was playing with the chip while warming it up ,and all the way to the left wasno change.....second click....High idle...1100-1200 rpms....then one more click engine went down to normal idle...next click surged the engine like it dumped gas, and the last one did the same....so Im guessing all the way to the left is stock setting/economy and high idle next followed by a bump another bump above that and finally another bump.....What ever the power is I have no idea...

what is TDS? Turbo Diesel.......Site?
josh

[CGuava]

thedieselstop.com as mentioned earlier, sorry.

[cjchamp]

no sweat....thanks for all your help thus far!:thumbsup:

[74BuckinBronc]

Congrats on the truck. Seems you've been streered the right direction on your issues. Another noise you'll have to listen for is turbo surge. Something more to research. Enjoy the truck!

J.D.

[cjchamp]

Thanks Bronc....Turbo surge huh....Ok mission for tomorrow....:D

[Big Dave]

Thanks Bronc....Turbo surge huh....Ok mission for tomorrow....:D


I'll give you a good head start on learning about turbo surge, by helping me fix mine once I get the parts.

[CGuava]

Dave, you get an ATS housing yet? Been trying to pull the trigger and catch some used ones, but I think I may just have to go brand new.

[Big Dave]

Haven't gotten one yet. Still deciding between the WW and the ATS. I only get the surge when I'm towing, and it'll be late spring before I tow the Jeep again so I'm not too worried about it for now.

EDIT: Wonder if a group buy would be worth looking into?

[74BuckinBronc]

the WW isn't a good guarantee to fix surge. The housing is.

I thought I had surge on my '02. Turns out it's the serp belt slipping. Another known problem, but Ford still thinks it should be fixed on my dime...

J.D.

[Clint]

the WW isn't a good guarantee to fix surge. The housing is.

I thought I had surge on my '02. Turns out it's the serp belt slipping. Another known problem, but Ford still thinks it should be fixed on my dime...

J.D.

How did you figure out it was the belt?

[Big Dave]

the WW isn't a good guarantee to fix surge. The housing is.



Right, and it's a gamble as to if the WW will work or not. And with the WW <$100 and the housing >$400 I may end up taking that gamble, depends on the $flow when I get around to fixing it.

[74BuckinBronc]

How did you figure out it was the belt?


I started noticing the sound happened only when the A/C pump would cycle on putting more load on the belt. It seems the fan kicks on at the same time. It got worse and worse and would do it on flat ground, even downhill, so I knew it wasn't the turbo. But I had never heard turbo surge before (and still haven't), but I understand it's much more violent than I was hearing. So I replaced the belt and that has helped, but I still need to replace the tensioner and water pump pulley as per the TSB. The sound mine would produce was a long high pitched shhhhhhhhh sound that you could barely hear over the motor or road noise.

Dave - I have a WW in my truck, so I too took the gamble chasing a problem that wasn't there (see previous paragraph), and in the end it was a waste of money for me, but it was an education as to the inner workings of a turbo. So I see it as a $75 turbo 101 class. Plus I can say "My truck has a Wicked Wheel". FWIW.

J.D.

[Cresso]

Turbo surge sounds almost exactly like a loud pressure cooker, if you've ever been around one of those. Sorta like a very quick staccato hissing sound. Quite unmistakable once you hear it.

On mine, it only occurred at certain rpms with high load. Unfortunately, the rpm range where it occurred was right around my cruising speed on the highway. Any mild hill would induce surge. I fixed it by upgrading the entire turbo. FWIW, I don't recall having surge issues until after I added a chip.

[CGuava]

You can also find surge if you look at your boost gauge (if you've got one) and you'll see that it's fluctuating about 2-3 psi, kind of oscillating through. Mine does it at heavy loads between 10-13 psi at speed.