hokay, so now I have engine problems

[DowneyB]

As said, I have an interesting case. The truck runs now. I was having this problem before, and it was suggested that I advance the timing, which I did. The marks are about and eighth of an inch apart, which I am told is near correct. Anyway, the symptoms:

It ran really well for about an hour or so of my two hour trip. Then it lost power in the course of about 5 minutes. Then I had no power and could not maintain 60 mph on gentle hills. But it kept running all the way here.

After I got here and unloaded stuff and all, I parked it, and then we had Finals Week, so I did nothing with it all week. The only odd thing that I noticed was that for some reason it was not leaking fuel any more, even though I had not patched the tank. (On recollection, it may be the return line, not the tank that was leaking.) Until about two days later, then it left a nice patch of diesel in the lot.

I finally drove it today, and it started pretty good, and had plenty of power. For about 15-20 minutes anyway, then it had a hard time getting out of its own way. It idles a little rough as well.

Any ideas? I can only imagine that it is a fuel problem, but I am not even sure where to start.


Sorry for the long post, but I thought I would try my best to describe the problem.


Brock

 

[Camarogenius]

These engines are about as reliable as a sledge hammer. Start with the simple stuff. Empty the water separator, and swap out the fuel filter.
Apart from that, start thinking injector pump.

 

[Michael Fowler]

Next time it looses power, pull to a safe spot, and shut off the engine for a minute or two. If the power returns when you restart it, I would begin to save up for an injection pump.
Injection pump prices vary tremendously--IF you get stuck, and need one right away, you might spend $500 ( or even more) more than if you can order one from a sponsor or other vendor and install it on your schedule.

 

[BigRigTech]

Yep, sounds like the pump is getting weak when the fuel gets hot....Pour some cold water all over the pump when it does this and see if it starts running better.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

Next time it happens, go take the cap off of the tank and listen for a sucking sound. I have never heard of it on a ford before, but you are describing perfectly what happens when the tank vent gets clogged on a benz diesel. You get enough vac in the tank over time that the lift pump cant work against it. It would also explain why your leak only came back after a couple of days.

 

[h2odrx]

Yep, sounds like the pump is getting weak when the fuel gets hot....Pour some cold water all over the pump when it does this and see if it starts running better.

Will this only show a worn out pump? Cause it will(or can) toast a pump quick?

 

[BigRigTech]

I'm not saying give it a soak in the tub, just a little splash to see if it makes any difference in how it runs....Any difference noticed and you will know the pump is getting weak.

 

[DowneyB]

Well, I took it out for some testing today, and as far as I can tell, pouring room temp water on the IP didn't do anything. It took longer today than yesterday to run out of power.

One interesting note, when I was backing it up the hill to park it, it died, and when I restarted it, there was a little puff of black smoke. This is the only black smoke I have ever seen come out of my truck.

So now what? I will probably take it out again this afternoon, just to see what happens, but besides more water on the IP, what else can I look for/test?

 

[suv7734]

The little puff of smoke is normal.
There is a rubber hose that runs from the steel fuel line on the frame to the lift/transfer pump inlet. Check that hose to make sure it is not soft and/or has any kinks in it. The bend in it should be gradual. If it is soft or kinked it will restrict fuel flow which will not be noticable at idle or in low power situations but once you hit the highway or are pulling anything it will become a problem. Symptoms are similar to what you have described.

 

[Agnem]

The water trick should only be used as a last ditch effort! Be warned that doing this to a healthy pump can result in a snapped input shaft. Water has never been known to make a pump run "better". But only to get you started in a heat soak situation with a worn (needs replaced anyway) pump. His power problem is either fuel starvation, or a siezed advance piston.