"New" superduty woes

[ISPKI]

If you just add a check valve between the filter header and the lift pump your drainback issues will be cured, unless you are leaking air into the filter via the fuel heater or if the old-style filter then the bottom oring.

You can also get a replacement check valve for the one in the filter header that goes to the #1 injector return line but even a brand new one wasn't anything to write home about for me. A diesel rated check valve in the supply line is more effective in my experience.

If the fuel tank doesnt have a cap on it, would that cause the fuel supply line to the lift pump to drain back into the tank? I didnt think this was the case but just curious since my front tank doesnt have a cap and I havent picked one up yet.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

No. The fuel is liquid and will move around whether on not there's a cap on your filler neck.

 

[ISPKI]

No. The fuel is liquid and will move around whether on not there's a cap on your filler neck.

Yeah thats what I figured but wasnt sure if the tank holds a certain level of vacuum or something like that. I have a mazda that does that and the valve that is supposed to hold it is jammed which causes the line to drain out whenever I open the cap to fill up the tank.

 

[Fredrickson]

Wait. So you have a mazda?? and have a question about fuel venting??

Does it happen to be a Mazda6??

Mazda had that recall due to a fuel venting problem, and a fire risk tied to yellow sac spiders being attracted to the smell of fuel and spinning webs and making nests in the fuel vent lines..

That would be too weird.

 

[snicklas]

No, the tanks are vented to the atmosphere on the IDI trucks. I believe even the caps are vented too. IDI's have the opposite problem, if the tank is under vacuum, it won't run, or won't run well.

You re thinking about a newer gasoline vehicle EVAP system.... you know the kind that sets the check engine light if you leave the cap off or loose... those are to keep all the gasoline fumes and vapors contained.....

 

[ISPKI]

Wait. So you have a mazda?? and have a question about fuel venting??

Does it happen to be a Mazda6??

Mazda had that recall due to a fuel venting problem, and a fire risk tied to yellow sac spiders being attracted to the smell of fuel and spinning webs and making nests in the fuel vent lines..

That would be too weird.

No its a Mazdaspeed3. Similar but alot of differences in the important bits. I checked and they didnt have a recall for my car.

 

[ISPKI]

So I have driven the truck several times now, relatively short runs. Yesterday afternoon I had driven it to a lumber yard to pickup some plywood. When I left, the OD Light on the shifter stalk start flashing and it start shifting hard and did not shift into OD. It wasnt a long drive home fortunately but now I am worried the trans may be on it's way out. I do have a ford specific scan tool for it and will check the codes tomorrow.

Also - I believe I do have a fuel drain back issue. When the truck sits over night, it wont start the next day. GPs prime perfectly, a good 6-8 seconds it seems. The shrader valve on the fuel filter puffs air for several rotations of the crank before pushing some fuel. Once I purge it, it will start immediately.

Is that usually caused by a faulty or worn out lift pump or a leaking olive seal in the hardline between lift pump and filter head? I recall I had replaced those on my old truck but eventually swapped in a duralift E pump.

 

[Fredrickson]

Limp Mode.

Obvious question, but the fluid full?

Crawl under and check the wiring connector to the transmission.
Condition of the harness, the connector, frayed, worn wires etc.
See if the pins are corroded.

 

[ISPKI]

Limp Mode.

Obvious question, but the fluid full?

Crawl under and check the wiring connector to the transmission.
Condition of the harness, the connector, frayed, worn wires etc.
See if the pins are corroded.

Yeah fluid is full and clean. I had checked it before I started driving it a couple weeks ago.

I will slide under there and check the harness this week. It was a quarry truck and the undercarriage has a ton of dirt caked on everything. I wouldnt be surprised if something was damaged.

 

[Farmer Rock]

So I have driven the truck several times now, relatively short runs. Yesterday afternoon I had driven it to a lumber yard to pickup some plywood. When I left, the OD Light on the shifter stalk start flashing and it start shifting hard and did not shift into OD. It wasnt a long drive home fortunately but now I am worried the trans may be on it's way out. I do have a ford specific scan tool for it and will check the codes tomorrow.

Also - I believe I do have a fuel drain back issue. When the truck sits over night, it wont start the next day. GPs prime perfectly, a good 6-8 seconds it seems. The shrader valve on the fuel filter puffs air for several rotations of the crank before pushing some fuel. Once I purge it, it will start immediately.

Is that usually caused by a faulty or worn out lift pump or a leaking olive seal in the hardline between lift pump and filter head? I recall I had replaced those on my old truck but eventually swapped in a duralift E pump.

It sounds like the lift pump is fine.. It could be the olive seal, but I would first take a close look at the fuel lines before the lift pump including the metal lines. All the metal lines on my f250 have been slowly causing air intrusion the past year. All those lines had pinholes on top, so it wouldn't leak,but it was sucking a lot of air and causing drain back issues.


Rock

 

[ISPKI]

I'll take a close look at them. They had seemed to be in good shape but who knows.

Also, I pulled codes on my truck, transmission is showing code 23 and 26. From I understand 23 can happen if the throttle pedal isn't depressed while scanning but I'm still going to test the position sensor. 26 is oil temperature out of range.

Going to drain and refill with fresh fluid and try driving it around again.

 

[trackspeeder]

I'll take a close look at them. They had seemed to be in good shape but who knows.

Also, I pulled codes on my truck, transmission is showing code 23 and 26. From I understand 23 can happen if the throttle pedal isn't depressed while scanning but I'm still going to test the position sensor. 26 is oil temperature out of range.

Going to drain and refill with fresh fluid and try driving it around again.

Code 26 usually means the solenoid pack is shot.

 

[ISPKI]

Code 26 usually means the solenoid pack is shot.

Great, well heres to hoping thats not the issue.

I dropped the pan, drained it out, replaced the gasket, and refilled with Wolf synthetic. Managed to get about 10 quarts back into the transmission.

I noticed that the fluid was pretty cloudy, the magnet looked like a ball of fur. No shavings but a thick layer of metal sludge.

Also - When I put the pan back on with a new rubber gasket, one of the bolts seems to barely have any threads left in it. I torqued all the bolts down gently, about 10 ft/lbs. Going to check it today and see if it sealed or is leaking.

I did not drain the torque converter. I did notice that it is painted light blue and has markings on it. The transmission also had a service tag dated 2007 attached to it, suggesting that it was remanufactured or rebuilt.

How big a pain is draining and filling the torque converter? I couldnt fine a drain plug on it but I also cant get one bolt out of the inspection cover plate.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

How big a pain is draining and filling the torque converter?

It's real easy. Just pull the plug and let it drain. Then, after you put the plug back, since you already have fluid in the transmission, just start the engine and let it run. The pump in the transmission will fill the torque convertor in a hurry. With a new torque convertor, I always put a quart into the torque convertor. The rest just goes in the transmission.

 

[ISPKI]

It's real easy. Just pull the plug and let it drain. Then, after you put the plug back, since you already have fluid in the transmission, just start the engine and let it run. The pump in the transmission will fill the torque convertor in a hurry. With a new torque convertor, I always put a quart into the torque convertor. The rest just goes in the transmission.

Ah, I thought it would need to be filled before starting the truck up. Now I just need to try and spin the TC around until I find the drain plug...and deal with that bolt that is seized up at the top of the inspection plate.

I snugged up all the bolts on the pan and it has a slow leak from that one bolt that stripped out. I will need to helicoil it. Going to try and install a helicoil without removing the pan so I dont have to fill it with new fluid again but we will see. If I have to drop the whole pan again then I will likely helicoil all the bolt holes.