Power surges while driving and more smoke. IP? Injectors?

[FarmerFrank]

Howdy,
so ive noticed the past couple days my 86 seams like its getting lazy so i changed the secondary fuel filter and it helped a little but did not get better, so i changed my other fuel filter which is an oil filter to catch the big stuff (my secondary is a 2 Micron CAT filter) and then cleaned my air filters.

Sadly this did not help much. It acts like its not getting enough fuel, as if someone is opening a small parachute, but i am getting 8psi to the pump while driving.

Today while tring to maintain 70 mph i noticed it surging and while decending a hill it puts out grey-ish / white smoke. it never did this before and it is smoking way more than usual on light loads and smoking heavier while on an idle.

I switched it back to my front tank which is straight #2 and it still smokes, a little less, but did not clear up like usual when i go to diesel.

The pump was a used one i bought off a running truck and it has no problem starting hot so i dont think its worn out but 7 injectors are the orginals with 220k and 1 is from a junk yard. I have racked up close to 10k miles on WMO so if something is worn out i cant act suprised.

SO what is yinz guys thoughts on this before i change my fuel filter again?

 

[icanfixall]

Sounds like its starving fo fuel but.. With a pump of unknown miles and condition plus the age of the injectors tells me your in need of a fuel system upgrade. What might help is fill a fuel filter with ATF and run that till its in the injection pump and injectors. You will hear the engine change running sounds. Stop the engine and let that sit overnight. then run it hard the next day to wash out any crap that might be in the pump and injectors. But really.. Your injectors are well past the worn out point. They usually run around 125,000 miles and yours have been passed that point for probably 10 years now. Maybe more.

 

[FarmerFrank]

Most likely more than that, im thinking ill drop a set of injectors off out of my 7.3 to my injection guy and have him check/re-work them for me tommorow. i dont think the atf thing will work much for me as i run WMO consitantly. Its the only reason i drive it but ill admit i have fallen in love with the IDI's and the cheapness. usually when it seams sluggish i turn on my water-**** and let it steam clean it out but that hasnt been succesful either. When he gets that set done ill swap them and give him my old ones so i have a fresh set sitting on the shelf.
Unfortunatly Moose products are not in the budget for this round

 

[icanfixall]

I would not doubt the ability of the ATf to clean up the fuel systems. The ATF is a much higher detergent oil that motor oil is. So it will clean up a stuck or gummed up fuel system. Its not expensive or difficult to do either and seeing the cost of diesel has made you run WMO you really have nothing but a quart of clean ATF to loose. Now if you pour any fuel or oil into a clean filter please make sure it goes only in the outside circle of holes in the filter. If you pour in into the center hole then the filter wont be filtering the fuel or oil. Even the oil poured directly from a can or container will have particles in it that will ruin an injection pump. If this message is doubted then please remove the fuel filter because its not doing any good filtering the fuel..

 

[FarmerFrank]

No No, not arguing the ability of the ATF. i was looking at ATF in the stand point of lubericancy of the system and my fuel is well lubed. Now in the thoughts of a detergent/cleaner you may be correct, but for how long will help? how big of a band-aid? i will try it before i doubt it much more.
Thank you for the help.

 

[icanfixall]

ATF cleaning action lasts many thousands of miles because its finally clean. Running a quart of it every few months keeps the system clean too because it will not have lots of varnish crap to cut thru. It works. Its cheap and its simple to do. The most difficult part of doing it is to do it. Let it sit overnite and run the wheels off it the next day flushing the crap out. Way too easy a job but thats me. Looking for the easy answer for others.

 

[FarmerFrank]

Well i gave her a shot last night but forgot about the cold temps. instead of filling the filter i removed the line before my lift pump and let it suck about half a gallon then shut it off. After almost giving up she finnaly kicked this morning and i "cleaned the cob webs out". It ran a little better so i let it drink the other half gallon and beat on it on the way to work. its still not what it use to be so i called Mel and have a used set on their way. Thanks again for sharing the wisdom. And just for the record, all of my tractors get ATF in their fuel for lubricancy, my newest is a 1972 model and those old Rosa-master and American Bosch pumps are not as plentiful and cheap as out trucks.

 

[Agnem]

Frank, I still see tons of Roosamaster and Ambac pumps, and we do them all the time. No problem with support on those! Hope these injectors help, but the surging is probably a fuel supply issue and/or the advance piston in your IP being worn.

 

[FarmerFrank]

Oh they are still out there but direct bolt on ones are not the same market as a 7.3. My local injection guy said the heads are getting harder to find for them. The last one I had rebuilt cost more than my 86 haha.
And for the surging that seemed to have cleared up, doesn't act like its starving for fuel anymore but still lacks power