Ugh, I believe I have the dreaded...

[HammerDown]

... engine miss which I 'believe' is a failing lifter?
With only 234,000 on the all 1988 7.3 I have a timmed 'skip' in the idle.
At this time I can't hear the chuff-chuff sound at the Air Filter Intake or exhaust pipe but sitting at the drivers seat or outside the truck I can feel and notice it.
Guess I would need to crack each injector to find the cylinder that would be affected?
Could it 'possibly' be a faulty injector????

 

[IDIBRONCO]

That would probably a more common issue than a bad lifter.

 

[HammerDown]

And just like that, it's smooth as silk again.
This engine needs a strong tow, up a steep grade.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Most likely, a bad lifter wouldn't cause a miss and then smooth out again with no miss. Maybe you should try some Hot Shot's Diesel Extreme. That may clear up your problem. If not, it sure won't hurt anything. I love the stuff. I may not exactly follow the directions to the letter, but I am going to use it before my upcoming trip to Colorado in a couple of weeks.

 

[catbird7]

You might consider a quart of ATF in the fuel tank, see if that levels things out.

 

[NeverHave-I-Ether]

You might consider a quart of ATF in the fuel tank, see if that levels things out.

A qt to the amount of gallons in that tank isn't enough on my opinion.

When I had issues, I cut the fuel line and ran the truck off a gallon of ATF. It saved my ass and I was able to drive my truck to work the following day after sitting over night. I was a skeptic I admit, but now I'm a huge believer in it's miraculous abilities...

Never-Have-I-Ether

 

[catbird7]

ATF is an awesome cleaner and lubricant. Never realized how well it cleans until I had a trans cooler line blow under the hood of an old mustang. It sprayed hot ATF over everything. Fearing it would damage the paint I made a quick line repair and drove to the nearest car wash. After hosing down everything under the hood, it was impressive how clean it was.

 

[HammerDown]

Failed to mention, with every fill-up I use Howes Diesel Treatment (for what that's worth)