Common 7.3 Wear Parts

Many 7.3 engines reach a point in their lives where a few parts start to where out.  This is very common with an engine with an expected life of a few hundred thousand miles.  One thing that will get on your nerves is going through engine oil.  So, here is the situation, you motor is very healthy and you are so how losing a few quarts of engine oil every few hundred miles. What do you do?

One very common problem are the O-rings on the injectors becoming warn out. This can actually cause the injector to leak in the high pressure oil system.  Now, taking out every injector to see if an O-ring is bad is very labor intensive.  A quick and easy way to see if you have a bad O-ring is to check your fuel bowl for oil.  Generally, diesel has a cloudy, green hue, and if your few bowl has a dark, black hue, then oil is getting into your fuel system, which means you have a leaking O-ring.  It would be in your best interest if you replaced all of the O-rings on all of the injectors because if one is cracked, that means they all are ready to go.

Another problem could be your turbo.  After a few hundred thousand miles, your turbo can get tired and the internal bearings and seals can wear out.  An easy way to check and see if your turbo is bad is to check the downpipe right off the turbo.  If there is excessive oil around that region, then your turbo has had enough and it burning oil in the exhaust system.  Both of these problems can cause major oil consumption but are relatively cheap to fix as compared to a new engine.

Finally, your engine could be using or burning oil because it is just worn out.  The piston rings could be cracked and not sealing properly, could have a worn valve stem seal etc.  When these problems occur, I personally think it is time to take the engine out and refresh it.  I do not believe there is any sense in replacing select parts, if one thing is going bad, then others will follow suit, it’s called, “Opening up a can of worms.”

7.3 Injector O-Rings

Bad turbo, notice the oil on the exhaust housing.

7.3 No Start Problems

So, how do you go about diagnosing a no start problem with your 7.3 Powerstroke.  Many of the starting issues can be related to the glow plug system not functioning correctly.  If you go out to your truck and it turns over and blows white smoke out the back it is most likely a glow plug issue.  If it is a glow plug issue, please refer to my previous posts to check your glow plug system operation.  If the truck turns over, does not start and has no white smoke you have a whole different problem.

No white smoke means you are not getting any fuel in the cylinders.  This usually means you have a high pressure oil problem or electronic ignition problem.  Could be an Injector Driver Module, Engine Control Module, ICP sensor, Injector Pressure Regulator and it also could be the entire High Pressure Oil Pump.  These trucks have an injection system that is called HEUI, which stands for Hydraulically Actuated, Electrically Controlled, unit injection.  So, the high pressure oil pump supplies the injectors with up to 3200 PSI of oil pressure which actuates the injector plunger, which then sprays fuel into the cylinders, but this is all electronically controlled by the Injector Driver Module.  When encountering this problem, the easiest way to find your problem is using a scan tool.  You have to use an Auto Engenuity or a Snap On type scanner to read all of the pressures and voltages.  This happened to me about a year ago, and I found that the truck was not creating enough high pressure oil on start up.  For these trucks to start properly you have to have a minimum of 500 psi of oil pressure or they just will not start.  So, I unplugged my ICP sensor, by doing so, the trucks hpop system resets to 1000 psi, and by doing this my truck started. I also borrowed a SnapOn Solus Pro scanner and confirmed that my truck only had 125 psi on startup.  With all of this conditions present, it led me straight to the injector pressure regulator. The regulator was faulty and was not allowing the hpop to build pressure.  I changed the regulator and it was fixed.

I know this was many steps to finding a simple problem, but is necessary in order to save yourself the headache of taking it to the repair shop.

Snap on MT2500.  The reason a handheld code scanner will not work it because they will not read pressures and voltages.  They only read check engine and a few others, which will do you no good when trying to find a problem related to the injection system.

IPR

 

 

How to Polish Aluminum

There are many ways to polish aluminum, but I have found an effective way of doing it.  There are many hand polishes out there that do a good job, but the best product for polishing aluminum is rouge.  It is actually a hard substance that is used with a soft wheel on an electric orbital polisher.  What I do is start by cleaning the aluminum thoroughly to make sure it is clear of imperfections.  Once I am finished I used a sander starting with 100 grit and going all the way to around 500 grit.  Once the wheel is totally smooth, I then go to the rouge.  Now, I use three separate types of rough: the red rouge first because it will cut the most, then the green to polish and finally the white for the finishing touches.  These three separate colors are like sandpaper grit, as you move along, the grit gets finer and finer.

Picture of the Rouge and Polisher

 

 

This is a very dirty job and should be performed with full body coverage and a mask.  While you are polishing you are actually taking bits of aluminum of the product you are polishing.  The aluminum has actually been known to cause Alzheimer’s so definitely not a chance you want to take.  Once I am finished with the product, I got over the wheel with the aluminum cleaner just one more time to make sure all of the particles and dust are off the wheel.  Now, I may have made this sound easy, but it is a tedious process and can take a while.  I recently polished four aluminum wheels and it took me about 2 hours.  These wheels were in good shape to begin with so I made good time.

Before and After Pictures of the Wheels

How to Wax Your Vehicle Properly

Winter is upon us, and the harsh weather takes its toll on your vehicles paint.  Many folks neglect the paint and when paint is neglected the clear coat begins to chip and fade away, which then exposes your vehicles paint.  There is an easy and some what quick way to protect your paint from the harsh weather.

 

i cant stress enough, wax, wax, wax.  Wax will protect your paint from the sun’s harmful rays and the winters harmful weather.  But there is a right way and a wrong way to wax the paint on your vehicle.  The process that I use is tedious, but it pays off in the end because it saves your paint.  Start off with a quality car shampoo.  I use Adams products for everything.  They are expensive, but high quality and made in the USA.  So, I begin with a thorough car wash with the Adam’s shampoo. After, I dry the vehicle completely to make sure I do not leave any water spots on the paint.  To make sure the vehicle is completely dry, I usually clean the inside of the vehicle.

 

Once the paint is dry, I then use the Adam’s Detail Spray and the Adam’s Clay Bar.  The clay bar is used directly on the paint to take up all of the debris embedded in the paint, that the car wash did not get.  The clay bar is very easy to use, you saturate a small area on the paint with the detail spray and rub the clay bar in the area where the spray was used.  By using this, you are sure the paint is clean, so you are not rubbing the wax into the debris missed on your paint.  Once the clay bar is finished, you simply apply Adam’s Buttery wax to the paint, let is dry completely and wipe away.  Finally, use the Adams Detail Spray one more time just to be sure the wax is completely off.  And that is how to properly wax your vehicle.

Truck Bedliners

Bed liners are a key feature in keeping your truck bed looking good and protecting it from whatever you decide to throw in it.  If the bed liner is sprayed correctly with the proper thickness and prep work, it will last the lifetime of the truck, but if sprayed and prepped poorly, you are going to wonder why your spray in bed liner is chipping after the first load.  I have experienced a few companies that claim they make a good product, but testing it proved to be a totally different story.  We had Diamond Coatings in town spray my dad’s bed liner and right off the bat I could tell they didn’t do it right because it looked thin and it was bubbling.  I thought well maybe it just needs some time to dry.  So, the next day we hauled some rock and right away the bed liner started to crack and chip.  We took it back and they told us there was  no warranty.  My boss has Rhino Linings installed on his truck and he has the same problems and that is chipping.  I decided to do some research before I got a spray in bed liner and I finally found the right company and that is Linex.  I had them spray the truck bed and the tailgate and when I went to pick the truck up, I noticed how thick they sprayed it.  They had sprayed it almost a quarter of an inch.  I have had it on the truck for more than five years now and it looks just as good as when Linex sprayed it.  Not to mention they have a lifetime warranty so if anything goes wrong, they will fix it at no expense.

7.3 Vendors

There are some really great aftermarket companies out there for 7.3 parts, but there are a few in particular that stand out in the 7.3 crowd.  The first company is Swamps Diesel Performance.  I have been using them for about five years now and they have never done me wrong.  I have purchased a turbo charger system, injectors and a modded IDM from them and the products have been top notch.  They are especially good with their injectors.  Their customer service is top notch as well. The next company is Riffraff Diesel, they are more known for cool little doodads, performance mods and factory parts.  Riffraff sells many factory Ford parts for very cheap, usually much cheaper than a person can get at the Ford dealer. The next company is Beans Diesel Performance, he is more of a dealer of certain products. He has a few select proprietary parts but he mostly sells products for vendors.  Beans is a great company to deal with, and it is actually where I purchased my Stealth high pressure oil pump.  The next company deals with suspension mods and he is very good with modifying Ford suspensions.  Cary with CT Performance has always had great customer service and offered great products.  Finally the last two have to deal with tuning.  Tony Wildman of Total Diesel Performance and DP-Tuner.  Tony Wildman specializes in OBS tuning and DP specializes in Superduty tuning. Both of the companies are top notch when it comes to product quality.  These are the companies I have been using for year for the 7.3, and they have never done me wrong and I will continue to use them until I can’t spend any more money on my truck.

7.3 Valley Oil Leak

So, today my dad called me up because he had an oil leak in his 2001 F350 with a 7.3.  I get over to his house and pop the hood and immediately begin looking in the valley for any signs of a leak. I see oil in the valley, but can’t seem to find the source.  I automatically look to the high pressure oil plug o rings because over time they can harden and crack and eventually leak.  So, I pulled all of the plugs off the head and replaced the o rings.  My dad ran the truck for a week and he still had the leak.  I didn’t notice any oil coming from the high pressure oil fittings, lines or gasket so I ruled that out.  As I was searching around the engine I noticed a lot of oil around the intake plenums.   The oil around the plenums is due to the crank case ventilation venting into the turbocharger and filling the boots, pipes and intercooler with oil over time.  I couldn’t believe it, but there was enough oil in there that it was leaking slowly down the back of the engine valley and onto the ground.

 

So what we did was take all of the boots and pipes off and steam clean them.  We then had to figure out a way to get rid of the crankcase ventilation system.  What we did was blog off the nipple going on the intake tube with a ¾ rubber plug, got rid of the stock rubber elbow and purchase about 5 feet of ¾ heater hose.  We took the heater hose, hooked it up to the ccv and routed the oil vapor onto the ground so it would no longer feed into the turbocharger.  The benefit of this is there will be no oily residue collecting on the engine.  If you live in a smog state, then it would be wise to keep the stock elbow because you have to hook up the ccv for smog, but it is a quick job.

Reliable 7.3 Performance Setup

I know I have done many mods to my truck, and I love to drive it, but the fact is, the truck definitely needs to be driven by someone who knows the truck.  The motor or transmission could easily be burned up with the flick of the switch.  Don’t get me wrong, the truck is fast and can pull anything safely, but really is not practical in a work truck/daily driver situation.  But hey, if you have the money to spend, try some different combos of performance parts and see which one fits your needs.

 

I think the best and most reliable option for a daily driver work truck is this combination.  I would first start off by removing the factory intake and installing a freer flowing intake like I explained in one of my earlier posts.  The second mod I would invest in is a larger exhaust system with a free flowing muffler.  By installing these two mods you will increase horse power and torque by a decent margin and allow the engine to breathe a bit.  The next two mods need to be performed in conjunction with each other.  The first mod is a set of gauges to monitor engine vitals like we discussed in earlier posts.  The final mod is a nice custom tune like we also discussed in earlier posts.  This setup is reliable, does not create too much heat because you tuning will be limited by the amount of fuel going into the cylinders.  And if injectors are not upgraded, then there will come a point where no more fuel will flow in.  This setup will yield more horsepower and torque, and will allow other people to drive the truck still because it will retain the oem drivability qualities.

 

Tell me what you think about this reliable setup?

94.5-97 Intercooler

94.5-97 Powerstrokes did not come equipped with an intercooler from the factory.  The only reason I believe this is the case is due to the fact that with the size of injector and the horsepower rating, there was no need for an intercooler because the engine was not creating enough heat to warrant installing an intercooler from the factory.  But when larger injectors and tuning are involved, an intercooler is critical for cooling down the intake charge, in order to have cooler exhaust gas temperatures.

 

There are a few vendors that build intercooler kits for the obs trucks and they are hypermax and banks power.  But this kits are very expensive, but are very complete.  I have personally installed the banks kit on my truck and noticed about a 100 degree drop in exhaust gas temperatures, and with the amount of modifications I have installed, the mod has definitely been worth my while.  Now, some folks do not wish to spend $1000.00 on a kit, and I do not blame them, but there is another option.  The Superduties came from the factory with an intercooler, so what some people do is use an intercooler from that year and design their own piping.  This has proven to be very effective and good value if you have some fabrication skills.

 

I had to fab up my own pipes for my new hypermax turbo because the intake and turbo location changed so I was no longer able to retain the banks piping.  I can tell you from experience that fabing your own pipes is not to bad.  I purchased individual bends at summit racing, made some cuts and some welds, and made it work.  It did take me a day or two to get it right, but I did not have a choice because there were not kits available for an intercooler with a hypermax turbo.

 

Intalling the intercooler is also a one to two day job.  You have to remove the front bumper, grill and lights, and also the whole front clip in order to get access to the front to install the intercooler. The use of a sawzall or die grinder is needed in order to cut some of the radiator mount.  The cuts in the radiator mount are performed due to the fact that the intercooler inlets and outlets will need to fit.  The intercooler goes in front of the A/C condensor and radiator, while you remove the transmission cooler and move it in front of the intercooler.  As far as mods go, this is definitely the mod that needs to be performed for a customer that wishes to have power plans for the future.

Exhaust Systems

One of the first mods anyone does to their 7.3 Powerstroke is install a freer flowing exhaust system. The stock system that came on these trucks is restrictive, but does allow adequate flow for someone with just a stock truck.  But when you start adding tuning, intakes, injectors etc, you are going to want to add a larger exhaust system with a high flow muffler to help expel those exhaust gases from the engine.  Now, everyone is always wondering which manufacturer they should go with, and what size exhaust, and should it be turbo back or cat back.  In diesel, I personally believe the only way to go is by installing a turbo back system because you are replacing the entire exhaust system from the turbo housing all the way out the back of the truck.  This is good because everything is designed to work together because all the bends, piping and muffler came from the same company.

 

Now the question is, what size exhaust should I install on my pickup.  Most trucks come from the factory with a 3.5 inch exhaust system, so upgrading to a 4 inch exhaust, with a free flowing muffler is a nice upgrade.  It flows more, but does not sacrifice the loss of back pressure because the pipe is not so large that the engine is gasping for air.  A 5 inch system does breathe well, but is almost too big for most applications.  The engine will lose low end torque with a 5 inch system because the engine will not be producing any backpressure thus resulting in the loss of low end torque.  5 inch systems in my opinion do have a bit deeper note and look cool.  I have one on my truck, but my truck does have quite a few performance upgrades.  A company I recommend is Diamond Eye, their exhaust systems are top notch, their customer service is great, they product fits like a glove, and their prices are cheap. So when considering an exhaust system, just think about your mods first and what the purpose of your truck is, but in the end, it is your truck, and you may do what you want with it.