dieselcruiserhead
16 Years on ExPo. Whoa!!
This to me is fascinating as I've been getting to the bottom of an oil leak in the HPOP of a 7.3 Powerstroke Superduty I bought yesterday. I thought I would relay all that I learned for the purpose of ExPo and the idea of international travel and general reliability with particularly higher mileage (150K+) International Powerstroke 7.3, not running into issues, and what spare parts to carry.
Basically, low pressure fuel is supplied to all injectors which are controlled for ignition by the computer. Like all diesels huge amounts of fuel pressure are required at the injectors for combustion. In the post-mechanical pump electronically controlled era, this is often this is done through a high pressure common rail with 2500-3000 psi of fuel and again the injectors are actuated by an electronic system. In the case of the Powerstroke it uses an auxilary (basically a second) oil pump high pressure system called the HPOP ("high pressure oil pump") that pushes even thousands of lbs of high pressure oil in a braided stainless steel line that reaches the injectors. The oil is never introduced into the fuel itself of course, it's kept entirely separate but used to punch in the fuel at the injector, like a hammer, when the injector is opened by the computer. The oil pressure revs up and down according to load and RPMs, and the pump itself is gear driven.
It's my understanding that this system came with the 7.3 Powerstrokes as soon as 1994. The Super Duties were introduced in 1999 and in 1999.5 they made a mid-year change (which I believe started in manufacturing month 1/99 --??) and went to a higher outpup HPOP and a larger turbo among other small features with the new heavier Superduties including the Excursion. The 1999.5 changes went through early 2003 when they switched to the 6.0 so basically 1999.5 to 2002 at least are pretty much mechanically identical. Generally a 1999.5 system or later is considered superior system if you are considering a 1999 model year though the differences are minimal but early 1999 parts are rarer. Also, a 1999.5 HPOP itself bolts up just fine so its preferred to use a later one if replacing the HPOP itself. A good indicator on 1999 model years is the location of the Powerstroke badge. If its on the fender then its an early model though some early models also have the door badge as well supposedly. I'll find the link for more info about this as well. I know made 1/99 or later is considered a '99.5' in my case mine is a 4/99 so its definitely a 99.5.
I came across some great links about all this and the documentation on Powerstrokes is simply astounding from the online communities, among the best I've seen. I wish I still had them open and again there's so much information it's hard to find. I'll try to find them again and will post them.
The system is full diagnosable via common electronic diagnostics equipment. So in theory you can hook up a computer and see what's going on before you were to leave for a trip. Like most diesels it can also have some major issues like low HPOP pressure or other factors and you wouldn't totally know it because the truck still runs well that can be revealed by the diagnostics. Also diagnosing without it is difficult for example 3rd world countries and/or if their own powerstrokes are different in their fuel delivery systems (which is often the case in general with vehicles related to different emissions laws).
In general I think for any expedition or long term trip I would definitely recommend beforehand: 1) Checking of the HPOP via diagnostics and specifically replacing the o-rings and the high pressure fuel line disconnects. There is also a supposedly "unserviceable" (which is incorrect) plug at the bottom with the o-ring. ((I currently believe this could be my leak source)). You can service these in probably 40 min to an hour other than the plug at the bottom where you need to remove the entire HPOP to get access. I would also preventative replace the IPR (injection pressure regulator) and the ICP sensor (injection control pressure sensor) which are both common wear parts.
And then 2) test injectors and/or preventative replacement depending on mileage/wear... Most full diesel injection places can test injectors for about $40 each for spray pattern and full electronic functionality. Injectors last a couple hundred thousand miles easily usually so it depends on the mileage and use of the vehicle... 3) You might as well test compression while you're there as well.
While you're there, 3) glow plugs and then 4) glow plug relays at the top of the engine (only $20 each at Napa) which are more-often the culprit than the glow plugs despite the costmetic appearance that they are working well. This is discussed heavily in "my truck won't start" sections of thedieselstop.com and powerstroke.org. This is particularly more important if exploring to colder areas.
EDIT: 5) Have a specialist cosmetically inspect the turbo for play and wear. Possibly make a determination on the age/wear of your turbo and you may want to preventatively maintain it (mostly the seals). If I were to pull the turbo myself from Gillett Diesel in SLC (a famous diesel center) a full rebuild of the turbo assuming all the old parts are usable would be only $300. Or probably about $1200-$1500 to have a shop do it...
EDIT: and finally, 6) the Crank Position Sensor. This is important as it is a common break part and Ford even did a recall on most 7.3 Super Duties as well. I was planning to have my open recall completed and see if they would give me the old one as a spare or just buy a spare as they are only supposedly $25-$30 or so.
On the mechanic scale of all of this stuff I'd call it about 4-5 banana possibly for understanding and common sense though none of it is particularly difficult to understand and if you've ever changed an injector or a high pressure fuel line (like I was in college out of necessity on a '83 Volvo wagon) then you could do these jobs easily. The area is tight and all this is a messy job in general because of the oil and fuel all over the place. Factor in about $200 for each injector replacement and about $30-50 in gaskets. I'm not sure what the injector o-rings run though I plan to replace all these at the same time as well and can report later on cost. There are 6 or so o-rings per injector supposedly.
Servicing and/or replacement for all of this at diesel labor and cost rates is $15000-$3000 so quite expensive I'd figure. The truck I bought had a cheaper servicing with used parts (that are currently causing my own problems) at about $1000. I'll be doing all of this for a cost of $200 tomorrow in parts only (1 leaking injector, a $28 viton o-ring gasket kit). It helps considerably to be able to do this work yourself.
Basically the powerstrokes are good and reliable particularly the 7.3. But all of these little parts are a PITA and they are common problems on all of them in a matter of time if your Powerstroke starts to reach 200K miles or longer. I'm unsure if its the same system in 6.0 and later Powerstrokes, this is for you to find out.
The biggest thing is preventative replacing the o-rings in the HPOP. Because the oil is so high pressure, when it fails it really fails and oil goes everywhere and your vehicle is rendered useless. This happened to me last evening related to the used HPOP they installed. The seals are rubber originally but the replacement o rings are viton and last indefinitely. So it's not a matter "if" but "when" on Powerstokes, much like their transmissions through 2002 as well. Also as mentioned Ford/International claims the bottom plug is "unserviceable" so they are tossing perfectly good $800 HPOPs because they aren't aware how to replace them by using a part from another close cousin International fuel system. I'll post part numbers below. The HPOP itself is also considered tremendously reliable (gear driven oil pump). But if you have to replace one used is often fine enough but a few companies sell something called an "adrenaline" that puts out even higher pressures and is basically a fully reman HPOP that is cheaper and probably just as reliable.
And finally I would suggest particularly in any international areas at least bring an injector or two or probably all 8, a spare IPR and ICP sensor, and the gasket kit in addition to the slightly rare International part for the non-servicable plug on the bottom of the HPOP. And then the usuals like preventative fuel and air filter and a couple spares of each as well.
Cheers,
Andre
Basically, low pressure fuel is supplied to all injectors which are controlled for ignition by the computer. Like all diesels huge amounts of fuel pressure are required at the injectors for combustion. In the post-mechanical pump electronically controlled era, this is often this is done through a high pressure common rail with 2500-3000 psi of fuel and again the injectors are actuated by an electronic system. In the case of the Powerstroke it uses an auxilary (basically a second) oil pump high pressure system called the HPOP ("high pressure oil pump") that pushes even thousands of lbs of high pressure oil in a braided stainless steel line that reaches the injectors. The oil is never introduced into the fuel itself of course, it's kept entirely separate but used to punch in the fuel at the injector, like a hammer, when the injector is opened by the computer. The oil pressure revs up and down according to load and RPMs, and the pump itself is gear driven.
It's my understanding that this system came with the 7.3 Powerstrokes as soon as 1994. The Super Duties were introduced in 1999 and in 1999.5 they made a mid-year change (which I believe started in manufacturing month 1/99 --??) and went to a higher outpup HPOP and a larger turbo among other small features with the new heavier Superduties including the Excursion. The 1999.5 changes went through early 2003 when they switched to the 6.0 so basically 1999.5 to 2002 at least are pretty much mechanically identical. Generally a 1999.5 system or later is considered superior system if you are considering a 1999 model year though the differences are minimal but early 1999 parts are rarer. Also, a 1999.5 HPOP itself bolts up just fine so its preferred to use a later one if replacing the HPOP itself. A good indicator on 1999 model years is the location of the Powerstroke badge. If its on the fender then its an early model though some early models also have the door badge as well supposedly. I'll find the link for more info about this as well. I know made 1/99 or later is considered a '99.5' in my case mine is a 4/99 so its definitely a 99.5.
I came across some great links about all this and the documentation on Powerstrokes is simply astounding from the online communities, among the best I've seen. I wish I still had them open and again there's so much information it's hard to find. I'll try to find them again and will post them.
The system is full diagnosable via common electronic diagnostics equipment. So in theory you can hook up a computer and see what's going on before you were to leave for a trip. Like most diesels it can also have some major issues like low HPOP pressure or other factors and you wouldn't totally know it because the truck still runs well that can be revealed by the diagnostics. Also diagnosing without it is difficult for example 3rd world countries and/or if their own powerstrokes are different in their fuel delivery systems (which is often the case in general with vehicles related to different emissions laws).
In general I think for any expedition or long term trip I would definitely recommend beforehand: 1) Checking of the HPOP via diagnostics and specifically replacing the o-rings and the high pressure fuel line disconnects. There is also a supposedly "unserviceable" (which is incorrect) plug at the bottom with the o-ring. ((I currently believe this could be my leak source)). You can service these in probably 40 min to an hour other than the plug at the bottom where you need to remove the entire HPOP to get access. I would also preventative replace the IPR (injection pressure regulator) and the ICP sensor (injection control pressure sensor) which are both common wear parts.
And then 2) test injectors and/or preventative replacement depending on mileage/wear... Most full diesel injection places can test injectors for about $40 each for spray pattern and full electronic functionality. Injectors last a couple hundred thousand miles easily usually so it depends on the mileage and use of the vehicle... 3) You might as well test compression while you're there as well.
While you're there, 3) glow plugs and then 4) glow plug relays at the top of the engine (only $20 each at Napa) which are more-often the culprit than the glow plugs despite the costmetic appearance that they are working well. This is discussed heavily in "my truck won't start" sections of thedieselstop.com and powerstroke.org. This is particularly more important if exploring to colder areas.
EDIT: 5) Have a specialist cosmetically inspect the turbo for play and wear. Possibly make a determination on the age/wear of your turbo and you may want to preventatively maintain it (mostly the seals). If I were to pull the turbo myself from Gillett Diesel in SLC (a famous diesel center) a full rebuild of the turbo assuming all the old parts are usable would be only $300. Or probably about $1200-$1500 to have a shop do it...
EDIT: and finally, 6) the Crank Position Sensor. This is important as it is a common break part and Ford even did a recall on most 7.3 Super Duties as well. I was planning to have my open recall completed and see if they would give me the old one as a spare or just buy a spare as they are only supposedly $25-$30 or so.
On the mechanic scale of all of this stuff I'd call it about 4-5 banana possibly for understanding and common sense though none of it is particularly difficult to understand and if you've ever changed an injector or a high pressure fuel line (like I was in college out of necessity on a '83 Volvo wagon) then you could do these jobs easily. The area is tight and all this is a messy job in general because of the oil and fuel all over the place. Factor in about $200 for each injector replacement and about $30-50 in gaskets. I'm not sure what the injector o-rings run though I plan to replace all these at the same time as well and can report later on cost. There are 6 or so o-rings per injector supposedly.
Servicing and/or replacement for all of this at diesel labor and cost rates is $15000-$3000 so quite expensive I'd figure. The truck I bought had a cheaper servicing with used parts (that are currently causing my own problems) at about $1000. I'll be doing all of this for a cost of $200 tomorrow in parts only (1 leaking injector, a $28 viton o-ring gasket kit). It helps considerably to be able to do this work yourself.
Basically the powerstrokes are good and reliable particularly the 7.3. But all of these little parts are a PITA and they are common problems on all of them in a matter of time if your Powerstroke starts to reach 200K miles or longer. I'm unsure if its the same system in 6.0 and later Powerstrokes, this is for you to find out.
The biggest thing is preventative replacing the o-rings in the HPOP. Because the oil is so high pressure, when it fails it really fails and oil goes everywhere and your vehicle is rendered useless. This happened to me last evening related to the used HPOP they installed. The seals are rubber originally but the replacement o rings are viton and last indefinitely. So it's not a matter "if" but "when" on Powerstokes, much like their transmissions through 2002 as well. Also as mentioned Ford/International claims the bottom plug is "unserviceable" so they are tossing perfectly good $800 HPOPs because they aren't aware how to replace them by using a part from another close cousin International fuel system. I'll post part numbers below. The HPOP itself is also considered tremendously reliable (gear driven oil pump). But if you have to replace one used is often fine enough but a few companies sell something called an "adrenaline" that puts out even higher pressures and is basically a fully reman HPOP that is cheaper and probably just as reliable.
And finally I would suggest particularly in any international areas at least bring an injector or two or probably all 8, a spare IPR and ICP sensor, and the gasket kit in addition to the slightly rare International part for the non-servicable plug on the bottom of the HPOP. And then the usuals like preventative fuel and air filter and a couple spares of each as well.
Cheers,
Andre
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