Trouble with an 'ol PSD
 

I'm posting this question for my dad who has a '97 7.3L with an automatic tranny.The truck is completely stock and has never had to go to a shop except to get a code cleared. We did have some tranny trouble a few months ago but that was from a funny random code that caused the truck to enter the limp home mode (as mentioned earlier). No troubles after we had the code cleared until now. The trouble he is having now is the engine will just stop ever so often. I've ridden with him and it has happened one time when I was there. Heres what happened; we were driving and the engine just stopped turning. There was no jarring or jumping the moment before, the rpm just went to zero and the truck kept rolling. One curious thing I noticed was how smooth it stopped, it was smoother than if you were in a parking lot idling and turned the key off normally. Then after it shut down we pulled over and tried cranking it again. We turned the key and it started back up like nothing happened. This has happened with the engine cold(50 or so degrees), warm, pulling a trailer, completly unloaded, accelerating and cruising so there aren't any specific conditions that trigger it that I can see.

Here are the questions he wants me to ask:

1) How many fuel pumps does the truck have? He suspects that there may be more than 1 pump because the problem only happens with the back tank, NEVER the front. :hmmm:

2) What are some other things that could cause this to happen? We both suspect that it is something electrical because of how crisply the engine shut down.

Like I said the truck is completely stock and has been take care of VERY well. We dont have a code reader so I have no idea what codes, if any, are present. :shrug:

Any insight into this issue would be greatly appreciated.

CAM SENSOR.............. it can cause phantom tranny codes too.:D

Hmmm, ok thanks. I'll try doggin him to get a code reader so we can be sure.

And just to be clear, the tranny did throw a legit code. He was at a stop light that lined up to a turn lane he didn't want to be in. To get to the outside lane he gunned it a bit to get in front of the car next to him...no problem except the truck was pulling a trailer with horses and all their gear plus the bed was fully loaded. Something must have gone wrong with that first gear shift because then they then had to drive almost 60 miles in limp home mode. This was the first problem in the entire history of the truck.

GUARANTEED!

What was the fix for the tranny?

Yell at the tech until he gave in and cleared the code. No problems since.
But before you pity him the guy deserved getting chewed out. When he was "assessing" the problem he just went on a full throttle joy ride around town instead of checking for codes. We found plenty of cuts in the tire from him spinning them that were not there before (yes we did check EVERYTHING before taking it in). They were wanting to sell us one of their rebuilt trannies without even pulling a code. :censored1:

Hmmm........

Did he at least tell you what the code was for or give you a code number?

Heck no, by the time he hooked that computer up to clear it he just wanted us out of there(probably because he realized that since he couldn't blow up that tranny he wasn't going to make any money). But I dont think that the truck was still having trouble when he took it to the shop. I wasn't there and I never thought to ask that. I kinda wish my gryphon could pull the codes on the other trucks in situations like this. They also have an '04 expy that had a fuel system problem 6 months ago. :twitch:

That sucks!

Tell your Dad to stop by a dealer someday and get the recalls done on it. There is a recent recall on the Cam Sensor and one for the Cruise Control Deactivation switch. Should be an in and out thing, both are very easy to preform.

I will say that the sensors they are using for the recall are not as good as they can be, but will cure his stalling issue.

Good Luck

UPDATE:
Just talked to my mom who has also had it happen when she was hauling hay and when the engine shuts off so does ALL electrical (including the A/C and stuff) then the battery light starts blinking. I just didn't notice because it was during the day and we had the radio off. :confused:

The reason he doesn't want to take it to a shop is because of bad experiences. He drove a 6.0L PSD for the utility company and it lasted a while until something simple went out. Soon that truck was spending more time in the shop than on the street...including injectors needing to be replaced every 4-6 weeks. :hmmm:

We also have a family friend who took her truck in to get the cruise control recall fixed and they came up to her with over a dozen deep engine parts from HER truck in a 5 gallon bucket saying she needed to replace them. And the best part is that she didn't authorize any of that. :cursin:

Yeah we dont like the shops and dealerships around here. Tomorrow he will be getting a repair manual and a code scanner and do it himself. He just wanted me to ask to make sure and I knew that at least somebody on here would know whats going on. :)

As everyone knows, I'm no authority on diesels, but if you have "complete electrical failure", it's going to shut down the PCM which in turn will stop all fuel delivery to the engine.

I recall reading something somewhere, maybe in my owner's manual that there is a fuel pump shutoff that is supposed to activate in case of a collision to stop flow of fuel that might cause a fire. I wonder if if simply kills the ignition circuit (which would shut off the radio and A/C)? There's some procedure to reset it if it happens accidentally, but I don't recall what it is. I would imagine diesels have a similar safety feature and maybe this is causing your problems?

It might be worthwhile to investigate this possibility.

- Jack

Sorry but, that ole girl has a mechanical fuel pump, no inertia switch to be found.

Good thought though.:)

Hmmm, so what is a basic method of replacing that sensor? Also what is a good place to buy a replacement?

All you need to do is pull the 10mm bolt holding it in, and with a long screwdriver GENTLY pry it out. If is seems stuck try slowly twisting it to break it loose. Lube the o-ring on the new sensor with some grease or motor oil, them pop it in and you are all set.

You can find those sensors on e-bay for around $25. Get the sensor that is black or the one that is very dark purple. Gray and blue sensors are bad, but will work ok if all else fails.


Good Luck

P.S Did you get a code out of it?

Ok, I'll pass that info on to him. Thanks :thumbs up yellow:

No info on the code yet, not sure what is holding that up. :confused:

Colby, Colby, Colby.... u didn't even call me about this... i'm disappointed.

Come see me when your back in Drippin. i have 2 spare sensors in my glove box so bring me $15-20 bux and one is yours.

Dave, i have 2 of the IH sensors your talking about (the dark grey with purplish o-ring) that he can put in there. should fix that up pretty good.

Colby, i have a scan guage. if you want i may be able to hook it up b/c i have not mounted the guage pod for it in my truck yet.

Haha, you were at the top of the list but I didn't have your number. I was wondering when you'd find this, I'm disappointed it took you this long.
I'll probably be visiting this week some time and I'll let him know. Right now I can't figure out what he wants to do. So I take it that there is only one sensor?

yeah the CPS(cam position sensor) is on the front of the engine about the 10 o clock position by the balancer.

Ok, sounds easy enough. I'll see if he's gotten a sensor and scanner by now in a few days.