The New Used F250 Battles

[rockmeupto125]

So like furs video. Yeah I watched it and many like it. This is not what the truck is doing.

 

It stutters when it's cold or under a good load, almost never when it's warm, and it comes, leaves a 301 code, and leaves. Otherwise nothing.

[Furbird]

On 3/31/2023 at 1:11 AM, superhawk996 said:

A spring broken in 3 pieces isn't common.  A valve being hit by a piston and not being damaged is also not common.  Did they do a follow up after a few hundred miles to show whether the problem was truly resolved?

From the video poster "A year later and this truck is still hauling loads back and forth from Houston Texas to Oklahoma City multiple times a week."

[Furbird]

Joe, you have to pull the plugs anyway to change them, might as well do a compression test and leakdown test while you're staring at the open hole.  We're just trying to help you not do a job 15 times and cost 27 times as much.  Buy once, cry once.

[blackhawkxx]

4 hours ago, Furbird said:

Joe, you have to pull the plugs anyway to change them

Quote

Motorcraft plugs that were purchased from one of the local parts houses.  Marty changed them before I bought it, he said they looked original, as in corroded as all get out, and the lower plugs were worse than the uppers

 

The only thing that jumps out to me is, over and over again on the Ford forums, only use OEM Motorcraft coils, any others can mess with you.

[rockmeupto125]

Project on hold until I diagnose and fix the slightly intermittent no crank condition (which means it occasionally starts).  Pretty sure its a solenoid, rule out starter and ignition switch.  Unfortunately the solenoid and relay are on the starter, unlike Fords of yore which one could spin over with a screwdriver in 4 seconds once the hood was open.

 

<sigh>

[Furbird]

My Caprice... the solenoid is bad but you have to pull the starter to rebuild the solenoid, and the parts are on intergalactic backorder, so I replaced the entire starter assembly.  Had to pull the passenger catalytic converter to get the starter off.  Good thing I live in the South.  Still took 3.5 hours.

[superhawk996]

The F-250's ignition switch is probably just a signaling device to the ECM saying "Joe requests cranking, ya mind doing that for him"?  The ECM looks around at his 57 buddies (the other modules in the dreaded can bus) then decides if Joe gets his wish.  If it decides that Joe is worthy, then the electrons are sent along to be at the mercy of mechanical connections (relay/solenoid/motor brushes) to then try to make the spinny thing spin.

 

Something I'd never thought of before; I wonder how long the computer sends the crank signal if it doesn't see cranking?

Edited April 7, 2023 by superhawk996

[rockmeupto125]

About 5 seconds before the solenoid kicks out. 

 

I had some quiet time with the hood open and a modicum of cooperation so I could hear. Key on, turn to crank, solenoid clicks and clunks into place, no crank. Repeated this times 5, went and bought a starter.

 

Apparently the Ford has an OEM "can't get that bolt from here" bolt.  Took me a while, but I got it. The real kicker was it appeared the previous skilled technician broke one of the bolts off and drilled it out just a wee bit off center before jamming a bolt in from the back side, so at least I had something to hang the starter on.

 

After I went and got the core back is when I realized they hogged out the mounting hole so the last replacement starter could go in. I wasn't quite as subtle, but if you pay for a cutoff saw, it needs to earn its keep.

 

Starts and runs, back to baseline 

 

 

 

 

[XXitanium]

This scares me a little. Ford trucks used to be 2 bolts and one power connection. I didn't like the Chevys with shims and multiple wires.

[superhawk996]

18 hours ago, XXitanium said:

This scares me a little. Ford trucks used to be 2 bolts and one power connection. I didn't like the Chevys with shims and multiple wires.

Still two bolts and no shims, but there is a second wire to activate the solenoid which used to be a separate part.

 

Way back when I learned about shimming Chevies I also heard a few people say that they never measure or use them, but if they encounter an engine with a shim they re-install it.  I have never measured or added a shim, and don't recall ever seeing one that was shimmed.  It's been so long that I let the measuring procedure leave my limited memory bank.

 

I've heard a few Chevies that had horrible gear noise from their starters, I assume those needed shimming, but I've never worked on one that did it.  Seems odd that Chevy was the only manufacturer that couldn't machine engine blocks with consistent starter mounting points.

[superhawk996]

Starter replacement story.  Customer calls, says his starter is dead, asks me to replace it.  He won't be home but his wife will, she'll have the key and cash.  I get there and he'd forgotten to leave the key.  I call him and inform him that since I don't have the key and can't test it I give no guarantee on the job.  "Ok, no problem."  He calls that evening a little upset because the new starter doesn't work either.  After some back and forth I discover that the old starter and new starter were both working fine and something's keeping the engine from starting.  Since a starter has only one job in life, to start the engine, he'd determined that it was a bad starter.

 

Fast forward, he and his buddies discovered that the fuel pump wasn't working so he asked me to replace it.  I tell him that there's several things that could keep it from working.  Nope, "we know it's the pump."  Once again he forgets to leave the key, I replace the pump, and later get the 'still doesn't start' call.  I tell him to take his key off the keychain and put it in the truck, I'm not hanging up, go now.  The fuel pump fuse had some corrosion.  Cleaned the contacts and installed a new fuse, problem solved.  He never again told me what to replace.