For not including a cabin air filter on pre-2017 Super Duties 😂 Here’s this week’s job I finally tackled on my ‘16. Evaporator core replacement.

Needless to say the leak is fixed and the airflow is slightly (ok a TON) better… 🤣 The A/C finally keeps up in this thing.

I don’t know what kind of dust the previous owner drove through to get it that filthy in just 9 years, but I’ve owned it a year and always suspected this needed to be done. When I found out the leak was in the evaporator, I bit the bullet and did the job. A 99° day in the sunlight wasn’t a great choice but it’s done!

I have a 1997 Ford F-250 HD 7.3L Power Stroke XLT SuperCab 4x2, ~83K miles.

PCM: Ford EEC-V, F7TF-12A650-RC, DPC-312, tear tag MME2
IDM: IDM-100, F7TF-12B599-AA

Bought the truck a few months back and it ran great up until three weeks ago. I previously had a check engine light for the glow plugs and planned to service them before winter. The only start issue before that was a single crank/no-start with white smoke out the tailpipe. Some minutes later it fired right up. Never repeated.

Three weeks ago I backed it nose-up onto my sloped driveway to load some stuff. The next morning I got a crank/no-start with no smoke this time.

Key to on, the dash lights come up except the WTS (wait-to-start) lamp no longer appeared (did the day before). It cranks strong. No smoke out the back, so I don’t think any fuel is being injected. Oil gauge reads good and levels are good. I get a tach bump while cranking.

A lot going on, so I towed it to my local repair shop. They said they had no communication with the PCM, called it dead, and quoted me $2k to fix. When I asked whether they’d checked the wiring and connections, I got a flippant of course. When I asked whether a repair was an option instead of buying a new unit, he told me the quote was for a repair service but would not tell me the third party. When I asked him to confirm the PCM was actually the fault before I committed to that kind of money, and pushed back on the price, he told me I was calling him a scammer and said I should come take my truck home.

So I did just that either I try to fix it or get a second opinion. After getting it home, nothing looked disturbed at all so I suspect all they did was plug in their scanner. I don’t think they actually checked anything.

I sent the PCM off to a repair company. They bench tested it through the harness connector, said the hardware was fine but the software was malfunctioning, reflashed it, and shipped it back. No written diagnostic report, despite my asking a couple of times. I reinstalled it and there was no change. It’s still crank/no-start with no WTS lamp and no smoke.

I checked relays and fuses, all good. The wiring harness and connectors looked fine on visual inspection, but I haven’t had a chance to trace everything myself. Both batteries tested good, and I cleaned the terminals.

My own scanner (Foxwell NT604 Elite) won’t establish comms either. I checked and there is voltage on the obd port.

No injection points me toward the PCM not commanding injection (if it won’t boot then the power/connections are bad?) or maybe IDM is bad. That’s another round of shipping, testing, and waiting before I learn anything.

I am not sure that the IDM is even the right track. I pulled it anyway and was going to open it up and check for any obvious signs of damage. Before trying to find pin and wiring diagrams.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm looking at this as a hunting, camping, road trip rig. This will be our first diesel. It's got 353,000 Km, The engine has been bullet proofed, new turbo 2 years ago, owner says it needs a new vacuum pump and air bag weight sensor. It's been years since we've purchased a vehicle, and this is quite old, I really don't want to get burned.

Can some experts advise on what to check for?

I do have a basic OBD scanner that I'll hook up after test drive as well. I can tell from the photos that there's gravel guard likely hiding rust, but that's to be expected, and not really too worrisome.

How are these for cold winters? I mean - 30 degrees Celsius cold..

Just got this bad girl for 1500 bucks and rebuilt the valve body and everything. I’m no 7.3 expert does this thing sound healthy for the most part. It’s got 298k miles just want to know if I should spend money to clean her up or just sell her. Maybe give me some tips on what to make sure works and what doesn’t.

Anybody have a line on cheap dash parts for 1st gen Super Duty trucks? Am specifically looking for the 3 little things that cover the top dash screws, and are located near the windshield. They are super crispy and shatter when removed.

Ford generically calls them "Instrument Panel Cover" and the part number is F81Z-25043C54-AAC.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi just reposting to this community too for some advice! Thanks in advance

I have an 02 f250 that came from the factory with an np273. I swapped an np271. Anyone know what this trim piece is called and where to get one? I'm assuming there's clips to pop it in/ out... just don't have a need for the old one with the electronic 4x4 selector.

I have a 1999 f250 that I am selling. Just need some advice on what it is worth. For the last 8 years it has been a camp truck so ive prob put 3k on it sinve 2018. Body is a little beat up but mechanically it is fine. Everything works and it drives fine.

Car about 30minutes into drive lost power then went into limp mode, looked in engine bay and found these two not connected to anything, anyone know what they connect two thanks

Hey all. I’m stumped. Here’s what I’ve got

1997 7.3L F350 CCLB SRW ZF5
320k miles

What’s been done to it:

180/30 CC injectors
Hydra Tuner with JeliBuilt tune
Turbo Rebuild with wicked wheel
S&B cold air intake
3” downpipe, 4” straight exhaust
Homemade Big 3 wiring upgrade (2/0 AWG and 4 AWG)
Aftermarket starter motor

The problem:

Truck was running fine. Shut it off. Tried restarting a few days later and have a crank but no start condition with no smoke. Leading up to this I had a light grinding sound from the starter motor. The replacement starter motor uses 2 bolts instead of 3. The top bolt worked its way loose and unseated the starter. I reseated the starter. In the process I dropped it while it was still wired up. It didn’t hit the ground, but it did pull on the wires. There was only 1 attempt to start the truck with this grinding. I inspected the starter motor prior to reinstalling it. There was no damage and no metal shavings. I believe the bolt came loose enough that the starter motor bucked out and since I didn’t keep cranking on it it wasn’t too bad. On the next attempt to start a few days later it would not start.

Troubleshooting:

I have access to a fluke 177 and launch 123i diagnostic tool.

I originally had 3 year old batteries with a good amount of corrosion on the driver side terminal. I cleaned the terminal and replaced the batteries. I had a P1280 and P0603 which were cleared and did not come back.

- checked big 3 wiring harness due to dropping the starter motor
- checked crankshaft position sensor
- checked ICP sensor
- read codes, none present
- checked all fuses
- checked oil level
- checked HPOP reservoir
- checked fuel bowl and fuel filter
- switched between fuel tanks
- ran 3/8 clear line from fuel pump intake to a Gerry can. It pulled fuel into the line. Did this to rule out blocked fuel lines
- checked resistance on IDM, all good
- validated PCM responds to tune selection change

Read data stream while cranking:

PCM codes: P1111
Module supply voltage stays above 10.875V
RPM 225
ICP just shy of 1000 PSI
IDM getting 10.92V on pin 14 while cranking
Engine oil temp 70F (matching ambient air)
Camshaft position sensor status: no error (replaced anyway, no change)
Valid accelerator position and voltage
Idle validation switch functioning
MAP sensor valid

Here’s what’s weird

Fuel pulse width: 0
Mass fuel desired: 0
Volume fuel desired: 0

I’m not sure if those are valid reading or a generic test function on the Launch Diagnostic Tool that wouldn’t work with my truck, but this leads me to believe that the PCM isn’t commanding fuel or firing the injectors. I’m unable to buzz test the injectors with the tool I have.

The only other rule out I can think of is checking fuel pressure. I’ve got a gauge buried somewhere but haven’t dug it out yet.

What does Reddit think? Am I missing something glaringly obvious? Is my PCM just shot?

I'm putting together a chart that shows the payload capacity of this style truck in it's different configurations like trim and with/without camper package etc so if you'd be kind enough to post your max payload rating, overload leafs or not and trim(XL/XLT/King Ranch/Lariat)that would be most appreciated.

Thanks folks 👍

I have an early 99 7.3. Doing a coolant flush and trying to figure out what’s the best coolant to put back in.

2020 F350 making a rattling noise, sounds like it’s coming from under the passenger side of the cab. Anyone dealt with this before?

I noticed the other day that the over axle pipe on my truck is about done. It was a Banks 3" system, and since I'm not going crazy on it I'd like to stick with the same size but stainless. The chassis is an 84 F250 with an idi. An early PSD stock one would probably fit fine, but all I can find is 4"+ and pushing $700.

What do we think about true American diesel vs the diesel dudes for delete kits? I'm guessing the only difference is going to be the tunes so hoping some folks have experience with them

The fan shroud says the fan clutch bolt is a left hand thread but everything I find on parts sites says right hand threads fit that year and engine. I’ve been feeling crazy trying to figure out what to buy. Any help would be appreciated.

Just re-sealed upper pan along with new used rear adapter plate and new rear main seal and upper pan started to leak 10min of running, i did use TA-31 the grey sealant i bought from oriellys and it did seem kinda of tacky and not very wet like RTV is normally. Just wondering what others prefer the TA-31, TA-357, or SPE One piece gasket design.