03' F-250 PSD - Sputtering and Loss of Power
Last week I had an issue of coolant loss (actually.... I had the issue for a while, it just started causing drivability issues last week while towing 6K lbs).
All signs pointed to the EGR and possibly the head gasket as well.
Took the truck into the shop and had ARP studs installed.
While the heads were off, we had them inspected, they looked good (no signs of cracks or warping).
While we were in there, I had the EGR delete done as well as the oil cooler replaced.
Got the truck back Thursday night, took it for a test ride and all seemed well.... then took off on a weekend road trip.
A couple hundred miles into it, the truck started acting up.
Sputtering and losing power.
I pulled over thinking there may be an issue with coolant loss again.
However, there were no signs of coolant loss (and as recent as today, there are still no visible signs of coolant loss).
I connected a trailer (6k lbs) to it for a portion of the trip, and it immediately fell flat on it's nose.
Sputtering, shaking and basically hemorrhaging to the point where I had to pull over and allow traffic to pull past.
I was able to gradually get the truck up to highway speed.
However, anytime I tried to accelerate it would have sputtering issues (almost like it was running out of fuel.... or the timing was off).
After setting for 24 hours, I tried to start it Sunday morning.
It did not want to start.... had me worried, didn't think I was going to get it running.
Sunday after noon I began the trip back without the trailer in tow.
It immediately went back to sputtering, then seemed to clear itself out.
I drove 600 miles without a hic-up... got to thinking maybe a had bad fuel.
However, after giving me a hard time to start this morning, it's right back to sputtering on acceleration (note: it even sputtered when coasting down-hill).
Taking it back to the shop today after work.... really at a loss.
Anyone got any ideas?
Could it be a FICM?
Could it be a bad injector?
Could it be the Turbo?
Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Cecil
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