Question about a ford diesel truck.

Question

My 2001 ford f250 4 wheel drive diesel truck broke down on me about a half a mile away from my home after a short trip at about 150 miles. The water in fuel light came on and the engine just shut down. i was able to get it home and was able to get the water in fuel light off. however it still won't keep an idle and a lot of smoke keeps coming out of the exhaust pipes. what can i do?

Answer 1

Change your fuel filters. BOTH of them!

Wayne

Answer 2

i agree with ford goddess and if you dont feel comfortable doing that take it or call a diesel shop and see what they have to say they might know whats wrong right away as well im suprised that your having this trouble but i guess it happens   hope this helps

Answer 3

Drain Fuel and replace fuel filter is what I would do first.

Answer 4

It sounds like you have fuel heater in the beginning stages of failure. This is a fairly common failure on 7.3L engines. What happens is rust and sediment buildup on the bottom of the filter housing deteriorates the fuel heater over time. You would be advised to replace this sooner than later, failing which the truck WILL shut down and not restart. The reason for this, is when the heater shorts out, it shorts your V-ref circuit to ground and the PCM completely shuts down. When this happens, you won't even be able to scan it for DTCs (diagnostic trouble codes) because no scan tool will communicate with it. Although pricey, the best way to replace it, is as an entire assembly from Ford. The part number is FG-1057 for $322.46US from fordparts.com. Ordering this part includes the fuel filter housing, along with a new water drain valve and water-in-fuel sensor, as well as the heater and the cap. Replacement is very straightforward and self-evident. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Drain the tank and change the fuel filter, top up with fresh diesel and try it.

Answer 6

You need to let a diesel mechanic work on it.  It's not like working on a gas burner engine, there is a lot more that can cause any one problem.