# GF ran my 7.3 out of fuel



## show-n-go (Feb 5, 2009)

Is there anything special i should do? I have always been told that it is bad to run a diesel low on fuel, well yesterday she ran it until it sputtered out at a light. After i put 5 gallons in it took forever to start and even then it was running rough as hell for about 10 min. then it smoothed out... It's an 03 with 165k on it so it's not new..
Thanks fo any help you can give me.. I have never run any vehicle out of fuel.


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## timberseal (Jul 24, 2008)

pull the fuel filter and fill the reservior with fuel if you have a hard time starting it back up - it will help to prime it


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## stacks04 (Jan 22, 2008)

Nothing bad is going to happen. It was probably air bound hence the rough run for a bit. Remember the fueling on the powerstroke is all internal to the heads so they really dont have a place to purge air except through the injectors. At least that is how I understand the powerstroke. I am a duramax guy and chevy tech so I may be wrong.


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## veggin psd (Feb 8, 2007)

Remove the fuel filter cover. Fill full of fuel. Crank. If it is slow to start, repeat. The air in the heads will have to come out thru the injectors. It is a dead headed system and may require a good hard drive before all the air purges.

No harm, no foul.


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## show-n-go (Feb 5, 2009)

Thanks guy's. I was mean to her for no reason then. I told her to never drive my truck again if she couldn't pay attention to the gauges. 

I got it running enough to drive it home but it was sputtering and smoking for the first few miles.It did smooth out but i just wanted to be sure i didn't need to do anything special.


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

to prevent this from happening again, don't let her drive the truck.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

You should be good to go. Friend of mine has run her 03 7.3 with almost 220k on it out of fuel a couple times with no damage. The fuel gauge and low fuel light are quite a bit off and it's always ran out within 1/2 mi of the diesel pump lol.


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

show-n-go;1097591 said:


> Thanks guy's. I was mean to her for no reason then. I told her to never drive my truck again if she couldn't pay attention to the gauges.
> 
> I got it running enough to drive it home but it was sputtering and smoking for the first few miles.It did smooth out but i just wanted to be sure i didn't need to do anything special.


She already knew she messed up, you should be more sympathetic, people (even you) make mistakes!


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## show-n-go (Feb 5, 2009)

ajslands;1097685 said:


> She already knew she messed up, you should be more sympathetic, people (even you) make mistakes!


bla bla bla.. you sound like a woman..she got over it. An when i make mistakes i make big one, not little piddle things like fuel. lol

I probably over reacted but my truck was sitting in an intersection.


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

show-n-go;1097433 said:


> Is there anything special i should do?


Beyond slapping her over the head?


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## veggin psd (Feb 8, 2007)

Mark13;1097678 said:


> You should be good to go. Friend of mine has run her 03 7.3 with almost 220k on it out of fuel a couple times with no damage. The fuel gauge and low fuel light are quite a bit off and it's always ran out within 1/2 mi of the diesel pump lol.


There is a reason for that........
Ford puts a plastic foot valve/strainer on the pick up tube in the 7.3 tank. Over time, they tend to fall off of the pick up tube and then it leaves the pick up tube about three inches higher than it would have been. Common problem. Out of fuel, and the gauge reads just under a 1/4............


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## gtstang462002 (Dec 23, 2009)

veggin psd;1099079 said:


> There is a reason for that........
> Ford puts a plastic foot valve/strainer on the pick up tube in the 7.3 tank. Over time, they tend to fall off of the pick up tube and then it leaves the pick up tube about three inches higher than it would have been. Common problem. Out of fuel, and the gauge reads just under a 1/4............


I spent 3 years working at a ford dealer and never once saw that. Diesels were my specialty, so I got 98% of the ones that came in the door. Had plenty of them with fuel tanks that were delaminating (the coating inside the tank was dissolving and stopping up the pickup and the frame rail pumps).

On the 7.3 from '99 up all you have to do when you run them out of fuel is put fuel in them and cycle the key 2 or 3 times from off to on. Wait 15-20 seconds each time you cycle the key to the on position, this will purge all of the air from the fuel lines.


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