# 03 7.3 cold smoking



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

ok,,kinda quiet tonight so i thought i would post my issue.
03 7.3 133+++ 6spd. 4' turbo back exhaust, no muff or cat.
no flapper valve either (the butterfly for faster warm ups)
banks air cleaner assm. and a cfm intake system, with the intake heater delete.
dieselsite wicked wheel
so on cold starts, even with block heater plugged in (block heater works,,im 100% pos it does) i have a fogger going on out back....bluish white. smells like fuel.
oil level never really goes down,,like 1/2 qt every 1,000 or so...coolant fine.
no codes,,,koeo,,koer testes fine (snap-on ethos scanner)
pulled injectors last summer, tested at mdi diesel,,,tseted fine....compression test,,,,fine (i dont remember the numbers now, but told mdi and they said it was good)
does go away when the truck warms up,,approx 120 on the coolant gauge.
the only other thought that comes to mind,,,i bought the truck with a aircleaner assm and the exhaust on it...if the guy did some type of tune and didnt put it back to factory specs would this be part of the problem?
thanks for reading the book,,thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## 02powerstroke (Nov 7, 2006)

Have you done a check on the oil pressure from the HPOP? friend has this same issue it got real bad truck wouldnt start unless plugged in under 35 degrees out ending up being a bad HPOP.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

No I haven't. Mine does start cold not plugged in tho. I'll see if I can fine a test for it . Thanks


----------



## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

Glow Plugs and controller needs checked.

The glow plugs will allow the fuel to be used effectively on start-up and minimize the smoking.

....


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

True. But the glow plugs turn off after 2mins I think. I don't have a controller, just a relay.....tested ok as well. After the truck is running its still smoking. If not smoking, still has rich smell. Burning eyes type issue. That's kinda why I wasn't leaning towards glow plugs. never really runs ruff tho. Maybe a little shakey...that's about it. Thanks for the insite tho.


----------



## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

dieselss;1397930 said:


> True. But the glow plugs turn off after 2mins I think. I don't have a controller, just a relay.....tested ok as well. After the truck is running its still smoking. If not smoking, still has rich smell. Burning eyes type issue. That's kinda why I wasn't leaning towards glow plugs. never really runs ruff tho. Maybe a little shakey...that's about it. Thanks for the insite tho.


Did you test each glow plug?

...


----------



## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

Alot high mileage trucks had these.

Believe or not mine 00 F350 is worst smoke blue it look like Uncle Buck's Mercury Marquis that backfired.

Mine only smoke when it kick in high idle. Smoke go away when hot engine.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

I did when I did the injectors and the compression test. No unusal readings. The burning eyes after it stops smoking,,  I don't think that would signify a bad glow plug tho.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Had what Milwaukee?? The smoke? Did you find a cure?


----------



## dieseltech (Sep 7, 2011)

Almost sounds like an injector fuel leaking past while sitting for a while. This will cause a smokey start until warm and will also have a heavy fuel smell until burned off.


----------



## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

dieselss;1397960 said:


> Had what Milwaukee?? The smoke? Did you find a cure?


Haven't able fix. Everybody say bad injectors.

It doesn't bother me but just keep people away from my truck

I will try get video of blue smoke tomorrow if outside is cold 30oF.


----------



## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

dieselss;1397930 said:


> True. But the glow plugs turn off after 2mins I think. I don't have a controller, just a relay.....tested ok as well. After the truck is running its still smoking. If not smoking, still has rich smell. Burning eyes type issue. That's kinda why I wasn't leaning towards glow plugs. never really runs ruff tho. Maybe a little shakey...that's about it. Thanks for the insite tho.


The GP relay may be fine, but if it's not getting activated by the IDM it doesn't matter. Did you verify the load side of the relay is getting power when you cycle the key?


----------



## sno commander (Oct 16, 2007)

bad glow plug /relays will cause blue smoke, mine did it until i replaced the relay and glow plugs, but these trucks dont start worth a crap if the glow plugs or relay is bad. my guess is a bad injector o ring


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

2COR517;1398141 said:


> The GP relay may be fine, but if it's not getting activated by the IDM it doesn't matter. Did you verify the load side of the relay is getting power when you cycle the key?


i know i did a while ago,,i'll tripple check that today.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

sno commander;1398150 said:


> bad glow plug /relays will cause blue smoke, mine did it until i replaced the relay and glow plugs, but these trucks dont start worth a crap if the glow plugs or relay is bad. my guess is a bad injector o ring


the wierd part is,,its starts fine. i was working in joliet and having to start the truck after sitting outside for 12 hours....it never missed a beat in starting. it just fogged out the parking lot  
i will ohm test the glow plugs today
anybody have any thoughts on the tuner issue?? would a tuner be causing this as well?


----------



## Drottlawn (Jan 14, 2005)

dieselss;1398226 said:


> the wierd part is,,its starts fine. i was working in joliet and having to start the truck after sitting outside for 12 hours....it never missed a beat in starting. it just fogged out the parking lot
> i will ohm test the glow plugs today
> anybody have any thoughts on the tuner issue?? would a tuner be causing this as well?


My dump was doing the same exact thing when I bought it. All new injectors and the problem was solved. The only difference with mine was that it was hard to start under 50 degrees. Over half of its glow plugs were shot. So I got all new ones of them too. Truck runs like brand new now.
Definitely sounds injector related! either a bad injector or injector o ring.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

see thats exactly what i thought, but had the injs tested and they said fine.....dont see how an outta truck inj test would not show up a bag inj??? i does have new o-rings and brass rings as well.
and the starting all the time is kinda throwing me off to....if it was glow plug(s) injs. it wouldnt like to start...this has never had any issues ever.
gunna go out and play with it for awhile and run some tests....keep ya'll posted.


----------



## weckel5984 (Sep 2, 2011)

what is HPOP?


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

high pressure oil pump....only used on ford power strokes


----------



## Drottlawn (Jan 14, 2005)

dieselss;1398382 said:


> see thats exactly what i thought, but had the injs tested and they said fine.....dont see how an outta truck inj test would not show up a bag inj??? i does have new o-rings and brass rings as well.
> and the starting all the time is kinda throwing me off to....if it was glow plug(s) injs. it wouldnt like to start...this has never had any issues ever.
> gunna go out and play with it for awhile and run some tests....keep ya'll posted.


It is possible that a o ring is damaged or not sealing right, even though they are new. Could of gotten junk in the injector when reinstalling them? Just Ideas. If it was the HPOP, I would think it would take a little longer to start than normal. It would take longer for the oil pressure to built to work the injectors.


----------



## hunt 444e (Oct 1, 2011)

youve got an injector lall the leaking and having it as free flowing as it is u really get the raw fuel smell id say you probably have more than one bad o ring sometimes you can get away with just changing the o rings your dealer or local parts store probably wont supply them but a hydraulic shop will just make sure they are the right durometer or they will swell


----------



## hunt 444e (Oct 1, 2011)

sounds like a bad oring or injector not seating well. bye the way taking the ebpv (back pressure valve)off will not make your truck heat up faster not to correct just a fact .


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

update to all following and that have helped........
I did check the gp solenoid....worked fine, stayed on for about a min after the light went off.
cked at the valve cover harness.....had pwr at the 4 pins (2 each side)
ohmed out the gps at the v.c. harness.....
#4 cylinder o.l.
luckly it was the "easy" side to do. pulled everything off. cked directly at the gp....yep #4 o.l.
hummmmm guess i didnt do such a good job cking them last year 
so call my parts store,,yep i got'em
so i just replaced the 4 on the drs side. I know I know....but the pass side ohmed fine. they'll get replaced at another time. 
so i didnt start the truck at all yesterday so i was waiting to see what happened today. couldnt see anything this morning so after work test would be the main test. 
being cold and sitting out all day not plugged in perfect test.
started.......still smoking  but not as bad!!!!!! it wasnt a fog truck anymore,,,more like a truck burning oil. still smelled like fuel tho. 
i've got a call into a 7.3 guru waiting for him to call back wed.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

thought i would do 2 posts.
I am looking into the hpop test.
as for as the o-ring ideas that have been throw out there. I'm not totally disagreeing with that thought.....but. I have done the o-rings and brass about 2 yrs ago-----didnt fix
and when I got the injrs tested they put new ones on. Before the install they were all lubed with lubraplate pre assy lube. now i'm not saying that I couldnt have cut one upon install, just highly unlikely.
...hurt 444e from what i was told the flapper in the exhaust was to help speed up warm up time. its like the old flappers on the gasser carb motors. the ones on the pass side exh. with the tube going to the aircleaner. Is that not the same thing? was it wrong info that I had gotten?


----------



## mwalsh9152 (Dec 30, 2008)

my 97 will always smoke slightly when I first start it in the winter. New GP's, and relay when I built the truck, then did injector O rings and brass when I had the engine back out to fix the oil leak, still the same light haze. Goes away once its warm, as long as it doesnt get worse, so be it.


----------



## dieseltech (Sep 7, 2011)

Most diesels will give off a bit of smoke when cold starting. Its the rich fuel smell that leads me to believe it is a fuel system problem.


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

another update to ya'll
talked with a few people again. all the testes I have done are exactly what everyone would have done/suggested themselves. 
the next step is dealer to have them test what my scanner cannot. unfort. there are testes they can do that i cannot. negen/wds scanners, so taking the truck monday night for tuesday morning.
ill keep the updates coming.


----------



## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

Keep us updated, as I'm curious too.

Have you checked your turbo at all for leaks? I know it's a big stretch, but couldn't it leak and ultimately suck oil into your intake? Thinking more though I guess that would show itself on the air cleaner.

...


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

White Gardens;1406538 said:


> Keep us updated, as I'm curious too.
> 
> Have you checked your turbo at all for leaks? I know it's a big stretch, but couldn't it leak and ultimately suck oil into your intake? Thinking more though I guess that would show itself on the air cleaner.
> 
> ...


yes i did ck the turbo....matter of fact i took it off when i did the intake wheel upgrade. and it got the new o-rings. 
the way the intls work.....air cleaner to compression side of turbo,,to intercooler,,to intake manifolds. so oil leaking wouldnt show up on the aircleaner.
now there is oil in the intake systems...this is due to intls pcv system. the oil is normal.
+++++my guess is fuel,,,just dont know why the idm is overfueling???


----------



## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

dieselss;1406558 said:


> yes i did ck the turbo....matter of fact i took it off when i did the intake wheel upgrade. and it got the new o-rings.
> the way the intls work.....air cleaner to compression side of turbo,,to intercooler,,to intake manifolds. so oil leaking wouldnt show up on the aircleaner.
> now there is oil in the intake systems...this is due to intls pcv system. the oil is normal.
> +++++my guess is fuel,,,just dont know why the idm is overfueling???


I'm just not sold that it's 100% fuel related but only part of the problem.

Is there a CDR canister to re-claim crank fumes? IF IRC, I remember some of the earlier 7.3 powerstroke had the same canister/CDR as the 7.3 idi? If it was the CDR, then you might be sucking oil at start up giving you little heavier smoke. I know this was an issue with the 6.9/7.3 and would cause blown heads on the rear corner where it naturally gravitated.

That or your pulling too much during operation and it's pooling in the intake after shutdown.

....


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

no,,no canister, only a pcv type system bolted to the drivers valve cover. empties right into the air intake.
if it wasnt such a heavy fuel smell,,i would be thinking oil as well. but it like burns your eyes. so fuel.


----------



## deicepro (Mar 24, 2009)

Glad I found this thread.... My 2002 F450 does the same exact thing. 228,xxx miles. smokes so bad it almost makes your eyes bleed:laughing: But when it warms up it wont smoke, but still smells....


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

deicepro;1406611 said:


> Glad I found this thread.... My 2002 F450 does the same exact thing. 228,xxx miles. smokes so bad it almost makes your eyes bleed:laughing: But when it warms up it wont smoke, but still smells....


lol no prob. what checks have you done so far??


----------



## PhilFromErie (Jun 29, 2009)

My truck did the same thing, injector driver module was the probem. Does it run like crap when cold and then all the sudden run better like someone flipped a switch. Will it almost not start at all not plugged in if the temp is below 50?


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

PhilFromErie;1408132 said:


> My truck did the same thing, injector driver module was the probem. Does it run like crap when cold and then all the sudden run better like someone flipped a switch. Will it almost not start at all not plugged in if the temp is below 50?


no,,it might have a little "shake" to her until she gets warm,,but nothing like a switch.
she has never been hard to start at all. 
well going in the dealer tonight,,,sniff sniff,,,,


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Well to update.....my baby just went to the doctors.....sniff sniff. I'll keep ya'll updated as to what the Dr says


----------



## Turf Guy (Feb 5, 2011)

dieselss;1408810 said:


> Well to update.....my baby just went to the doctors.....sniff sniff. I'll keep ya'll updated as to what the Dr says


Hey just wondered what the doctor came up with?


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Turf Guy;1410962 said:


> Hey just wondered what the doctor came up with?


well the Dr. said that I just need to relax and not tense up so bad and it wont hurt as much ............oh wait wrong Dr. sorry i couldnt resist.

I'm kinda on the fence still,,,,,,I think it needs to be colder for the true retest. when i got it back tues. night,,,couldnt tell anything,,,,wed. wasnt cold enough either,,,so hopfully tonight/tom. morning i'll be able to tell more. then i'll run through what the drs said.
Thumbs Up


----------



## bskiball (Sep 5, 2009)

Subscribing. My 99 does this too (204k). It will start after a couple trys (even down to 25) not plugged in but burns the eyes till warm.


----------



## broncscott (Dec 9, 2007)

My daughters 2000 7.3 with 180,000 was smoking like crazy and hard starting when under 30 degrees. Changed the HPOP oil and added Lucas synthetic additive to the HPOP. No smoke and ran better since. Alot better throttle response. Found this fix on powerstrokehelp.com. Watch the video. This guy is alot of help. Scott


----------



## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

broncscott;1413706 said:


> My daughters 2000 7.3 with 180,000 was smoking like crazy and hard starting when under 30 degrees. Changed the HPOP oil and added Lucas synthetic additive to the HPOP. No smoke and ran better since. Alot better throttle response. Found this fix on powerstrokehelp.com. Watch the video. This guy is alot of help. Scott


NO NO NO LUCAS or ANYTHING ADDITIVE YOU PUT IN OIL.

It will made oil foaming and ruin HPOP and Injectors.

FLUSH IT and use normal oil. DO NOT ADD ANY ADDITIVE to oil it fake. Powerstroke 7.3L and 6.0L use oil to running injectors. Wrong oil will hurt them and your wallet.

I use 5w40 Shell T6 Synth it start fine in 10oF

And you need test glow plug on that. Sound it had bad glow plugs or relay.


----------



## Plow_king (Nov 2, 2006)

Here's the vid on how to change it.

http://www.fordfullsize.com/forum/f23/7-3-psd-hpop-oil-draining-tip-721/

As long as you change your oil regularly i don't see a reason to do this. as the motor oil circulates through it.


----------



## broncscott (Dec 9, 2007)

Milwaukee;1413718 said:


> NO NO NO LUCAS or ANYTHING ADDITIVE YOU PUT IN OIL.
> 
> It will made oil foaming and ruin HPOP and Injectors.
> 
> ...


Its been 40,000 miles since on this truck, 70,000 on anothe. No smoke at start since. Starts easy at 10 degrees. Watch the video. Use this service on three 2000 7.3's with no trouble


----------



## broncscott (Dec 9, 2007)

Plow_king;1413732 said:


> Here's the vid on how to change it.
> 
> http://www.fordfullsize.com/forum/f23/7-3-psd-hpop-oil-draining-tip-721/
> 
> As long as you change your oil regularly i don't see a reason to do this. as the motor oil circulates through it.


Powerstrokehelp.com says the oil does not all drain back. I don't believe everything I see but after doing this and the truck started with ease and no smoke since why not. The video uses a different additive.


----------



## Plow_king (Nov 2, 2006)

I'm going to suck the oil out of it and see if its dirty later this week.


----------



## broncscott (Dec 9, 2007)

Plow_king;1413756 said:


> I'm going to suck the oil out of it and see if its dirty later this week.


Let me know if you see a difference in throttle response. Thanks, Scott


----------



## broncscott (Dec 9, 2007)

I haul a 13,000lb trailer almost everyday and started using Power Service additive in the silver bottle in every tank. Seems to have more power climbing hills. When I changed the fuel filter the old one was as clean as the new one. I use 20 oz per tank. Scott


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

well heres my update on the cold smoking.
dealer called they said that,,,doing some research on the vin,,,the truck was built with a cat. and since there wasnt one, they said that that could be some of the problem. 
they also said that "maybe" the g.p's might not be up to full specs and they would like to ck them. I told them i already did and found a bad one and changed the whole left side, right side ohmed out ok in my book.....hummm he said. 
next he said that there was an update and it should be installed,,,i said go ahead and i would like a cylinder controbution(sp) balance test as well.
cyliner balance test was neg,,,and the update was installed. 
so the only thing they said would 100% fix the problem was a "factory" exhaust with a cat,,to the tune of 3000. he also said that the truck was not seeing enough back psi and that was another part of the smoke. 
i'm not sure that i 100% believe this,,but oh well
as far as what I have seen so far....the smoking is about 80% better...it dosent smoke out the parking anymore,,,just a little bit. the only time it does it,,,not plugged in and at high idle warm up. still have the raw fuel smell,,,but not anywhere near as bad. 
so to all who have chimed in about there smoking,,,,,ck the g.p solenoid,,,ck the g.ps at the valve covers. and ck to see if your truck has the updated computer program.
thanks again to all for the help and advise.


----------



## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

dieselss;1415540 said:


> still have the raw fuel smell,,,but not anywhere near as bad.
> so to all who have chimed in about there smoking,,,,,ck the g.p solenoid,,,ck the g.ps at the valve covers. and ck to see if your truck has the updated computer program.
> thanks again to all for the help and advise.


Ha!

Good to hear you got it closer to normal though. What was the final bill from the shop?

....


----------



## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Just a little over 200. Was 180. Just for the update. Don't remember what the cylinder test was, but that was the rest of it


----------

