Ford 7.3 liter Power Stroke Diesel engine (on 2001 Ford Excursion Limited, 4X4) - insufficient fuel delivered to number 8 cylindar - inherent engineering flaw

Complaints.com received the following consumer follow-up message on June 16, 2003:

From:

RE: Re: Ford 7.3 Power Stroke Diesel

No. I did not get the email sent directly to me. This is the first time I have seen it. I do agree with it though. I would be overjoyed to if someone filed a class action suit against Ford for this problem. You have no idea how much it angers me every time I start my $43,000. Excursion only to have it run as poorly as it does.

Since I work for myself and travel from one client to the next, I usually start the engine around 6 to 10 times every day. That's 6 to 10 times every day that I'm reminded what a piece of junk it is.

Sincerely,

Roger S. Burgess

----- Original Message -----

From: Email User

To: Email User'

Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 4:58 PM

Subject: FW: Ford 7.3 Power Stroke Diesel

Did you get this e-mail below sent to you directly ?

RE: your posted message:

http://www.complaints.com/august2002/complaintoftheday.august15.2.htm

Sincerely, Complaints.com

http://www.complaints.com

-----Original Message-----

From: Email User [mailto:Email User]

Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 11:01 PM

To: Email User

Subject: Ford 7.3 Power Stroke Diesel

In response to Roger Burgess,

I have a 2000 Ford F-250 with a 7.3 Power Stroke that is doing the same thing. The Tech at the dealership where I bought it said the same thing, " We can install a new injector which because It is still under warranty will only cost you $100.00". It would be interesting to take a poll and see just how many other owners are experiencing the same problem. I would support a class action suit just to force Ford to rectify the problem.

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on August 14, 2002:

From:

RE: Ford 7.3 liter Power Stroke Diesel engine (on 2001 Ford Excursion Limited, 4X4) - insufficient fuel delivered to number 8 cylindar - inherent engineering flaw

All late model (I believe 1999 to present) Ford 7.3 liter Power Stroke Diesel engines suffer from an inherent engineering flaw, the fuel delivery system does not provide sufficient fuel to the number 8 cylinder for a full firing stroke. While the engines seem to run fine when test driven new, the problem becomes painfully apparent within a few hundred to a few thousand miles. The engine will develop a loud "injector clatter" on the number 8 cylinder and appear to have a miss-fire resulting in rough idle and significant vibration of the engine and vehicle.

The cause of this problem is the fuel delivery system cannot supply sufficient fuel to the number 8 cylinder when it is needed because another cylinder is using the majority of the available supply at the time the number 8 needs the fuel. A basic design flaw in the fuel delivery system.

I have had mine (a 2001 Ford Excursion Limited, 4X4 - over $40,000.00) into the dealership a dozen times. They replaced injectors twice and finally replaced the number 8 cylinder injector with a "long stroke" injector. While this has solved the rough idle and miss to some degree it has not affected the loud injector clatter on number 8 or the high rpm thumping from the number 8 cylinder. The engine now sounds like a Huey helicopter (thwop, thwop, thwop at all speeds - get the engine to the same rpm's as a Huey's blades and you'll have Vietnam flashbacks). Further, there is a significant lack of power in an engine that should be able to pull a house off the foundations.

All this "long stroke" injector is doing is reversing the normal operation of the injector. In normal operation an injector makes two injections of fuel to its cylinder. A priming stroke (a small sip of fuel) and then a firing stroke (a big gulp of fuel), hence "Power Stroke" diesel. Ford's fix for this fuel delivery problem, the "long stroke" injector, reverses the process. It takes a big gulp on the priming stroke (when the fuel system will allow sufficient fuel delivery) and a small sip on the firing stroke.

While this seems to solve the rough idle, all this "fix" is doing is treating one of the symptoms of the problem. You now have, for all practical purposes, a 7 cylinder engine. The number 8 cylinder is essentially along for the ride and is no longer contributing to the power of the engine.

My problems ultimately culminated in Ford sending a Factory Field Engineer to check my vehicle. This is entirely for show as this individual knows what the problem is and also knows Ford has no intention of fixing the problem. He drives the vehicle and states the Ford party line - "You don't have a problem, that's just normal diesel operation." Sure, that's why you installed a "long stroke" injector in the engine - to correct "normal diesel operation".

Meanwhile, owners of the Ford "Power Stroke" engine are left with few options: 1. Accept Ford's answer and drive a $40,000.00 vehicle that is noisy, runs rough and has less power than it should have. 2. Install an after-market engine computer chip, which solves a portion of the power problem but not the noise/rough running problems, and risk voiding a 100,000 mile drivetrain warranty if Ford finds out this has been done. 3. Turning to one of the hundreds of cottage industry technicians that have sprung up all over the country to address this problem.

They really fix the problem and will re-pipe the fuel delivery system so that sufficient fuel is available to the number 8 cylinder when it is needed. The cost for this ranges from around $800.00 to $1,500.00 depending on which particular technician does the work.

I have personally driven one of these conversions and the result is a quiet, sweet running diesel engine with around 20% more power. Some Ford dealers have even sent owners to these tech's and then paid the bill for them under "client satisfaction". (Unfortunately, I purchased at the wrong dealership. My dealer will not do this but another local dealer has done it three times that I am aware of.)

Maybe it's time for a class action suit against Ford. I'll bet there are a few tens of thousands of "Power Stroke" diesel owners out there that are as unhappy about this as I am and hopefully some sharp attorney will decide there is a buck to be made here and champion the cause.

Sincerely,

Roger S. Burgess