For those of you who own a 7.3 Powerstroke, listen up...
About 2 months ago, my truck started behaving strangely; where it would die out suddenly and abruptly while at idle at a red light, or where ever. It was very inconsistent and would some times not happen again for weeks.
Then, a week ago, it would not start one morning. I opened the hood and drained the fuel filter using the little drain spicket behind the filter cartridge on the top of the engine. By the way, the filter had been changed recently during this time, so I did not suspect it was clogged. I also had checked the OBDII computer for any codes, and there were none.
I then proceeded to register on one of the Powerstroke forums and began sifting through the threads and happened upon one which discussed this strange behavior. Everyone said it was likely the cam sensor. I even went so far as to change out the fuel filter AGAIN just to make sure. I also checked the codes and there were none. :mj:
I decided I would go and pick up a new cam sensor at a local Ford dealership, and Saturday morning, I changed it myself. It is located facing the radiator just below the main pulley towards the passenger side of the engine and is relatively easy to get to. It took me about 30 minutes to get it changed out and the engine is now starting up on the first crank, just like it did when I bought it new. By the way, my truck is now approaching 100K miles, with almost 98K on the clock.
Moral of this story... figure on replacing the cam sensor around 100K miles. I figure mine was not totally gone yet, but certainly was about to croak. And from what I have read on this subject, when it dies; the truck will NOT start at all. The part number is F7TZ-12K073-A. Not sure about the newer 6.0 liter Powerstrokes, but I would assume they would also have a sensor like this one, which may fail at some point in the future.
I figured I would pass along in case any of you Powerstroke guys encounter this same problem. Figure on paying somewhere between $100 and $200 for the sensor, depending on who you know and what discount you get. I also found out you can go to a local International Harvester dealer (if you have one nearby) and get the same part for less than Ford sells it.
About 2 months ago, my truck started behaving strangely; where it would die out suddenly and abruptly while at idle at a red light, or where ever. It was very inconsistent and would some times not happen again for weeks.
Then, a week ago, it would not start one morning. I opened the hood and drained the fuel filter using the little drain spicket behind the filter cartridge on the top of the engine. By the way, the filter had been changed recently during this time, so I did not suspect it was clogged. I also had checked the OBDII computer for any codes, and there were none.
I then proceeded to register on one of the Powerstroke forums and began sifting through the threads and happened upon one which discussed this strange behavior. Everyone said it was likely the cam sensor. I even went so far as to change out the fuel filter AGAIN just to make sure. I also checked the codes and there were none. :mj:
I decided I would go and pick up a new cam sensor at a local Ford dealership, and Saturday morning, I changed it myself. It is located facing the radiator just below the main pulley towards the passenger side of the engine and is relatively easy to get to. It took me about 30 minutes to get it changed out and the engine is now starting up on the first crank, just like it did when I bought it new. By the way, my truck is now approaching 100K miles, with almost 98K on the clock.
Moral of this story... figure on replacing the cam sensor around 100K miles. I figure mine was not totally gone yet, but certainly was about to croak. And from what I have read on this subject, when it dies; the truck will NOT start at all. The part number is F7TZ-12K073-A. Not sure about the newer 6.0 liter Powerstrokes, but I would assume they would also have a sensor like this one, which may fail at some point in the future.
I figured I would pass along in case any of you Powerstroke guys encounter this same problem. Figure on paying somewhere between $100 and $200 for the sensor, depending on who you know and what discount you get. I also found out you can go to a local International Harvester dealer (if you have one nearby) and get the same part for less than Ford sells it.
