Question for you PSD guys

[Bad340fish]

I know you guys lurk around here .



A friend of mine is having a low power problem with a 99 F250 PSD 6spd that he just bought. He has trouble pulling a 9K load at highway speed with any kind of grade at all. I have pulled the same exact trailer with my ram(with and without EZ) and have no trouble at all. And my roomates 94 PSD pulls its pretty decent.



So what kind of things do we look for to cause low power?? Surely the intercooled PSDs should outpull a 94 PSD with 115K semi maintained miles on it. Its got 285 tires on it but I assume it has a 3. 73 ratio and it shouldn't be that bad. Just wanted some suggestions. I sure do hope he doesn't have to put a chip in it just to pull a 9K load at highway speeds.



What are the obvious things to check out before taking it to the dealer?? Intercooler hoses for sure right?? Thanks for any help.

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Well, I haved worked on dozens of PSD's, so I'll try to shed some light on the subject...



First of all, the older PSD's (in my opinion) pull better and are faster than the newer ones, enev though the new ones are rated at more power.



So the first thing to look for is going to be oily residue on the intercooler hoses, intercooler tubes, and on the top of the engine. The intake rails on the tops of the heads are sealed with silicone, which is BAD. As you may or may not know, the PSD runs the crankase blowby right into the turbo. The oily mist literally easts away the solicone sealing the intake rails to the heads, causing major boost leaks. I would say that about 1 out of every 5 has this problem. So, if it is NOT leaking, the best thing to do is to re-route the crankcase breather to under the truck, just like the Cummins.



Fuel filter. The PSD is very particular about having clean fuel. Any restriction can cause a porr power problem, and sometimes excess smoke. Same goes for oil. THe PSD MUST have a non-foaming type of oil (most CG-4 and CF-4 oils have this additive already in it), otherwise, the small bubbles in the oil can cause problems in the high-pressure oil pump.



Exhaust leaks are also a major issue with the PSD. They use a donut gasket between the manifolds and the Y-pipe that the turbo attaches to. I have seen MANY of then leaking, which in turn lowers the turbo drive pressure. The result of all that is low boost, which means low power. Get a boost gauge on this '99, and see what it peaks out at. A pyro would be good too.



Check all the electrical connections, on the top of the heads, oil pressure sensors, MAP sensor, everything. Just one of these that has a bad connection can cause a de-fuel condition. Make sure the air filter is clean too. There was a TSB for the early '99 PSD air filter box. There is an upgraded version available, and there is a seat-of-the-pants difference when it is installed, especially when you cut out the baffle in front of the snorkel. If his airbox has the word "intercooled" cast into it on the top, then it is the old model. Get it upgraded at Ford if this is the case.



So to sum it all up, I would bet the problem is boost related, either on the air side, or on the exhaust side (donut gaskets).



Keep us posted!

 

[DEZLPWR]

Scary...

Jeez Evan, after reading your post, I would be scared to own a Powerjoke! It seems like much more things are prone to fail on the PS vs. the Cummins.

Further reinforcement for the phrase:

"I'd rather be Cummin' than strokin"

 

[Iceman1]

Thanks, Evan... I'm going to frame that for my slow to learn brother. His 99 psd is starting to get weak... . He just hasn't learned yet... . Mike

 

[Evan A. Beck]

SCooke, you're right... There's a lot of crap that can go haywire under the hood of a Ford. When they run good, they are a pretty good motor. Best thing you can do for them, is get the breather out of the air intake. Are you still coming in for your clutch swap?



Glad a could be of assistance, guys.

 

[DEZLPWR]

Clutch ok so far...

Evan,

My clutch is holding so far with the DDII's & EZ... . With this combo, it is more power than I need. I think the guy that had the truck before me may have replaced the stock clutch with something better since he had a Dyno Sources Power Button installed on the truck. (looks like the bolts on the bellhousing have been removed) So for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed & saving $$. I am eyeing a PDR turbo if I don't need to get a new clutch.

 

[Bad340fish]

Evan thank you, I sent him a link to this thread hopefully we can get it figured out this weekend. I will keep you posted!

Clark

 

[Hutchew]

I second that idea........

Definately check the air filter, even the later models get plugged up quickly and won't run worth a darn. I got so fed up with the problem, I installed an AirRaid system on mine, which uses a K&N cone filter. Runs much better now. There is also supposed to be a viscosity sensor in the oil that will de-fuel the engine if the oil is either dirty or too hot. This comes from the service dept. at Rich Ford here in Albuquerque. Of course, every time I take the thing in for an engine problem, that's the first thing they always wanna do (change my oil), so I may just be a sucker

 

[COBRAJET]

A viscocity sensor..... that's a riot. Is it close to the muffler bearing hiding behind the bucket of steam... . CJ

 

[Hutchew]

No, thats the centrifuge transpondor.....

I'm suprised you didn't know the difference. The viscosity sensor is the doohickey at the end of the dipstick. geeezzzzz, some people

 

[Bad340fish]

Welll....

Saturday we did most of the checks. ALL of the IC hoses were very very loose and had the oily redidue that Evan mentioned all around them. We fixed all of those and installed a new air cleaner and fuel filter. We also rerouted the crankcase vent so it can no longer make a mess of everything(which it was). The truck appeared to have the airbox replaced before so we left that alone. None of this made a difference in the SOP meter but hopefully it might stand a chance with a trailer behind it. I know he has boost and EGT(where to you plumb for those on a psd?) gauges on his list for winter time mods. After crawling around with all the SH*T under the hood of that thing I like the simplicity of the Ram engine compartment alot more

Clark

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Clark,



For the boost pickup, there will be a rubber hose going from the aluminum Y-pipe on the top of the engine to a MAP sensor mounted to the firewall on the passenger's side. Simply splice into that line using a T of some sort, and connect your boost tube there. A stock truck should make around 16-18 psi.



Aren't you glad you don't have one? *LOL* The only reason I like the PSD is because they are job security... Ford just announced they built their two MILLIONTH PowerStroke, which means I am going to fixing PSD's for a looooooong time. *LOL*

 

[Bad340fish]

PIA

What about a place to tap into for an EGT guage?? Not sure where in that mess of tubes hoses and sensors you could get a thermocouple in there lol. I wonder why they took that EZ to get to fuel filter door off the top of the motor?? Now you have to remove two nuts(hard to find on one of those LOL) to get to the fuel filter.

Clark

 

[COBRAJET]

Evan,



Maybe after you fix all the PSD's you can get around to typing what will fix the same problem on the Cummins. There are no less than 10 guys looking for answers on the first 4 pages of the 24 Valve Powertrain board. An employee of mine has been fighting a 98. 5 24 valve for two years. It has been reflashed at least 10 times. It either has power and NO mileage... 12-13 or mileage in the neighborhood of 16-17 and NO power. It is a 2WD auto with 3. 54's. He would sell it, but no dealer will give him anything for it on trade... about 11K with only 52K miles.



The common place for EGT on a PSD is on the drivers side pipe from the exhaust manifold to the turbo. It can be drilled right above the oil filter. Some run a post turbo setup in the downpipe which is not a real good idea... but simple. Most stock PSD's run 15psi of boost..... Fords set point. A few are around 16. 18 would be a gift from the factory.

 

[Bad340fish]

Cobrajet, thanks for the info on the thermocouple.



As to your other problem, don't some of the EARLY 98. 5 24 valve trucks have catalytic converters on them?? Maybe its clogged?? Lift pump is a place to check also. There was some kind of emisions reflash in 98 that really cut the nuts off of the motors. A buddy of mines dad had the same problem. His thermostat went bad and it had to be towed to the dealer. When he got it back it ran a hell of alot better than when it got towed in. Turns out it was a reflash that they did.



I assume you checked the usual stuff like IC hoses fuel filter and maybe even run the valves on it. And sometimes some vehicles are just turds from the factory, each one of the Big three lets a turd sneak by sometimes lol. Maybe the VP44 is junk on it? or it has a week injector or something? We had a SD ford at work that came to us with a bad injector, but it ran smoothly just had no nuts. That thing ended up bieng full of all kinds of diesel demons lol. Good luck

Clark

 

[COBRAJET]

Clark,

I think this guys truck is just a lemon. He has a few friends with Cummins trucks who have looked it over pretty good and can't seem to find anything... but do agree she don't run like she should. It does not have a cat. The dealer has replaced a ton of stuff... they will no longer look at it for the same problem. They state it runs within the parameters. The truck takes 16 seconds to get to 60. It is a regular cab 4X2 with an auto and 3. 54's. He bought it used with 11K miles from the dealer. I think the previous owner knew what he had and dumped it... . CJ

 

[JohnE]

TELL HIM TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE

Cummins does buy back trucks with "power related" problems. I deal with Cummins for the 8. 3 liter diesel and CNG fired engines. The Engineer I deal with the most says they have a have a handful of Cummins powered Dodge Rams in the company motorpool that are bought back due to engine relate problems. mostly power.

Contact the State Attorney General's office and get a reading from them on your lemon law. Most places MUST list the VIN with the state after X number of dealer service calls for the same or similar problems.



My experiences



-John