7.3L low on fuel?

[Hyena]

so lets start from the beginning.  tuesday my truck stated shaking while i was driving.  had a low rough idle and eventually lost power, then it died and wouldn't start again.  First thought was the CPS (Cam Position Sensor).  took it in to Ford under the recall and they fixed it for free.  picked it up about an hour ago.  it had a low idle when i started it up.  drove it about a mile and it seemed ok just a low idle.  then it started running rough again and i lost power.  drove it to the gas station since i was low on deisel anyway.  the overhead console said 25 miles till empty.  i had ran it all the way down to 5 before without any problems so i didn't that it could be that.  filled it up and tried to start it again.  it had a jumping idle like crazy so i shut it off.  let it sit about 5 minutes and started it back up again.  it was pretty rough but i managed to drive it forward to a parking space.  let it run for about 5 minutes reving it up alittle.  now it runs like a champ again.  could the low deisel have made it run like that?  was it the CPS at all?  i always thought that a deseil would just die if any air got in the fuel lines?  or maybe i am just dumb.

It's a 99 F-250 7.3L

[79coyotefrg]

what it sounds like is  you got it down low enough  that when you made a hard turn  or  a hard bump  it  made what fuel was in the tank splash causing it to suck a small amount of air into the line,  but  because  it picked up fuel  again quickly  it kept running,  i would say dont let it get that low again

[BLACKDOG]

what it sounds like is  you got it down low enough  that when you made a hard turn  or  a hard bump  it  made what fuel was in the tank splash causing it to suck a small amount of air into the line,  but  because  it picked up fuel  again quickly  it kept running,  i would say dont let it get that low again

mabye have some sediment in the tank?  Not noticable on a full tank, due to the dispersion, but with less fuel, not as much dispersion, so its jamming up the pickup, but not enough for it to stop it? 

[Hyena]

would it cause the truck to shudder badly?  i have no idea right now, i was about to burn it.  its running good now.  took it around the block to the store.

[nvtoyin21]

Ive got a 99 P-stroke an it did the same thing that you descibed. I changed the CPS an havent had a problem since. So I dont know, its been a good truck for me . Thats the only thing Ive ever had to do to it.

[Hyena]

I have had this truck for almost 2 years now an besides some battery issues i had and the tranny is going out this is the first problem it has seen.

[DontStall Rockcrwl]

I had the same problem for a while in cold mornings. It has something to do with cold start injection. Plug your block heater in at night, and see if the same problem persists the next morning. My ecu was simply cutting back fuel because the engine was to cold. How low does your temp gauge read? I have a 95 OBS 7.3.

[TheCookieMonster]

i would change your fuel filter just for the hell of it

[lucky7]

Just ran out of gas . It's taken me 50 miles to start running right before and have ran out several times in my 97and 03 you're cool.

[79coyotefrg]

Just ran out of gas . ....

i thought it was a powerstroke, 

[Makohon]

ran outa gas man and sucked up some air..... mine was shakeing like crazy and ran like ... then couldnt start it... thought it was a plugged fuel filter so i replaced that and that wasnt it... kept her crankin over then it finally started and i limpt to the gas station and filled her up... sounded funny at first ''20 miles'' then ran perfect.... you dont need a block heater like said above... ur in the sac area correct? not nearly cold enough.... and if ya havent had ur cps done bring it to ford and they will replace it for free... all the cases i have read and heard about the cps failing the truck doesnt run at all.... check out fordtrucks.com and join the forum... theres tons of crap and there nice like the people on here

[Hyena]

i had checked a couple forums but nobody gave me a straight answer.  the CPs was replaced last week.  figured it had to be gas related when it did it after the cps was done.  it runs good now so i am not worried abut it, thanx.

[lucky7]

Just don't trust that fuel gage love my fords but door handles tend to break and none of my fuel gages are acurate

[BLACKDOG]

Just don't trust that fuel gage love my fords but door handles tend to break and none of my fuel gages are acurate

Does anyone else use their trip meter everytime they fill up?  flip it back to zero?  I do that, so I know pretty well howfull the tank is, relative to that needle on the guage. 

[lucky7]

Thats how i do it every 225 i hit a station

[jonathan82toy]

I cant resist... its a FORD,  I do like fords, but the random problems like this is why I sold my Ford for my Toyota.  Good Luck!

[BLACKDOG]

I cant resist... its a FORD,  I do like fords, but the random problems like this is why I sold my Ford for my Toyota.  Good Luck!

Meh, I've had more problems with my toyota than my ford  

its his towrig anyway, to tow his toy

[lucky7]

Put 300,000 on that toyota hauling :pokinit:then tell me that and i might agree

[BLACKDOG]

Put 300,000 on that toyota hauling :pokinit:then tell me that and i might agree

yeah, seeing as its not uncommon to see that and more on the 7.3 PSD   

[Hyena]

if only the auto tranny's were as good as the motor.

[lucky7]

mine has been

[BLACKDOG]

if only the auto tranny's were as good as the motor.

 

Thats why I picked up the 6spd.  Pain in the ass to find though.  No one wants to get rid of them

[Hyena]

just passed 130,000 miles and it is slipping and not shifting right.  changed the fluid and filter last year.

[ToYocRawleR]

Does it have an aftermarket intake?  Mine kinda ran like that before and turns out the MAF sensor on the intake was loose so i locktighted the screws put em back in and no problems since.

[NorCalToy]

if only the auto tranny's were as good as the motor.

was reading osmething yesterday about ford dropping the manual trannies pretty soon.

[Hyena]

the newer autos are probably significantly better then the old ones.

[BLACKDOG]

the newer autos are probably significantly better then the old ones.

I should hope so  

That is pretty much the only complain I've heard about the 7.3, is the autos that bolt to them are crap.  I did quite a bit of research before I bought mine, and thats the conclusion I reached as well

[red]

agreed, the 7.3 is a great motor and with the manual tranny backing it very reliable, auto is junk though unless you get the old c6 3 speed auto no overdrive.

ran outta fuel and got air in the lines is what you most likely did, i'm 99.999999999999% sure of it going by the symptoms you described. i did it once on my old 89 f250, switched tanks because i was getting low and forgot that i'd emptied the other tank . keep driving and it will go away in a few days at most. if you want you can bleed the fuel line, might as well replace the fuel filter if you decide to do that.

[4runnernut]

Did you get it fixed yet?If not you might try some fuel system cleaner from BG and also have your injectors checked oyu might of had one go bad.

[Hyena]

its been good ever since, i haven't touched anything.