7.3L Power Stroke Engine and DrivetrainDiscussion of the 7.3L Power Stroke diesel engine and drivetrain in the 1999-Up Super Duty trucks and Excursions. No gas engine discussion allowed except on transmissions and drivetrain that pertain to all models. Please confine discussion of topics in this forum to those items that are specific to the 7.3L Power Stroke engine.
I am sorry if this is a repeat. I am new to diesels, so naturally I am trying to learn everything I can about my truck. I have an '01 250 7.3l. When I was looking though the downloads I noticed a sound cackle.wav. I listen to it and my truck has the same noise or maybe I am paranoid. What is it? Is it harmful? How do you stop it? And yes I have used the search and not found any conclusive information. Thank you all for your help.
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2001 F250 CC Lariat 7.3L 4x4 Triple Guage Pod W/Autometer Ultra-Lites, Steering Wheel Pod with Coolant Temp Gauge, AIH Delete, Viper 791xv, AmsOil Dual Bypass, Tymar Style Intake, Zoodad Mod, Heater Core Shut-Off, AmsOil 75w-140 in the rear, TT Mirrors, MBRP 4" Exhaust, Diesel Site HPX, BRV+, DP Tuner 4-position (Stock, Tow, Economy, Race), Factory Tech MonsterBox, AMSoil Tranny Fluid, Evans Coolant, 203 Thermostat, Diesel Site Coolant Filter, Garret Ballbearing Turbo, 6.0L Tranny Cooler, LED Lights everywhere, 4300k HIDs in '03 Lenses (MUST HAVE!!!), Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid, Powertrax, and Dynatrack cover, a few tickets and more to come.
Welcome to the best resource on the web for light diesel truck enthusiasts. Hope you get as much information and enjoyment as so many of us do from this site.
If you are searching for cackle info, try Cackle & Knock. Since I am the first to reply, I will give you the shortest possible story, but there are literally thousands of posts dealing with it.
You truck (and a bunch more) have Caterpillare HEUI (Hydraulic-Electric Unit Injectors), in this case, stuck in a Navistar engine. In manay cases, they result in a bad idle knock (fires early on one or two cyclinders) or in the 1500-2000 range, a stumble or outright miss (Cackle). The generally accepted explanation is because the fuel system dead-ends in the heads at the injectors, any air that is carried in or released in the system ends up in an injector or two and causes the problems.
Not all trucks seem to be a problem, and many loyalists with good trucks think anyone who is unhappy with their problem truck is just crazy. This is an issue because Ford dealers universally back out of any responsibility by claiming "its a diesel, they're all supposed to sound like that", or "that's normal for the engine" or other such complete nonsense. The mere fact that the #8 injector in your truck is different from the rest, and there is a patent filed for the factory mod as a cure for cackle and knock pretty much validates the claims. Also, experiments done by members of this site have been repeated at Ford's labs, and confirm the same stuff.
It doesn't seem to hurt most engines, but the worst may suffer damage (you will NEVER get an admission from Ford) and my own belief is that the constant clutch, pilot brg or converter problems are related to the same cause.
If you want to "cure" it, improve it or just live with it, there are a lot of vendors here that can address your every desire very capably with fuel system mods galore (and power mods on top of that).
So read on, jump in and particpate, but most of all - enjoy.
Regards - Pat
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2000 F450 Lariat 4x4 tractor, Air Dog, Reg Mod, HX, bypass filter, Banks Power Elbow w/3.5 dp, no intake heat, CCV mod, AIS (w/extra hole), DI stage IIs, GP indicator LED, custom 4" exhaust, 4" USG exhaust brake, USG 0.8555 aux. trans. (shift switch in knob), custom air susp., custom alum. rear diff cover extension (dipstick & temp), Detroit locker, ESPAR D5 aux. heat, custom alum tow deck and fuel tanks, Bushwacker 1 1/2" flares, 9k winch, gin poles, Bi-Xenon in '03 Crystals, Lightforce Striker 170 (still Halogen, but VERY bright), Hella Micro DE HID fogs, KW (Isspro) instruments, more to come & lots of other diesels
Do a in-tank mod and pre-pump mod. Those 2 mod quiet my truck down so much that I have to turn the radio down a couple of notches. The mods are designed to get rid of entrained air in the fuel system.
You are probably still reading the suggested links. Enough there to keep a guy busy for a month.
My truck was a real cackle pig when I first got it. Got the usual responses from Ford. I have not done any fuel mods yet, but I started using a fuel additive. (Power Service) This has quietened my truck down considerably. Even though the truck is quieter, the fuel milage did not improve. Fuel makes a big difference with mine also. Winter bend tends to rattle and straight #2 is very quiet. I'd like to try Bio, but there is nothing around here. Weather and engine oil also make a difference.
Just some food for thought. The fuel mods have helped many. Others report little to no difference.
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Here is most of what you need to know on getting your 7.3L started and how to operate it in the cold winter months. These posts use to readily available, but they've been hid in a subforum top of the 7.3 Power Stroke Engine and Drivetrain forum. Winter Operation (How I Do It) Hard/No Start? Check here first
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