Great customer service, and great products, You shouldn't have any issues with them.

Just a thank you to the contributors of this thread, I'm back on the road using your information! Was running rough and thought i had air in system due to 1/4 tank pickup tube issue (let the tank get too low) but exhaust temp test told me to check passenger side, then Ohms tests failed, replaced passenger vc gasket, uvch and exterior vch, had a successful ohms test and its running great now!

My contribution: to do the I+C ohms tests take a small alligator clip and cram one of your multi meter prongs into it, clamp that to common center post of plug and then you only have to manage one prong to touch each "I" injector port in the plug.

Also, I'm with those that say it isn't necessary to take the inner fender well out on passenger side to remove valve cover, just a swivel adapter and "feel" for VC bolts is all that's needed.

hi,

I am new to the forum. All that is described is the same problem that we are having. We have a couple of questions.

1. Any recommendations for what brand of replacement glow plugs to get?

2. Should we replace the valve cover gaskets?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
John & Christina

Motorcraft ZD-11.

Clay at Riffraff has great service.
Motorcraft Glowplugs ZD-11 - Riffraff Diesel Performance

Valve cover gaskets are re-useable. Check for burnt pins on the connectors.

So i was driving my truck home earlier this week and I pulled out onto the highway applied about half throttle and the truck really started shaking accompanied by a massive loss in power. Fortunately I was close to home and I was able to limp her back to the garage. I has a slight shimmy at idle both in park and neutral and it still misses in neutral when I apply throttle. I have been feverishly reading (I read all 17 pages of this thread) trying to figure out what might have happened and this thread seems to be spot on with everything except one thing, it is not intermittent and I have no CEL. Am I going the right way?

2002 Excursion 7.3 4x4 290,000 miles.

There are a lot of things that could cause that, but my first question is how many miles are there on your injectors? Are they original with nearly 300k miles? Prior to the massive power loss, did you feel any misfire or shudder in a high gear, at very light throttle on flat ground?

So I bought it with 250k. I'm unsure if the injectors age. However, the truck was maintained very well. There was no sign of a pending failure. Everything was fine and all of a sudden something gave out

It could be that a connector on one of the under valve cover harnesses has come loose, but that should set an SES light. On that subject, are you sure the bulb works; does it come on when you turn the key on? Is there any difference whether the engine is warm or cold? Anything that seems to make it better or worse?

100% sure my bulb works. I had a CEL the day before that I cleared when I replaced my EBP sensor. As far as the truck acting differently hot or cold I don't know. It was at operating temp when it started. I haven't started it again cold. I can check that when I get home

What diagnostic software do you have? Can you run a KOEO and buzz test and see if those return any codes?

I don't have access to software to run either test. It is extraordinarily expensive?

Why don't you start with the ohm test and a multi meter described in post #2 of this thread? That's a simple way to rule things in or out. If the ohm test passes and the truck still runs bad, it's time to move on to something else, but lets at least rule something out first without dumping a bunch of money on anything.

No, not really, especially if you have an Android device with Bluetooth. You can get a bluetooth OBD-II adapter and install Torque Pro and Car Gauge Pro and be in it for about $25.00. Torque Pro is a better program for monitoring, and it's pretty user friendly. Car Gauge Pro will run the injector buzz and other tests, but it's rather clunky and unintuitive. There's also AutoEnginuity if you have a WinD'ohs laptop. It's a good package and a lot of people use it for monitoring and testing. It's more expensive at about $360, including their proprietary OBD-II adapter. Where are you located? Maybe someone nearby wouldn't mind dropping by, hooking up to your truck and running the tests.

Either way, it couldn't hurt to pop the valve covers and make sure the harnesses and connectors are in good shape. Even if they aren't loose, it's a good idea to check the pins on the inside and outside for any signs of melting/burning.

I agree and I will be testing it this weekend

So the first idea with the apps is quite appealing but neither will work since I have apple everything. As a matter of fact I just took my old dell laptop to the range and destroyed it and hour ago. It was fun!
I live in North Pole, AK. I appreciate the help thus far and I will report back with my findings on the two valve cover connectors

Left side from rear to front

.6 .6 2.6 2.6 C 2.6 2.6 .6 .8

Right side from rear to front

.6 .7 2.5 2.8 C 2.6 2.6 .6 .6