Andrew Comrie-Picard, a known racing driver and car-scene personality, just shared on Facebook that a Power Stroke diesel Ford he’s in isn’t starting. Pretty much every post in my feed looks something like that—why do so many of my friends drive cars that break down? But ACP’s situation was a little more complicated—he was 700 miles from the South Pole.
Update, Dec 31, 12:00 p.m. EST: ACP has reported that the truck’s moving again thanks to the help of some folks who chimed in. He posted: “Looks like we’ve traced it to an aftermarket integration issue. Amazing to be communicating with so many helpful people while we’re in one of the most inaccessible places on Earth. THANK YOU!! And watch this space….” Looks like we’ll be getting more updates soon.
Here’s what happened earlier in the week:
As you could see in the FB post initially, the vehicle in was question is a 2023 Super Duty 6.7-liter Power Stroke. That’s the new monster diesel that claims over 1,000 lb-ft of torque (1,200 if it’s the High Output variant). Looks like it’s cranking, but not starting. A spec sheet on the expedition’s website says that the team’s Super Duty fuel system has been adapted to burn to run Jet A1. That’s probably because Jet A1 (jet fuel) has a very high resistance to cold.
“With ForScan [diagnostic software for Fords and a few other cars] we get either no sync between cam and crank sensors, or we get a sync on initial crank and get a cough but then that goes away after a moment, sync is lost,” Comrie-Picard writes.
His FB post has already racked up quite a few comments just a few hours after posting, so hopefully he and his crew will be able to get their truck sorted and running again in short order. But hey, if you’re familiar with these, I’m sure the Transglobal Car Expedition crew would be happy to have your insights! You can hop right into his Facebook page from that embed, or just drop a comment here and we’ll try to pass it along.
On an unrelated note, it sounds like the expedition has gone through a few tires as well in its short time on Antarctic land—and those 44-inch rollers do not look like fun to lift!
The Transglobal Car Expedition is the reason ACP and a group of fellow overlanders are driving through penguin country right now. It has the ambitious goal of essentially circumnavigating the entire world with wheeled vehicles. As of December 28, 2024, the eight-person core team was on day 352 near Vostok, Antarctica en route to the South Pole.
According to the expedition diary online, the team took a three-week voyage by ship to get the vehicles to Antarctica and have only recently started rolling again. So, I guess, you can’t drive the entire Earth without the help of boats or planes. But this is certainly still a pretty epic undertaking.
Looks like they’re currently driving multiple Ford Super Duty trucks upfitted by Arctic Trucks with colossal tires and a central air inflation system to keep them afloat on top of snow and ice. If you’re now thinking: “Something about a frozen Ford sounds familiar,” indeed, the Transglobal crew lost and ultimately rescued an Arctic-spec F-150 in super-cold conditions a couple of years ago. Extreme overlanding is mucky business!
But based on the toolboxes mounted to the trucks and the brain trust that the team has access to, I’m optimistic that this crew will have its Super Duty chassis cab rumbling again soon. Still, now I’m especially invested in this saga and will be very curious to see how it’s rectified.
You can follow the Transglobal Car Expedition on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and of course, its homepage.
You can take a closer look at one of its Super Duty vehicles, set up with a cool camper rig, in this video here:
Have any wild backcountry car repair stories? Email the author at andrew.collins@thedrive.com