Little update on the truck, sorry it took me so long, just got back in town from school. I'm still having the issue, ish. I got my batteries tested and found I had one bad one. Got it replaced under warranty, but before then I figured out how to get the truck to start quicker, which I think has something to do with the issue. I could sit and crank it, till the batteries died, nothing even with ether. But the other day, just to try it I hit the schraeder valve while someone was cranking it and it took real quick. Even with it being cold. Worked the next I tried it with the truck not starting. Worked like a charm. Too much air somewhere?
1993 F250 IDI Turbo hard/no start
- Thread starter rellerman
- Start date
79jasper
Chickenhawk
Yep. You have air intrusion somewhere.
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fsmyth
Full Access Member
1) if it won't fire on ether, then you are using it wrong, or your ether is junk. nuff said.
2) if it cranks at all, you should be able to get fuel out of the shrader. no fuel, no start.
3) even with fuel at the shrader, if you have air leaks up to that point, the fueling will be wrong.
4) you should get at least an indication of fuel on any injector line if there is enough to crank.
An electric fuel pump on the frame immediately after the FSV will take care of a multitude of
sins - it will force enough fuel through the system to run the truck, as long as you don't have
any major leaks before or after the pump.
Lift pump pressure should match what the injection pump expects.
These are generic instructions for any diesel engine. There may be a few exceptions, but the
IDI is not one of them, and the list above is specific to the Ford. Personal experience.
I routinely start trucks and equipment that have been sitting for years.
First step is to fill the secondary filters with clean diesel, then check for any heaters (glow plugs,
manifold heaters, etc.) and disable them temporarily. I then crank the engine over a few revs,
and then give it a small shot of ether directly into the air intake. This gets 90% of them running.
The other 10% either have IP problems, or the diesel in the tank is rotten, or the fuel shutoff is
closed.
Very occasionally, (some old Macks and Cats), I have to make it run on ether until the pump
fills all the lines and filters. These trucks have a LOT more volume to fill than the small Fords.
In that case, I reinstall the air filters and add ether to the outside air intake. It can stand a
longer squirt that way. On any of them, if you use too much, it will not want to turn over.
Don't force it. Wait a few minutes, and it will bleed off. Be VERY careful with hot engines.
(There is generally another problem causing no starts on engines that have just been run.
Find it and fix it).
2) if it cranks at all, you should be able to get fuel out of the shrader. no fuel, no start.
3) even with fuel at the shrader, if you have air leaks up to that point, the fueling will be wrong.
4) you should get at least an indication of fuel on any injector line if there is enough to crank.
An electric fuel pump on the frame immediately after the FSV will take care of a multitude of
sins - it will force enough fuel through the system to run the truck, as long as you don't have
any major leaks before or after the pump.
Lift pump pressure should match what the injection pump expects.
These are generic instructions for any diesel engine. There may be a few exceptions, but the
IDI is not one of them, and the list above is specific to the Ford. Personal experience.
I routinely start trucks and equipment that have been sitting for years.
First step is to fill the secondary filters with clean diesel, then check for any heaters (glow plugs,
manifold heaters, etc.) and disable them temporarily. I then crank the engine over a few revs,
and then give it a small shot of ether directly into the air intake. This gets 90% of them running.
The other 10% either have IP problems, or the diesel in the tank is rotten, or the fuel shutoff is
closed.
Very occasionally, (some old Macks and Cats), I have to make it run on ether until the pump
fills all the lines and filters. These trucks have a LOT more volume to fill than the small Fords.
In that case, I reinstall the air filters and add ether to the outside air intake. It can stand a
longer squirt that way. On any of them, if you use too much, it will not want to turn over.
Don't force it. Wait a few minutes, and it will bleed off. Be VERY careful with hot engines.
(There is generally another problem causing no starts on engines that have just been run.
Find it and fix it).
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I just replaced the fuel filter the other day, it had about 5k miles on it, so it was aboutt time to be swapped. The fuel in the old filter was pretty dark. When I ran the b20, could it have collapsed a rubber line somewhere? I usually shoot the ether on the filter, then try to fire it off of that. I never thought about having bad ether. I thought it was a little weird that it sometimes wouldn't hit off of it. I had a buddy spraying it while I was cranking and he shot way too much in there, it almost sounded like it was ready to hydro lock. But I avoided that. When I pop the schraeder, fuel comes out along with some air, then whenever the air is released, it fires right up. Even when it's pretty cold, so I know the plugs are working right.
79jasper
Chickenhawk
Possibly. You should do a return line/cap kit.
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fsmyth
Full Access Member
The FUEL was dark? or was it the filter? Dark fuel = bad fuel, usually.
Dark filter - may still be good. I run filters until the pressure drops.
Dirty filters are better than brand new for tiny particles.
And a TINY (1/2 second) squirt of (good) ether is plenty.
Fix your leaks. Then you won't need it.
Dark filter - may still be good. I run filters until the pressure drops.
Dirty filters are better than brand new for tiny particles.
And a TINY (1/2 second) squirt of (good) ether is plenty.
Fix your leaks. Then you won't need it.
The fuel itself was dark, but I forget what I was running for an additive at the time so that might've been it. I have to find where the air intrusion is first. Hahaha I have no idea where to start with that.
fsmyth
Full Access Member
The Ford IDI is in a world of its own when it comes to air intrusion.
Try this: remove the line into the lift pump. replace with a temporary line to a
gallon or so container with clean diesel. if it still has air, then the problem is after
the pump - usually the olives or return line caps or hoses, more rarely the filter
gasket. The fuel heater is a prevalent problem, but you can usually see the leak.
An electric lift pump will purge the air easier and quicker than the mechanical.
There were a few threads on using clear plastic hose to find the air. Search this
forum for them - some are very informative.
There is also an issue with the tank pickups - keep the tank(s) at least 1/2 full.
Try this: remove the line into the lift pump. replace with a temporary line to a
gallon or so container with clean diesel. if it still has air, then the problem is after
the pump - usually the olives or return line caps or hoses, more rarely the filter
gasket. The fuel heater is a prevalent problem, but you can usually see the leak.
An electric lift pump will purge the air easier and quicker than the mechanical.
There were a few threads on using clear plastic hose to find the air. Search this
forum for them - some are very informative.
There is also an issue with the tank pickups - keep the tank(s) at least 1/2 full.
Last edited:
fsmyth
Full Access Member
Actually, it's a 1/4 tank issue. And yes.
Lots of discussion here about it.
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