need help in ft polk

[NMB2]

first post, my friend in canada referred me here to try to find help.

Just bought a 91 F350 with idi 7.3 and i cant get it to start. Ived swapped to electric fuel pump, new fuel filter, bled the lines all the way to the injectors, ensured the fuel cut off has power, good batteries, new starter and i still cant get it started. It puffs white smoke and cranks over fast, however when i held my hand over the intake i noticed that it does suck in hard but it also seems to puff out slightly during its cycle, can that be normal? also I've ethered the crap out of it and I cannot even get it to try to kick or even vapor lock for that matter. The only other thing i can think of checking is pulling the little cover on the front off to see if the injection pump is in correct timing. But i am still concerned with the fact that starting fluid wont vapor lock this or try to get it to kick over.

any help would be appreciated.

 

[94turbo73]

take the top off of the injection pump see if it full of fuel in fact some should fall out

 

[icanfixall]

Did it run before you bought it... White smoke means its getting fuel into the cylinders. Are the glow plugs working... I'm thinking they aren't.

 

[Goofyexponent]

With the GP's not working, and I agree that it sounds like they aren't, ether should have made her at least kick.

Is the "Wait to start" light coming on when you turn the key to the on position? If so, wait for it to go out and then try rollin her over.

When you say she is rolling over fast, how many RPM are showing on the tach?

You say you have white smoke, which is good. Do you have access to an outside plug? If so, plug the block heater in for 2 - 3 hours and try again.

 

[NMB2]

ok I have been tinking with this thing for over a week with the Help of my friend on here 82F100SWB, who recommended this site to me.

Here is where Im at... I have compression tested it and according to specs i read it is good, almost 400 range on ever cylinder. the glow plugs do not work, the solenoid just starts rapidly ticking instantly and i tested lines and they are good so i assume the plugs are toast. I have bled the system several times and confirmed i am getting fuel to the injectors and due to it puffing white smoke i assume its getting into the chambers. I have ethered the crap out of this thing.. gone through a can and a half total. I disconnectd the trigger wire for the starter so i can turn it over under the hood while i spray and watch/listen. The rpms seem to slightly speed up and the sound changes... it seems to start breathing a little "harder", but just slightly... and a Knock forms, which i assume means its burning the ether (over ethered). Its sitting in a garage and i plugged in the heater for about 12 hours one night and did nothing. It should be plenty warm. Checked the timing on the injection pump and I beleive that its on or close enough that it should fire. The only thing i can start to think now is that perhaps the motor is just fubared somehow, or perhaps the injectors arent firing enough fuel? I am not experienced enough in diesels to know how much white smoke it should be rolling out, so perhaps its underfueled. Also if the injection pump needle or whatever it is that is referred to in "turning it up" is turned down... would that make it not fire or does it not move that far like on a carburetor? thanks for the responses and I hope we can figure this thing out as its just sitting dead on post.

P.S forgot to mention that it was not running when purchased, the guy says that it ran one day then started and died the next time he tried running it and it never ran again...

 

[Brimmstone]

Make sure your return line isn't plugged coming off the IP.I had one do about the same thing and it turned out the rubber line coming off the IP to the return line running to the back of the engine broke up and plugged the line. It wouldn't start no matter what I tried. Finally yanked the line from the pump and dropped it into a can. Fired right up afterwords. As to the no glowplugs working problem my trick is to take a hair dryer and point it down the intake for about 20 minutes. If still no dice I'll see if I can get some time and run up with my gear. I'll bring along my timing tools so that can be set while I'm there.

 

[NMB2]

the return line, you mean the one coming off of the top of the IP that goes over to injector number 2 that circles the whole system? if so, I have confirmed that it cycles the system and dumps back into the IP. Have not tried the hair dryer trick but did run a gas heater above it. Will try the hair dryer tomorrow night perhaps and let you know what happens.

appreciate the help.

Justin

 

[Brimmstone]

The line coming off the top of the ip is exactly what I mean. The line also dumps excess pressure out of the IP. If the line coming out of the IP isn't flowing it won't run either.

 

[NMB2]

ok so here is what I tried so we can clarify. when i got the truck there was NO line between the IP top nipple and the injector #2 "T". When i installed the electric fuel pump to aid in the fuel purge and priming process it made it dump fuel out of the open "T" on injector#2. I then put a peice of tube between IP and Inj#2. Is that what you mean or what else do i need to try?

You said if the line out of the IP isnt flowing, meaning fuel coming out of that nipple on the IP? if so, as far as i noticed it does not flow fuel out.

 

[Goofyexponent]

What I did when my truck acted up like this, was take a tic tac container (the breath mints lol) and stuck it between the high idle solenoid and the arm on the IP that the throttle cable pulls on. That way the throttle was opened up to about 1800 - 2000 RPM. Then I started rolling it over by crossing the solenoid over. A tiny, tiny shot of ether into the breather intake tube lit her off....first try. I'll make a video of how I do it when the truck is cranky in the REAL cold.

I have push button GP's too, so I KNOW they aren't warming up.

ALSO, when you go to remove those burnt out GP's BE CAREFUL!!! They might be cheap GP's that swell up when they burn up! Do NOT break a tip off in the head!!

To test the GP's to see if they are working, take a test light and hook it to the POSITIVE lead of either battery. Then pull the wire off a GP, and touch the tip of the test light on the tip of the GP. No light, bad blug. If it lights up, the plug is good. Repeat with all 8. Replace plugs with BERU or MOTORCRAFT...I speak from expirence.

 

[NMB2]

have tried giving it throttle and spraying and cranking all at the same time. I have already pulled out GP's to check for compression and finding the TDC to check pump timing, they are champion plugs, not swelled up though. came out with ease.

 

[Goofyexponent]

That is good to hear that the GP's wern't swelled up!!

Fuel to the injectors and having the lines bled means that the pump, FSS and filter are all doing their jobs. Maybe the injectors are gummed up with old fuel? How long did the truck sit for?

As far as ether, you don't need a whole lot! Ether in an engine without fuel will burn holes in the pistons soooo easy. All you need is a quick 1 second, maybe 2 second shot directly into the air filter, this should be enough to start her if diesel is present. Crank for at least 10 seconds to make sure all the ether is gone before giving her another shot.

Try holding the throttle WIDE open and cranking it for 2 or 3 seconds, then giving her a 2 second burst of ether and keep her held wide open...see what that does to her.

 

[NMB2]

well thanks for the help guys but this motor is shot. checked compression again with a nice gauge set this time, a snap-on set. No compression.. 60psi - 150psi.

i guess i need to find another motor. this sucks.

 

[Goofyexponent]

It went from 400 PSI to 150 PSI with another gauge? I would try the snap on gauge on another truck before I went and ruled out a no good engine!!

Actually, I would try both gauges on a known good engine, just to be sure!

I would put my doubts into ALL 8 cylinders being that low, I am going to stick with my ideals on a bad tester lol.

 

[NMB2]

2 of the cylinders have nearly 400psi. the other 6 are dead. I was typing briefly earlier cuz i was still at the shop and using my phone. two of the cylinders that i tested before were fine. Truth be told they were the only ones i tested.. i assumed the others were fine because i trusted the word of the guy I bought from, my bad. the first two cylinders on the passenger side have 390-400psi range. the front driver was 140, 2nd was 125, 3rd was 75, 4 was 75. 3rd down on passenger side was about 50, and the back passenger was about 50ish.