I bought this '90 F-250 a couple of months ago - it did not run. The previous owner has no mechanical skills whatsoever and had given up on it. A used engine (he thinks from a '93) was put in last spring and it had run fine for him for about 3 months before it quit. I have replaced all the glow plugs, put in new injectors and a rebuilt IP as well as all of the fuel return lines and caps, etc. It now starts right up. I don't have much diesel experience myself, but from what I have learned from reading on this forum, I've gotten that far. It blows quite a bit of white smoke on start up, but that clears up slowly as it warms up. Under any load at all it pours out black smoke and has very little power. I got it up to about 65 mph yesterday, but it took forever. Advancing the timing about 1/8 inch towards the passenger side seemed to help a little, but not much.
So, where do I go next? I haven't ruled out that the timing gear may be off a tooth or more, although I didn't remove the gear cover (the shade-tree mechanic who put the engine in appears to be a moron, based on the quality of workmanship I've had to redo to get this far). I haven't touched the CDR, could that cause this problem? Do I get the engine timed professionally next?
I replaced the fuel filter and air filter. No apparent obstructions on the intake side. Could the exhaust be plugged? It appears to be flowing okay.
Any suggestions as to what to do next are appreciated.
So, where do I go next? I haven't ruled out that the timing gear may be off a tooth or more, although I didn't remove the gear cover (the shade-tree mechanic who put the engine in appears to be a moron, based on the quality of workmanship I've had to redo to get this far). I haven't touched the CDR, could that cause this problem? Do I get the engine timed professionally next?
I replaced the fuel filter and air filter. No apparent obstructions on the intake side. Could the exhaust be plugged? It appears to be flowing okay.
Any suggestions as to what to do next are appreciated.