1987 ford hard start and more

[charles h]

i need help with my 87 ford 6.9l it is having problems starting and the other day i started it and it started smoking white ish smoke and idk what is wrong with it

 

[franklin2]

Does it try to fire first thing, and then you have to crank and crank for it finally to start?

Or it doesn't hit a lick at all at anytime?

What does it take for it to finally start?

There are several things it could be, maybe we can narrow it down with more info.

 

[charles h]

it just cranks and cranks till u use starting fluid on it witch i know is ******* it but i just bought the truck not long ago and would like to drive it

 

[franklin2]

It sounds like your glowplug system may not be working. Do you know where they are? You can put a voltmeter on one of them and when the wait to start light comes on, you should have voltage on the glowplug.

If you have voltage on the glowplug system, the next thing to do is unplug the wires on the glowplugs(8 of them) and then take your meter and put the black lead on a good clean ground on the engine, and then touch the red meter lead on the tips of the glowplugs(put the meter in rx1 ohm setting). You should get a very low, almost zero reading on all the plugs if they are good.

You can also take a testlight, hook it to ground and then touch the wire on one of the glowplugs when the wait to start light is on, the testlight should light saying you have voltage going to the plugs when the wait to start light is on. If that works, then clip the alligator clip of the testlight on the battery +, and with the wires off the glowplugs, touch the tips of the glowplugs. If the testlight lights up bright, then the glowplug is good.

 

[charles h]

ok i will try that now i just have to figer out y the truck is smoking whitish smoke and running rough

 

[franklin2]

If the whitish smoke stinks like diesel, that's unburned fuel going out the tailpipe. You may have a faulty injector or two. Once it's running, you can crack the injector lines one at a time at the injector till they leak a little bit. This will kill that injector. If the engine runs worse, then that injector is doing something. Tighten it up and go to each one at a time. If you find some that don't make any difference in the way the engine runs, then that cylinder is dead, which can be caused by several things, including a bad injector.

 

[charles h]

ok i checked the plow plugs have 2 out and the relay is out to but coudent tell on the injectors so now its in the shop to get worked on

 

[charles h]

did compresion check and its good going to start with new injectors and go from there have herd of it being a return line filter doing the serging and piping thow from some people around hear or computer but i dont thank it has a computer

 

[lindstromjd]

did compresion check and its good going to start with new injectors and go from there have herd of it being a return line filter doing the serging and piping thow from some people around hear or computer but i dont thank it has a computer

Dafuq???? Whoever told you your '87 has a computer is an idiot. No offense if it's a friend of yours, but it's the truth. Don't EVER take advice from that person about your diesel EVER AGAIN.

First thing you need to do is get your glow plugs working. You should never use ether/starting fluid on these engines if they have a properly working glow plug system.
Second, you need to buy a GOOD return line kit from either Typ4 (Russ) or Agnem (Mel @ Conestoga Diesel). You can get injectors from both of them as well.
Third thing you need to do is tell us how many miles are on the engine, and if the injectors have any hint of a grey paint on them. If your mileage is over 100,000 and the grey paint is there, replace the injectors.
Fourth thing you might end up doing is replacing your injection pump (IP). There's a write up on the right way to do that and the wrong way. Don't do it the wrong way.

 

[charles h]

it has the gray paint on the injectors and on the return line fittings to and idk on the miles probably a lot idk but its only running on 3 cylinders couse thay did a injector test and poped all on 1 side and it did not change how it was running

 

[charles h]

whats the link to the right up on the pump so i can read it

 

[lindstromjd]

http://oilburners.net/brian/idi/FuelInjectionServicing.htm

 

[charles h]

thanks for the link