93 F250 7.3 IDI non-turbo 4x4, 5speed / "131k" miles

[trucknorris]

Crank, crank, crank, crank.. crann.. crann. cran. cra.. cr.. ccccccccccc no start ;( And I thought my air cooled vanagon was a temperamental beast..

 

[trucknorris]

Temperamental girl decided to fire right up with bigger set of cojones -- aka jumper cables.

I also found a loose single-wire (L-shaped plug) behind the alternator. It's connected to the same harness that goes to the fuel filter. Yet this small 14 gauge? wire with plug does not go anywhere, and there is no plug anywhere in its vicinity that can accept this plug.

 

[icanfixall]

Feel under the fuel filter. What you probably found is the water in fuel wire. Use a mirror to get a good look at the bottom of the filter. There is a wire connection post there.

 

[trucknorris]

Should it be connected? or does it matter?

 

[DragRag]

Not needed really. Make sure the batteries are hot, and the starter spins fast enough. Or guess what......it's not going to start well at all, very important. Also, make sure glow plugs are all working. More then two out, and it's not pinto start well either.

 

[trucknorris]

I got the little nipple reconnected. Thank you. Today I removed both batteries and cleaned all 4 terminals. They were filthy. The terminals are messed up from years of abuse and jumping. I will probably need to replace those down the line.
I also swapped the batteries, and tested the charging system; 14.5v running; 12.8v in off position. Tomorrow will be a good test. While I was getting dirty, I went ahead and tightened the oil pan since some oil was dripping from the seal, and I got the oil drain plug tightened.. Some oil was seeping out of there too. All and all, productive day.

 

[trucknorris]

I am suspecting I may have a slow battery drain somewhere. last night i tested my battery at 12.8v, and this morning I tested them at 12.5v. I am not hearing the glow-plug relay clicking like i used to. This morning it started with pedal to the floor.

 

[trucknorris]

Wow.. GP harness is very fragile. The connectors are almost bubble gum like. I found a DIY harness, but they are using fussable wiring. My NAPA guy has some nice connectors and is willing to make me a harness for the price of connectors. Should I take him up on it? He wants to use plain automotive wiring. I got 8 new Motorcraft glow plugs I'll be replacing tomorrow, and was wondering if I should install a bypass switch, and manually operate the glow plugs?

 

[opusd2]

I manually run my glow plugs with a momentary switch, adjusting time according to ambient temperature. I calculate it using experience with my engine and plain dumb luck. Works for me, though when I get a chance to pull the heads and remove the stuck glow plugs that my brother probably found on the shop floor somewhere, I will put good ones in and reattach the stock sensor or wire up a nice automatic system.

These engines are hearty and fun, I love mine more than my gassers.

Oh, and just down the road is a little town consisting of a bar and an intersection that floods over every spring called Frog Station. Probably run by frogs it's so swampy, hard to tell. But it had a moment of notoriety on tv being referenced in a question on Jeopardy once. Probably 20 years ago though. It's sad that I remember...

 

[trucknorris]

Hooray.. I'm exhausted. Took me about 3 hours to replace all 8 glow plugs. I spent majority of my time figuring out how to remove drivers side gp under the injector lines with 3/4 drive thick extension. Couldn't close my garage, it was raining out, and truck was half way in, and half way out, so I could not go out to go buy 1/4 drive socket, I ended up putting a screw through the socket and bolted it on both ends, so that the threaded and skinny end goes neatly between the lines and then put two nuts and locked them against each other, and drove the gp out.... geez... couldn't they have thought a better way to run these lines? Now onto the good news. "WAIT TO START" finally comes on, where as it was not coming on before. Wait to start lasts about 8seconds, but power to glow plugs lasts a bit longer. The WTS light goes off, power remains going to the glow plugs for another 4 seconds or so. Good news is.. It starts like a kitten, and purrs on half a crank. The bad news is, the lock can be rotated without the key, but it does not cycle the glow plugs -- it will if you fiddle with it... that's bad! I need to order a new lock, and ignition switch.

All 8 Champion GP where replaced with 8 Motorcraft BERU GP! All came out intact. The passenger side, front first cyl was very oily. Don't know what that's about, but I'll continue monitoring it. The truck will need a new air filter, still needs brakes and clutch pedal fixed, and now lock and ignition switch, just to be on the safe side. Interior is crap, so I'll soon be looking to buy a new dashboard, and new seats... but brakes and clutch FIRST!

 

[cpdenton]

Mine has become a little lard to start in the past few days. The question I have is about your harness situation. I was looking at my truck and found my gp harness to be very brittle as well. Did you get the napa guy to make you a new harness, or did you just go with what you had. My WTS light works for about 5 seconds or so, but if you let the truck sit overnight, it takes a little cranking to get it fired up. After it is warm, it fires with just a bump of the key. I am thinking of replacing glow plugs and return line kit on mine, just so I know what I have and I have the peace of mind that thereis no problem there.

I also noticed my injectors have tags on them saying they were rebuilt on various dates. I think I might need to gt a good matched set sometime soon also.

My truck was a Craigslist orphan as well, that was a maintenance deprived vehicle for sure. Only fix it when it when it was broke and cobble it together even then.

Thanks

Chris

 

[trucknorris]

Hey Chris. The plastic fell apart, but the metal connector was fine. I left the metal part exposed, until I build another harness. This morning the truck was hard to start. I know that the glow plugs were not a problem. She was letting-go some white smoke while cranking. What's next? Injector seals?

 

[Hydro-idi]

Did you say you had a glow plug that was oily? Oily or diesel fuel??

 

[trucknorris]

i'm guessing that's oil -- it was thicker than diesel, but I just touched it to smell it, and it did not wash easy, although it does not smell like diesel. i can take the new one out and take another look? could be oil. what are you thinking? bad rings?

 

[trucknorris]

Cold start issue is still there. Starts within 5 seconds if I hold WOT, and crank when cold. Fuel supply issue? Fuel filter? IP? Cold Start Advance?