almost bought truck BUT idiot uses starter fluid!!!!

[GREASE FIRE]

i almost bought this 89 f250 with lots of new parts & a new paint job for $2K from this guy who has been tinkering with diesels for longer than i have been driving. One of these people who can do anything probably but has too many projects going on and can never get himself to do anything totally the right way. Case in point: the glow plug relay went out so he did rig up a manual switch for it but he also had to rig up a seperate starter switch because the key switch was not working right. so instead of putting them each on seperate momentary push button switches he put them on the same one, so the starter cranks while the glow plugs heat up at the same time, and it doesn't work so well in cold weather so he just gives it a shot of starting fluid!!

what kind of damage do you think this idiot has done to the engine? The only possible good is that the glow plugs don't stay on more than a second since it starts right up with ether. He said he has been using starting fluid for years on all kinds of diesel engines - the only exceptions are the ones with aluminum heads - and has never had any problems. But he never keeps any of his rigs very long, just toys around with them and sells them for less than he put into them evidently.

Basically, can anyone tell me what kind of damage could have been done to this engine? supposedly he has not driven it much in the 1 1/2 years since he had it and even less in winter - maybe 10-20 ether starts he said.
is it still worth buying this 7.3 with 160K?

thanks,
paul

 

[FordGuy100]

If I were you I would go for a long test drive and see if it makes any weird noises, I would also check for how much blow by it has. Chances are if it doesnt knock will idling/driving, and the blow by isnt bad, there wouldnt be to much of a problem. I would just look over it closly. Plus if it has a lot of new parts/paint, and then engine is crap, find yourself a good running used IDI and swap it in there, if you think its worth it.

 

[9073]

id stay away from it becuase you never know what the dude probabbly hilbillied to get it to run...


starter fluid isnt going to hurt the engine, many school bus diesels i worked on at my last job had ether injection to make them start (12 valve cummins with no intake grid heaters) BUT the only people that knew where the switch was for the ether were the mechanics so some dumb driver couldnt grenade an engine

that was before we got webasto heaters

 

[devildog88]

how loing has he been using either to start it. If the truck is in good shape and has lots of new parts on it it may be worth it to try and get it for about 1500 even if you have to rebuilt or replace the motor. I would check the whole thing over really well especially the wiring to make sure he didn't just rig everything together. I don't know why but people tend to really hack up the wiring in used vehicles.

 

[devildog88]

oops now i seen in your post that he started it about 10-20 times with either missed that the first time. If the glow plugs were not working then the motor should be okay just drive it to find out.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Well I ether mine all the time when its 20+ below zero here. Its easier on the starter to just shoot a shot of ether in the intake and NOT use the glow plugs than try getting it to start using the GP's and end up having to do it more than once, burning plugs up. But the key to it is, NOT USING THE GLOW PLUGS!!!! My dad had an idiot at his work ether one of these engines then GP the thing and it blew the head right off block. Dented the hood and everything. What an idiot. And the whole time my dad was yelling at him from across the shop to not GP it.

For the price, its worth the test drive, and a major inspection of all the hick **** he did to it. If he's hacked the wiring allot though, dont even bother with it. I bought my red truck for $700, it had a cobbled charging system, and all the lights, and allot of other stuff was hacked as well. It took me another $700 worth of stuff to get that thing running like it should. Its a damn good truck now, but it took allot of work to get it there.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Ether will not hurt anything; it's idiots with ether that hurt stuff.

It only takes a mist, not a bath, to get results.

Many farm tractors, heavy equipment, etc. come from the factory with push-button ether cans mounted on the engine, with instructions to hold the ether button X-amount of seconds, then engage the starter.

I have heard all kinds of scare stories about starting fluid, but have never myself witnessed any actual damage from it's use.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

I've been using ether the last week as it has been too cold for my truck to start without......

I've had the truck parted where I can't plug it in.

 

[GREASE FIRE]

thanks for the replies so far. I do have to admit that once it started it ran really well at idle and also while driving down the highway without any strange sounds from the engine - and that made me want to buy it! I forgot to pull the oil fill tube to check for blowby but i will do that next time. how do you tell how much is too much? does the engine need to be warmed up to test or do you do when it was just started?
thanks,
paul

 

[FordGuy100]

My parents arent to up on diesels. That being said, I remember a long time ago we ran out of fuel on my dads 95 PSD right as we pulled into the parking lot. So we filled it full of fuel, and then had to start it. Remember my parents arent to diesel smart, so before they turned the key on, they shot some either down the intake. I remember they hit the key and this big old flame came out the intake. We then got it started, and drove it a good 100K miles before we sold it, and it still was going strong.

 

[FordGuy100]

Yeah check for blow by by having the truck idling and warmed up. I guess it should have a tea pot affect, which I take it as you should be albe to see some fumes down the tube, but once it gets out you cant see it because of the engine fan wipping it away to fast. Maybe thats wrong though.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Yea, I've actually seen them shoot flames out myself. A Mack engine did it. I dont remember what all was going on with it, but two mechanics were working on it and one was cranking on it and it wasnt starting. So the other idiot leaned over the intake and shot some ether in the intake then looked into it to see if everything was getting sucked in or some stupid reason. Then this huge ball of fire shot out of the intake and his whole face turned black, and he lost is eyelashes and eyebrows.

 

[rubberfish]

Ether will not hurt anything; it's idiots with ether that hurt stuff.

Good point.

 

[tonkadoctor]

If he couldn't afford a $25 GPR or a $15 ignition switch how well do you think he kept the oil changed and other preventative maintenance.

Don't walk away from it......... RUN!!!!!!

 

[GREASE FIRE]

If he couldn't afford a $25 GPR or a $15 ignition switch how well do you think he kept the oil changed and other preventative maintenance.

Don't walk away from it......... RUN!!!!!!

well, first of all he only had it for 10K and the original owner had all maintenance done at dealership.
and, he did put a new glow plug relay (the manual type, basically a starter solenoid) but the dumb thing he did was connect the starter solenoid and the glow plug relay both to the same momentary toggle switch so you had to crank the engine while the glow plugs were heating up - then once it fires you let go of the switch. Not a bad setup for summer days but really poor for cold weather - hence the ether.

Paul