Bought one! Now to drive it 600 miles

[nitroguy]

Hey guys!

I just bought a new farm truck - an 84 f350 with the 6.9 in it. I got it in Seattle, and will be driving it to Montana tomorrow. It didn't run when I bought it - starter, glow plug controller, and brake master cylinder were shot. I had a shop replace the brake MC (visiting family, no access to tools, etc) and fuel return lines, they should be done today. The return lines had lots of air intrusion (push on the lines fuel spurted out of each lots of air hissing in and out of each injector return connection (is that the 'olive'?)

I can't wait to get the truck home and take it apart, but first he has to get home. No access to a trailer the family will be following in a minivan with the kiddos. So here is the question - what should I be ready for? What tools should I pick up for the journey? Unknown history, hopefully the two big issues are resolved I'm mechanical but fairly unfamiliar with the idiosyncrasies of the idi. Help me out, and I'll keep everyone apprised of the journey! Here we go!

Day 0 - got the truck running on ether (guy promised that glow plug controller is dead, how to I ensure so?) to have it die 6 miles out of town. Truck it at the repair shop outside of Seattle, plan is to pick it up tomorrow and begin the journey. 600 miles, three mountain passes, and a whole Lotta prayers. I'm either crazy, or will forever remember the awesome journey home. Or maybe both. Bringing along my 7 year old boy in the front seat, gonna spend some time teaching him about the finer things in life.

Here goes nothing!

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[The_Josh_Bear]

Hey! Was that picture taken off I90? I looks just like the hill by the Snoqualmie Casino, exit 27. I live in the area.

Anywho tools, tools... cant go wrong with a standard end wrench set. Injector lines are 5/8" and if you have to bleed them on the road that's a must-have. I always keep a volt meter on board to know what needs to be replaced with any electrical issue.
You can always convince yourself to bring more tools. A good socket set, vice grips, wire cutter/crimper with spare wires and connectors galore...oh man I've said too much already!

To ensure the glow plug relay is down you can always just wait a minute with the key on and they will be too cold to fire ether. Or using a volt meter, test a plug when the engine is cold, key on, to see if it's getting juice. (Typically the "wait to start" light will come on, but the light could be burned out I supposed)

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Our engines can be started with ether with dead glow plugs. The plastic caps on the injectors don't have olives these are o-rings. The olives are on the end of the steel fuel lines except for the one that goes into the lift pump. A lot of shops don't know much about our old engines these days. I'm not trying to say anything bad about your shop of choice, just making you aware of this fact. Fuel system aside, these engines are very similar to a gas V8 such as an old 302. You won't get several instant replies here like you would on Facebook, but overall, the quality of answers by just a handful of people on here will be way better than all of your Facebook responses combined. I feel that this is the best place for information on these engines, period. Another good source is Ford Truck Enthusiasts. I know that several members here are also members on there and say good things about them too. These engines are simple and very reliable once the fuel system is sorted out. You can't cheap out on parts, especially the fuel system (glow plugs included), but the cost is worth the results. Another member, Saburi, just flew from Florida to Colorado to buy a truck. He even stopped half way home to have another member, Thewespaul, pull his engine out and go through the heads and install a bigger cam. You're not alone in driving a long way home with your new truck.

 

[bbjordan]

Tools are always good. A couple of spare fuel filters. Some 16-18 gauge wire and some alligator clips.

An old-timer once told me, there's 3 things that can cause a diesel engine no to run: fuel, fuel, and fuel.

1. fuel, the Fuel Shut-off Solenoid can fail, or not get power to it. This will cause the fuel metering valve not to open, and the engine will not run. A simple test is to jumper the positive terminal on the battery to the FSS terminal. You should hear a distinctive click.

2. fuel, is the fuel filter plugged? If you depress the Schrader valve while cranking the engine, fuel should come shooting out with enough force to clear the engine bay! Use a can if you don't want to make a mess.

3. fuel, is fuel getting to the fuel filter? A simple test is to remove the fuel filter. Is it full? If not, it may be the fuel pump, or a problem further back. To test if it's the fuel pump or further back, connect the intake side of the fuel pump to a piece of hose going into a pail of diesel. If the engine runs, then the problem is further back. The little piece of fuel line between the fuel pump and the hard line is a common point of failure. The hose gets weak over time and collapses. If it's still the original hose, it probably should be replaced.

Hopefully, you are aware of the "shower head" issue. This can cause you to run out of fuel when you still have a 1/4 tank left.
The pieces of a disintegrated shower head can also plug up the Fuel tank Selector Valve.

Oh, and did I mention fuel? You have good fresh diesel in the tank right?

Good luck on your journey! Remember, it's not what happens to you on the journey, it's how you react to it. Your attitude is what your son will see. Keep your sunny side up.

 

[saburai]

Welcome and good luck! I'm the guy that IDI Bronco mentioned. Since I was flying I was very limited in the amount of tools that I could take, on the other hand my truck allegedly had no issues... We didn't replace the cam we just studded the heads and swap out the IP and turbo for my newer upgraded Conestoga and typ4 parts as well as a bigger exhaust and some other stuff, if you're interested take a look the project thread that Wes started. If it's possible, I would take as many hand tools with you as practical. This is the place to come for definitive answers for our old diesels. There is also the 9-1-1 emergency Diesel Down section of this forum. I've gotten very fast responses here and have learned a lot! It's really a great bunch of very knowledgeable folks. Good luck!

 

[UMR_Engnr]

I second the shower head issue. When I drove my truck back from Texas (560 mi) it died on the highway an hour from home with 1/4 tank left. We were so close. I decided to switch tanks and crank away. Eventually it came back to life. So keep the fuel topped up.

To aid in priming the fuel system a manual starter switch works well so that you can crank while under the hood with a screwdriver on the Schrader valve. I believe harbor freight has one for a few bucks.

Fuel filter is a good idea to have in case there is crud in the tank. Not sure about your year but in mine the factory filter assembly had a bottom alumimum piece that screwed on to the filter andtended to leak. Wix makes a one piece filter that eliminates the need for this bottom piece. Something to keep in mind also in case the previous owner already changed over so that you don't buy the wrong one.

Hopefully you checked fluid levels already.

Wishing you the best on your journey. Kids love these trucks.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

We didn't replace the cam

I'm sorry. For some reason I thought you did.

 

[johnnolanstrtgld]

you make it?

 

[nitroguy]

Seriously phenomenal insights here guys! Thank you!

And yes, it's just off i90 by North Bend. Good eye! That's impressive!!

Here's what happened. I got a call from the shop who proudly proclaimed it ready to go! Picked it up Friday afternoon from the shop, and he fired right up. Drove it a bit, filled up the front tank with diesel (vent line must be clogged because it kept clicking off had to fill it incredibly slowly).
Drove it a mile down the freeway, and it died. Dead. Off. Wouldn't restart. Crud! Hit the Schrader valve and all air came shooting out the fuel bleeder.

With a van full of family (wife, 4 kids) I didn't have time to diagnose. Poked around for about 10 minutes on the side of the freeway in rush hour traffic. But with no history and minimal tools (and two screaming infants) my focus was distracted.

All said and done, I had it towed. Back to the shop. Then got in the van with the family and trekked home. Now I have to figure out how to head back to Seattle with my running truck, get a tow dolly, and tow it back. Bummer but had to do what I did for family sake.

So, any guesses on what the issue is? Both times it died once I got going, about 50mph for a minute, then kaput. Would run for 20 minutes at low speed previous to the higher speeds with no issue. Could it be the fuel pump?

Josh_Bear, if (when) I make it back to the area, any chance we could connect and I get your trained eyes on it?

Thanks for all your help this far guys! Looking forward to getting it back and going!

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[chris142]

Bring oil

 

[compressionignitionrules]

Orings in dual tank switch.
take a couple feet of 3/8 line and some clamps and bypass the switch. suction and return. been there on an 89 that sat fro a while. low suflur diesle plays all sorts of havoc and may not necessarily cause a external leak.

what were you thinking? 4 kids..............you never should have bought a 3seater . my wife is annoyed I bought a 96 supercab and we only have 3 kids.

good luck on this adventure, if you are brave enough for 4 you can do anything........

 

[bbjordan]

Sounds like a restriction on the suction side of the fuel pump resulting in air intrusion. This matches the symptoms: problem gets worse with greater fuel demand. I'm thinking the fuel pump is probably ok, since you are getting pressure at the schrader valve albeit air.

The restriction could be shower head bits plugging up the system. You could try blowing out the fuel line(s) and/or the FSV bypass that compressionignitionrules suggested.

It would be a good time to swap out the little length of hose from the hard line to the fuel pump.

Also, the older 6.9 trucks had a water/fuel separator by the Master Cylinder booster on the drivers side of the firewall. This has caused grief for some members, and they wind up bypassing it. Bypass it at your own risk. I just cleaned mine up and it appears to work fine.