couple quick Q's - fuel/electrical

[rhkcommander]

Just replaced all my injectors, the old ones were D-code standadyne and rusty, carboned, etc etc. Injector ticking...

Put in 8 new BB delphis, and many thanks to Russ viton o-rings and new return line kit hope ya feel better on that leg!

Took truck for a run when the lines were starting to bleed more and had more cylinders running... After a couple trips around the block I took it for a longer trip around the neighborhood. Seemed to smooth out and run better the longer I went so I assume it just bled the air out... Started right up like cake w/o plugs after sitting several minutes between the short run and longer run and still had some air in hte lines (sat ~10min ?) good improvement either way... Will try again in the morn so wish me luck I started at 12pm and finished almost at 5pm, took a break and finished in the dark. Furthest 2 cylinders are a pain for glow plugs, injectors, anything so far but if all goes well it'll be worth the efforts

so my questions:

• after injector swap, I know air is in the lines and all. I read most people try to run it and it stalls. mine didnt, it just idled like crap so i gave it some pedal which helped as long as I didn't let off. No stall but it ran like crap for a while... is it just bleeding the air through the return lines and injectors? Looked foamy for a second off the filter when running then cleared up to clean diesel..
• Which wire on the glowplug controller is the wait to start light wire? Mines manual push button now... I thought blue wire but I don't wanna risk shorting stuff
• How can I test the factory water separator to make sure the indicator is working, is there any other way over just giving it drops of water? Where is it located? I havent gone looking for it but I see the fuel line from the lift pump so I figure its down low?

Thanks for helping with any of these questions...

 

[Brianedwardss]

I can only help some. The wait to start wire is blue. Now on mine, my push button is hooked to the ground side of the relay. When I had my switch hooked up to the positive side, my WTS light was on constantly. Hook the blue wire onto the ground side of the relay where your push button switch is connected.

With your truck being the '87 'middle' year, I'm not sure the exact fuel setup that's on it. But the way I test if the water-in-fuel sensor is working on a bowl-type filter such as ours; When i'm replacing the filter, pull the bowl off, clean all the crud out, and then re-hook up the wire. Find a way to keep the bowl level and put just enough water on the sensor port in the bowl that it should in-theory be tripping the sensor. These ford sensors most of the time are pretty sensitive, so it doesn't take much. turn the key on and check the light. If the light isn't on, try a bit more water (not saying fill the bowl). If it still isn't on, unplug the wire and use a paper-clip to join the contacts in the plug and check it. It should now be on for sure. If not, you most likely have a burned out bulb in the cab or a broken wire.

 

[rhkcommander]

Thanks for helping and also confirming that its blue, I wired it ground style like you mentioned, seems safer to me

Guess I'll give that a shot in the morning and see if the light is out or if its all clear..

Figured I should combine the simple questions into one thread rather than start several.. That answered 2/3, and the other I'm 99% sure I know the answer to too... was just being a worry wart i guess.

 

[Agnem]

Let me clarify the air in the lines situation. First off, once you have fuel at the injectors, you don't have air in your injection lines anymore. The amount of presure that is in there will crush any air bubble you may have and push it right out. The injector pump is where your air is storing, mostly from air coming in with the fuel, due to leaky return lines in all likelyhood. A lot of the time you may not have one or more return line caps on properly. Take a piece of cardboard from the back of a writing pad. You should be able to slip the edge of the cardboard between the line nut, and the injector cap. If you can't, that cap is not seated right.

 

[rhkcommander]

I'll take some pictures after I try that out. I pushed them down good and hard and then used a socket to push evenly on each return cap until they went no further... I used oil to lubricate them.

Started up today pretty good, alot better than it had on the old injectors and leaky kit... either way an improvement but I could still have a leak.

I loosened the line clamps to get the back injector nuts on, those didn't seem to wanna glide on like the rest How easy are they to crossthread?

 

[Brianedwardss]

How easy are they to crossthread?

Honestly, VERY easy to cross-thread.

 

[Brianedwardss]

Ask a rebuild shop how many injector cores they have to reject due to them getting cross-threaded.. I was given a few cores by one shop for free that had obvious cross-thread marks in them. (I wanted to see what an injector looked like inside )

 

[gatorman21218]

About as easily as an aluminum power steering pump and grade 8 bolts. Hand thread those hard lines all the way down if possible.

 

[icanfixall]

If you cross threaded any hard lines on the injectors then you will have a fuel leak and those injectors are usually ruined. I have done this twice too but. I remove the injector and "fixed" the threads. Those injectors are now gone. They were used for shim gathering. I'm about reading to pop test the BB codes I got from Russ and shim what I need.

 

[rhkcommander]

I'll take a look then. They all were locked on real hard when I was loosening the lines off... Might just be some gunk built up on the threads that made them so hard to go on... Here's hoping

All of the return tees have the gap your mentioning Mel. I'll have to climb in and take a good look around and clean some things up... I wonder if the water sep is leaking too

Still starts much better than before though. It'll warm start now

 

[rhkcommander]

had work all day so I didn't grab a look. but with it being around 50°F out, it only took about a few seconds to start.. Warm starts now too. Before I'd have to hug the glowplugs, hit starter and keep going...

Interesting, but at least this truck is getting better with age

 

[FordGuy100]

Easy to cross thread. Did this on two injectors once. Truck running on 6cylinders gives it a nice lope

 

[rhkcommander]

IDK... Too afraid to bother backing them off. There is/was some wetness from the motor oil but i dont see/smell diesel. And I know what to look for since I saw the 3 of the old injecotrs leaking, plus the stained/wet return lines that were done for. Probably just corroded threads tricking me into paranoid fear of cross-threading . Lookslike they went on straight just was harder to turn than the others. I know what you mean about hard metal on soft too

Starts and runs like a dream now. Just a case of air in the system... I'm just paranoid, truck went through enough (my pockets too) .

How long do you guys usually hit the glow plugs for in say 50°F weather (current temp), I've got Berus and do 10 seconds - i used a timer and I check ocassionally and I'm pretty dead on now- how about average spring, summer, fall winter weathers... 45th parallel. Just figure it would be good info for me to know how long others are doing it . I know alot are fans of the glow plug controller and not looking for a debate on those, but automated electronics on a mechanical truck... dont make too much sense to me. Thanks again for the help guys

 

[OLDBULL8]

How long do you guys usually hit the glow plugs for in say 50°F weather (current temp), I've got Berus and do 10 seconds - i used a timer and I check ocassionally and I'm pretty dead on now- how about average spring, summer, fall winter weathers... 45th parallel. Just figure it would be good info for me to know how long others are doing it . I know alot are fans of the glow plug controller and not looking for a debate on those, but automated electronics on a mechanical truck... dont make too much sense to me. Thanks again for the help guys
__________________

10 - 15 seconds on the Glo's don't hurt them a bit, that is with Beru's.
Just don't let paranoia set in . If it don't start in 2 -3 seconds, just hit the Glo's again.
The electronic GP controller was/is for emmision's control, it can actually cycle ON/OFF for up to two minutes, when controlled by a computerized engine.

 

[rhkcommander]

Thanks Oldbull!

Should these trucks start as easy if they sit for a while (couple days, week, month)? If it was perfectly sealed I'm sure it would but real world-wise... Does your guys' trucks start as easy a week of sitting vs next day? Just another factoid to remember and help my diagnosing

By the way, injectors look dry to me... I need to clean the Tees properly to insure that its fully dry though...

But I do recall thinking that the injection pump had a little diesel leak.. Would explain why mine rough starts after sitting for days. Starts great if its only been a day or so. Runs like a champ though. I need to double check now that the new stuff is in to make sure it wasn't diesel dribble from the 3 badly leaking tees on the old kit.