Epic Road Trip with 1990 7.3 IDI - Some questions about maintenance on the road.

[JwS]

If you are leaving it at a friends house or something like that I wouldn't worry too much, you will be able to get some assistance, charge batteries etc when you need it. If it is being left more remote from help then you want to be sure it likes to start warm or cold or whatever.. I like the advice above about driving it around for a bit, and pay attention to how it starts in colder temps and stuff, if you have no problems then great! You might want to bring a couple glow plugs with you, they can be hard to find when you need them... check all the battery connections and make sure they are good, an electric fuel pump is a good mod if you are up for it... but that might not be something to tackle at this point... sounds like it is doing well anyway, and that is a good sign..
I did a 6k mile cross country trip this summer, and had no issues, in fact after a few days she was running better than ever! These things like to be driven.
JwS

 

[seacoats]

Well, it's made it about 1000 miles without any major trouble. An intermittent noise started at the 900 mile mark. At first i thought it was a belt making a funny noise, but now i'm not sure. I can't make it happen with any regularity and haven't been able to pinpoint the cause. I just crawled underneath to poke around and try and figure out how to check the diff fluids and brake lines. The brake lines don't appear to be rusted at all (seems that there's a protective layer of road grime and oil covering them). Rear and front diff both seem to be seeping a bit of fluid from the bottom. I couldn't find an obvious place to check the fluid level. Next up is pulling out the Haynes manual and the truck stop manual and seeing what i can find as far as advice (a brief search of the forum didn't yield anything very useful). I did discover something a bit more unexpected and alarming however. There's a bit of an oil leak coming from somewhere, along with some coolant leaking. I haven't yet pinpointed the source on either of those. The oil that i noticed was on the drain pan. After i did the oil change, i checked the filter and drain pan after 100 miles or so and didn't see anything leaking. I checked the oil level cold (just now) and discovered that it's a bit high (going over the l in full on the dipstick). It wasn't this way when i did the oil change. :/ There were only a few drops of coolant on the front bolts of the oil pan. Headed out now to clean everything up and see if i can't pinpoint where this is coming from.

 

[seacoats]

Cleaned all the gunk off the bottom. Found a funny looking spot (see photos below). I'm not sure what this thing is. It seems to be part of the transmission, which neither of my manuels cover. It seems like the metal here at the corner was ground off, i'm no expert but it just doesn't look right. I'm able to slide the key to the truck into the hole. o_0 I started the truck and ran it for a few minutes but nothing came out. Going to take it for a test ride tomorrow and get things warmed up and see if i can't pinpoint the leak. In the meantime i'm quite curious what this is.

http://imgur.com/4IAPZ,z92IM

 

[seawalkersee]

Am I the only one who thinks there are a few glow plugs dead? If the GPR is clicking on and off, there is a voltage problem. Usually they are caused by a few GPs or the wrong GPs.

SWS

 

[JwS]

I'm not sure of what spot you are talking about, but the picture is of the starter, the 2 lines should be your transmission cooler lines up to the radiator. The lines have been replaced, not a problem, but they may be rubbing on things as they vibrate around, I think there is a strap holding the lines near the starter on my van.. but someone has done some work to protect things with the rubber hose, so looks good basically.
The diff fluid is filled to the upper plug in the cover, so if you pull that you should be able to stick a finger in there and find fluid, or just add some till it starts coming out, then stick the plug back in.
I wouldn't worry too much about oil leakage, it will happen, keep an eye on it and keep the level up, if you see a few drips after parking for a while it is nothing, if you are making puddles then it needs some attention.
The coolant leak should be located, look at the water pump (front of engine behind fan) and at the thermostat housing (passenger side of fan) they are most likely. Poke aoround the hoses generally and you should be able to narrow the leak down. I have had way more trouble with coolant leaks than oil leaks over the years!
Oh, watch that oil level if it keeps going up, that may indicate a problem!!
JwS

 

[JwS]

If it is starting decently (and it sounds like it is) I think the GPs are ok..
JwS

 

[seacoats]

We replaced the batteries before leaving the west coast. Figured it'd be wise to do it before heading off to the mountains again. I sure am glad that we did. We're currently in Mammoth and boy was i glad to have the new batteries when starting the truck cold at 7500 feet. Also, it makes a ton of smoke when it's up at these elevations. Did a bit of googling and discovered that that's "normal" for these motors and this elevation.

Now, on to the truck. Good to know about the oil leak. Thus far it hasn't even been enough to leave noticeable drips when i park, it's just collecting underneath. I was reading my Haynes manual yesterday and found a picture of the starter. I figured that that's what i had taken pictures of, but wasn't sure. JwS, thanks for confirming that. Since it has a new trans, i imagine that they replaced the trans cooler lines at the same time. Trucks already warmed up for the day, so i'm gonna hold off till tomorrow to climb underneath and start wiping stuff down to try and pinpoint the coolant leak. Thanks for the tips on where to start looking for that. I'm sure i'll be back with more questions once i find it. For whatever it's worth, the top of the engine (what i can see when i open the hood) is really clean. No oil or other fluid leaks anywhere. It's just the bottom that's a bit messy. Also, the rear diff is leaking a bit of oil. It seems to have a seal that's being squeezed out (maybe some of that silicon stuff). Not leaking bad, just sort of seeping out a bit. I'll pull the top caps tomorrow and poke a finger in to see what's there.

The funny spot i was talking about is just to the right in the center of the second photo. It shows up as a black spot. At first i was convinced that i had found the hole where everything was leaking from. After a few more days of driving and monitoring it, it doesn't seem to be coming from there. Looks like maybe it was ground down a bit to make everything fit back together when the trans was done? Not totally sure.

With the new batteries, i can hear the glow plugs (or at least i think it's them) cycling. Kind of a clicking noise that comes after the wait to start light turns off. The voltmeter still clicks back and forth, but with the new batteries, it's not dropping to as low of a voltage. Still haven't had any real trouble starting (thank god). The worst is up in the mountains and the cold, it'll take a few tries but then off it goes.

 

[89greendiesel]

With the new batteries, i can hear the glow plugs (or at least i think it's them) cycling. Kind of a clicking noise that comes after the wait to start light turns off. The voltmeter still clicks back and forth, but with the new batteries, it's not dropping to as low of a voltage. Still haven't had any real trouble starting (thank god). The worst is up in the mountains and the cold, it'll take a few tries but then off it goes.

The clicking that you are hearing is the truck telling you that there is something wrong with your glowplug system. Either glowplugs burned out or the wires have corroded and lost continuity. you can get a set of wires and Beru ZD9 glowplugs for about $150 together. It is worth the investment

 

[JwS]

First off, the truck is starting under tough temperature and altitude conditions, so there can't be too much wrong with the glow plug system, compression, or fuel delivery, so no need to get the dude too worried about that. The clicking of the glow plug system on the post 89 trucks is normal, to be clear it should turn on the glow plugs (lighting the "wait to start" light for 8-12 seconds or perhaps longer if it is really cold, then start cycling. The cycling is normally around 1 click per second I guess if all is well, if it is faster than that you may have a bad plug or wiring issue. So to me all sounds perfectly normal and the proof is in the pudding, it is starting well.
JwS

 

[89greendiesel]

it was my understanding that the clicking was indicative of loss of continuity


didnt mean to misinform

 

[seacoats]

the clicking is going faster then once per second. seems like there's something going on with the glow plugs, but probably not bad, since it's still starting without the block heater in sub freezing temps at ~6000'. however, it takes a couple of tries to get going and spews white smoke on starting (but the smoke goes away one the motor runs for a bit - less than a minute). i'll work on the glow plugs after this trip, just for piece of minds sake. for now i'm just gonna hope that the coolant leak (from the head gasket, i think) doesn't become too much of a problem.

 

[Danielle]

Another truck missing rust! Sounds like an awesomeness trip!! Definitely share pictures! Welcome to the forum, these guys are like guardian angels, just more manly hee hee

 

[seawalkersee]

I have a 7.3 system on my IDI and it does not click. If it is going "click" and the gauge is moving back and forth as the truck is not running, there IS a problem. He is stating that it takes a few tries to get going so it is NOT firing off right off the bat. On oil, with 40 degree temps with the block heater for less than 2 hours, I can start mine with the glow plugs. In freezing weather, with diesel, I have not had a problem. The lowest temp I have tried is like 20 though...

SWS

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

after glow

just to help clear this up a bit.
guys,on the 1987-1994 glow plug system,the controller will warm the plugs via the relay based on resistance of the plugs.the colder it is,the longer the wait to start light duration will be.
once the light goes off,you should start the truck because right after the light goes out your supposed to have something called "after glow"
this is the "clicking" on/off you hear (should) and see in the volt gauge (should) if you have a properly functioning glow plug controller.
what this cycling called "after glow" does,is help aid in cyl temp to help keep your cold diesel engine running more smoothly,and reduce white smoke.
for those of you who do not think the cycling of clicks/voltage meter swing (and dimming of headlights,or even just dome light etc if on) is normal,your actually the ones without a "fully" functional OEM 1987-1994 glow plug system.
however,this after glow isn't a necessity as you without it happening know.however nothing is wrong at all for those who experience it.they're (myself included) the ones with the fully operational systems.

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

just to help clear this up a bit.
guys,on the 1987-1994 glow plug system,the controller will warm the plugs via the relay based on resistance of the plugs.the colder it is,the longer the wait to start light duration will be.
once the light goes off,you should start the truck because right after the light goes out your supposed to have something called "after glow"
this is the "clicking" on/off you hear (should) and see in the volt gauge (should) if you have a properly functioning glow plug controller.
what this cycling called "after glow" does,is help aid in cyl temp to help keep your cold diesel engine running more smoothly,and reduce white smoke.
for those of you who do not think the cycling of clicks/voltage meter swing (and dimming of headlights,or even just dome light etc if on) is normal,your actually the ones without a "fully" functional OEM 1987-1994 glow plug system.
however,this after glow isn't a necessity as you without it happening know.however nothing is wrong at all for those who experience it.they're (myself included) the ones with the fully operational systems.

Correct