cdude20
Registered User
Hey y'all. So I'm new to the whole IDI thing. I bought a 1989 F350 with the 7.3 in December. It has been running like a top until about two months ago when it started going downhill. I have been researching my butt off trying to figure this thing out but I have not been able to figure out the exact problem.
The symptoms?
It takes 15-20 seconds to start, even after glow plugs. One glow plug cycle or four, does not matter. It seems the throttle position does not matter either.
Once it does start, it blows out a ton of blue smoke that smells like fuel. It does this for like two seconds. I do have a video of this.
I hear a loud metallic knock for about ten seconds once it starts, in time with one of the cylinders.
Occasionally, in the first ten to fifteen seconds of running, it will have a very random pop like a miss. It will only pop twice or three times a few seconds apart when it does. I'm not really sure what a diesel miss sounds like but I'm guessing that is it.
When idling, it puffs out a slight amount of blue smoke that burns my eyes pretty bad but does smell like fuel. I also have a video of this
On acceleration, it smokes bad. Light throttle it smokes white. Hard throttle it smokes black.
It seems to have lost a lot of torque since the time I bought it.
Also, I installed an EGT gauge just outside the number 2? cylinder in March. It's on the driver's side just outside the second cylinder from the front. I'm too lazy too look up the cylinder order right now. But anyway, after driving, letting it idle to cool down before I shut it off, it only gets down to about 250 after like 2 minutes. It used to go down to 220 sometimes as low as 200 on cool down idle. On the highway, going 70 mph, it runs at around 930 to 960. Getting up to that speed at about half to 3/4 throttle it goes as high as 1180, which scares me. I'm not sure what kind of temperatures this engine can take right outside the cylinder.
Now from what I have found through my research online, it sounds like there is air in the fuel system. I saw somewhere that the fuel filter would be low or empty after it sat overnight if there was an air leak. I took the harley to work today so it sat all night and all day, spun off the filter after work, and it's full to the brim. I spun it back on, cycled the glow plugs, and it still took almost 20 seconds to start with all the symptoms I listed above for starting. I have not yet started cracking injector feed lines. Should that be my next step? I'm at a loss for what to do. Can someone please help point me in the right direction? I want my bulletproof truck back lol.
P.S. I work as a mechanic, so I got the full assortment of tools and such and I'll do whatever it takes to get this thing running right again.
Thanks guys
The symptoms?
It takes 15-20 seconds to start, even after glow plugs. One glow plug cycle or four, does not matter. It seems the throttle position does not matter either.
Once it does start, it blows out a ton of blue smoke that smells like fuel. It does this for like two seconds. I do have a video of this.
I hear a loud metallic knock for about ten seconds once it starts, in time with one of the cylinders.
Occasionally, in the first ten to fifteen seconds of running, it will have a very random pop like a miss. It will only pop twice or three times a few seconds apart when it does. I'm not really sure what a diesel miss sounds like but I'm guessing that is it.
When idling, it puffs out a slight amount of blue smoke that burns my eyes pretty bad but does smell like fuel. I also have a video of this
On acceleration, it smokes bad. Light throttle it smokes white. Hard throttle it smokes black.
It seems to have lost a lot of torque since the time I bought it.
Also, I installed an EGT gauge just outside the number 2? cylinder in March. It's on the driver's side just outside the second cylinder from the front. I'm too lazy too look up the cylinder order right now. But anyway, after driving, letting it idle to cool down before I shut it off, it only gets down to about 250 after like 2 minutes. It used to go down to 220 sometimes as low as 200 on cool down idle. On the highway, going 70 mph, it runs at around 930 to 960. Getting up to that speed at about half to 3/4 throttle it goes as high as 1180, which scares me. I'm not sure what kind of temperatures this engine can take right outside the cylinder.
Now from what I have found through my research online, it sounds like there is air in the fuel system. I saw somewhere that the fuel filter would be low or empty after it sat overnight if there was an air leak. I took the harley to work today so it sat all night and all day, spun off the filter after work, and it's full to the brim. I spun it back on, cycled the glow plugs, and it still took almost 20 seconds to start with all the symptoms I listed above for starting. I have not yet started cracking injector feed lines. Should that be my next step? I'm at a loss for what to do. Can someone please help point me in the right direction? I want my bulletproof truck back lol.
P.S. I work as a mechanic, so I got the full assortment of tools and such and I'll do whatever it takes to get this thing running right again.
Thanks guys