First Ford Diesel

[jbuck]

Well my son and i took the plunge and purchased a 1986 F-250 6.9 2wd with c-6 , with 103 on it yesterday. The truck had been sitting for six months after starter failed and owner put wrong starter in and chewed up flexplate. I wall not able to see it run before purchase but for $500.00 bucks and the fact that my son knows owner and assured me it ran when parked. So we put a new starter in yesterday and it turns over but flexplate is in need of replacement. I could not get it to fire but it was 34 dgrees in Virginia yesterday. So off to the shop to have flexplate replaced. What would you guys do first, or check for first?

 

[bayou]

change the oil/filter. thats always my first when i get a new rig.

 

[DesertBen44]

Check the glow plugs with a multimeter- I had 4 bad ones since I bought it, never even noticed. Starts much better now. The check only takes a few seconds, use either a 12v test light or a multimeter on volts, unplug the wires from all the glow plugs, put one lead on the battery and one on the plug. if you dont show 12 volts, or the test light doesnt illuminate, replace it.

 

[johneich]

If it does not fire up, check the glow plugs, use a test light from battery positive to each plug, (If you are not sure of plugs, get the vehicle as warm as possible & plug in and engine heater/your block heater) check for fuel pumping at the schrader valve on filter head (Looks like a tire valve), then crack some injector lines and listen for air (seeing diesel would be best), then its just a matter of tracking down in between where an issue is.

Welcome to the forum, ask questions, help to get it running is here and free.

 

[Agnem]

Congrats on the purchase. Check out our FAQ's and take a look at the tech articles. Lots of info to be gotten there. I seem to remember hearing somewhere that the gear ring on the flex plate may be reversable. Something about heating it until it expands, removing it and flipping it over. That may be an option for you if the tooth damage is not across the entire gear width.

 

[bike-maker]

Ring gears on flywheels are easily changed. I always used a big brass drift to beat the ring gears off. For install, you just heat the ring gear up with a torch; they are thin enough they expand, and you just place it on the flywheel and let it cool/shrink back up.
But on flex plates, they weld them on so they are not so easily changed. Probably better off to just get a new flex plate for it.

 

[bike-maker]

On further investigation, I realized that some of the IDI's (I think mostly the older ones) had a flexplate in them that's beefy enough to support a standard type, press on ring gear like a manual trans truck would use. That makes it cheap and easy to replace (just not easy to get to).

 

[hesutton]

Welcome to OB and congrats on the new rig.

Change the oil and filters (oil and fuel). Be sure to fill the new fuel filter with clean diesel, ATF, fuel lube or something similar. Otherwise, you'll had life trying to fill/bleed the filter by just cranking it over.

Check and change the air filter if needed.

Like stated above, make sure your glow plugs are functional and make sure they are Motorcraft or Beru brand glow plugs. Autolite, Champion, and the like are poor performers and tend to swell/get stuck in the head more than others.

Might want to change all the fluid in the drivetrain as well (front and rear axle, transmission).

Have a good look at the coolant. Again, a flush and refill is never a bad thing if you don't know how many miles are on the fuilds.

Check the u-joints in the driveshaft for play or damage.

Check the fuild in the brake master cylinder, fill if needed.

Another this that could be done when changing the oil is to collect a sample for used oil analysis. That can be helpful in letting you know of any unseen issues in the engine.

Replace the return lines/caps if they are leaking.

How old are the injectors and injection pump? If they are originals, they are nearing the end of their servic life.

There is other stuff I'm forgeting. Others will fill in the blanks.

Heath

 

[icanfixall]

The starter ring gears can not be flipped over. The starter needs to see the bevel side of the gear or they wont engage.

 

[TwoTone IDI]

i have a flexplate in richmond that you can have if you want it. OEM in good shape.