Weird. What style glow plugs does it have, spade or bullet? My 87 F250 6.9 has bullet and the 7.3 style controller. Maybe yours got engine swapped for an older 6.9.
Glow Plug Controller Broke Off!
- Thread starter Stu Bailey
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- glow plug controller
Weird. What style glow plugs does it have, spade or bullet? My 87 F250 6.9 has bullet and the 7.3 style controller. Maybe yours got engine swapped for an older 6.9.
CEDRICWARD
Registered User
Well, first of all I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has had these problems.
I bought my '85 F350 from a nasty old farmer in North Idaho about 20 years ago.
He lied about the Turbo being a Banks so I took him to court twice and won each time.
Got a hunk of money back.
Hauled my 34 foot Silver Streak all over hell and gone for a couple of months and found the tranny needed to be rebuilt (Borg Warner 4 speed) for $1500.
Had the glow plugs stick on and burn out so started it on ether for years. When I finally pulled the glow plugs one of them broke off but stayed in the hole so I just left the broken plug in the hold until I developed a head gasket leak and had to pull the heads. Had to buy an engine hoist and all new hardware ($17 for each head bolt).
Later on, my emergency brake line got rusty and was dragging on my brakes so check yours. The rubber around the line holds in water and rusts the line so it sticks and doesn't retract. Somehow my front calipers wore my pads down to metal and ruined my calipers.
I had to replace the controller on this trip ($110 back then).
The truck ran rough and a mechanic found that someone had patched on one fan blade that made it run wobbly. When I got back home I replaced the fan ($150) and had to buy a one time use fan nut wrench at NAPA for ($90). Had it gold plated and framed.
Later on, the controller EXPLODED and pissed what looked like smoke through the firewall.
I thought I was on fire, but it was just water vapor. Replaced that controller for $90 on the internet.
The story continues...the wires leading to the fuse box on the driver's side shorted out and melted adjoining wires, so I went to a junkyard and hacked out enough of a good one to patch into to my harness. That worked for a while until it didn't. So I unraveled the entire harness to see where the wires went to test them. I got another harness out of a junkyard but never used it for a replacement. Used it as a good guide to see where the wires went though.
Tore out the complete dash to get to the harness. Still haven't put it back on.
Bypassed the entire starting system and put in a momentary switch, a glow plug button .and a hot wire to the fuel solenoid on the injector. You shut the engine down by turning off the power to that fuel solenoid. Worked well until the engine started developing a clunk. A local mechanic said that was just a bad injector.
Bought new glow plugs and injectors. Stripped the threads on one injector putting the hard line on. Found a leak in the injector. Took it to be rebuilt ($600) (cheap). replaced my injector fuel lines and blew out the hard lines.
Have to replace the rear brakes (it's a dually) and the wheels are rusted on tight. Even Les Schwab's man couldn't beat them off with a sledgehammer. Someone told me to loosen the lug nuts and drive it up on a curb to break it loose.
I have to work outside on this rig so, because I'm old and lazy and hot and cold makes me stay in bed and watch TV, I haven't finished up the injector job yet. (Waiting for Spring).
The truck is now a storage unit and home to yellow jackets in the summer.
Dash still not in, wires hanging all over the place.
Oh, and none of the electrics work so I added some off-road lights for headlights and put some Harbor Freight triangle red led lights on the back for running lights at night.
Talk about red neck fixin'!
I'm 75 and wonder if I'll get this sumbitch running before I croak.
The doctor just told me my PSA (prostate) is a 7 which is really high on the scale.
Going to have a urologist look up my butt soon.
Getting old is a *****.
I bought my '85 F350 from a nasty old farmer in North Idaho about 20 years ago.
He lied about the Turbo being a Banks so I took him to court twice and won each time.
Got a hunk of money back.
Hauled my 34 foot Silver Streak all over hell and gone for a couple of months and found the tranny needed to be rebuilt (Borg Warner 4 speed) for $1500.
Had the glow plugs stick on and burn out so started it on ether for years. When I finally pulled the glow plugs one of them broke off but stayed in the hole so I just left the broken plug in the hold until I developed a head gasket leak and had to pull the heads. Had to buy an engine hoist and all new hardware ($17 for each head bolt).
Later on, my emergency brake line got rusty and was dragging on my brakes so check yours. The rubber around the line holds in water and rusts the line so it sticks and doesn't retract. Somehow my front calipers wore my pads down to metal and ruined my calipers.
I had to replace the controller on this trip ($110 back then).
The truck ran rough and a mechanic found that someone had patched on one fan blade that made it run wobbly. When I got back home I replaced the fan ($150) and had to buy a one time use fan nut wrench at NAPA for ($90). Had it gold plated and framed.
Later on, the controller EXPLODED and pissed what looked like smoke through the firewall.
I thought I was on fire, but it was just water vapor. Replaced that controller for $90 on the internet.
The story continues...the wires leading to the fuse box on the driver's side shorted out and melted adjoining wires, so I went to a junkyard and hacked out enough of a good one to patch into to my harness. That worked for a while until it didn't. So I unraveled the entire harness to see where the wires went to test them. I got another harness out of a junkyard but never used it for a replacement. Used it as a good guide to see where the wires went though.
Tore out the complete dash to get to the harness. Still haven't put it back on.
Bypassed the entire starting system and put in a momentary switch, a glow plug button .and a hot wire to the fuel solenoid on the injector. You shut the engine down by turning off the power to that fuel solenoid. Worked well until the engine started developing a clunk. A local mechanic said that was just a bad injector.
Bought new glow plugs and injectors. Stripped the threads on one injector putting the hard line on. Found a leak in the injector. Took it to be rebuilt ($600) (cheap). replaced my injector fuel lines and blew out the hard lines.
Have to replace the rear brakes (it's a dually) and the wheels are rusted on tight. Even Les Schwab's man couldn't beat them off with a sledgehammer. Someone told me to loosen the lug nuts and drive it up on a curb to break it loose.
I have to work outside on this rig so, because I'm old and lazy and hot and cold makes me stay in bed and watch TV, I haven't finished up the injector job yet. (Waiting for Spring).
The truck is now a storage unit and home to yellow jackets in the summer.
Dash still not in, wires hanging all over the place.
Oh, and none of the electrics work so I added some off-road lights for headlights and put some Harbor Freight triangle red led lights on the back for running lights at night.
Talk about red neck fixin'!
I'm 75 and wonder if I'll get this sumbitch running before I croak.
The doctor just told me my PSA (prostate) is a 7 which is really high on the scale.
Going to have a urologist look up my butt soon.
Getting old is a *****.
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The parking brake is cable linked to the rear brakes only. They aren't connected to the front brakes at all.
A slide hammer works well for removing stuck brake drums since it causes an impact while pulling it away from the hub.
Cedric. Tell the urologist to keep his dip stick out of your stick shifter. My dad said his leaked for a month after that adventure.
Move your hot wire from your offroad lights to your headlights and your headlights will work. Hot, ground and a fuse if you aren't feeling adventurous. I'd come up there and do it for you but it's too dang cold....
Those hub centric wheels suck to get off. I was tempted to drive it with the lug nuts loose. Grease the hub when you do get them pulled. That plus the factory lug nuts and it seems Ford didn't expect us to change the tires.
Move your hot wire from your offroad lights to your headlights and your headlights will work. Hot, ground and a fuse if you aren't feeling adventurous. I'd come up there and do it for you but it's too dang cold....
Those hub centric wheels suck to get off. I was tempted to drive it with the lug nuts loose. Grease the hub when you do get them pulled. That plus the factory lug nuts and it seems Ford didn't expect us to change the tires.
CEDRICWARD
Registered User
Thanks for the replies.
