help, gas man new to diesels

[kowboi73]

hey guys,

I recently bought a brand new 89 f250 (new to me). miles unknown. 7.3L, 4x4, ZF 5speed tranny?, 4.10 gears. My tires are just under 30 inches tall. The problem is at highway speed, I'm hitting 2800-2900rpms. MPG suk. I figure I should be around 2000 on the tach. There's a chance that the speedo is a little slow. Haven't clocked it yet, just feels slow. I may have messed up on the calcs, but don't think so. I guess a previous owner could have replaced the gears in the rear, but doubtful. Any ideas?

A couple problems with the truck:
doors won't lock, not electrically and not manually(can't push them down).
Hard to start- have to pump the gas 10-15 times before trying to start and
then takes a good 10 seconds to catch.
LOOKS LIKE HELL.
MPG suk- I estimate the mpg's to be around 10-11. I will know when I check the odometer/speedo.
Brake light is on- Manual says may be vaccum problem, will check out soon.
Needs oil change, and tune-up.

This will be a daily driver in a couple of weeks(losing my company truck) What would yall do first if you just bought a truck like this? No money for upgrades, just preventive maintenance for now. May put some bigger tires on it to help with the mpg


Any help or advice yall could give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[typ4]

Lets start here, pun intended, It does no good to pump the pedal on a diesel. turn the key to on, light tap on the pedal to set fast idle, wait for glow plug light to go out turn to start till it catches, maybe if the injector pump is worn you may have to hold it on the floor till it catches. I would guess the returns are leaking air and that may be the excessive cranking issue. Always service a new to you truck unless you have proof of recent care. I am sure others will chime in. This forum has the greeatest peeps on it, ask all the questions you think are dumb and we have all the answers, well most of the time
Dinner is ready, later.

 

[EvergreenRanch]

First, Welcome!
ill address things one at a time:

*What do you consider highway speed? my truck would hit 2800 at about 70-75

*If you have factory locks like mine (XLT Lariat) you ahve a bad connection somewhere. I ended up forcefully removing the rod between the powerdoor lock actuator and the mechanism.....so now its one door manual one door powerlock.

*Hard to start is probably the glowplugs. Be the first thing on my list to do. make sure you get Motorcraft/ Beru glowplugs.....under NO circumstances get "Autolites" they will break off inside you engine and thrash it.

*Brake light could be low vacuum but it could also be your RABS (antilock brake sensor)

*MPG could be couple of things....incorrectly timed, dieing injectors and/or injector pump, cavitation or low compression......which brings me to the next thing...

***FIRST AND FOREMOST*** go to NAPA and get a Antifreeze test kit and see wether the previous owner used the correct low silicate coolant.....very very important. if SCA levels are wrong: empty rad, flush throughly, and get the proper SCA coolant.

from there...id start looking at the IDI tech articles. hope this helps and im sure others will chime in.

typ04 beat me to a couple things....but yep....be sure to read and understand the Cavitation article in the IDI tech articles area...very important.

 

[kowboi73]

pumping the pedal

The first day I bought it, I drove it home and let it set a bit (hours) then went back out and wanted to drive it some. I did not pump the pedal and ended up killing the batteries. Bought some spray and that started it up right away. I don't want to have to use the spray, so I kept trying different things to see if I could get it started without it. This is what I came up with : hitting the pedal a bunch then starting it. I figured it wasn't normal, but when you need it to run!

Thanks for the help, keep'em coming.

 

[Exekiel69]

Welcome

It will be good if you take the time to read the tech articles they are very helpfull. Don't use starting fluid = no good. As some already said, you want to check coolant for dca or sca and have some motorcraft/beru glow plugs in there. Also don't drive with the brake light ON. Hope you read the articles.

 

[apextrans]

The ABS light could also be the RABS valve on the Drivers side front inside frame rail. Is your parking brake light on along with the ABS light? If you shut the truck of & restart is the light on or out? If it's out, does it come on as soon as you step on the brake pedal?

Oh & welcome to the board!!

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

The first day I bought it, I drove it home and let it set a bit (hours) then went back out and wanted to drive it some. I did not pump the pedal and ended up killing the batteries.
Thanks for the help, keep'em coming.

Definitly check the return lines and caps on the injectors. Any sign of wetness is an indicator of fuel leaking and or air intrusion.

Also check the fuel lines all the way back to the tank(s).
Reason being, my 89 had a crack in the plastic line and would only spill fuel running down the road. Crappy mileage. When sitting shut off, it would let air back into the system causing major startup issues.

What may also be a suspect if the return lines are dry is the possibility of the IP(injector pump) going bad.

When you first turn the key, how long does the wait to start light stay on?
On a cold start it should be around 10-12 seconds. Any shorter could be the possibility of failing glow plugs, as stated earlier, Motocraft/ Beru's only!

 

[argve]

Well I'm going to throw my vote in for glow plugs at this point since you said that she started right up with a snort of ether.

It's a pretty simple system... check ohmic value on each glow plug - good plugs should read around 1~2 OHMS. The ones that are bad need replacing the ones that test good I would leave in there - some guys fly by the rule of just replace them all - choice is up to you.

As mentioned the BERU brand plugs or MOTORCRAFT brand are the ones to have in your hands - you can get them at Autozone just as for part number ZD-9 - around 10 bucks a plug - they will come in a motorcraft brand bag (yep you guessed it the same part as your local Ford dealer carries for half the cost)...

 

[DeepRoots]

also, where are you located?

 

[tonkadoctor]

For starters, if you're a do it yourselfer I suggest you get down to the local Advance autoparts and get a couple of manuals for it


1). Haynes Techbook 10330 .... This covers the diesel engine in depth.
2). Haynes Repair manual 36058 ... This covers the rest of the truck but not the diesel engine


Definatly check the glow plugs and controller and stop using ether, it's death to these diesels.

Check all of the rubber fuel lines. Small hoses are often overlooked for maintennance and I would dare to bet that they may even be factory originals which would make them 17 years old, not good for rubber hoses.

Also, a fuel line doesn't have to leak fuel to be able to allow air into the system so don't assume all is OK if you don't see a fuel leak.

As far as fuel milage is concerned...The biggest gains are usually obtained by changing your habits and slowing down. If your driving a vehicle like this that's shaped like a brick at 75mph yes it's going to use alot of fuel.

1. don't race to every stoplight with the rest of the pack, coast up to it and often it will change before you get to it and you just ride through
2. shift at lower RPMs and get in the highest gear ASAP and consider skip shifting when you don't need every gear. When I had 4.10 gears I did'nt need to use 1st and 3rd very often.
3. Don't mash the go pedal to accelerate, just because you have a big stick doesn't mean you have to use it, just sqeeze it enough to get the job done.

Yea, you'll look like grandma getting up to speed but if MPG is killing your pocketbook you gotta do what you gotta do. I was getting 15.5 MPG around town when I had 4.10 gears driving like this.

 

[dsblack]

I know on my 1990 the brake light can also com on for low fluid. Check that. And as stated, make sure the e-brake pedle is all of the way up.

Check the time on the wait to start light. I agree that glow plugs are probably the reason for no start. Does it even come on?

Get the oil changed with some good oil, and run a longer oil filter from a 94 power stroke, it should fit.

Change your driving habits. Your truck has eneough power to drive like a gasser when empty, but it is a differant beast, and does not like that, so slow acceleration, and you will be much happier, also MPG between 60 and 65 drops like a rock for me. At 60 I can get 17 empty, At 65 I get 14. and 11 at 70

Welcome to the addiction!

 

[Mont91]

Starting procedure is turn key to run (this starts the glowplug"GP" cycle), depress throttle halfway then release (this allows the cold idle and timing abvance to set), After Wait To Start Light"WTSL" goes off (about 10 seconds) turn the key to start. If it fails to start repeat. If the WTSL does not come on or goes off in less than about 10 seconds you probably have a GP problem. These engines do not start very well with out a good glow plug system unless it is over 80.

Short rant. Ether does not harm these engines.
Using ether "improperly" with a "hot" glow plug may cause severe damage.
Most 7.3s produced were used in medium duty trucks that used ether cold start systems not GPs.
Without a hot glowplug it is nearly impossible to cause damage with ether. Over application will most likely "flood" or partially lock up the engine.

 

[kowboi73]

keep it coming

hey guys I really appreciate all this help, please keep it coming!

a lot of questions, here are some answers.

I have started reading the tech articles.

Brake light that is on is on the right side of steering wheel and it is on always-except when the key is removed.

Wait to start light probably stays on about 4 or 5 seconds, but have not timed it yet,

I live outside of S.A.T.X. so not a lot of cold days here.

Autozone said they didn't carry any books for this truck

I usually drive around 60mph in this truck, have gone faster but not for long. I will keep it around 60 from now on.

I already checked the brake fluid, it was a little low, but adding more didn't help with the brake light.

To do list: next 2 weeks.
check radiator
replace glow plugs
check brakes
oil change
check fuel lines/injector lines
k&n

I don't have a lot of tools, anyone give me an idea of how much someone would charge me to check the timing and check injectors? What else would be involved in a tune-up?

 

[Mr_Roboto]

IMO, by the time you pull the injectors to have them "tested" you might as well replace them with new ones. Watch Stanadyne injectors on eBay. While you're at it, get an "injector install kit" and replace the return caps, o-rings and rubber lines.

As far as the locks not moving, the power lock solenoids are rusted frozen. You can unbolt the solenoids and then they will work manually. Or else you can replace the solenoids.

 

[tonkadoctor]

Autozone said they didn't carry any books for this truck

IMHO Autozone is about worthless for anything unless you want pretty blue lights, seat covers and a chome gas pedal for a honda civic .

Advance usually carries the manuals I listed in stock.

Short rant. Ether does not harm these engines.
Using ether "improperly" with a "hot" glow plug may cause severe damage.
Most 7.3s produced were used in medium duty trucks that used ether cold start systems not GPs.
Without a hot glowplug it is nearly impossible to cause damage with ether. Over application will most likely "flood" or partially lock up the engine.

I guess I should have been more specific. I agree that an ether cold start system on a non glow plug engine is fine in a small dose.

A very (usually way overly done) liberal shot from a spray can of ether in the hands of a consumer that may not know better on the particular motor we are discussing is bad and can lead to broken glowplugs, cracked pistons, tips busted off of injectors and much worse. And yes I have even seen mechanics that didn't know better too, they stand there and say oops when a customers diesel revved past 5k when it finally starts. Just the sound of a diesel starting on ether makes me cringe.