New IDI Running Rough...

[firemedicmonkey]

I picked up the black beater a few weeks ago.

http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35065

1993 F-250 HD 4x4 Reg Cab, 161,*** Miles, 7.3L N/A, E4DOA...

The Previous owner says he is the second owner. He bought it several years ago and drove it for a couple years. Then he parked it for about 2 years and it was never run. Since it was parked for 2 years to get it going he (claims) he put a new fuel (mechanical lift) pump, new fuel lines, fuel filter.

When I bought it he said it was missing and smoked badly... Figured it was a bad injector or two...

It starts hard takes some cranking and pushing the accelerator to get it to fire over and then it runs like I would describe as it is missing... I am not too familair with diesels though... It does smoke bad though too... I would say its a white / grey / blue smoke...

A friend told me to loosen the solid fuel lines on the injectors and if it gets worse then the injector is good... if not then it is bad... So I did that and found 2 maybe three that when loosened it did not noticibly get worse...

However once the truck warms up it seems to run fine... I can run it down the road and it doesn't seem to be missing much if at all... It idles like my other diesel did when it was running... But it still smokes not as bad but still smokes...

So where do I begin with this?

 

[typ4]

New injectors and return kit will help then if the pump hasn't been done that will be next.

The pop pressure changes in the injectors and if the filter maintenance hasnt been kept up the tips wear and cause all kinds of nasty running problems.

 

[towcat]

check the blowby.
if it's minimal, shoot the works....injection pump, injectors, return line kit.
you'll have a solid running truck after that.

 

[firemedicmonkey]

New injectors and return kit will help then if the pump hasn't been done that will be next.

The pop pressure changes in the injectors and if the filter maintenance hasnt been kept up the tips wear and cause all kinds of nasty running problems.

I am glad you chimmed in... I was wanting to talk to you about new injectors and return kit for it... I just didn't want to spend the money if that wasn't the problem...

Can you tell me about how to go about getting a set of injectors and return kit from you? PM me if needed!

 

[firemedicmonkey]

check the blowby.
if it's minimal, shoot the works....injection pump, injectors, return line kit.
you'll have a solid running truck after that.

Whats the best way to check for blow-by? Open Oil Cap?

Injectors...Check, Return Line Kit... Check (Waiting on russ for those)

IP... sounds very expensive for a $1200 truck... How do I know If I need one of those?

 

[weilertrans]

you can pull the inj and have them "pop tested" at a IH dealer or a diesel rebuild shop. That will tell you if they are ok. To start i would spend some time looking for a air in fuel leak. After the eng warms up youve run it long enough to get the air out of the system. I usually like to look for the simple fixes first. I'm curious did the prior owner put the pump, lines, and filter on it because it ran bad and how was it when he parked it two years ago or was that the reason he parked it?

 

[RLDSL]

And after changing out the injectors and all, you can bet those rings are sticky after sitting all that time so give it a couple of treatments of Auto Rx and that will free them up and cut down on the smoking and help some with the cold starting

 

[firemedicmonkey]

He "said" it ran fine when he parked it... The brakes went out on it he just didn't drive it much... I had his mechanic (non-diesel) do the pump fuel lines and filter on it after it sat to get it going...

What is the best method to look for the air-leak, and where do I start with that... I have heard lots about that causing problems...

 

[RLDSL]

He "said" it ran fine when he parked it....

If I had a dime for every chunk of happy horse crap like that I've heard from previous owners that was total BS I could spend my retirement in a villa in the Alps with a flock of servants

 

[firemedicmonkey]

If I had a dime for every chunk of happy horse crap like that I've heard from previous owners that was total BS I could spend my retirement in a villa in the Alps with a flock of servants

I didn't say that I believed him... There are already parts of the story that don't add up... but I figured at $1200 how could I go wrong on this deal...

can any one chime in on how to do a blow-by check?

 

[mark7.3idi]

Take off the oil cap when it is running and see how much blow by it has.

 

[weilertrans]

this engine has a lot of natural blow-by and it would be hard to tell by removing the oil cap. there are testing procedures for blowby on big engines but i'm not familiar of one for this eng. Not saying there isnt one i'm just not familiar with it. Air get into the fuel syst thru loose fittings and hose clamps - recheck all of them. If you can pressurize the suction side of the fuel system (usually from the line that comes from the tank to the "in" side of the transfer pump) and find ANY fuel leakage youv'e probably found your problem. Air will sometimes seep into the suction side when the engine is setting overnite. Recheck the filter for tightness or overtightened causing the gasket to distort. Not going to deny that it may be a IP but thats the most expensive fix of all. Don't go to junk yard for pump 'never found it to result in anything good unless you hear the engine run before it was pulled

 

[mark7.3idi]

both of my trucks have no blow by when you open the oil cap.

 

[RLDSL]

I didn't say that I believed him... There are already parts of the story that don't add up... but I figured at $1200 how could I go wrong on this deal...

can any one chime in on how to do a blow-by check?

Take off the oil fill cap observe it at idle, then have someone run it up to just below 2000 rpm and hold it there for a few seconds. you should see the blowby stop puffing out of the oil fill hole. THis brings the engine up into the range where the vacuum should draw the crankcase gasses into the manifold through the cdr if things are functioning properly.

If it's still puffing like a freight train, that is to be expected on an engine that sat for 2 years. The rings are likely packed up. Run a couple of treatments of Auto Rx through the thing to thoroughly clean out the rings and grooves and free them up and yow will likely take care of it, if that doesn't take care if it, you have MAJOR mechanical problems, but at least you will have a spotless engine inside and save hours of scrubbing when you tear into the thing to rebuild it, you won't even have to take a ring groove cleaner to it

 

[firemedicmonkey]

Do you work for the Auto Rx people?

Why have I never heard of it before?

I went to the site it looks interesting... Seems like it would take almost a year and 12k mi to get two wash and rinse cycles done...