Hello, I normally hang out over in the 73-79 Forum but do check this one out on occasion. My '96 F350 seems to have a misfire when I start it up cold. I just replaced the glow plugs. It made it start way easier than it has for quite a while. After replacing the GP's, VC gaskets, and 1 UVC harness that had a burned pin on the connector; I started it up and let it idle. I watched the weep holes on the injectors to see if I had oil coming out of them. I found that I had one on each bank that took longer to produce oil than the rest. (I don't remember which cylinders they were at this point) It seemed like after it had Idled a couple of minutes it smoothed out. Just wondering if this is normal or if I have a problem developing? Bad injector "O" rings possibly? It runs great after the water temp starts to come up. Any ideas or suggerstions??? Also, I know that the burned pins on the VC's and UVC harnesses are a common problem but, what causes it? Thanks in advance; I know you guys will give some good advice............

 

The poppets on those 2 injectors may be worn more than the others . How many miles on the oil & what weight is the oil. ?

 

Less than 3000 miles on the oil and 15W40 Delo since I changed it the first time. Ive always changed the oil at 3000 miles. Temp in the shop was around 40-50 degrees. Truck has about 80,000 miles. Ive owned it since new. Way back when I first bought it my son filled it up with gasoline for me. I dont think I had 2000 miles on it at that point. He drove it home and parked it. I didnt realize he had filled it with gasoline and went to use it the next day and it was smokin and running like crap. Called the local ford dealer and had it towed in thinking I had a problem that would be under warranty. Well It wasnt and I got presented a bill when I went to pick it up for them draining the tank and changing the filter etc. They said they didnt think it had done any damage so I have been driving it ever since. It has always seemed to idle a bit rough cold and blown quite a bit more smoke than I thought it should when you first take off after letting it idle to warm up below freezing but the weather was warm when I bought it so I really didnt have anything to compare it to prior to the gasoline incident. Kinda is making sense now though, it could have damaged the poppets with the gasoline with no lubrication. With dang near 80,000 miles on it now, I think I'll just run it till I get a miss with it warmed up. Unless some of you advise against it. Like I said previously.... it runs great once it warms up.

 

You could try a 5 w in the colder temps . I have never used Delo , I'll assume its not synthetic. That may be another way to go ...

Damage from gasoline may have been minor ,depending on how many miles it was driven ...

 

It maybe got driven 4 miles tops and run the next morning just long enough to figure out that I had a problem I didnt even back it out of the driveway, so it didnt get ran much after the gasoline was put in it. I have wondered about going to 5W30 in the winter, but the truck doesnt get used that much during winter so I never have. I'd be afraid of doing more damage to it than good if I forgot thats what oil I was running and the temps warmed up considerably (which it can do here in Idaho, Ive seen it go from close to 0 to over +50 overnight. Normally if its going to be down around 0 and I know Im going to run it, I'll plug it in anyway and that seems to keep it from misfiring and smoking since the water temp is higher. If I get to where I use it more during the winter, I may try the 5W30 and see what happens. But for now I think I'll just leave it alone......its run almost 80,000 as it is and doesn't seem to have done any damage.

 

You could try 5w/40 rotella full syn but it
Cost a little more. About $18 a gallon.

 

Yeah I could, but when I use this truck, I rack the miles on it.........just doesnt get used that much. Ive always been a beleiver in changing the oil more often than letting it go longer to offset the cost of synthetic. Not that synthetic isn't good stuff because it is. I just cant justify the $18 a gallon x 3 1/2-4 gallons every 3000 miles................Like I said she's run almost 80,000 so far and doesnt seem to be making any oil or loosing any power due to the injector problem so I think I'm just gonna run her till an injector gives me problems when the engine is warmed up. Thanks for all the input guys

 

Amsoil synthetics are good to go 20k or more with periodic tests, and a bypass filter set-up. IMO that's the only way synthetic oils would be worth the expense. However, I have read a lot of good things about Valvoline Premium Blue, which should be good for 6k miles or so, and I plan to give it a try at my next oil change.
Otherwise stick to 3k mile changes with ANY other oil.

As for your injector issue. If it misses when cold and runs better within minutes of running and runs well all day till it sits overnight, that's a classic Poppet Valve Issue. Poppet valves are at the mercy of the engine oil and would have nothing to do with gas in your fuel tank.
It's your call, you can address the issue now or later.
A bigger concern would be that the gasoline ran through the injector's Plunger & Barrels might have torn them up a little since the early injectors ('94 - E'99) did not have the durable Tungsten coating used since '99.5.

Let me know if you have specific questions or concerns.
Thanks,
Jim

 

The more I got to thinking about it, youre right Jim the poppets would have nothing to do with the gasoline issue. Like I said when I had the VC's off and started it up I just noticed that 1 injector on each side took a while longer to produce oil out of the weep holes. Had never really noticed this before but my experience with the old 7.3's is pretty limited. Like I said earlier she's run almost 80,000 so far and doesnt make any oil so I think I'm just gonna run it and see what happens......Thanks for the input.

 

Does it miss at all when you don't see as much oil coming out?
Or is it just a visual thing?
Does it generally run and idle OK?
FWIW some injectors are hard to see oil coming out of them, yet they still function OK.

 

Yeah it did miss and smoke for a bit before the oil appeared. Once the water temp starts coming up (seems like about the time it hits the "N" on the guage) it smooths right out and runs great. It was obvious on those two injectors when they started producing oil. Just as obvious as the other 6 were right away. It joust took them maybe a minute or two before I could actually see them putting out oil missing and smoking the whole time. It was warmer (40 to 50 degrees) in the shop compared to when I normally really start to notice the problem when its setting outside. Outside temp is usually anything near or below freezing when I really notice it. So Im sure with coolant temp around 40 to 50 degrees, that they started producing oil quicker than at 32 degrees or below. So thats why it didnt miss and smoke quite as long in the shop as it would have outside in lower temps.