Anyone willing to refer a diesel wrencher in Nanaimo or mid-island? I haven't had great luck choosing a shop at random.

 

not a lot of choice out there is there !! ...thats why I'm learning to take care of my beast ..what problems are you having ?? or looking for maintenance help??

 

It won't start when its cold without four glows or a block heater, and an owner who refuses to believe that it's nothing more than 25-year-old-diesel-itis. So I was mostly looking for diagnostic direction.

I finally got a good answer: first test the glow plug amperages. If those are good, it's the injector pump, so just live with it until it dies. Then start again with a new truck.

 

If you have a 88 ..the 6.9 the glow plugs are easy to change ..and about 20 bucks a piece they screw out just like a spark plug ..I spry my 7.3 ..have for over a year..just check my oil and fluids ..belts an all the stuff a Driver should do befor heading out and a shot in the air intake.. and I'm off and have you changed your fuel filter..??it can have a lot of crap in it and still run..but be low on power and hard to start,,and the block heater isn't a bad thing..is this your truck or ??

 

Thanks Ken. It's a 7.3 IDI. Yup, new fuel filter, new fluids, and the same deal. I'm guessing it's the combination of weak plugs and slow cranking because of the cold oil.

What are you saying you spray in the intake?

 

ether (?),,quick start ..doesn't take much ..and some here will scream about blowing head gaskets, splitting pistons ..and generally wrecking your motor ...but I have used it for years to start tired motors and start ones that just wont wake up ...a shot into the intake of the air filter ..don't pull anything off just a shot into the air cleaner and wind her over ..how slow is it turning ?? the oil won't slow it down unless it's minus 20 or something like that ..if your battery's are low or the starter is tired it should spin like a gas pot ..do a draw test and see if the battery drops below 10.5 or so volts ..9 is getting too low for a good start ...the 7.3 needs a good wind-up to light well..