I've been having some starting issues lately. I was thinking starter at first, but it seems to start to good when it does start. If you let the glow plugs warm up several times then it starts just fine the first time. After having several issues and having to jump the truck from it killing the batteries I put a set of batteries on it, helped a little bit, doesn't kill the batteries any more. I just bought a GPR109 from NAPA and will be putting it on here in a little bit. My alternator doesn't keep up at night and some times during the day so I guess its on its way out, been getting worse over the past several years. And last but not least the Head lights suck.

Ok so after the long story, I have an IC to put in the truck and figured while I had the front pulled apart I'd go ahead and replace the head lights. Has anyone found a good set up head lights that will fit on the truck and look good? I read through all the stickies last night and there are several different ways about going about the headlights. But it seems they where all several years ago and just seeing if anyone has found anything recent that works better.

On to the Alternator and starter. Is the Mean Green worth it? I think I recall reading some people having issues with them that the company wouldn't work with on? I'm running extra lights, sound system, and pull a trailer all the time, so I was thinking about going with a bigger Alternator then stock. Is it worth it? Should I just slide over to O'reilly and buy them?

The body lines on my truck don't line up as well as I'd like, as I've seen on many of these OBS. Is it just the body bushings that have worn out over time and What is best to replace them with?

 

I don't know if I'd spend money on mean green again. I haven't had any problems lately, but when I did customer service was at the bottom. I think they are a decent product, but very expensive. I expect good customer service no matter how much I pay, but especially if its a lot. There are other options for high output alternators, and an off the shelf SD starter is a big upgrade and cheaper.

How fast does your starter turn over Daniel? As they wear out, you get used to them, and think they are turning over ok yet. Put a new one and you can be amazed. I sure was.

Also check your grounds real well.

As for your body lines, I'm sure your body bushings are worn out. If you make sure the mounts and body around them are in good shape, then replace the bushings, you'll probably have to shim the box a little to get it to line up.

I just got some oem style headlights off of ebay for 30ish bucks iirc. They fit well and are much better than what I had before. There are a lot of options, you can spend quite a bit if you wish. LMC makes a wiring kit for the headlights that is much better for the switch too, someday I need to get one of those.

 

Once you turn the key over several times on a cool morning it'll crank right up just like it used too. I just put the new GPR in granted it feels like about 100 outside right now but fired right off. Its just when its cold it seems like it tries so hard to crank and will then start sounding like the batteries are dead. But you check the batteries and they are fine. So new batteries and now new GPR. Slowly swapping it all out, aint no telling how old they are anyways.

I was looking at these last night for head lights. Both of my back lights are cracked too, so might as well replace everything.

1996 Ford F350 Truck Headlight, Corner Light, Parking Light and Tail Light Kit (8 Piece) at 1A Auto.com

Looks like I can get either a 130 amp or 215 amp rated Alternator.

So your saying get a starter for a SD as in 99-03?

 

Those lights look ok to me. That is what i meant on the starter.

 

If you're turning the key off and back on when the WTS light goes off, you're wasting your time, and wearing out the GP relay prematurely. The glow plugs stay on long after the WTS light goes off. Just leave the key in RUN for another 10-20 seconds after the light goes off. 'Course, if that's what helps it start, you have something else going on. One or more bad GPs, weak relay (connecting, but providing low voltage to the GPs), I've even read that tired injectors will sometimes require more GP run time to start.

If batteries test good, but it still cranks slow, check all the main battery / starter / ground connections.

 

After I pulled the GPR it was rattling something fierce. So I'm hoping the new one fixes the issue. But still thinking about putting a new starter on the truck just for insurance. As much as I hate to say it I'd love for something to be wrong with the injectors so I could/would have to get new ones.

 

I just did a starter on my truck after a noticeable decrease in speed. I thought it was slow anyways but not enough to make a difference. Man was I wrong about that. I opted for the "new" starter and I was shocked at how much difference it made. My extended cranks when cold are gone and it just plain starts better. Smokes less too. I think the cylinders were loading up from the slow speed, and it would fog out a city block. Now if there's any smoke it's gone in seconds. Definatly worth checking.

And shame on me, I have a body busing kit that came with the truck and I haven't put it on yet. I have some lines that don't quite match.

 

Gearhead is having a group buy on a huge new alternator and also will sell the mitsu or the nippondenso starter at a good price if your buying the alternator Im doing this but its a heavy hit for good parts