Gentlemen, about a year and a half ago my 96 7.3 wouldn't start........it ran super before that.....to make a long story short......it was in the Dealers in Calif. 3 times for the problem......would work after getting out of the dealers and would later regress and not start.......well last November i took it to another Dealer in Montana.....same problem.......well $1,000.00+ later it supposedly was fixed..........well the problem has started again........Just last week I was at the dealers having a new tranny put in and saw a notice stating there was a problem with Diesel now not having enough octane or something like that to run the diesels......anyone having the same problem.......or know anything about the diesel........mine only has problems at the initial starting.the rest of the day it starts just fine.........I have a year warranty on the last starting repair....but feel that if I go back.........they will just say something else is wrong.....charge more money and then may not reall y fix it. I really don't mind paying for a repair......that really is a fix.......comments.....maybe the glow plugs have a problem at times getting the diesel to ignite upon startup, after startup things are hot and there is no problem getting the stuff to burn........I am in to this problem well over $2,000.00 at this point.

 

As far as the "octane" in diesel fuel it is called Cetane, and from what I have gathered there is no regulations reguarding how it is advertised. Simply put the cetane rating you see at the pump is not always corect since no one regualtes it like the do the octane rating of gasoline.

 

What you saw was probably about "low sulphur" content in diesel fuel and it's getting even lower in the future. I'm not sure that low sulphur content has an effect in the cetane rating of diesel, I do know that this condition does effect older diesels as they rely on the sulphur to lubricate some of the fuel system components.

I too have a 96 and haven't had a cetane related problem so I doubt that your "Slow Start" problem is related also.

If you truck isn't starting well in the summer heat then the GP system is probably not the culprit. Try checking or changing all the fluids and filters on the engine. These engines like fresh oil, really good batteries and a clean fuel filter IMO.

Kepp checking back there is a bunch of knowlegable people here willing to help.

 

The starting problem is the same in the winter as the summer.........I change fluids regulary........I change the oil and filter between 2-3 thousand...........I read somewhere about a heavy duty glowplug relay.......anyone know anything about that.

 

How does it start when the engine is warm?

What about the batteries & starter? How old?

 

It runs and starts just fine when warm. The starter was replaced about 2 years ago as were the batteries.