I just bought a 1986 F-250 with 185,000 miles on it. The previous owner warned me that it would only start after having the block heater on it for a couple of hours. It was about 41 degrees the other day and I thought I would try it without the block heater to warm it up. Gave out a pretty good puff of white smoke and turned over, but just acted like it wasn't getting fuel. I'm pretty new to diesel engines, so I probably have some hard to break "gas habits", so I tried the old pump-the-gas-pedal-til-she-starts trick and it didn't work. I DID however wait for the glowplug lite to go off...

Anyway, I plugged it in and took the dog on his walk, then 1 hour later tried it again - it fires right up. And, of course, if it's warm, it starts very easily.

The truck currently is just a weekend warrior, but if I hope to drive it to work and save a trip to town for lumber or whatever else might be needed, I would like the truck to start without having to warm it up every 2 hours or plug it in again.

Just wondering where to start? One of the batteries looks to be pretty old. Maybe there is something within the fuel system that needs to be changed or cleaned? Glo-plugs? Appreciate any ideas you might have about where to start so that I don't replace things that don't need replacing? Please, please don't tell me it's probably the fuel injector pump because I heard those are expensive...

Thanks!

 

The first thing I'd do is check the relay that controls the glo plugs. If it is ok, check each glo plug. I'm basing this information on my experiance with the 7.3 powerstroke I had in a '99. If the glo plugs were not working, it wouldn't start. I had the relay go out several times, and over the course of 200,000 miles I had to replace the glo plugs twice.

 

Thats what i would check also. There is a forum just for the IDI motors. search through there and you might find some more ideas.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum117/

 

Put a testlight on the battery +, and then touch the probe to each glowplug. The testlight should light on each one. If it doesn't light, then that glowplug is burnt out. You can do a search in the other forum the previous poster talked about, and find lots of info.

P.S. All that white smoke means you are getting fuel. That's raw fuel coming out of the tailpipe.

 

how long does the wait to start light stay on? It should be on for at least a few seconds. Also, you should hear the gps click on and off.

 

Seen this before too. Just because the light works doesent mean the glowplugs are on, too.

If my mind is correct, I think there is a thermostat in the glow plug start circuitry also?

A good voltmeter is a good thing to have with these engines.

 

My 86 is very glow plug dependant, and now that some are burned out, it is hard to start. It would start down into the teens with the glow plugs and not plugged in, just grumbled about it...

 

I could be way out in left field here but one of my co-workeres had a truck with the 6.9l diesel and it wouldnt start without the glow plugs at 30*C and i know from working on construction equiptment that when those diesel engines start getting older and more worn out they get hard to start. so it could be that your compression is getting lower, i'd give that a check and see

 

Mine does that, and it has about 35,000 miles on the rebuild. It wants glow plugs at 80 degrees F...

 

I tested the glow plugs and the first 3 would not turn on the test light. I have ordered 8 new Beru/Motorcraft glow plugs and am hoping for an easy uneventful installation. I think the engine has a lot of compression left, but that is just my impression from driving it around for a few days.

Thanks a LOT to everyone for their help. I would not have known where to start let alone what difference a glow plug brand can make...

Steve

 

Yep, that is definately the problem. lol. I wish I would have gotten to the post before you got all the answers, hloidays have been busy.

 

I don't know why you guys are disappointed that your diesel needs glow plugs to start? There are no spark plugs to fire the fuel, it's all done with heat. I believe I read in a diesel book that the chamber needs to be over 400 degrees or more before the fuel will burn when it's injected in the chamber. With all that cold metal and coolant around the chamber, and the air being cold in the first place, there is no way the heat generated from compressing the air is going to be enough to burn the fuel.

 

Fuhkengroovin - over on the pre-powerstroke IDI forum there is alot of useful information on the glow plug issues including the do's and don'ts of removing and replacing the glow plugs. Here is a link that I found very useful.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ght=glow+plugs

good luck on replacing those glow plugs.

hugger94

 

You should let some penetrating oil sit on those for a day or so, might make removal a bit easier. A torch may help as well, just heat the surrounding area.

 

I was really worried about having problems getting them out, but I did put a little bit of the PB penetrating oil on them and then with the right combination of socket extensions they came out no problem. They were Autolites and they looked pretty fouled.

I hooked it all back up and then at about 38 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit I tried to start it. It didn't exactly just "fire up" - it tooks a few tries and lots of pumping on the diesel pedal, but it finally caught and started up without the benefit of the block heater. It sounded awful though and I'm sure that because it is so old it probably won't hurt to just plug the damn thing in and give it a little extra help. I think now though if I drive it to work and leave it sitting all day it will start without the block heater and that was my objective. The truck is like me - old and decrepit - so we need to take advantage of everything that helps make life a little easier.

Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to reply!!!