have you actually turned the motor over by hand to support your "too much drag theory"?

 

I had all of the injector lines off of the injectors and there's barely a drip coming out of any of them. If I open the Schrader valve on the side of the filter assembly it will shoot a stream across the engine so the mechanical fuel pump is putting fuel to the injector pump, but there's just a dribble coming out.

 

yea mine doesnt even drip! another guy on another forum linked me to some helpful info about cleaning the fss. he seems to think that its gunked up from sitting for several years and may be clogged to the point it wont allow any fuel through. you have to take teh top cover off to look at it and be carefull to put it back together correctly or it could cause a runaway situation which is not good. im going to pull the pump i have tonight if i can fab up a wrench and look at it after i swap in my 2nd of 3 used pumps i have here. worse case is ill just order a new one from pensacola diesel. 295 bux with no core is a good deal. may be able to get one of these working and keep as a spare.

 

I have to agree with this guy. Spin it by hand and see how hard it is to turn. I just read through this whole thread and early in the thread i was starting to think you might have a spun bearing. Try doing a compression test on her. If its turning hard with low compression id have to say its the bearings.

 

With good batteries slow cranking is usually either the passenger side battery terminal, inside the clamp where the wire conductors are or the starter has been overheated.

Bad grounds on the engine block are right behind that.

If you crank the engine for 15 seconds, if the passenger side positive clamp is hot, you have found the problem.

These starters slow down over time.
You don't realize how slow they are cranking until you install a new one.

 

I also have an 87 F250 with a 6.9. I've swapped starters between the two and the 88 still cranks slow and the 87 still starts fine. I've added a second starter hot wire, I've checked grounds, etc. The only thing that makes it crank at a normal speed was a little fuel in the cylinders. I'm changing the injector pump next. No matter if it cranks fast or slow, if little to no fuel is coming out of the injector lines it's not going to start, is it?

 

Did you ever get it started? The starter went completely out in my 88 F350, and you wouldn't believe how much faster a new starter will turn the engine over.

 

did you really check the battery and starter wires good?....because even if they look good they can be like powerder inside the insulation....i found that was the case on a customers truck the wires looked good but but after taking them out and testing them they were shot inside the insulation, and even a used starter from your old truck still might not turn it over enough, i had to replace mine (because i cranked it for 45 sec. because i was pissed it wouldent start one day) but after i replaced it i noticed that the new starter cranked it so much faster than the old one did when it was "good"....also i would say disconecting the gp's and using just a little shot of ether,if it dont start with that then i have a feling your ip is bad,

 

Hey guys! Why don't you all wise up and install an electric fuel pump on your vehicles? An investment of about $48.00 +shipping on Ebay will eliminate the need to spin the motor over to prime the injection pump. All you have to do is buy an EP 80-16. It puts out between 6-9 PSI. You can cut a 5-6" section out of the steel line between the mechanical pump and the filter, use the enclosed rubber hoses and clamps and run some wires to switch in the cab and you're ready to prime your system. If you don't want to spend the time to run the wire into the drivers compartment, you can use alligator clips to power up the pump when it is needed. The beauty of these pumps is they are flow through, meaning you can still use the mechanical pump to run down the road. The electric can be used only as necessary without any inconvenience. You could run on just the electric pump if you wanted to. AC had one of these running for about 10,000 hours. It never did fail, itb was shut down to inspect it for wear. It is the same pump that was used on the Imitation diesels that GM fousted off on us in the 80's. I would also suggest replacing the GPs with AC 12Gs or Autolite 1109s. Before you install any glow plug, you should ALWAYS power it up with a battery charger of at least 10 amp capacity. You can use your battery as long as it is in good shape. These GPs are temperature controlled internally and if you leave them powered up for too long, the only thing thatwill happen is, they will stabilize around 700 deg F. THEY WILL NOT BURN UP! BERU ZD9 GPs will melt down if left on too long. They do not have any temperature control. They will heat until the inconel sheath melts at somewhere around 2000deg F.

 

If you are getting smoke out the pipes it should be able to start. How long has the engine been sitting around. I swapped one in that hadnt been run in 4 years and I could turn it with a wrench so easy I was worried there wouldnt be enough compression to get it going. Smoked like hell for a while but then everything got seated and now you can really feel pressure build up if you try and crank by hand.

I have had two IP's have the two pistons that compress the fuel lock up. I think it might be from running WVO though. If they are locked up the low pressure pump in the IP cant put enough pressure on the fuel to push them out so you cant get any fuel to the injectors.

Sounds like you are getting fuel though. All the glow plugs could be dead. If you are getting smoke out the tail pipe spray two quick squirts of ether into the air filter (NOT DIRECTLY INTO THE MANIFOLD...learned this one the hard way)and turn the key and give her a little throttle. That should get her cranking.

 

That is what i haev on mine, just need a good engine now! haha

 

I'm gettin fuel to the injector pump just only a drip out of it. All the glow plugs test good and no smoke at the tailpipe. It just isn't getting any fuel to the cylinders.

 

Im having the same exact problem. NOOOOO IDEA

 

Any body ever figure this out?

 

This thread is old as the hills, but for the guys not getting fuel out of the IP, the fuel shutoff solenoid is a likely culprit. To test it, first use a test light to verify its wire has power when the key is on, then unplug it and plug it back in with the key still on. If it's working it'll click noticeably when connected and disconnected.
For those who don't know, the shutoff solenoid is on top of the IP, and is only removed by removing the top cover of the IP, which is held in place by three screws. They're nearly impossible to buy at most parts stores, and the Ford dealer is hopeless too, but they can be found at junkyards and I think somewhere online if you search.