Okay guys, here is the situation; I have a '89 superduty with a 7.3l diesel. Right after i bought it i had to pull the mid fuel tank in order to repair the rear brake line. Since this is my first diesel, I wasn't sure what the procedure was for priming the fuel system and had spent a lot of time playing with things trying to get all the air out. I did finally get the truck running but if it sat for more than a day or so it would drain back and would take for every to start. I hadn't started the truck for about a year as I did have need for it.

But now I need it and have been working on trying to get it started. After reading several postings here, I found out that my most likely problem is air intrusion, which make 100% sense, and what the most common causes are. So I spent yesterday and today replacing all the return line between injectors, injectors and filter head, and IP to metal hardline to back on motor. I also replaced all of the injector o-rings, although I did use just normal rubber o-rings as I had them on hand. I did remove the hard lines from the lift pump to filter head and filter head to IP but didn't replace their seals.

After doing all of this I started cranking the engine and quickly got fuel shooting out the schrader valve. I then cracked the hardline on the back of the IP to make sure I had fuel coming out there. After that I cracked open the injector lines and proceed to crank the engine. After getting fuel spraying out around the injector lines, I tightened all the lines and tried starting the engine but to no avail. I did get it to "cough" on two different sets of cranks but nothing more. When I was cranking while I was bledding the injector lines, I did have, for lack of a better word, smoke coming out of the intake (had the air cleaner off at the time). I went through all the fittings and and tried bleeding again but the fuel flow I thought I had at the injectors seemed to be gone. I still have fuel coming out at the schrader but when I cracked the supply line at the filter head I heard a sound of either air being sucked in or being blown out.

I completely removed a injector line form the injector and I barely getting a drop of fuel out of it and with the air sound coming from the supply line when I cracked it, I am thinking there is something stuck shut or clogged in the IP. There is power to both IP wires and there has been no other work done on the truck. in other words nothing has changed besides the pieces I replaced. There is no signs of leaks anywhere.

I am at wits' end with this things and I just don't know what to do next. My first thought is to run the thing off a cliff but there aren't any cliffs near by and I have no way of getting the truck there if there was. http://images.ford-trucks.com/forums...s2/mad0228.gif

 

she needs some really good,fully charged batteries.-both.
do your glow plugs work? what about the block heater?
whats your average temp at your location?
are the cables and terminals nice and clean?


how bout them patriots tonight!

 

The batteries are brand new (bought them Thursday) 850 cca 1000ca. I drained them yesterday trying to get things running but have them on charge right now. The terminal clamps are clean but the driver's side + one is in fair condition but it is tight on the terminal. The jacket of the + cables is split at the clamps and there is some green corrosion on the wire itself. I do remember reading a post that said that this could be a big problem. Where can i get good clamps? I do have good wire I just need good clamps. I am going to check with a friend of mine to see if he has a crimp tool to install the starter lug.

I did check for voltage going to the glow plugs but I didn't know how to do a full test until last night when I read one of your posts. I will do the ohm test later this morning. Do I need to pull the plugs in order to do a through inspection and test?

I haven't checked the block heater yet. I wasn't concerning myself with it until I had the other things addressed. In hind sight, that doesn't really make sense. I will check it when I check the plugs. Is there any special test for the heater?

I live in York, PA, just north of Baltimore and it has been fairly nice here so far, low to mid 60's during the day which is when I have been working on the thing. I do have half a tank of fuel.

I have a electric pump that I thought about hooking up on a temporary basis in order to do the priming so I wasn't putting wear on the starter and batteries. I am just not sure where to place it since it is only temp. I hate to have to cut the vinyl fuel lines if I don't have to and I read that it isn't a good idea to place it before the manual pump anyway. the only other place would be between the lift pump and filter head but that is a hard line.

 

not sure.i went to my local marine/boat shop to get all my wire/lugs and terminals,and then went to NAPA (not local one because i didn't buy "their" cable lol ) and had them crimped.
make sure to use at least 2/0 cable.preferably 3/0 going down to the starter (like the early/mid 80's trucks used.)
you also want to clean all the contact points to a mirror finish almost and then grease the heck out of everything.

no need to pull the glow plugs to test for resistance.
simply pull the plug,and measure between that spade,and the base of the GP.
you'll need a decent meter to read such low resistance though.about the price of a set of new motorcraft/beru glow plugs anyway,so i got new GP's when i saw a couple were dead via the test light method.

i haven't checked my block heater yet either.
your correct in your thinking,that block heater should actually be the least of your concerns,until everything else is brought back to good condition.
block heater testing:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ck-heater.html

i guess i could plug mine in to see if works or not at least.though,it would likely be the only time i used it anyway.
edit,no actually i should as i'll be plowing this year,and nothing would beat having instant heat in the cab to go along with my stanley thermos full of joe.

this thread may help you for your e-pump/prime use only setup:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...placement.html

oh yeah,
don't kill your starter.
crank for a max of 15 seconds to be safe,and then wait for at least 2 minutes before you try again.this will let the starter cool down,between attempts so you don't burn her up.

if you tightened everything back up,have a look at your fuel filter again after a night of sitting,to see how full it is and post your results.

also since this your first diesel,read this in its entirety:
http://www.oilburners.net/articles/cavitationartic.html

 

Hey, Just wanted to say thanks for discribing my problem exactly. Can't wait for an answer. No cliffs here either.

 

Using your block heater plugged in for 2 hours instead of the GPs saves lots of juice...... Both batteries MUST BE equal value either 850CCA (minimum) or 1000CCA and both of the same age. Not one new one old.

 

FORDF250HDXLT - thanks for the links. I'll have to go through and read them all. I did read the cavitation article and i should be covered there as the previous owner used SCA religiously.

Well I didn't get much done on the truck today. I did find a auto electric shop up nearby and picked up new crimp/solder battery clamps and ring. I also removed the old + cable and have it laid out on the bench. After inspecting the welding cable I have, I found that it's jacket is in pretty bad shape so I am going to pick up a new piece of 3/0 tomorrow or Wednesday. I will be out of town tomorrow so I probably won't get anything done.

I am going to read through the epump thread and probably pick the parts up to do the conversion. I think the pump I have is only for gas.

I'll post my progress once I get some more done. I will be out of town for the holiday so this may take a little while. If anyone has any other ideas or tips please post them. I can use all the help I can get.

 

i put a facet 4-7psi 32 gpm universal pump on the 88. it made a world of a difference. i don't know why ford never put an E-pump on these things in the first place. that truck starts better now than it did when it had 4 miles on it.

 

Update... I finally got new battery cables made, both + and -, and have the - installed but haven't gotten the + back on yet. Too many other things going on. I also broke down and bought a Mr. Gasket e-pump to put on. I just need to free up some time to get out and install it. I am trying to take time off of work next week so I might be able to get it done then. I'll post my results.

 

"but the fuel flow I thought I had at the injectors seemed to be gone. I still have fuel coming out at the schrader"

Is the IP getting voltage with the key on?

 

the last time I checked I had voltage at all terminals on the IP. Should there be voltage at all the terminals? If I remember right, there are 3.

 

two important things when it comes to using that pump.
1.make sure its green.model #12D.not black.
2.make sure to remove that fuel filter and replace it with barbed fitting.
then of course,like any of them.try not to run it dry,or use it with a rusted out tank.
over 1 year and 15k miles on mine now,using a clean poly tank and it's stock filter removed.
wired as primary/full time use when the key is on.

this pump got slammed hard for being junk.i researched and found most used the gas version,and left that filter on.
it never had a chance. that's why i decided to try one.i'll be posting when she finally dies.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the pump. I will definitely not install the filter. I am guessing that it clogs easy and starves the pump? I still have the two factory steel tanks but they seem to be in very good shape. I have a translucent Purolator filter sitting on the shelf I may put in in front of the pump until I verify that there is clean fuel coming from the tank.

Yes, it is the green one.

 

yes.it's so tiny,it wouldn't take long at all to plug up,and of course kill the pump.it's little wounder they are known for being junk pumps lol.
they can't last long once that little filter plugs up. no pump would.
i took one look at that when it came and and said no way.

 

By George, I think I got it! I got the e-pump installed on a temp basis and finished hooking up the new battery cables right before Christmas. I primed the system and tried to turn the old girl over and ....NOTHING... the engine wouldn't even turn over. Started nosing around checking for power with the key in the start position and noticed some arcing at the starter solenoid. SO off came the starter and it was definitely was part of the problem. All the terminals were corroded. After a really good cleaning I finally got it back on, on New Years day. My father-in-law and I re-primed the system, cracked the injector lines until fuel came out with no bubbles. She still won't catch and run though. I broke out the multi-meter and checked the GPs and found one that had no resistance at all. Desperate to get it running and not having a spare GP, we gave it a shot of ether and !!!VROOM!!! away she went. I left it idle for about a hour just to get her good and hot and make sure nothing else reared its ugly head. So far so good. I waited two days and tried start her. Still having a bad GP, it took another shot of ether but she fired up again!

I ordered two Motorcraft GPs (I have a spare now) from Amazon, which arrived last week, but I have been working on restoring a '64 Fordson Super Major Diesel tractor and haven't gotten around to installing it. I just got the majority of my tractor parts so it will probably be next week until I get to it. I also need to permanently mount the e-pump (decided to use it full time and not as a prime only) and test the coolant heater.

To recap what I did:
1 - replaced all rubber fuel return lines and clamps
2 - checked all fuel line connections between tanks and engine
3 - new 850/1000 batteries
4 - new 2/0 battery cables with all new ends
5 - cleaned all negative cable connection points
6 - cleaned all electrical connections of starter
6 - installed electric fuel pump
7 - checked glow plugs and replaced (thinking from the future) bad GP
8 - primed fuel system
9 - start engine
10 - several beers!

@ r8sfan - I hope this helps you out. If I learn anything else, I'll post it here. Good luck