Hi guys , great site. I am a car guy and have little experience with Diesel trucks, however I want to learn the Powerstroke 7.3 top to bottom and create a super truck. Her is what i have done so far and where I am at any help would be great. 1996 F 250 Superduty Powerstroke TD 7.3. I have had the truck sitting for a while after a costly repair was needed and i was short on funds. That being said I had the work done that was needed. One new injector, all the rest where re o ringed, new valve cover gaskets and the under valve cover wiring, 8 new glow plugs, two new batteries, new air filter. I had the fuel filter changed two years ago and it had less then 1 hour on it so I did not change it again. It had sat for two years. Longs story short the truck was running great. It did put out white smoke on start up but cleared out as soon as it warmed up. The mechanic who was working on it tod me it was the old gas. I had burned that up run injector cleaner (Lucas) and put fresh fuel in it several times since . Truck was running good with good power, no check engine light, always started plugged in or not. I drove it to work and back Yesterday and out to dinner the night before. I went out at midnight last night because we had snow and brushed it off , plus plugged it in. This moring around 9 AM I went out 20 minutes before I leave for work to warm it up. It started right up , ran for 20 secounds and died. It has not started again since. It cranks fine but nada. I tried glowing it twice , nada. I switched tanks to the back tank that I know had at least 2 gallons in I just put it in yesterday and nada. I switched back to the front tank added 3 gallons nada (Is there a way to prime it?) It was low on fuel but the gauge red just under 1/4 tank and it was parked on a level surface. I did press in on the what I think is the shrader valve on the bottom of the fuel block and after 10 secounds only got a drip on my finger. Anybody have any ideas? It woud be great. I tried to be as detailed as possible. The glow plug light does come on and go out and like I said they have about 200 miles on them. Thanks

 

Welcome to FTE! I would pop the lid on the fuel bowl and see if there is fuel in there. Keep in mind these trucks are 15 years or so old and the gauge may not be reading precisely.

When you are cranking, Does the tach move? How is your oil level? Is there smoke coming out the tail pipe when you crank on her for a couple seconds?

 

Did you possibly gel up means you were low on fuel?

 

Hi James and 427 thanks for the ideas. I will check today on both items and repost what I find out. Thanks a ton and The warm welcome is appreciated.

 

Ok Thanks again for the help. I put 3 gallons of fuel in the front tank. I also added 1/4 bottle of diesel 911 just in case it had gelled becuase its been under freezing for 5 days. I opened up the lid on the fuel filter thinking it may have frozen. Well not at all it was all as it shold be and very full of fuel. I added a little diesel 911 in there as well. I put that back together. I asked my wife to go by the tail pipe . I glowed the truck twice the light came on and went off. As soon as the secound time the light went out. I turned the key. Nothing Nothing Nothing. No smoke or anything out the tail pipe and no starting at all? Now Im really confused?? Again tons of new parts lets then a month ago. Could the Part that heats the glow plugs have fried? If yes where is it and about how much should I spend on it?? Thanks again.

 

How old is your oil?
Check Fuses...#22

 

On the driver side head there is a sensor ,3 wire , right next to the lifting ring . Unplug it & try to start it ...

Also . On the front of the motor there is a rectangular shaped oil reservoir . take out the small plug & see if it is full of oil

 

I checked fuse 22 looks good to me. My fuse box is missing for the record. Relay 1, fuse 21 and 19 I dont know if Im suppose to have them.
I also unpluged the 3 prong plug you mentioned and tried to start it no luck.

I just figured out what the oil bath is your talking about. I knowticed you pointed out tow plugs. Which do I open the little metal plug? I dont know how I would see in there sorry I may be dense? At what point on the block do I open to check for oil? Thanks again I hope to get it started this weekend Im going crazy and its blocking in my skid steer which means snow back up for me.

 

The hex or torx plug is where you check the oil . stick a screw driver in there as a dipstick....

 

The plug that you recomend I pull is stripped on the inside. It was that way I didn not even attempt to open it. I see what you needed to open it but somebody before me must have tried to use a screwdriver and now its trashed. Iim going to have to easy out it, and cant right now.

A couple other things I noticed. When I turn the key I hear a "click" sound from under the hood.

Im not sure if this is normal becuase I never tired to start is before with the hood and door open at the same time.

Also I just pluged in the block warmer. I had unpluged it yester day to trickle charge the twin 875 CCA batteries. They are New.

Anyway I plugged it in and hear a sort of noise comming from the fuel ring in the center of the manifold. It kind of sounded like water beging to boil? I was not sure if that was normal either. The oill was down a little so I added some . Not more than a quart .

I love this Diesel Truck and can't wait to get it running again and right. When it was running it was just so nice to drive and the power was awsome?

 

the click is your glow plug relay. on top the engine close to the front. looks kinda like a starter relay.just because it is clicking, dont mean it is working. lay a screwdriver across the two big terminals for about 20 sec then try and start.

 

Pull the oil sensor to check the level for now , the noise you heard is most likely the fuel heater

 

Ok Thanks again everybody. I opened up the left side plug where the sensor plugs in with a big wrench. The one Rick mentioned. I put a screw driver down there as a dip stick. There was a tiny tiny bit of oil and I touched the bottom. So little oil that the small thin philips head I put down there didnt even have oil to the top of fthe tip. It was just like a couple drops. I dont know what this meants or if I have to fill it?

I also checked both sides of the glow plug relay with a test light. The one side big wire is always hot. I turned the key on and the other side got hot. I did not check the small wires. Thanks Still no start but we are getting somewhere.

 

fill it about 1/4 inch from the top and try to start. it may be leaking down

 

it is either leaking down or the low pressure pump is not filling it. i think there is a check valve that goes bad or something like that