Here's a quick run-down of my situation. I bought a 1992 F-250 7.3 IDI, manual trans. dirt cheap. The truck has been sitting for about a year and a half. Here is what I know. The engine and tranny were rebuilt about 60k miles ago. The brakes and lines are newer and the fuel tanks and sending units are newer. There is a fuel leak (rusted fuel lines) under the bed, just a few feet from the fuel tanks. The truck was parked because of this and never worked on. I currently have the bed off. I replaced one battery and was able to charge the other. I bought an injector install kit that I was hoping to install this past weekend but it rained like crazy both days. This evening I hooked up the batteries and turned the key to the 'on' position. The only dummy light that came on was the battery light. There was also a clicking sound coming from the motor towards the cab of the truck. I located what was clicking and it looks like a selenoid mounted to the motor. I don't have a great deal of knowledge on diesels and have no idea what this is. I did try turning it over to see if it would, and it did! I only turned it over for a few seconds but it sounded good. I am planning on installing the injector kit this weekend and replacing the fuel lines. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great. Thanks!!

 

That clicking was your glowplug relay, that's what its suppose to do. Did the wait to start light not come on when you turned the key on?

 

Nothing came on except the battery light and the radio. How long should the clicking last?

 

The wait to start light should come on for about 10 seconds then you should year the clicking. Sounds like your glowplug relay is workin but your glowplugs are bad. I'm kind of a noob myself so you may want to wait for one of the more knowledgeable guys to chime in here. Glowplugs are only about 80 bucks and you're probably gonna want to replace them anyway though.

 

I would put the glowplugs on a push button

 

Fix your lines, drian the tanks and add new fuel. get a new fuel filter and fill if full of new diesel before you screw it back on. I would not worry about the injector install kit until after you get it running. Make sure both batteries are 100% and maybe even try to borrow two more and make sure they are 100%, just to have on hand incase of draining yours. Before trying to start i would crack two or three injectors, you will have air in the lines and this will help clear that out. turn over motor for 5-10 seconds and check the injectors you cracked. If they are getting wet around the edges then tighten them back up and try starting again. find the block heater and plug it in for a few hours prior no matter how hot it is. Oh ya, don't crank on the starter for more than 20 seconds at a time and then let it cool off for a few minutes.. You can burn them up easy and they are not cheap.

 

x2 what Jayme said. Also...buy a spare fuel filter, that one filter might not cut it for the amount of crap in the tank.

 

If i'm replacing the fuel lines going from the tank to the filter, what is the best type of fuel line to use? Can I just use rubber fuel line or does it have to be steel?
Thanks

 

Today I replaced the fuel filter and filled the new one with fresh fuel. I want to get all the old fuel out of the tanks, which I will pump out this weekend when I replace the fuel lines. I unhooked the fuel line going from the pump to the filter to pump out what was in the lines. The fuel didn't even look like fuel. It was a hazey, light yellow color. The fuel in the tanks looked good, I will still pump them out though. I poured some of the yellow fuel on a stick and tried to light it on fire...no luck. The fuel in the tanks lit up like diesel should. What causes the fuel to take on that color? water?? Any advise or concerns would help.
Thanks!!

 

as far as the gp relay goes.....

the wts light should come on for ~10 sec then it will go out. while the light is on you will not hear any clicking. that is when the glow plugs are turned on. when the light goes out you start to hear a clicking. that is completely normal. it is the gp relay cycling the gp's on and off.

An easy way to test the gp's is to use a test light...
Connect the test light leed to the pos bat post. take the connectors off the glow plugs. touch the light to the glow plugs. if the light lights up then the plug is good. no light=bad plug.

 

I know I need new GP's. I investigated the lack of dash/dummy lights today. It lookes like the previous owner had the dash apart for some reason...maybe for the plow hook-up, not sure. I'm thinking that there is some wiring issues inside the dash. I also vacuumed up a few mouse nests under the hood and a really nice one in the glove box.
it's my understanding that motorcraft and beru are the only gp's to use??? Napa doesn't have a good brand that they sell?