1990 F250 7.3L IDI w/E4OD 225,000 miles

Problems-

Truck has a shake at idle and when it hits over-drive.
Problem was hardly noticeable until I dropped front tank for cleaning and new lines.

Before dropping tank:
Had slight shake at idle and very slight shake when going into OD, some white smoke and a knocking noise at idle.

After dropping tank:
has more pronounced shake at idle and bad shake when hitting OD. No smoke and knocking has disappeared.

I'm wondering if before I cleaned tank, etc it had a slight air leak or one injector wasn't getting enough fuel, and now that it is getting enough fuel it is clogged?

I believe it is an injector from reading other posts...

My question is-
If you were going to buy reman/new injectors for your IDI which injectors would you buy and why?

thanks

 

The BB code injectors are recomended for best preformance and economy by most. And someone posted that they are the only new ones manufactured now. I would go with new if the money is there, as you never know what you are going to get with remans.
Edit: have a look at what Eaton found on his remans. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...p-test.htmlans.

 

OK thanks
so, new BB code injectors...but what brand?
I've heard Pensacola is bad...and I heard they were good?
What about Echlin, Cardone, BWD, or the many, many others?

thanks

 

From what I've read, new from Pensacola are all right, not so much the remans. You might send Russ (Typefour) a PM as he sells new, matched sets of injectors, at not to bad of a price, from what I've read.

 

None of those are actually injector brands that I know of. Pensacola is a company that sells injectors and other diesel parts. Cardone rebuilds/makes all sorts of things (brakes calipers, steering boxes, etc..) Delphi and CAV are two actual injector brands that I can think off (there are more, but thats all I can remember right now).

People have had mixed luck with rebuilt from Pensacola, some no problems at all, others lots of problems. New ones from anywhere should work fine.

Also what do you mean by a shake? Just the engine vibrating more than normal, or does the whole truck shake?

 

How many miles on the IP? You should think about that as well if you change injectors.
As soon as I get my glow plugs I'm changing all them as well. They shorted my order when I ordered my IP.
Chet

 

thanks for answering!

Basically, when I first bought the truck, the previous owner had said that the truck had been a tool truck for a lumber company, and was also at some point a workhorse for a machining company.
He said that it had stopped running, so they replaced the IP, then discovered it was a bad injector.
He wanted $1,100 for the truck, including the extra OE IP, and both tanks were full of diesel...so with full tanks and an extra IP, I had to buy it
However, the truck had been axle-deep in mud holes many times as everything, including the engine, was coated in like 3 inches of red mud, and it's 2WD. There are many tell-tale signs that it has been "recovered" from mud holes many times, lol
The engine has so much mud on it that I'm scared to clean it except sometimes scraping stuff off carefully with a screwdriver, etc.
The air filter element had at least 2 cups of grit/sand in it when I took it off...no snit....the air filter element had at least 2 cups of dirt in it!
How it was breathing through that I have no idea!

So, I replaced air filter, fuel filter, oil change and filter, and started running it around.

The "shake", when I originally got it was only noticeable at idle and when hitting OD from 40-45 and it was a minor shake.
it also shook a little when in D sitting at a stoplight with brake on.

It also had a bad knock at startup and sometimes when idling
I thought the "knock" was a bad lifter or something but maybe it's an injector?

Now, after cleaning tank and replacing lines it has gotten a lot worse. It shakes at idle like it has a bad cylinder, or a blown head, it shook like this before when it had a clogged fuel filter too, but I replaced the fuel filter when I cleaned the tank.

But! After cleaning tank, etc the "knock" has disappeared, as has the white smoke, but the "shake" has gotten worse...

Anyway, it's always had like a "lump" at idle, which causes the truck to shake a bit, but it's a lot worse now..

Here's my theory, lol-

Before cleaning tank and replacing lines, I believe the "bad" injector was not getting enough fuel and/or pressure, so maybe if it was clogged or bad, it wouldn't be as noticeable if it was not getting the proper amount of fuel/pressure.
Now that all lines are sealed and it's getting all the fuel with no air, maybe now the "bad" injector is having issues handling the proper amount of fuel/pressure it's getting?
No white smoke anymore means it must be firing everything well, right?

I don't think it is the tranny simply because it does it at idle, in P, in N, etc.

The tranny is a Jasper rebuilt unit with unknown miles, so they already killed the OE tranny.

also, the "shake" is noticeable at all speeds except when cruising on level ground or downhill.

So, you guys think maybe they replaced the bad injector with a junk advanced auto one? I know the IP on it now came from a junkyard...eek
I also know all the glow plugs are Motorcraft, as there is some documentation attesting to that and the Jasper tranny.

It has small oil leaks at places in the valve covers, the rear main has a drip, and the outside of the intake is coated with s*&^, the INSIDE of the intake seems to have an inch of oil coating it....
I wonder if that "tuna can" valve under the air cleaner could also be the culprit??

I'm putting like 1,000+ miles on it a week, so it has already paid for itself a few times, especially when I was running it on WVO...

thanks for any help!

 

You guys are gonna think I'm crazy...but...

Today, I went off to do a mowing job and collect some WVO from two of the joints that let me do it.....

Anyway, I have been running the truck on straight diesel+additives since I cleaned the tank.

It was running pretty rough and it seemed to be clogged-up for awhile.
I was running low on diesel and I don't have any money today because I'm waiting for checks to clear at bank.

So, I put 5 gallons of clean WVO in it with about a 1/4 cup of RUG...and for the last 50 miles it has been running pretty strong and the shake is almost unnoticeable now...

Which, doesn't make any sense....it's not even shaking at idle now...though the white smoke (a little) has reappeared.

This truck has always run rough on diesel and I'm not sure why...but when on WVO+RUG it has power, is smooth and quiet...

Maybe it's addicted to the WVO?

 

The IP is probably worn and the thicker WVO doesn't get past the excess clearances in it. New/Reman injectors will make the problem worse as they will require higher pressure to pop off. You could try putting the OE IP back in or a reman pump.

 

x2 on the worn pump...

Hit the JY often, and keep your eye out.

The N/A pump im running right now was from the JY, it was recently new(red warranty paint all over everything and relatively clean)...

I think I was out the door at the JY for around $20 for the IP, and it runs excellent.

 

These old engines are much cheaper to work on then the new stuff. If your compression is good its not much to change all the stuff you talked about. New injectors like $250.oo
rebuilt IP 345.oo and so on. If it likes the WVO and you have it keep running it. That stuff is either good or bad. Lots of problems if not done right and filtered. But I'm for running it if you have supply and its done right.

Chet

 

I dont personally run...well...anything but diesel and WMO(clean) in my engine...ive seen too many Diesel Trucks go up in a mess(dropped rods, runaway pumps, clogged filters, yadda, yadda)

So my thinking is, your IP is bout shot....

 

Yeah, the IP having loose tolerances + thick WVO does sound right-on...

Is there anyway to tell if the OE IP that's sitting in my closet is good or bad without putting it on?

Last night after getting home I removed the fuel filter, drained it, back-flushed it with about a gallon of gas, filled it with fresh diesel, and ran it for like 5 minutes so diesel would get in the lines...
This morning temps were about 50 degrees, I plug it in for an hour, then it starts right up and again, very little shaking...

If YOU were going to buy a new/reman IP, who would you buy it from/or what rebuilders are good?

I'm just looking for something OE that's reliable...
Does anyone make an IP made to deal with WVO?

thanks

 

Not likely..... Its significantly thicker than diesel, hence why most people heat it up before running it through an engine, then purge the system with diesel so there are no problems starting up again next time.

Why don't you go down a few forums to the alternative fuels forum. They have a lot more experience experimenting with different fuels in diesels and are more likely to have good answers to your questions.

 

ok thanks

I also noticed when cleaning my tank that there were alot of fine metal shavings in my tank....where did they come from?
Could the shavings be from my IP?
thanks