hi guys,great forum! I have a 93'e-350 van with a 7.3l i am having hard starting problems and have a huge wet gunky mess on the fron passenger side of the motor. the van runs fine once started but when shut down for 15 minutes or so won't re start.
my question i am thinking the oil leak could be at the lift pump,and will replace that when i get home,but would the motor run if the lift pump was bad?
I have been starting it with cables and depressing the shrader valve on the fuel filter housing and cranking it until it primes.
could all of the gunk on the motor be fuel and not oil? it is black and to me does'nt smell like fuel,also the rubber components around it seem to be swollen and or rotting.
i just bought this van a few month s ago and it has 197000 original miles.

any help is very much appreciated

 

Hi Joseph Welcome to the IDI Forums!
Sounds like you have a couple of problems.The lift pump leaking, and hard starting. The leaking lift pump could just be loose bolts letting oil pass between the gasket and pump. A quick check on the bolts might save you replacing the pump, although they are not that expensive.
The hard starting. Does it start hard the first start up, or just after it is warmed up. You probably are fighting air intrusion. The most common place for this is the o-rings under the plastic caps on the injector return lines. They get hard after a while from the heat of the engine. A injector install kit will have all the parts you need to replace them. If the engine starts good on the first start, but doesent want to start after it is warmed up, the injector pump is getting warn, and is in need of a rebuild.

 

x2 with what farmert said...it definitely sounds like a Injector kit is needed....and possibly a lift pump. If your not wanting new, i got several that were used off the various trucks I have had...

 

thanks guys,could all the gunk on the motor be fuel instaed of oil? its hard to tell.
all of the injector return lines look recently replaced not sure about the o rings. all of the injectors are bone dry as is the top of the motor
the truck is hard to start cold and after it has been shut down for 15 minutes or more.
again,being in a van it is really hard to see in and around the motor.I'm wondering also if the leak could be in the hard line going from the lift pump to the filter?

 

I would guess the gunk would be from oil, as fuel would leave a clean streak where it runs down.
Air intrusion can be a booger to track down, as there does not have to be a sign of a fuel leak for air to get in to the system. Some of the places to check would be fuel filter(not being tight) the o-ring in the fuel heater, the olives in the fuel line from the filter to pump,the return line back to the tank, and probably more places that I can't think of right now.
I have not heard of the hard line from the lift pump to the filter causing an air intrusion problem, but if there was a small pin hole, or the nuts were loose it would be possible. I would think the rubber line from the hard supply line to the lift pump would be more apt to cause a problem, but you never know.

 

When you first start it (cold) does it run rough or blow white smoke? The hard start could just be glow plugs, how long does the light stay on? As far as not starting when warm, how long does it have to set to fire again? Sounds like you may be due for an injector pump. I wont rule out the possibility of air intrusion, but typically air wont happen so fast, as in shut it off 15 minutes and wont start. For the lift pump, probably just needs tightened, or gasket, or both. If its questionable, i would replace it, no more than it costs. As far as the leak, usually diesel will leave a clean spot, sometimes covered in a light film of dust, whereas oil typically sludges up and collect dirt / grime.

 

well,i drove her from salem new hampshire home to pennsylvania,straight through because i was afraid to shut her down.
got her cleaned up and replaced the lift pump and she fired first time!
while i was under there i noticed that the starter cable was sut damned near in half and someone had it zip tied in wire wrap!
thanks for all the help