Hey been a while since I've posted but you always seem to get my issues solved! Here's what I got: 1989 F250 7.3 idi N/A automatic. I was towing my jeep uphill, starting losing speed as I climbed which is fine. I dropped from 60 to 35 and unlicked the TQ(i have a bypass switch) and as it unlocked it puffed white smoke for a second. Then the engine really bogged down and finally shut off. THe temp had rose slightly. I had plenty of good fuel in the tank and it never showed signs of fuel starvation. Has a newer IP pump with maybe 2k miles on it. Unhooked the jeep and got it to a pull off spot. Had a cummins tow the idi to the pull off where a flat bed got me. As the truck was sitting on the side, there was anti fereeze steadily dripping from the harmonic balancer and some place near the back of the engine(possible than it was from the front and running backwards). I tried several times to start it to no avail. The oil dipstick showed no "milky white residue" so I do not believe any oil- antifreeze mix. Does anybody have any ideas what the issue is or how to fix this? The engine has 165k.

 

First thing is figure out where the coolant is coming from

 

Agreed, however the truck is sitting 2 hours away at a shop so thats not possible. I can say that no coolant was coming from the radiator, upper or lower hose. That was all dry. I couldn't tell from quick roadside(and half pissed off mentality) if it was a leak above or below the harmonic balancer. I do not recall seeing any above the balancer.

Coolant leak aside what would cause it to shut off? Do idi's have a low coolant sensor that would shut it off?

 

Nope; unless the engine physically siezes, you need fuel and fuel only. This fuel needs to come from the tanks(failure point: fuel pickup), through the tank selector switch(can fail), up to the mechanical fuel pump(Failure point, but usually fails in a hard-to-start/runs-crummy fashion), then through the fuel filter(Could get clogged), and to the IP.
Most all of this can be easily tested by pushing in the scherader valve on the filter, and cranking the engine. You should have fuel spurting out of that right quick.
Then, make sure the fuel solenoid is working on the IP. Check a guide around here to find that. If it appears to be working with the key on, crack one of the high pressure lines and check for fuel when you crank /with the throttle at full/(You'll see the fitting you cracked start to look wet with diesel; you won't see very much).

Chances are your problem is somewhere between A and B.

 

I will talk to the mechanic today to have him test those suggestions. It really sucks not having the truck by me to diagnos this myself. The fuel solenoid should be good its only 4 years old with maybe 2k miles. Any ideas why the coolant would be coming from the spots it did? My dad(original owner) mentioned the external cooler may have rotted out, but I thought the external cooler was only for oil.

 

oil cooler is on the front driver side of the engine. coolant coming off the balancer is usually a water pump seal gone out and dripping out of the weep hole under the pump.

 

Thats some good news! So could the white smoke be simply from the engine being bogged down and unburned fuel coming exiting the exhaust? Then the water pump gasket broke and let water drip down on the cps causing it to not start? Really appreciate the help and ideas. Its got sentimental value and I don;t want to see it go.

 

no CPS on an 89, that is a powerstroke thing.

is it possible the engine hot hot and the injector pump is dying??

 

i bet its aeasy fix, check to see you got 12v to the FSS (fuel shutoff solinoid) on top IP(injection pump) when ignition is on

 

The pump is only 3 years old and only 2k miles. Ill look into the fuel solenoid connection

 

i had a situation where the FSS stuck open so the truck would never shut off, maybe yours closed and stuck. make sure you test by turning key on then go to connector on ip and unplug and plug in over and over you should hear clickign sound.