Thanks, I'd just buy glow shift, its gunna be a truck I buy to take fishing and hunting, but i want it to look good. Do you guys have build forums, ya know where I post a title, the idi build forum or something and take pictures/ chat and get input as I go? Just a random thought.
Should i spray some either down its throat and and add some oil to the fuel to help and stick parts in the injection system that may have frozen up for sitting for awhile?

 

Do I drill & thread a hole for a gauge on the exaughst manifold for the egt gauge? That's what I did for my cummins.

 

Yes, there's plenty of room on the driver's side exhaust manifold between cylinders 6 & 8 from both the top and the bottom.

FWIW, I used ether once on my IDI and decided never again. There are folks on our site that swear by it though. If you do use ether make sure it's just a snort and don't use glowplugs too!

I also use Lucas fuel treatment in my fuel. Others use 2-stroke engine oil, ATF, other additives or none at all. Here's an excellent study that was done a number of years ago on diesel fuel additive lubricity. Too bad it's on the "OTHER" truck website.

Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

Here's where you want to get more IDI info:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum117/

 

When I have trouble with my truck and need to get it started, I use a short burst of ether. It doesn't happen that often, only when something is not working correctly. Like was mentioned, make sure the glowplugs are disconnected before using ether. My glowplugs are on a manual button, so I do not have to worry about it.

There are also myths about a diesel getting "addicted" to ether, and will not start without it. I think that is bull. My theory is they have a problem and need to use the ether, and then they never fix it and more problems pile on as the truck ages further and it doesn't start without ether. If they would spend some time and get everything working correctly, they will start with just the glowplugs.

If you just bought this truck, and it will not start, do some troubleshooting first. I would not do any pre-emptive maintenance on the injection pump or anything else, except the obvious things like making sure it has coolant and oil. If you are cranking on it, and you are getting lots of white stinky smoke from the exhaust, you are getting fuel, it's just not firing. That is because it's not hot enough in the cylinders to fire off the fuel. That can be because of non-working glowplugs and or it's not cranking fast enough. If you are in this situation, you can give it a shot of ether to see if it will start and run. Let it warm up (that takes a long time with a diesel) and then shut it off, it should start right back up with no glowplugs.

If you are not getting white stinky smoke from the exhaust, then you are not getting fuel. You can poke the shrader valve at the fuel filter and see if any fuel squirts out. Not getting any fuel can be several problems.

 

EGT gauges are not really needed on non turbo diesels they just don't make the same exhaust heat as turbo'd motors even if you over fuel them . Although not a bad idea it is far from necessary and on a stock motor/fuel system as you will be hard pressed if not near impossible to get EGT's over 1050°F. If you turn up the fuel system or make other mods and do work the motor hard then an a Pyro is a good addition.

There should be no stuck parts in the fuel system With the design of the Bosch type injectors and the Stanadyne IP pump it is nearly impossible for stuff to get stuck and if they do, they will need to be replaced. They are not like the old DD 2 stroke injectors that can stick and then be unstuck and work fine.

The addition of any quality flue additive will lengthening the life of the IP pump and injectors. Since the sulfur content of Diesel was cut down to nothing in ULSD the lubricating properties of the fuel has gone away. Really with today's ULSD the life span of injectors and IP pumps on the IDI's is about 100-125K miles for optimal operation. This is also dependent on your locale, in areas that see cooler climes and see a larger percentage winter diesel use with it's even lower lubricating properties it will shorten the life span of the IP and Injectors further and the use of an additive is should be considered a must for the winter time. In areas like the southern U.S that will never see winter diesel in their tanks 150K miles should considered the upper limit for the IP with ULSD and no additives.
Injectors regardless should be replaced or at least have the pop pressures checked at 100K-115K miles to insure they are in spec and have the the fuel timing adjusted accordingly. As injectors wear/settle in the pop pressures lower and timing advances.

Do not use ether on any glow plug equipped diesel unless you disable the glow plugs. The Cummins uses a manifold heater and have a lower compression ratio so they can more easily handle a shot of either. The IDI's have glow plugs and the use of either could shatter/fracture pistons if the glow plugs are not disabled. Regardless, the IDI's do not like ether any way due to the high 21:1 compression ratio these engines have.

There is the IDI specific forum on the website https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum117/ With some very knowledgeable guys there.

 

No need to use ether. Make sure the batteries are good and fully charged. Make sure your glow plugs test good. Remove the glow plug wire and connect a 12 v test light from the positive terminal on the battery to the connection on the glow plug. If the light comes on the glow plug is good. Make sure the fuel is clean and good. No water in the system. Installing a manual glow plug button will help as well. Some controllers do not give enough time and sometimes they come on when they are not needed...get rid of the glow plug controller right away. 6 to 8 seconds should be adequate preheat. If you crank it and it doesn't fire try another 3 or 4 seconds on the manual button and crank again. Alternately wait a few minutes and try again with a little more time, say up to 10 seconds.

The basics need to be taken care of, Good batteries, Good glow plugs, good clean fuel, no air in the fuel supply. If it's been run out of fuel air can get in the system. Purge any air at the schraeder valve on the fuel filter base. Shouldn't need ether. Can't recommend that!

If you can't get it to start with all the basics covered then you likely have other problems with the injector pump or injectors. How many miles on the engine? How many miles on the injector pump and injectors?

New injector pump and injectors and installation kit will run about $1200.00 bucks. Add about 4-6 hours of labor to change em out and properly setup and install. If you can't find a good diesel technician to do the work you will have to go to school on it. They should have the tools and equipment to properly set up the injector pump. Some people skip that step and then they run into problems with the timing.

BB2

 

I reviewed the tune up and maintenance procedures in two Chiltons manuals for the 6.9l. Beyond basic idle adjustment and fuel filter replacement there are no instructions for tune up. Why? Because a properly setup and installed fuel system will last for 150,000 reliable miles.

In operating and maintaining a 6.9l for over 400,000 miles it has never failed to start when the above stated basics are covered. That's why diesels are so popular among enthusiasts. Reliable power to get the job done. Now you may say that getting a new injector pump, injectors and technician to "properly" install it for $1800 bucks is expensive but it only costs a penny per mile over 150,000 reliable miles.

Good Luck!
BB2

 

307,000+ miles on my cummins only did injectors so far

 

Great. what size Cummins do you have? I'm a big fan of their engines.

I'm on my second motor, 300k on the first one. Rings were soft and it started using oil over the last 100k. New motor with 100k on it so far. If I were to repower again I might look into going to a cummins. All the diesel mechanics I know can't rave enough.

No oil use so far on rebuild.

 

5.9 24v nv4500 4wd
need something that's not a daully tho, there for old idi needed.
besides this ones $300 well it's worth it.

 

$300 is a no brainer. Even if the motor is blown it is pretty fair. If you have something you can work with you'll love it. Check the tail pipe for excessive blacking and check the oil. If the oil is low and you have wet black around the exhaust you could have one of the soft ring IDI's. Also look at the oil and cooling system for any indication of a blown head. if it's on a first reman you could be scoring big time as the remans were usually done with better rings and head gaskets.

If it starts let it warm up. Then give the accelerator a sharp rev and watch the tail pipe. Big blue cloud means possible oil use. If you are running down the road at upwards of 45 mph or on a hill you will see the blue smoke as well.
Hopefully you got a good runner. Will be a good rig for camping and the like.

BB2

 

Trying to find a trailer and a truck to go get it, my truck is sitting, radiator crapped out, heater core dead, ac been dead, and a bunch of other things.
got all the tid bits for it and gave it to a mechanic. Would of done it myself but it's a dodge... gotta take the entire dash apart to redo the heater core lol, not my cup of tea.

 

If it's been covered sorry I'm lazy lol, but is there enough room under // behind the seat to put subwoofers?
and to install 6x9 speakers I'd just have cut up the metal then bend / roll out the sheet metal and plastic right? Wiring is simple enough.
out of curiosity what's the OEM alternator put out? Any good OEM/ aftermarket upgrades that'll last?
the radio is single din right? But can I fit a double din touch screen in it? Or does sheet metal need cut up? The bezel is easy enough to take care of.
appreciated thank you all.

 

Stock alternator is usually 100 amps for the diesels. They had ambulance options that were higher. Most people swap in a later model 3G which can be had in a 130 amp version. But you have to be careful, going much higher than 100 amps with a single v-belt invites belt squeal from the belt slipping.

 

noted thanks, I'll just get a fat Caterpillar battery instead.