I’ve got a 1990 F-250 that’s been sitting in a field for a good number of years. After changing batteries, adding fuel and replacing a wire, got it cranking.
Replaced the glow plugs and fixed their wires and replaced the camshaft positioning sensor. Filled the fuel filter with diesel and some sea foam and my buddy squirted some diesel in the air intake and it started up. We gave it gas, then let it idle for about 15 minutes. All of a sudden it just died and we haven’t been able to get it started again.

I am completely new to this kind of work and bought this very cheap to learn my way around a Diesel engine so if anything isn’t clear it’s probably because I said it wrong lol.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Forgot to add that we cracked the injectors and have fuel squirting from all of them.

 

Did you immediately try starting it after it ran for 10 minutes or have you waited an hour or two (so it cooled off) and then tried again. There are several issues it could be, but knowing if it wont crank when warm is differnet then wont crank at all anymore.

could be injector o rings if it's only starting when cold. Could be the injector drive module (idm) distributor sensor as well as a couple other things.

It's best to knock out if its truly at a no start... or really just a non-warm start first. Being that it did run for 10 minutes... I'm leaning towards injectors or sensors.

 

OP if it’s legit a 1990, then it’s an IDI that needs one wire to run. You say you changed the cam position sensor, then it’s a Powerstroke. Which one is it?

Edited because I didn’t see you cracked injector lines. You have an IDI, where did you put the cam sensor? What does the sensor look like?

 

Number of years?
diesel grows stuff and it clogs stuff and it causes things not to start or run for short times like 15 minutes or even drive a few hundred feet then die. Fuel will still move but not enough to run the engine very long.

try new fuel filter and starting it off clean fuel in a can straight to the fuel pump. The side with the rubber hose connection.

Even if it doesn’t start this way you may keep this set up till you get it started so you know you have clean fuel and filter....ask me how i know after 150 in fuel filters!-))

and seriously consider the modification i’m Working on under the current electric fuel pump thread. You’ll save some batteries and possibly your starter or 2!-). Ask me how i know....lol... and some tough times.

thats why i’m Doing 4 of my running diesels right now. Because I haven’t owned any of them long enough to have fixed all the fuel/starting issues and even more stuff comes up due to lack of PO maintenance or just being left “in a field for years”!-). Or the parts just come up on the end of lifetime and unless you go from A to Z in one shot its quite possible, your gonna keep fixing things for a couple years and really appreciate the electric fuel pump.

It’s the one modification that is a MUST for any new idi owner that will save heartache.....from my experience.

 

Man, thank you guys coming on here so quick to help.

@Cinko I tried both - starting it right after it died and starting it the next morning. Neither worked. I’ll look into the o rings and the injectors (crossing my fingers it’s not the injectors).

@90Ford73 I don’t know how to add pics yet but here is the sensor I changed out on the advice of a diesel mechanic: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...rd-f-250?pos=1

@Edward Michael I’m really wondering if this is the problem. I will try running fuel straight to the fuel pump. If that works would something like diesel kleen help with the diesel that’s in the tanks or should I completely empty the tanks and put new fuel in? I’ll check out your thread on the electric pump!

Thank you guys again! I won’t be able to work on it today with all I’ve got going on but should be able to get back to it again tomorrow and I’ll keep you posted.

 

That looks like a tachometer sensor, just off to the right side of the oil fill. Is this truck auto or manual transmission?

Take every mechanics advice with a grain of sand, as everybody hears 7.3 and thinks powerstroke; which leads to confusion, wrong info, and money spent on parts that don’t fit.

Cinko is giving good advice above, but it’s for a 7.3 powerstroke. None of which applies to your IDI. You have O-rings on the top of your injectors, under the black or grey caps connected to the short pieces of hose going in between each injector. That is all on the fuel return side, not supply. Don’t worry about that right now, they’re gonna leak and cause a no start when sitting for a day as you will loose prime. There are no sensors to prevent an IDI from running, just make sure you have 12 volts to the front terminal on the drivers side of the injection pump.

You can try taking a Jerry can of fresh diesel, about ten feet of 3/8 hose, and connecting it directly to the lift pump. Cut a V notch in the end of the hose going into the can so it doesn’t suck to the bottom. It’ll take a little cranking before you prime the length of hose, but it should pick up and run. Remember, the injection pump is returning fuel to the tank, so that can won’t last long. Have someone depress the shrader valve while cranking so it pushes air out easier, and let go when fuel starts spraying.

 

This is the idi forum.....right? lol. Anyway,

None of us know what the problem is.....start with clean fuel.
Diesel clean made my truck worse as it cleaned the tanks right into the already compromised lines/filter.
drop em, clean em, possibly order new senders for an accurate fuel reading and the shower head screen maybe is wasted. Dunno till ya drop em. It’s easy enough and maybe its all good and maybe...r

the electric fuel pump solves exactly what dude is saying...”it’ll take some cranking.....have someone open schrader valve.....wait till fuel....and so on. Also, you can have fuel coming out but not enough pressure...

Dont forget the starter cool downtime and the battery recharge time and times it however many times and days you keep “looking” for “the” problem and then on to the “the” next problem times (x) however many problems (x) cool down and recharge and then........the already old starter just had only so many more starts left and then the good ol’ or brand new battery’s are “@*#%ed and mo money mo money mo money MO....

get the electric fuel pump on order <100
get the package of add a circuits on order. Amazon 8.99 for 10
get 6 feet of 12-18 awg wire and a crimp supply box that includes crimper and various connectors...20
get the fuel pump block off plate on order. Summit racing 6.99
get the brass right angle 1/8 male thread to 3/8 barb x2. <10
4 automotive stainless clamps 3/8. 10
about 10 feet of diesel fuel rated hose 3/8. 3-6 a foot

and avoid the drama outlined above!-))

or order it and keep priming and looking and waiting and recharging and by the time everything shows up you are either rolling down the road cause it was only a clogged fuel filter and you set the box of stuff aside saying that guy was standing on a hill of horse crap

or order it and drop/clean/install tanks clean up and prep for efp install and have a solid up to date fuel delivery system that will make further issues that WILL come up a lot easier.

BUT, i do not know why your truck is not starting.

 

Edward op seemed confused on what engine he has earlier. It didn’t help the mechanic he talked to said to replace the cps, which these engines don’t have, only powerstrokes. To make it worse, the next post by cinko was about powerstroke info, more confusion. I don’t want op looking into injector O rings and an IDM when they don’t exist on his rig.

Also, I’ve come across a couple powerstroke swapped rigs where by the year it should be an IDI, but isn’t. Thats why I ask a bunch of questions to try and decipher. I did miss his post about cracking the lines earlier however.

Adding an electric fuel pump was the second best thing I did to my truck. Having a modern fuel system like that is great no doubt, turn key and prime like the new ones.

To check the health of the mechanical lift pump, you can take a tire tool and remove the shrader core, you should fill a solo cup pretty quick when cranking once your primed. There’s a spec somewhere on how much fuel in x amount of time cranking, but I don’t have it saved.

Op it’s your time and money, and Edward I’m not a mechanical lift pump advocate, but if that old lift pump was working before the truck was parked it most likely will work again. Hook a jug to it and see how much fuel it pushes out from the shrader. You still need to spin the engine over to fill the injection pump and pop the injectors, so you still need plenty of juice and a healthy starter with breaks in between to cool down. Keep us posted op

 

So i gotta know what the first thing was that you did to your truck 90ford....right away....because it took me a year to find out the electric fuel pump to get!-)

”there’s a spec somewhere”......my favorite part of this “forum”.

Don’t do anything till ya get that spec cause you’re just burning up your starter and batteries.

when the moannnney is available and you got a sitting truck and its gonna need “stuff” and symptoms are gloomy at best....stop the bleeding...dont make it tuffer on the truck because its a ford idi and will run into Armageddon!-)

when you dont have the money....sell the truck or give it away or park it and sit in it and stare at it......
because you need the money to even have this truck thats been sitting in a field for years!-))))

First step...
new fuel filter filled with clean diesel and can fuel with some diesel clean at the most...its gotta start and run good. Then you know to drop tanks and get to work on routine maintenance list for the fuel system.
you still will not KNOW that you have sufficient fuel flow for driving and driving under load.
Do a fuel pressure test off a can.....dunnnooo..gotta go

 

fuel delivery is i want to say minimum 7 psi and 1/2 pint fuel in 10 seconds cranking.

 

Thanks for that tjc, I was close with the solo cup spec

Edward I put on a Facet Duralift 40223 e-pump. It’s a little above the recommended psi, but I wouldn’t go lower. It has the weather pack connection too.

The best mod I ever did was manual glow plugs, use them once in the morning and that’s it.

 

@90Ford73 indeed so glad i switched over to the manual glow plugs too

 

just watch it with the 40223 pump, that is about 4 lbs too high pressure. you will have to adjust timing to run that pump, or run a pressure regulator to drop it down to around 7-8 psi.

 

Ok sorry I haven’t been back on here to update y’all. Having a job and 3 kids (4yo and under) makes getting back to it a little difficult sometimes lol.

I came out tonight to figure out hooking a hose from a can of fuel to the fuel lift pump and here’s my thought process: since I probably need to drop the tanks, check them over and clean them and add new fuel anyway should I just start there instead of adding another step to the process?
I’m going to check that I’m getting enough fuel to the schrader valve here in a minute when I can get my wife to crank while I’m under the hood (and I gotta go get the tool) but I wanted to get something on here before I started.

As far as the other stuff y’all have been talking about, it’s a manual tranny. I wasn’t so much confused about what I HAVE just didn’t know my truck didn’t have what was being thrown out to check lol. I sure am learning quickly that I don’t know what I don’t know.
I think I’ve covered it but I’m sure I’ve missed something you guys have told me. Again, the help is awesome and I appreciate it.