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Im sure this has been beat to death in here but Im going to ask anyway. I have never been big on oil additives of any kind. With that being said, I jbought another 7.3. last fall. 183,000 old man camper pulling miles and clean as a whistle. Since the weather has cooled off, it seems to crank a long time before it fires. All glow plugs and relay are good. Virtually no smoke when it does start, so can't be too much wrong. It does clatter a bit at first but quiets right down. I'm talking teens to 20's for ambient temps. It does crank a bit slow so I am going to look into batteries and starter before I go too deep with anything. I have been around 7.3's since 96 when I bought one brand new (and still own) I also have been around them at my jobs over the years so, not a newbie. I do know that stiction is real and can be an issue in starting. I have no experience with any of the products that are suppose to remedy it like Hot Shot's Secret, Archoil and others, hence my question above. Don't tell me I need to plug it in, it's not that cold. My old '96 will start at -25 without being plugged in if all the glowplugs are working. I want real world experience with these additives. Thanks
The rule of thumb for the 7.3L is vote YES for fuel additives and NO for oil additives. Not that either are required or not, just that is what has been proven to work over the years.
Stiction is a 6.doh problem, not so much a a 7.3L issue.
I saw your unique way of spelling Idaho. My wife is from ID and we get out that way every couple of years and twice last year. We have family in Orofino, Lewiston, Boise and Challis. We usually spend our time in the Challis, Stanley and Salmon area on BLM land and in the wilderness.
Beautiful country up there, but too cold in the winter for our liking, which is why we settled in north GA.
I appreciate the input. I was born and raised here in the SE corner of the state. Still live on the same peice of land that I grew up on. As I'm nearing retirement, I think about going somewhere warmer (especially in the winter) Ive been a heavy mechanic most of my life and the ol bones sure feel the cold anymore. I have a couple of good friends who live in Challs. Again, thanks for your 2 cents worth!
I think you're probably on the right track w/ the possible weak starter and/or batteries. Only things I can think to add is don't forget about the cables too, and might check the hpop res for sludge accumulation. Old men can defiantly be meticulous w/ maintenance but if they're not doing it themselves then those kind of things can go overlooked.
Looked at the batteries a few days ago and the one had a couple of drops of acid on top of the case right near a post.........Think Im headed to Costco for a new set of Interstates. Give those a try, then starter if need be. See what it does after that. Cables are clean and in pretty good shape. I'm an old man myself.......LOL
No, havent tried it and probably wont. Have run 15W40 in my 96 since it was new. This 2000 won't even get driven in the winter. Just started occasionally to move it out of the way in the shop.
Real world experience? I dumped in a pint of Archoil when I first bought the truck 6 years ago and it made no noticeable improvement in how the truck started or ran that I could tell.
Old man truck means it probably has never got anything but conventional 15W40. I wouldn't bother with any additives but would spring for some 5W40 synthetic.
...Since the weather has cooled off, it seems to crank a long time before it fires. All glow plugs and relay are good. Virtually no smoke when it does start, so can't be too much wrong. It does clatter a bit at first but quiets right down.
My rig cranks a bit slow as well. About 120 rpm this morning, cranking voltage of 9.5V on the first try, 35F temp. My batteries are tired, but she still fires up within about 2 seconds.
How old is the oil? How does your ICP climb during cranking? Pretty quick or a bit slow?
Here is some cranking data after running the rig for 5 minutes this morning, shutting down, and cranking with IDM disabled to watch ICP, IPR, RPM, FUELPW and cranking voltage. ICP climbs above 500psi within a half second, with no delay after rpm is registering. Check that on your rig to rule out high pressure oil leaks.
If the new batteries/starter/connections do not fix this slow start, you could take some data with FORScan and see if your high pressure oil is behaving. If slow, an IPR rebuild might be a good idea if original, injector external o-rings, injector internal o-rings/clearances, or the HPOP itself (least likely I think).
Archoil, and similar adds have moly and boron in the mix.
You can get both moly and boron in Motorcraft oil, as well as Rotella T5.
I tried Archoil once, no change to anything.
A 10w30 could be beneficial to you in colder weather,( you didn't state why you never tried or won't try a 5w40) with no harm to your 7.3 overall.
Old man truck means it probably has never got anything but conventional 15W40. I wouldn't bother with any additives but would spring for some 5W40 synthetic.
Since Im an old man too........it will probably continue to get "conventional" 15w40. Ive run Delo (which is now a syn blend) in my 96 since it was new. Never an issue. It will start without being plugged in at -25. Im really leaning towards either the battteries or the starter at this point. Just need to come up with the time to dig into it further. Thanks to all for the suggestions and advice.
File that one under "can't hurt but may help" as far as the oil goes and costs hardly anything over the course of an oil change interval.
If it's the original starter it's probably time for a new one. The one in my truck was tired when I bought it and did not like cold starts. It would crank okay for about a second then slow way down and if the engine didn't catch right away I'd have to lay off and try again. Put a Denso in and never had it not start right away on the first try until this past November when the batteries finally got tired.
