You are correct, I've worked owned or worked on a diesel before. I've already swapped out the IP. That shouldn't be the issue. It's been quite the learning curve. I'll run another volt drop test to check out the rest of the cables. My suspicion is weak batteries. I bought them in the fall and have been cranking the engine quite often, except during the winter months, to troubleshoot this truck. That's why I was thinking about pull starting it, to save on the batteries. Thanks for the help.

 

If you have a big enough field to be pulling it then go for it.
Good luck
Dave ----

 

I should have, the fields range from 2 acres to 20 acres. Thanks

 

When you run the test again, it will do more than just check the cables. It will also test the batteries under load.

As far as saving the batteries, that would be a false economy. If the test fails, you’ll have already confirmed the batteries are not up to snuff. Doesn’t matter how new they might be. If bad, they are bad. Babying them isn’t going to bring them back to life again. They’ll just be patiently waiting for an inconvenient time to leave you stranded somewhere. I’d refrain from knocking over any liquor stores in the meantime, unless you leave the engine running.

 

Had the same motor in an 85 Suburban. I remember very well bleeding the fuel system. That’s also where I first learned about shoddy aftermarket parts, when Chinese stuff was first coming on the market here around 1995 or so.

The original starter solenoid had given up the ghost after 10 years. This is the true solenoid style mounted directly on the starter, not the remote starter relay found on our (gas) trucks. The electromagnet portion actuated just fine, but the big contacts had excess resistance, confirmed with a voltage drop test. No problem, got what seemed like a quality replacement from NAPA. Worked fine initially.

About a month later, I had to bleed the fuel system after a filter change. I followed the factory manual to a T, including limiting starter cranking time to 30 seconds (or whatever the actual number was). I was using my wristwatch to time the starter.

Five seconds before I was about to release the starter, smoke started pouring out from the new solenoid. Still had the original (with pitted contacts) for comparison. Cut them both open for inspection. The OEM solenoid had heavy copper wiring and spot welded connections. The aftermarket unit had light aluminum wiring with crimped connections. What a piece of junk! It had worked okay when the engine started right up so cranking time was minimal. But it failed the first time it had to work hard.

Went to the dealer for a replacement and all was right again. I was able to bleed the fuel system and the OEM replacement never game me any trouble.

The moral of this heartwarming story? The starter system, in good working order, should be able to easily accomplish the factory fuel system bleeding procedure, of course being mindful of duty cycle limits. If unable, something in the starter system needs some attention.

 

When changing the fuel filter you can fill the 6.9l spin ons with fuel. That eliminates crank time. Can be messy. I don't fill mine. I only change the filter with a warm engine. When you screw on the empty filter it fills quite a bit by the engine running out the residual fuel. Then a few 10 or 15 second cranks gets the fuel to the Schrader valve. One more crank and you're home free.

 

The fuel filter on my 6.2 you could not fill.
It was like a brick and the holes were way too small. And if you could fill it where it was mounted on the firewall it would all leak out.
Take that brick and try and stick it to the wall with the holes to the wall, You also had the water sensor you had to feed into 1 f the holes, that is what it was like mounting it.
I even tried to put pressure in the fuel tank to help push the fuel to the filter with no luck.
And yes the motor was warm.
Dave ----

 

When pulling it or cranking it, keep an eye on the tailpipe. If you are getting fuel to the cylinders, you will see white smoke puffing out. Once you see that, some glowplug action or a little ether should get it going. Or keep pulling it, one cylinder, then another and then another till it starts running. You won't believe the smoke it makes till it warms up and all 8 are firing.

 

Thanks for all the help. We got it pull started and I felt like I was in a cheech and Chong movie. 😁. Old girl has a little exhaust leak. She ran very rough for awhile, but she evened out and sounds good. Let her sit for a bit and she fired back up. My son was all smiles. Now onto replacing the heater core, brakes, electrical and floor pans.
I appreciate all the help. If I need anything other advice I'll search or start a new thread

 

Factory AC the heater core is real easy to change. The hard part is draining and refilling the cooling system.
What electrical needs help? Brakes should not be too hard up front rear could be depending on the axle.

Now floor pans if you have nto gotten them yet, dont go with LMC, look at Tabco.com for the floor pans, rockers, cab corners, etc.
Yes I have been there and done that with all that
Dave ----

 

Factory AC the heater core is real easy to change. The hard part is draining and refilling the cooling system.
What electrical needs help? Brakes should not be too hard up front rear could be depending on the axle.

Now floor pans if you have not gotten them yet, dont go with LMC, look at Tabco.com for the floor pans, rockers, cab corners, etc.
Yes I have been there and done that with all that
Dave ----

 

None of the gauge in the dash are working, have to install new brake lines, the original ones are pitted very bad in a few spots. Thanks for the information on the floor pans.

 

Well you know on the gauges you want to check the fuse first if it is good or not and replace if bad.
Find the oil or temp gauge sender wires and with the key on ground the wire and the gauge should move up and remove ground and goes down.
You can also use a test light hooked to the sender wires and with the key on the test light should blink if getting power to the senders.

Now if that doe not check out good with a test light or grounding the wires, I would look at the IVR (instrument voltage regulator) on the back of the gauge panel.
It should have 12 volts going in and if using a volt meter should show 5 to 6 volts.

On the brake lines get copper nickel line as it is easy to bend and flare.
I just bought a kit of 25' of 3/16 C/N line, fittings, flaring tool and cutter off Amazon. Going to use it on my sons YJ Jeep
Dave ----