Hi, Ive got a 1992 7.3 and have read alot of threads in here with bits and pieces of info about turning up the pump.
I cant find a thread that details exactly how and where to do it?
Can anyone point me towards the right thread or take the time to detail the procedure for me?
Thanks

 

I'd make sure to have a pyro before you do this don't want to melt the pistons(they start melting around 1200 degrees and are total liquid by 1450) depending where you mount the pyro you have to add to what ever it says geting as close as you can to the head is your best bet I figure whatever mine says add a 100 degrees just to be safe but mine is mounted an inch away from the head. hmmm where to start ok you will probably want to get the motor warmed up to make it start easier later.disconect the electrial wires going to the pump don't want it to start while doing this. look at the passenger side of pump there should be a small looking home plate so to speak of you that that off(a nice amount of fuel will come out I'd pack rags in there to catch it wipe off the valley pan under the intake if it gets past the rags) and there will be an allen head screw on the back or point of the opening you need a mirror to find it while turning over the motor(I went clock wise)turn it little by little until you come apon the srcrew. clockwise turns it up counter clockwise turns it down. now If you have a n/a and no huge exhaust(4+ or dual 3") i'd turn it about 30 to 60 degrees if you have exhaust(headers help) or a turboI'd go 60 degrees to 90 degrees if you have a wastegate turbo and can turn up your boost I'd crank it all the way up and turn it back 60 degrees(watching your pyro will save your motor at this point it will go up pretty fast!) ok you got it turned up now you must put the (home plate)cover back on do with the gasket attached take the rages out of the valley clean up all the fuel you can and start her up she will run rough for a little bit and get back to runnig fine in about a minute or less. you watching the pyro and letting off the the throttle is diffrence between a running truck or a truck owner finding another motor.

 

Thanks Ive printed it off and maybe will try it.

 

i was helping a friend turn his up and he wanted it to blow black smoke but not burn up his motor...how far can you turn it to blow smoke without having to worry about it burning up?...there is no turbo on this one and it is a 93 7.3...its an automatic too...thanks

 

One flat of the allen wrench will probably be plenty for more black smole than he wants.
Blowing to much black smoke is hard on the rings.
As far as how much is safe? That depends on how it is run, stock settings can get the motor to hot. This is not as bad a problem on NA motors as it is on turbo'd motors.

More fuel = more heat
More fuel and more air = lots more heat
Heat is your enemy.

 

So will a guy notice a difference by turning up the pump? I was thinking about doing the same thing with my 92 n/a. Will my fuel mileage go in the toilet?

When you say 30 to 60 degrees, I assume you mean something like a 1/4 turn on the wrench?

 

One flat on the allen wrench is 60 degrees. (1/6 turn)

If you are already smoking some black when under a load, then you are not going to get much more out of it. To much is hard on the rings and puts a lot more soot in the oil.
If you are not smoking black at all then a little more fuel will make a difference.
If you do adjust it, a little more goes a long way.
To much and it will put the MPG in the wastebasket, and the power will drop off from to much fuel.

Another thing you could do is get the timing set to 8 degrees.
An injection shop is the best place to have that done, to much advance will hurt the pistons.

 

Thanks for the info Dave-sounds like you know your stuff-mine blows a little smoke when pulling the camper up steep grades, but she is a 32 foot travel trailer, so it is quite a load. Also, how far of a change is the 8 degrees from stock?

 

would it be possible to turn it back maybe a flat on the allen wrench and gain some mpg? or would a little more give it a little better mpg due to power increase? also, kinda off subject but not by far, would it be possible to install a pressure regulator between the supply pump and the high pressure-distribution pump so fuel pressure can be adjusted more easily?

 

Highmark18,
I grew up on a farm, drove tractor trailer long haul for years, now I am running heavy equipment. Driven two or three diesels in my life, hundreds that is.
As far as where your timing is now, that is a good question. My current reman motor had a dyno sheet with it that says it was set at 7.5 from the factory. The 6.9's had a sticker on them that gave the HP and timing on the valve cover. Some of the 7.3's were on the valve cover, others were on the IP drive gear cover. But if it was previously owned, that number may not be right.

I have set mine without taking it to an injection shop on the original motor.
I will tell you if you want to know, but it is at your own risk if you do it.
Look at the top of the injection pump.
You will see an index line on the pump housing and the drive gear cover that should be in line with each other.
There are three bolts that hold the pump to the gear cover.
Loosen the bolts and bump the top of the pump toward the passenger side of the truck.
About the width of the index mark at one time is enough.
Tighten the bolts back up.
Start and drive the truck.
While you are driving it put the throttle pedal on the floor through one gear to see how it sounds and runs.
You may have to repeat the above steps once or twice.
When it starts to rattle like a power stroke engine, you have gone to far, back the timing off a bit and tighten everything up good.
Test drive it again to make sure the rattle is gone.

I almost forgot one thing, when the engine is cold and the IP advances the timing, my engine rattles to the point it almost hurts your ears if you have good hearing. Yours will probably do the same till it is warm. So you need to have it warm when you set the timing.

Muscletruck7379,
The injection pump already has a pressure regulator in it. The excess fuel is returned to the tank through the return line.
As far as turning the pump down to get fuel mileage, I would not do that. I would just lighten up the load on the right hand skinny pedal some. (AKA, take the lead shoe off)
Any motor will get it's best mileage when it is tweaked to the highest horsepower it can give, the trick for good MPG is to not use all the power it has. That is hard to do in this rush rush world we live in today though.

The operator behind the wheel has more to do with the MPG a vehicle gets than any other factor.
Want better MPG, change your driving style to a more conservative application of the throttle and brakes.

 

Dave-

Thanks again for the info-we have a local diesel shop that could do it for me, and it wouldn't cost much. So by setting the timing and turning up the pump a little, I hope to see some gain. Amazing it will rattle like that when it is cold.
What is it going to sound like when I start it at 40 below? Guess we will find out-thanks again for the info-

 

It will rattle like a power stroke engine till the fast idle and timing advance kick off. Once it kicks off it will sound like it does now.

The first time you hear it from under the hood, you will think it is gonna blow up.

The shop that helped me change the engine was very small, we did not have the hood on when we fired it. The sound bouncing off the walls and ceiling plus the engine made it very loud. I was glad I am tone deaf from all the loud diesels I have been around. The mechanics that help me normally work on gassers. They were both wanting away from the truck.

With the timing advanced and a little more fuel turned to it, you will see a difference in power.

 

Dave-

I will let you know how it goes-so as long as I do it according to what you said, reliability wise I should be ok, right? Obviously I do it at my own risk, but sounds like the specs you gave me you have used yourself. Thanks again for the info.
Oh, and the lines on the pump are right on the top of the pump housing where it bolts to the engine?

 

Yes that is the location of the index marks.
If you can get it done cheaply enough, I would opt for the shop setting the timing.
That is by far the safest way to do it.
When I advanced mine by ear, I already knew I would soon be replacing the engine with a 7.3 turbo soon. So I was not worried about doing any damage to the motor. And I have been around diesels for most of my life.

 

Thanks Dave-one more thing, is the 8 degrees static or dynamic timing or what should I tell the guys at the shop, as I am sure they will ask.