greets to all, and congrats on such a great site and everyone who make it so. I'm hoping to find some help on some questions. I just purchased a 99 f350 7.3 (i believe f engine code), auto tranny and 4.10 diff. that was formally used as an oil field work truck. have had good luck doing minor mechanical repairs so far getting ready for registration/inspection. I bought the truck with 207K miles and change, just a few days ago. We decided to buy a pickup but given our budget and space concerns we knew we needed an older large one and that it would most likely and prefferably be a diesel. I'm still learning about working on a diesel a little bit. all previous vehicles have been fomoco products, two of which are mustangs, 68 and 98, both still owned. I'm use to gas but have fallen in love with this oversimplified diesel (no options, basic work truck). anywho, I have a white smoke problem. started reading stanard smoke thread tonight and have done some preliminary test, but waiting for cool block to finish (wife had to take it for a late spin, her first time). first problem I note is that I seem to be loosing about 1V+ across high amp post on GPR. is this acceptable? second my batteries, seem kinda weak (probably from raggin on them trying to get an initial start, truck was bought not running as is). The batteries are wally world brand with i believe a jan 06 date code on one (missing code on other but looks like match set). I didn't think much about these batteries till I saw them stamped with a johnson controls tagline (same manufacturer as diehard). what voltage is needed to get gp's to heat? is 10-11V acceptable? Cold start is when the worst smoke production is but truck smokes even when warm. any suggestions? let's dwelve into the last several days.
bought truck, dealer wanted it GONE, he couldn't move them and was about to auction. payed 4500 TT&L still due, he payed for tow. talk about motivated. he thought it needed fuel pump after replacing starter. I tested and found bad filter and blown pump fuse, cranked and ran same day as delivered but with horrible labored starts especially initial cold. keep in mind this was an oil field truck operated in NM and TX (NM plates on it). probably has high sulphur fuel possibly mixed with drip gas in it at this point.
over several days I have added additives to both fuel and oil, adding several gallons of fresh #2 diesel fuel a day (6-7 gallons). after adding addivitives then did oil change day or two ago with delo 15w40 and new filter. changed VSS on rear end. made the oreilly guys search for that one, BWD cross is wrong for vss, look for RABS sensor ABS111. fixed ABS light OD light and flaky speedo. first couple of days, engine behaviour changed by the hour of the day. my guess is because of the dillution of bad fuel with fresh and additives. white smoke has decreased from first day strat but still present especially after cold start (not that cold in west texas upper 80s-high 90s in april, gotta love/hate it). Must use ether and under hood mechanics trigger start switch to do cold start. Once block is warm it takes about 5-10 secs for clean start. Once engine is heated though smoke is less but present, sometimes noticable on windy day wafting past from of vehicle at stop light, sometimes a cross between haze and smoke noticed when parked and idle. is this just a fuel problem compounded by a GP system problem? that's what I came up with. I hope to do more extensive testing electrically when block cools, I'll post more then, bought to go read the mods forum, keep it up guys, great site
Chad
99 f350 7.3PSD bone stock

 

With your description it sounds like it could use a set of injectors and glow plugs. I would also remove the intercooler pipes and check for excessive oil. Does it seem to smoke more after a hard run when you back out of it and coast? If so it could be turbo seals.

 

Chad, I agree with what Kevin said. Additionally, while your GPs or relay or lack of voltage may be the cause of your hard starting and smoking, that should go away once the truck is warm and running unless you have other issues that Kevin was mentioning in his post. Looks like this one is gonna keep ya busy. First thing is what you've already mentioned, make sure you've got known good fuel in the tank. Then the work can begin.

 

Well I think I can test the glow plugs pretty easily. Is there any kind of test/inspection you can suggest for the injectors? I would imagine that turbo seals should be spotable on a visual inspection correct? I know I have some oil in my intake tube between turbo and filter box. but i hear that is common due to ccv design flaw. correct? If I pulled injectors would a visual inspection of the nozzle's likely tell me anything? anyone have some troubleshooting ideas? thanks in advance.
Chad
99 f350 7.3PSD auto Bone stock.

 

Yeah, that oil in the intake tube is common from the CCV "flaw" epa friendly design. Unfortunately it does nothing for your truck's performance and further complicates your turbo diagnosis just by pumping that residue in there, leaking from and softening the intake boots etc. I don't think you can visually inspect an injector but I could be wrong. As for your other questions, I don't want to talk out of my behind so perhaps somebody else will chime in.

 

tenn01, yeah that's why I was wondering if it was a fuel problem, while whatever is in there is now dilluted it is still defineately in there. as new fresh fuel is added, the smoking gets a little better, however there are times I wonder if the amount of smoke is not in proportion to the contamination. though there is no way to say for sure. especially since I'm a newbie to all of this. the fresh fuel has indeed made the engine act all together better, but revealing some quirks that the old fuel masked. there have litterly been starting and running characteristics that have changed completely around about this engine since this last tuesday when I got it. I'm going to put some more fuel in it today and see if the extra dillution helps it any. I'm also gonna try shorting GPR to see if it helps start. Thanx
Chad
99 f350 7.3 auto, bone stock.

 

well cold start today was horrible, didn't even like ether. usually only takes 1-2 shots of ether to start it cold, but today took multiple cranks and multiple shots to get it running. smoking is still alleviating so it is most likely fuel that is causing majority of the smoking problem. when i say cold start it was 87 today when i first cranked it. not that cold. I shorted the gpr high current post together with a screwdriver for about 5 seconds cranked, nothing, shorted, cranked, nothing, then moved to ether. i didn't figure it should take a whole lot of glow plug given the ambient temp. starts great and runs great warm, only light white smoke, even after the first cold start, it didn't smoke but just a little. The more clean fuel I put in it the better it gets about smoking and warm starting, but the worse it seems to get about cold starting. When it had that tank of old oilfield fuel in it it started cold, very labored, but it happened. They must have blended it with something pretty volatile. The smoke problem was better today even b4 he new fuel. just really getting mad at this cold start issue. I would like to have it ready before it gets cold in late fall. didn't have time to test glow plugs at harness today, my 2 year old wanted to go to the park. think I'll try that next as a basic step. white smoke is pretty much constant density no matter engine speed or load. obviously it's produced and expelled quicker at higher speeds, but the exhaust doesn't get dark, just more exhaust volume. It's hard for me to tell about it running down the road, my window tint kinda makes it hard to see. any ideas about the nearly ipossible cold starting? I may chunk the batteries on charger and let them charge up. B4 I buy any more parts I have to wait till next month for more paychecks. But I would like to troubleshoot as much as possible between now and then. there is defineately a diesel fuel smell when vehicle is stopped and idling. are glow plugs that neccessary at 87*? I mean the lows at night are only in the 60's. surely even with dead plugs it should be easier to start. I don't know though, that's why I ask. Thanks to all for the help.
Chad
99 f350 7.3psd CC LB auto, bone stock.

 

I recommend a compression check. At those temperatures you should be able to easily start without using glow plugs.

 

I have a compression gauge for a gas engine (somewhere), would that be sufficient for a high compression diesel. what kind of pressure should I see? I suppose that it will need to be read through the glow plug ports with the valve covers off and injector pump fuse pulled correct? I don't know if my chilton manual has compression specs in it. let me.......don't see them. what are acceeptable pressures and what is too far out of limit? also if I'm loosing compression, that means a tear down and ring or valve job huh? All sorts of fun suggestions, oh well. that's what I get. I've heard it's an acceptable practice to re-use the VC gaskets, is that correct? assuming they stay intact I presume. wouldn't compression also affect warm starts and running? although it might, like I say, first diesel, so I'm not sure if it's running as smooth as i think it is. Will have to devote a weekend or something for a compression test. If i'm loosing compression anyway of telling where it is being lost at, valve or rings? someone also suggested an injector test. who could do that? so many questions and repairs, so little money. such is life. been reading the threads about the fuel system mods, If I can smooth this thing out, may be something I'd like to try. thanks guys and keep the suggestions coming
Chad
99 f350 7.3psd cc lb auto, bone stock

 

ok did a full run down on the glow plug system as a basic starting point. with my ground lead of my dmm (autorangin) tied to GPR bracket mounting bolt (want a ground close to gp's for accurate reading, sorry i'm an electroniics nerd) on passenger head heres what I got. all gp's except one read 0ohms. I believe cylinder 5 (second from back of engine passenger side) has dead gp at 35ohm. did basic voltage readings on engine and here's what I got (table follows)....
batteries were put on 2 amp charge to "refresh" them. after removing charger from vehicle batt volt was 12.95, ground reference was batt- cable
legend batt=battery + post; gpr b+=glow plug relay 12 supply; gp=glow plug relay feed to glow plugs.
| batt | gpr b+ | gp |
------------------------------------------------
on | 11.5 | 11.5 | 11.06 (relay on)
--------------------------------------------------------
start| 9.9 | 9.8 | 0 (relay off)

other than low voltages from batteries that may have been ragged on too much, the system looks in fairly good order minus #5 GP. so given the ambient temps I don't see a reason why it is hard starting. Every time I crank it, it gets better about running and warm starts, but worse on cold start. It doesn't take much heat either, when testing the GP's the coolant temp guage didn't show any temp, but the engine bay was still warm in comparison to ambient, and it started great. I don't know how much of a heat difference that is, but can't be much. maybe I'll get lucky tommorrow morning. just had a thought, could there still be a fuel system problem that only shows it's ugly head when cold? the cold starting is changing as my fuel contamination level changes. is that a logical theory to follow? I'm just thinking out loud. wish i had a maintenance schedule for the thing from when it was in service in the oil field, if any serious maintenance was done. I heard a rumor that the oilfield mixes white/drip gas with their high sulphur diesel. and that seems kinda like was is going on. like something with too much volitility was used in the tank when I got it. the engine is now smooting out during normal run as new fuel is introduced. if a more volitile fuel was blended in it's previous life, could that have fuel system/engine repurcusions? (like a diesel becoming an ether baby.) I'd hate to tear into the engine if there is an easier fix. I just don't want to chase my tail on something that may be simple. But don't fret keep any suggestion you have coming, i'd appreciate it. also would it be more helpful if I could video/audio record a cold crank? I've got plenty of digital cameras. let me know I'm anxious to find out so I can get to modding. =0) thanks guys
Chad

 

Just a thought here, but if this was an oil field truck and i know how they use the cheap gas and run them through the terrain....maybe you are not getting the starts due to a clog in the fuel system....which might also explain the smoke. Anyone else think the same?

 

See if kinda wandering the same thing, smoke is still slowing alleviating with each day, and today it cold started this morning. it had some abviously rough detonations for about 30seconds then smoothed out and the smoke thinned after warm up, but still present. took one crank and no ether this morning for a cold start. completely unpredictable. oh well, keep the suggestions coming and i'll keep posting the results.
Chad
99 f350 7.3psd cc lb, bone stock.

 

Are you running any additive through the tank....I'd recommend stanadyne performance.

 

yeah i got diesel kleen in the tank, i forget if i put marvel mystery oil in there or not. just put in an initial dose, last couple of gallons of fuel i've put in have been straight, have marvel in the new oil. wanna make sure i scrub out the engine pretty good. that oil i changed out was black as midnight. definately needed the change. the behaviour change with each dose of fresh fuel, but also with the passage of time and use of additive in the tank. this truck is changing behaviour each day, and first day or two it was changing by the hour. Whatever was in the tank was defineately not diesel, didn't have the right smell when I pulled the gas cap. make me wonder
keep em commin.
chad

 

Sounds like you are on the right track....i would say at some point though, you might want to drop the tank and flush out anything that might remain in there from whatever gas they had used.....maybe biodiesel or just a very low grade.