Went to leave for work this morning and truck wouldn't start. Got a rebuilt IP from dieselcare about six months ago and have noticed the engine has gotten lots more rattle to it lately and burning more diesel. I remember Dave saying that maybe my Ip was on the way out and I'm getting plenty of fuel coming out of the shrader valve while turning over. I just want to fix the truck and correct my mistake of buying this thing. I refuse to put any more money into it and the sooner gone the better. What a total let-down this truck has been.

 

This old iron is just plain getting OLD. It is unfortunate that your having trouble but at least you don't have a 40K rig like I did that would not run because the computer in the thing would rather play solitaire. These things the average person can fix and keep running with patience and some cash but just about everything costs loads of that now. Does your IP have a warranty? I gladly work on the old stuff now compared to the frustration of truck payments and the Ford Mechanics hiding when I walked into a room or the mechanics bay.

 

Most on this site would not agree with their trucks being a total let down. Give us some more details, year of truck, injectors new or old, return lines and o-rings replaced? Lots of things can give you problems, but often they are easy to fix and not that expensive compared to a new unit that the stealership works on.

 

It's an 89 F350 crew cab with 126,000 actual miles,e4od transmission, and 410 rearend. As far as I know it's all stock except for IP and return lines. Got the truck last spring and pulled a 7000# pound camper and couldn't believe the lack of power compared to my 1/2 ton it had. (55mph top speed) Took it to a respected diesel shop locally and after checking and $150.00 later was told I needed an IP. They could fix it right up and time it the correct way for "ONLY 1,1OO DOLLARS". Took the truck over to Dieselcare and $550.00 later I was able to just make 65mph pulling that camper and getting 12mpg in overdrive. Trust me I'll make the payments on a newer one with some pulling power before I'll sink more money on this thing. Sorry if I sound kinda short about the matter but the big gutless wonder is dead in the driveway as I type. It wouldn't really bother me so much if it actually pulled good when she was running. I came real close to selling the truck after the first trip and sure wish I had now while it was still running but now I've got to waste more money on this thing just to sell it.

 

Sent you an email, the truck may not be the problem......... be more particular as to who you have working on it............ DC has a lousy reputation on another forum....

 

A stock truck is no power house that is for sure, A crew cab (not 4x4?) likely weighs about 7000 lb, with 7000 lb camper you are actually over weight for your CGVW with the E4OD, they are rated at 12000 CGVW I believe. Sorry to hear about your dissapointment, but your imediate problem sounds like either glow plugs, controller issues, or air getting into you fuel system. Otherwise performance benifits ivnvolve getting rid of stock intake and exhaust systems, to achieve better air flow, some real benifits, however real power would involve installing a turbo, but you would really need to love a truck that old to spend that kind of money!

How does your wait to start light act, voltmeter etc. give us some more on how its acting compaired to "normal" so we can help with troubleshooting.

 

Your truck should sling 7,000lbs easy. My 93 does it quite a bit in the summer same hosepower,transmission,gearing as your 89. Probably is an easy fix.

 

126,000 miles on a IDI is not a lot miles but with out air & exhaust mods, "gutless wonder" would be an accurate description.

The one advantage IDI's and diesels in general, have over a gas engine is that will take towing, hauling etc without burning out the engine.

Any real power gains requires a Turbo, but from your tone, I dought your going to spend another dime on the truck.

The guys are correct in stating that the IDI is a fairly simple engine to work on, and that is a great appeal to a number of us on the forum.

There is nothing worse than the feeling of throwing good money after bad....so I can see where your comming from, but to have this engine perform to its capibilities, your going to have to spend some more money and like I said, 126,000 miles is not that many for an IDI.

Good luck on what ever you decide.

 

The truck is "legally limited" to the GVW of it and what it carries.......F350 10,000lbs total, so get your truck weighed full tanks wife and all the kids.....now just try and find a camper that keeps you legal......before the wife stuffs it full of unnecessary supplies......

This is right from the Ford Recreational vehicle and trailer towing guide 1992-3....

The GCWR of the Fseries trucks towing a frame hitched trailer.

F series with 7.3 and automatic is:
355....12000lbs
410....17000lbs


F series with 7.3 and manual is:
355....12000lbs
410....14000lbs


The CGWR of the Fseries trucks towing a Fifth wheel trailer.

F series with 7.3 automatic is:
355....12000lbs
410....17000lbs
513....18000lbs

Fseries with 7.3 and manual is:
355....12000lbs
410....14000lbs
513....17000lbs

 

LOL! I love the wife part. "Well, Officer everything was legal until my wife packed the trailer and the house blew away"

 

Thanks for the feedback. Went outside a few minutes ago and she decided to run after a couple of tries. As far as the glow plug system it's working ok and I did put 8 new motorcrafts in about two months ago. Been starting up just fine in the teens without being plugged in. Talking about possible air in the lines, I was getting a good flow of fuel coming out of the shrader valve turning it over and it still wouldn't crank. I had fuel and I had air it should have cranked unless I got a shoddy IP. Am I missing something here because the way I see it the problem has to be the IP or maybe injectors???

 

Ensure your getting full power to the FSS on the IP.... in fact next start, jumper the IP FSS (fuel shutoff solenoid) with 12 v direct from the battery. You will have to remove the jumper to shut of the engine when you turn the key off for the trial.

How do you start it........
To start turn key on press fuel pedal to the floor, then if above 30*F hold at 1/2 throttle, if below 30*F hold at 3/4-full throttle start engine. Once started release the fuel pedal to the fast idle setting or feather pedal to keep running.

 

What you DON'T want to say (at least in front of her) is, "Sorry, officer, everything was legal until my wife got in."

The next thing that cop will be doing is drawing a chalk line around you.

 

I bought a newer truck, with super tree stump pulling turbo power, tons of torque, no parts to replace due to age, or wondering if they would fail. I'm sure I look pretty shiny going down the road to impress people who I don't know, or people who I do know not needing to be impressed. Thank goodness I kept my old truck, thinking real hard about selling the new, and reinstating the old. New super truck injectors $300.00, old truck injectors $33.00. New super truck injection pump $2,600, old truck injection pump $400.00.

I don't trust anybody working on my truck, makes me nervous. It is amazing what a person can do when you have the right tools, education, patience, and a little common sense. Not sure if I can do that with the new computerized trucks? You can buy a lot of parts with a monthly truck payment. Then again, everybody has different needs and incomes.

Just my two cents worth on the benefits of putting money into an older vehicle, could be better than having a newer truck payment, with higher priced parts?

__________________________________________________ ____________
1988 F250 - 7.3 IDI - C6 auto - 3.55 rear end

 

You mention that fuel is comming out the schrader valve, thats a good start, but the other area to check are the fuel return lines between the fuel injectors. Even if they were replaced it is still possible that air is getting into the fuel system at the injectors themselves.


Now you mention that the truck will turn over but not fire, does it give you anything at all when it's cranky? the odd black puff? a single cylinder waking up then another and so on untill it will finally idle? Or is it more like: completely dead, either it will start normally or it will not start at all.


If it will slowly try and wake up, than I would suspect an air leak at the injectors. If this is the case, than I would suggest cranking at full throttle
untill the engine starts to kick, then revert back to the normal start procedure
(full throttle for outside temperature less than 30F half for above) to get it running. If air is in the system then giving more throttle will help it clear more quickly.

If however, there is a total failure to fire, than I think PLC7.3 is onto something. Putting a jumper directly to the shut off solenoid, will give you a chance to listen for a small "click" from the top of the injector pump when 12v is applied, this will tell you if the solenoid still has any function at all. Connect it before placing any load on the batteries, this will give it the best chance to deploy all the way.


As far as performance goes....7000lbs of truck, another 7000 worth of trailer (and whatever wind drag that comes with it)-and jokes asside-I'm assuming theres other extra weight on top of that. All that weight at 65 mph is resonable, so is 12 mpg. I think you would be hard pressed to find a gas powered truck to match all those numbers. A really easy mod to help performance (don't expect much) is to remove the so called "soup bowl" in the air filter housing.


Now you probably don't want to hear this, but hear goes anyway. You can buy a LOT of upgrades for the cost of a new truck. A turbo and exaust kit will already bring you very close to the power output of the newer trucks (if not on par), and that will not even come close to the cost of a new truck.


Starting problems like this are fairly common on older these older, however the vast majority are quite simple to fix. If the truck can pull all that weight then I'll bet it's not a major problem.