hi i am new to a ford diesel i have always had a 6.5l chevy witch is a lot different but anyway does a ford have a low pressure pump and is it manual or electric? cause the truck glow plugs are working but wont start if i either it . it will start and run it acts like it is not getting any fuel when it is cranking cause on a chevy you have a lift pump and it will run without it but wont start very easy could this be the same with a ford

 

Welcome to FTE.
There is a fuel pump (FP) in the engine valley. It will not start or run without it like the Chevy you described. Since yours runs the FP is OK.

Ether is a big No No!
I would say your Glow Plugs (GP's) are not working. If they were there would have been an explosion when you hit it with ether. Don't use it unless you have disconnected the GP's and then use it very very sparingly. Just a wiff should get it to light.

Anyway, you can check the GP's by crossing out the 2 big lugs on the Glow Plug Relay (GPR) with a screwdriver for about 30 seconds, jump in the cab and see if it fires up. If so you will need a new GPR. The GPR is under the decorative cover on the top of the engine, remove the cover to get to it.

Here is an option you might want to look into, it for a 2002 but it is the same idea.
http://guzzle.rbmicro.com/s_gpr.html

 

My truck has sort of done the same thing the past couple days it only got down to 19 degrees here in GA, but My truck would not start the other day. I ran down the batteries and had to hook it up to my patrol car to continue cranking it with no luck. I probably tried for 30 mins, I checked the GPR and even hook the jumper cables straight to the wire going to the GP's. Hooked it up for 45 secs and moved it back to the battery and tried starting and it wouldn't.

I did not have the block heater hooked up, but I don't think it should have been that hard to start. I did feel the fuel bowl and it felt warm so the fuel heater was working.

Is it possible the fuel gelled up? There was no white smoke or anything until I finally started it later in the day when it warmed up to 30 degress. Even then I spent 10 mins trying to get it to start.

Please help!

 

Hi Cuda Jim... didn't he say that his glow plugs are working? but still wont start and acts like it wants to start while spraying ether? but wont go ahead and light up.... There could be a couple other things... how cold is it where you live Bllazerhoper? I just had to put one of ours in the shop overnight cause the guy put untreated fuel in it and waxed up the fuel system between the tank and pump ( fuel filter was wax free and the fuel in the bowl was hot from the bowl heater)... Take your filter out and check it for wax... drain some fuel out of the bowl and spin the engine.... if it fills back up with fuel quickly... it's elsewhere... if not.. look for fuel system blockage between the pump and tank. If the fuel filter bowl fills back up pretty rapidly... you might check and see if your HPOP has any oil in it... no oil or low oil and you have no high pressure oil to operate the injectors..... jus my .02 worth... if it's worth that... Oh and if you suspect gelled / wax formation in the tank... put the truck inside where it's out of the wind and weather and use a magnetic oil pan block heater on the tank you are trying to pull fuel from... a 200 watt magnetic heater will warm an 19 gallon tank full of fuel to about 70 to 75 degrees overnight from -20 outside temps, if the truck is inside... caution... wont work on plastic tanks...would melt it and wont stick to it anyhow LOL. The idea is to re liquify any wax formation in the fuel that has a tendancy to plug up the pickup tube in the tank... which instantly will starve your lift pump..... again... just my .02 worth... I've had to do that trick several times and it works well.

 

well it was 52 deg outside but the thing is it wont start or even try to start no smoke but if you put a little either to it it will start right up and stay running but will idle a little rough it only has 97000 miles on it and runs like it has a million lol

 

Hmmm ok... check your fuel pressure... there is a schrader valve on the fuel pressure regulator on the drivers side of your fuel filter bowl... you can use a tire gauge on it... do it with the engine running.. if you can get it started.. should be between 40 and 80 psi... the low number is minimum and the high number is max. You might also check your IPR out... it's right below that schrader valve close to the valley floor and it threads into the HPOP... there is a cheap nut that holds that solenoid on it...while yer there you might remove the IPR and replace the o rings on it... If , when you remove it... if you suck all the oil out of the HPOP you'll have less of an oil mess in the engine valley when done... remove the valve without taking the oil out and you'll have around a quart of oil in the valley and down the back of your bellhousing. IPR issues are pretty well known for rough idle, hard starts and general crappy performance. Be sure to replace the oil in yer hpop before you try to start it after you put it all back together... otherwise you'll have no start and a ton of air in the high pressure oil system.

 

I had to go back and re-read....It runs after he uses ether.
Ether + working GP's = engine damage (possible explosion)

There are too many people that think their GP's are working but are not. The only way to tell is to cross out the 2 large posts on the GPR.
If it starts and runs good, the GPR is bad!
If it starts and runs rough but smooths out after a few seconds the GPR is still bad along with a GP or two.
If it starts and shakes violently but smooths out after 20+ seconds, the GPR is still bad along with more than 2 GP's.

My next question is for the original poster (OP),
Does it start-up OK when the engine is warm?

Now that I know the temp was 52ºF then the next things to check are batteries and starter. The engine needs to spin pretty fast to get going regardless of temps. Watch the tach while cranking. 200+ RPM is good, anything less it may not start.

To the OP:
1. Clean all the battery and starter connections. There are many.
4 battery posts, 2 grounds, 2 connections on the starter solenoid (fender mount) and the starter itself. Be sure the starter bolts are tight to the engine. Have the batteries load tested along with an amp draw on the starter.

2. Next cold start you need to check the oil level in the HPOP, if it's low the HPOP check valve is hanging. Let us know, more info will be given.

If the IPR needed o-rings it would start good when the engine is cold and not start when hot. The IPR tin nut usually causes intermittent problems.

 

Cuda Jim, sorry if this is a high-jack but I just re-read Gussel's "GPR replacement Mod" with the Stancore GPR. He states that if you have a Cali truck you don't have a GPR but a "GP Module" and the Stancore mod won't work. What is a GP Module and where is it located?

I have a Cali truck and I have a GPR (I think) Hmmmmmm! ! !

Rog

 

It's not an OBS thing. The GP Module was in the '99 and up MYs. OBS you have a GPR.