Hi all, I currently have a 7.3 DI, but am considering getting a second truck. My recently discovered brother (it's a long story), has a F-250 6.9. I'm not sure of the year, but it is a manual trans, 4x4, standard cab, 90,000 ish miles, new tires, clean body, but doesn't start. It had a slight fuel leak, but still ran, parked for 5 months now no start. Maybe air in the system? Self priming?

He said he will take $1000 for it, "as is". I live in upstate NY and he in VA, about 500 miles I think. So there would be that expense as well. I need some advice.

Thanks

 

6.9 is a good motor, little less power but less prone to cavitation. 85-87 are the best years to get. the blocks are upgraded.... the pre 85 are weak around the block heater and prone to cracking the block there. 87 has upgraded rockers too. not sure if the 85-86 do as well.

 

At that age you might also have to deal with head gaskets but once that is out of the way it will be good for a very long service life. Some of them had issues within roughly 100k miles from the factory but new gaskets installed correctly can last the life of the vehicle going forward.

My bet would be glow plugs. Its also possible that a really slow starter could do it. These engines need a decent cranking speed to fire off.

To test the glow plug theory (assuming its not an 83-85.5 truck!) you can have the block heater plugged in for a few hours before you attempt to start it. Might also put the batteries on charge for good measure too. If the fuel system is still in decent condition, it should fire from that amount of heat alone. Crank with the pedal on the floor until it starts sputtering, then ease off. Give it only enough fuel to keep it running and don't blip the throttle or rev it really high to get it going. It will clear its throat on its own.

Also, replace the fuel filter (fill it with diesel first). Make note of any funny color of the fuel in the old filter as it could offer some clues as to what is going on.

If it does turn out to be glow plugs, first, check to see if they are beru/motorcraft. If not, you need to be veeeery careful when removing them if they are something like champoin or autolite. Tips can break off and fall into the engine causing all sorts of carnage. Use only beru glow plugs if you have to replace them.

 

I spoke to my father tonight, (he gave it to my brother, and it's still at his house) it's an 87. Which sounds like the best one to have, huh?

A lot of good tips, David 85, Thanks. They replaced the glow plugs less than 2 years ago, and it has not been driven very often since, so I would think they should be okay. I really suspect air in the system. Do 6.9s self prime? or is there a pump like on some diesel tractors? or maybe loosen the lines to the injectors or something?

Assuming whatever the problem is isn't serious, does a grand sound like a good price?

Thanks again for the help.

 

That would be a good price and yes, thats a good year of truck.

They *should* self prime simply by cranking and I've done it with mine on several occasions. Some other guys say theirs will not self prime no matter what and need to add fuel or (gasp) use some form of starting fluid to get it going again.
Some things to be aware of;

Crank for a maximum of 20 seconds at a time and allow a minimum of 2 minutes cool down for the starter (I tipically crank in 10 second bursts)

Starting fluid is something I never encourage using but if you must, disable the glow plugs first and use VERY short bursts.

If you suspect air in the lines, check the fuel filter as I mentioned earlier and verify that its full of fuel. If not fill it up and it will save you time, and the starter a few more years of service.

To verify that fuel is getting to the injectors, loosen a few of the injector lines at the injector end to see if bubbles or fuel is comming out. It should have a mild drip of steady fuel if the lines are getting fuel.

 

Depending on what glow plugs they installed, if they were not Motorcraft/Beru plugs, they might be the problem.