K guys sorry you prob had this one a ton but i didnt find it.
Just bought my first diesel yesterday. Its a 1990 ford f-350 crew cab long box with the 7.3 From what I have googled its international but i dont know.

Problem is it wont start without a shot of either. (guy i got it from said it just needs glowplugs) But when tested all glowplugs are good. When you turn it on the glow plug relay and solid state controller unit just keep clicking through the whole cycle. Is that normal and if not how do i test to see if that is my issue???
What is my next step in getting this old girl to start without either.

 

Ok so now I have the truck to where it will start after running but still will not start without either after being shut off for a while.......
Some pointers on what to do and check would be very appreciated. I'm at a loss on this and can not afford a shop. Please help.

 

Did you check the glow plugs one at a time? all it takes is half of them to be dead to keep it from starting, but its summer time you should not really need them either, Im not sure on how the glow plug system works on the ole 7.3l But it is a international, and is no way a relative to the 7.3L powerstroke

 

I checked the gp one at a time with both test light and multimeter and both ways they all came up good. I started it up yesterday let it run shut off and restarted an hour later no problem. So I let it sit for 2 hours and still started no problem. But after letting it sit three hours it would not start without the ether...
Everything on here sais thats most likely air leak in the fuel system. So I guess im gonna start pulling and replacing hoses "O"Rings and so on. And see where that leeds me.
Any pointers and tips would be verry appreciated.

 

OK this is sort of generic comments not strictly related to your Engine.

Glow Plugs can sometime Ohm out OK and still be no good. If your Glow Plugs are made to function at around 11 Volts you can remove each Glow Plug and get your Jumper Cables and test it directly on the Battery briefly enough to see if it is the tip of the Glow Plug that gets the hottest and the hottest first.
If the Glow Plug gets hottest in the middle it is no good.

On other Engines they have a Tool to ream out the accumulate Carbon out of the Glow Plut Holes. You apply Grease to the Grooves/Flutes of the Reamer to trap the sraped off Carbon and than keeping your Face away and Paint job covered you crank the Engine to blow out any loose Carbon.
Carbon build up conducts the Heat from the Glow Plug into the Cylinder Head instead of into the Air in the Cylinder or Precombustion Chamber. That heat conduction also keeps the Plugs pulling a higher amperage for a longer time and I believe that shortens their life.

Not related to Glow Plugs is do you think it is possible that your Fuel Supply System from the Fuel Tank on the way to the Fuel Injection Pump is losing prime. Meaning that instead of staying in the Fuel Lines as the Car sits the Fuel is migrating back to the Fuel Tank and it is taking a lot of Engine Cranking to bring the Fuel back up to the Fuel Injection Pump Fast enough.

One indication could be that it starts easier when your Fuel Tank is full. Or it Starts easier if the rear of the Vehicle is higher than the front of the Vehicle.

Don't know the specifics on Your Vehicle. But, on the Chevy Diesel Engines there was a typical Diaphragm Fuel Supply/Lift Pump on the Engine to supplement the Fuel Supply/Lift Pump that is built into the Fuel Injection Pump.

When you are trying to start loosen some of the Fuel Injection Line Nuts at the Injectors and see if you have Fuel coming out. If you are not getting Fuel that is a different issue than the Glow Plugs.

That is all I can think of right off with out knowing your specific Engine better.

Note that on the Standyne/Roosamaster Fuel Injection Pumps if the Fuel Retun coming out of the Pump gets blocked it will shut the Pump off. So you might want to pull off the Fuel Return Line that is on the top cover of the Fuel Injection Pump and see if you also have Fuel coming out of there.

I think by your Year and Model the parts inside of the Fuel Injection pump had been changed to eliminate the problem that I am going to describe but I am not sure.
It used to be there was a sort of Plastic Band inside the Pump that held to parts of the Governor Carrier together and dampened the Governor. When that band got old it would fall apart and pieces of it would circulate inside of the Fuel Injection pump and block off the Fuel return Valve and that would cut off the Fuel.

Sometimes after the Engine was shut off the pieces would fall off and open up the Valve and the Engine would again start and run until pieces again blocked the Valve.

You can unscrew the Valve on the Top of the Cover and look at the bottom and see if there is anything in the Valve.