1990 7.3l IDI long cranking
 

First time here and I felt like it would be easier to put my issue out in the open instead of hoping to find a relating issue that would fix mine. Recently bought a 90 f250 with a 7.3 and it was just having a long crank to get it started after sitting for more than 6 hours, replaced my fuel filter which looked like the inside of a fish tank filter, and replaced my fuel pump since it was just leaking and I could easily move the arm once it was taken out. Too me it just seems as though its not cranking over fast enough but how can I tell? Getting it to start in the mornings Ill gave to crank for a good 20 seconds before there are signs of life in it. My tach reads under 200rpm while I'm cranking as well.

rpm's sound good ..... your experiencing air in the fuel .... before starting in the morning pull your fuel/water separator..... if its not plum full and spilling every where your fuel is draining back because there is air getting into the system ...

I pulled the hard line from the Injection Pump from the Filter/water separator out and installed a Braided Teflon line .... problem solved .....
also look for signs of fuel leaking @ Injection pump .... .... I suggest getting a can of non-chlorinated brake clean and cleaning the IP (injection pump) ... then let dry and run engine for a bit around town ... then look for signs of fuel ... if non found ... its in the fuel lines or your return lines ( little plastic things on to of the injectors ) might have bad O-rings under them ... get a new return line set ... usually about $45 or so.... day project ... if you need to do them ... use plenty of oil on the O-rings, and I use a cigar trimmer to cut the lines ... nice and clean and straight ...... keep us posted .. much more advise if non of this helps ...... :humm:

thanks for the reply, I'll go ahead and check those out, it does look like their is some fuel in the valley. I went out to start it this morning and for the life of me there was nothing there, my WTS light would stay on for a full 8 seconds regardless of what I did, finally decided to plug in the block heater, and after about 5 minutes with it, it puffed to life with a of smoke. Also smelled like a burning wire somewhere, I looked under the hood and believe it was coming from the GPR, just replaced it the other week.

could have a short in the GP wiring in its self .... lotts of power goes into a GP ... I would carefully look over all of the wiring to the controller before going into too much repairs .... bad wiring and its all over with .... but u know that I'm sure ....... :argh: been there done that :ouch:

started replacing the seals and line because well there were no o rings on the injectors :w2: and I got in turned the key and started like i've never heard before but pissed fuel of off the passenger front two injectors like the line wasn't on right



fixed one injector, the tee wasn't fully pressed, but the metal fitting on the front was split down the side now its just pouring out so im gonna have to figure something out for that..:argh:

you will need to buy a new one or find one in junk yard .... lines and such ... only like ..... 20lb/ft i beleive ... just snug not real tight :td:

Ill have to try this on mine. Does the same thing but my GP don't come on at all, need to bypass it on my '93 7.3. Going to hook up a switch, but the electrical smell could also have been the cable going to the starter. I used to crank until it fired up but one time my starter actually caught fire, so now I do it in short bursts, about an 8 count cranking and 3-4count resting. Takes a few cycles of this for me to get my truck started. Come winter it gets to be pretty hard to get her going, about7-10 cycles of my start procedure. :td:

yeah I had cracked fuel lines from the tank switch ..... that was only the begining of my real issues though .... this weekend I'm putting the cylinder heads back on ... HG's and ported and polished the heads :rocking:.... bitch is gonna scream now :choochoo: :yeah: :jump: :tu: :rocking:

The glow plug system on the early 7.3 is simple when I got my 92 four door bronco it had a lot of the same glow plug problems, after replacing the glow plug controller,glow plug,the silonoid, I did some looking and found that my main harness for glow plugs was melted,so my glow plugs were get half of the current to the glow plugs I fixed the plug end(ford does not sell the plug end) and I can start it in the middle of winter with in 2 to 3 cycles max,and when changing return lines make sure get the right ones cuz earlier model dif. From newer 7.3 idi

i have a 1990 E350 ambulance kind, has whole vinal all around back a/c front rear.. but any way , 124,000. miles. 7.3 no turbo
and trans only has 2nd n 3rd. helps a little to put in 1st at a stop then shift into drive.
just shut it off and parked over nite next morning o/d button on dash, was on and van will not shift ,, ???? just lost never had that happen ? and was 1/2 qt fluid low,. dont smell burnt, o/d lite will not go out,, dont have any manual around of any kind,, Thanks Chiper:s::s::s::s::s:

umm chiper , .. make a new thread and we can deal with that seperatly .... sounds like you have an electrical grimlin livin in the pan though .... make a new thread and more people will see it and help ya:tu:

I fixed the line and the fitting underneath had caused my fitting to snap, looks like the thread on the; pulse timing adapter? were smammered, I did the best I could at fixing it and started like a dream until I today, Now when I crank I'm getting no smoke out the exhaust and can only get it to start cold if I spray wd40 or some fluid into it, any other time it will start great.

What's the temp outside, and are your GP cycling?

the outside temp is roughly high 90's but its down to 80's now, and ive tried cycling the plugs nearly a dozen times to no prevail, cranking it with some type of spray has been my best bet for the cold starting, tomorrow I'm going to run some new wire from the starter solenoid to the glow plug relay, maybe its losing power somewhere along the way.

sounds like your GP controller is toast ... :td:

hopefully not as this one is less than 3 months old

dosent mean a thing ... i had a 454 from a real well known high performance builder ... put it in and got it all hooked up ... started it up and with in 2 min, we had rods rattling .... so we called them back to let them know .... and now my boss was pissed because there was a race that weekend ..... they litterly raced an engine form seattle to Wenatchee, wa just for us ... and it was a 540 not a 454 ... same price not even a hick up this time .... not everything new is good all the time ..... :rocking:

True, I like to thing that usually the "new" items will be good right out of the box but usually with me that's my luck. Case and point, I had to buy 3 new carburetors for the bronco that's been resting in my garage, since the newly bought ones had the bodies cracked, sooo I just took a 3 hour drive to Maricopa and salvaged myself a pieces to rebuild mine

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wow a lot of that was out of phrase I apologize

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Welp, I went outside this morning and its as if nothings changed. Just cranked cranked and cranked, no white smoke or signs of life from the exhaust, I drained the water separator on the fuel filter, and nothing came out so I suspect a clogged line or bad filter, I'll pull it off soon.:argh:

My 1992 does that sometimes, it starts when it goes on a battery charger for a few minutes.

This batteries look like there need to be replaced (acid leaking on the tops) but I can't afford it right now, So it's on the list to come soon. If I keep getting grief like this the IDI will come out and either a 12 valve ve or a common rail will take its place and the IDI will be going into my bronco:c:

You would want a P-pump 12v ... not a VE ... much easier to tune and make power with ... and that IDI would go awesome in Bronko's ... :tu:

test to make sure your getting 12V+ @ glow plugs in the harness .... also , pull the lift pump and put in a Holley "RED" pump, its set about 7 psi and will flow enough to more than support the IDI.... :tu:

The 302 currently in the bronco has been its last piece of road lol, but sounds amazing.

Last I checked the solenoid was getting 12v but the plugs them selves were getting 10.3-10.8 at their connectors

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If I can find a 12 valve in a junkyard I might just do it, 300 for a full motor and 200 for for the tranny, can't go wrong

Ok, sounds like your fuel issue is gonna be between tank, and water/fuel seperator.. I replaced all of my lines from tank to switch and from switch to new Bio-fuel filter (5 Micron) .... deleted the fuel water seperator all together... hopefully i dont end up wit a bunch of water in my fuel ... i usually only get fuel at BIG fuel stops .... usually safer :tu:

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keep ur eye on Ebay for the 12V .. and craigslist .... good luck :c:

Did you keep the fuel filter one top of the engine? And Its almost like my lines are clogged after sitting over night.

NOPE.... i have seen water go right through those damn filters either way .... better off getting a Bio- filter ... mine is just layin right next to my pass. side battery ... with all new fuel lines .... I used Gates Bio-guard 3/8" fuel line ... damn thing ran so much better ... now going to install the Holley Red pump and that will do away with the POS manual pump... gonna hack off the arm and just use it as a plug for the block ....LOL :tu:

That seems like it may be the way to go for my problem. Think you could list all the mods you did to your fuel system and what I would need to accomplish it? Also with cutting off the arm; that's a pretty creative way to make a block off plate :tu: inexpensive also

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needless to say I would like to getting this bad boy up and running quickly as possible being a daily driver. I've had to miss two days of my college class (being in high school and already taking heavy equipment and diesel repair at the college out here :c:) my instructor is getting a little upset lol

Put a Electrical pump after tanks switch , wich will pull up fuel and pressurize it up to filter .... should make a big difference :tu:

Now should I do that with by-passing the lift pump or run them together?

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well, I just took a more thorough look at the ip and the connections near it. And wouldn't you know it....my cold timing advance wasn't event connected :humm: Plugged her in and fired right up lol. I would still like to do something along the lines of what you have done, with replacing lines and I'm going to get rid of the mechanical pump

In my professional opinion, weather it be a 6.9 7.3 6.0 or a 6.4 glow plugs
 

In my professional opinion harness as well as glow plug location have always been an issue with ford's. I would start by chasing power in to the glow plug loosing power from there on unless newer than o believe late 03 thwre in a continuios circuit so when one dies the rest no longer recieve power. If they all have power and properly function the early 7.3 and 6.9 i believ have a rubber return line si.ilar to the gm 6.2 or 6.5 and crack and allow air to bleed in causing a similar issue