The IDM is on the drivers side fender about level with the top of the wheel well. The engineers made it so it is a PITA to remove. Most people just bend the inner wheel well out of the way when replacing.

 

ok I tried jumping the glow plug relay for over a minute with a scew driver same results. I checked the voltage at the solenoid it was good, but I noticed that the wait to start light goes out way before the power at the solenoid stops. Where is the gpr located on these trucks. I think I will just buy one and put it on.

What if and is it possible that the previous owner used starting fluid on this thing to much and made it an either baby. Is that relly happen and can It be fixed?

Thanks

 

The glow plugs can receive power for up to two minutes after the wait to start light goes out. Lets set aside the glow plug system for a second. The next test I would do is a leak down test. It is possible that you have low compression causing the hard start. Once the engine warms up, things expand and seal up the compression leak. It seems your truck has probably had a hard life, its possible your engine is tired. Ether with a good gp system is very bad. I would not introduce ether, and if you suspect a previous owner did, its time to check for cracked pistons, burned valves, etc.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Another thing that can cause white smoke and hard starting is injector o-rings. If you don't want to do the leakdown test for whatever reason and you just want to throw parts at it, if they haven't been done the O-Rings would be a good idea. RockAuto Parts Catalog has them is sets of two for 7.66. A full set is 30.68, and a good investment if you think they may be bad. I just finished mine and over half of the white o-rings were torn or eroded.

 

my 97 7.3 starts fine but starts missing badly with engine lite on then runs normally

 

I would get it scanned and find out what code is stored first. You could have leaky injectors, bad ICP, Stuck IPR, etc, etc. Lots of problems. Also, I would recommend starting your own thread.