Rough/Disgusting Diesel Startup

[carringb]

Originally Posted by maxswasser

I plugged it in two days ago while it was snowing. It definitely started faster, but still took approximately the same number of turns to start. Thoughts? I recently got the van tested for emissions in CO, and a pre-purchase inspection done in Nevada. Would they have tested them?

Could you shoot a vid of a cold start a post it here? I'm only suggesting that, in case its actually starting normally. The 7.3L is slow to fire off when it cold. There's some easy tricks you can do, like cycling the glow plugs a few times, but that only helps when they're working of course.

Another issue that can contribute to slow-starts is engine oil quality. The 7.3L and 6.0L use engine oil at very high pressures to drive the injectors. If you have oil oil, it can act mote like a straight 40-weight, rather than 10w40, and therefore take longer for the High-pressure-oil-pump to make enough pressure for everything to start firing. BTW - detergents in both the oil and fuel can help in this regard.

Outside of CA, emissions testing does not normally test the glow plug relay, and none of them would test glow-plug functions since a cold-start is not part of the test process.

As for a pre-purchase inspection.... Maybe. If yes, it should be listed on the invoice. Most of the time however, I would not expect pre-purchase inspection to go that in-depth. I would expect a shop who includes that, to charge 4+ hours for the whole inspection, if glow plug testing was part of their process.

Since you report that plugging in (the block heater I assume?) helps it spin faster, that suggest your batteries might be weak. Slow cranking can contribute to the slow injection pressure buildup described above.

[maxswasser]

Here's a video right after starting it. Sitting for a full week over Thanksgiving. 40 degrees f. It was cranking fast, and took probably a full second to turn over. Smoke went away after driving for 60 seconds. I think I need to check my glow plugs

https://vimeo.com/user92166740/revie...240/6af3cd4e2a

[WhitH]

I couldn't get the link to work. Took me to Vimeo but it said the video didn't exist.

[shenrie]

^^^ yeppers. I get this:


Sorry, we couldn’t find that page

Make sure you’ve typed the URL correctly, or try searching Vimeo. You could also watch one of the videos below instead.

[saline]

So my 7.3 has been very rough starting as of late. Long cranking times stumbling and very smokey startup. A new GPR and new batteries helped a bit but still very nasty starts.
After reading up on differences in starters recently I figured what the hell. I bought a Powermaster Ultra Duty offset starter. It had good reviews and has way more cranking power.
Bam, the 7.3 fired right up on a cold start. I swear the starter sounds like it's spinning twice as fast. I also noticed my voltage drop wasn't as significant with the new starter.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The top 15 mm bolt is a real SOB to take out. I had to cut a wrench in half to be able to get turns on the bolt.

[nemesisnight]

Agreed with a beefed up starter. My van started alright but always seemed like I had weak batteries. I upgraded to an OEM Japanese made Denso starter (considered to be the best and strongest from what I could find researching) and man what a difference. That thing is huge and spools super fast, totally worth the money. Look at the size difference:

[issaquah]

This link to the video worked for me: https://vimeo.com/302938240

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by nemesisnight

I upgraded to an OEM Japanese made Denso starter (considered to be the best and strongest from what I could find researching) and man what a difference.

can you provide a part number or a link?

[JoeH]

For those with a 6.0psd the 6.4 starter is a good upgrade.

[nemesisnight]

Originally Posted by shenrie

can you provide a part number or a link?

Of course, this is the best price I could find on a real Japanese OEM Denso, there are apparently a lot of crappy Chinese knockoffs.

My van is a 96 so I had the 3 bolt Mitsubishi, these just have 2 bolts but other than that basically bolt right in.

https://www.nationsstarteralternator.com/TG428000-8420-Original-Denso-Starter-p/tg228000-8420.htm

Also that startup video didn't seem all too uncommon or bad to me, My 7.3l will sometimes throw a pretty big puff of white smoke at startup if its been sitting awhile along with soot from the exhaust