PSD starting problems

[jwgary]

My brother's boss is looking at getting a Ford to pull boats for their mobile electronics business. He says the truck he is looking at will only start with starting fluid. It was my understanding that you should only use starting fluid with engines without heaters or glow plugs. Does this mean that the glow plugs are bad? I hope that someone with a lot more diesel knowledge than me will be able to answer this question. TIA.

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B I G O R A N G E AMBER-FIRE (BURNT ORANGE) / BRITE SILVER 2001(. 5), 2500, SLT, Q-CAB 4x4, SWB, AUTO, 3. 55, LSD, TOWING PACKAGE
ADD-ON'S: LINE-X, 1/4" STEEL LONGHORN HITCH COVER, WESTIN NERF BARS, YELLOW-TOP OPTIMAS

 

[tmacc]

Gary, It's probably the glo-plug relay. Have him go to freeautoadvice.com. They have a test procedure to check the relay. You'll need a multimeter. The part is about $35. It's the ford equivalent to dodge lift pumps. Meaning they need to be replace way too often. I probably should have gotten into the habit of replacing it every August. Been there, done that.

 

[illflem]

Using starting fluid in a rig that has functional glo-plugs or intake heaters can be down right dangerous. I think the reason is obvious.

 

[Bad340fish]

How fast does it crank over?? My roomate has a 95 that was having alot of trouble starting and it was due to a bad starter. We got to listening to how fast some other PSDs(Piece of Sh*t Diesels) sounded when they cranked and it was much faster than his. A new starter fixed the problem. The reason that matters is becuase for that crap *** injection they have it has to have a certain amount of Oil PSI to fire the injectors off. With a slow turning starter it was having a hard time doing so. Its something to look at. He needs to see some maintance records on it also. Oil change abuse hurts the powerstrokes bad. Have fun
Clark