7.3 powerstroke help

Having owned dozens of gas obs Ford trucks, I must admit this is my first diesel obs truck, and first diesel in general. Having done basic maintenance on 7.3s in the past , and completely stripping/rebuilding obs gas trucks, I’m not a complete newb, but I’m pretty newby to diesels, anyways, rant over, here’s what I got.

1996 7.3, 300k miles. Bought from a lady who didn’t know much about the truck. Said she was driving it , started smoking white, shut off, then she never tried starting again. Said she took to mechanic who had it 6 months and never attempted to fix it, just try to buy it from her. So I buy the truck and bring it home.

threw in a couple known good batteries, and it was very hard starting. Switched from rear to front tank, didn’t really help ease of starting, but it eventually did. Worth mentioning that while I was attempting to start it, there was a very loud clicking/ticking noise, wasn’t glow plug relay, almost sounded like an injector/lifter maybe? After finally getting it started, it clattered about, running terribly for about 30 seconds, then shut off. Don’t really wanna continue cranking on it risking frying the glow plugs.

I attempted to pull codes, scanner said no codes present.

you diesel guys, where should I begin? Again, first 7.3 and all , I’m kinda in the dark. Not afraid to get my hands dirty and start wrenching , but I need some general guidance for this one.

 

If it started smoking white it could be a head gasket. I know it will be hard to diagnose since you can't keep it running. How's the coolant level? Oil milky, smell like diesel, what does it look like?

Could be an injector problem too but that would have been black smoke.

 

How long had this been sitting without running when you tried to start it?

Did you bleed the fuel system before you tried to start it? Did you pre-lube?

 

Yes, forgot to mention, coolant resiovir is completely empty. Having no cap on radiator doesn’t lead me being able to check that. Oil level on dipstick is surprisingly clean, no traces of milk/water.

 

I’d say a couple months. I wouldn’t know how to do that, so no I did not

 

If it was only a couple of months, likely not a huge deal; I had the impression it had been sitting a LONG time. If the smoke was actually white, then I would agree with @six5crèéd that it could well be a head gasket issue; I would start by testing. Cooling system pressure test, fuel pressure test, and leakdown test. If those all pass then, it's likely an injector issue, especially if the smoke was grey not white.

 

After tooling around with this thing for a few hrs I replaced the fuel filter , which was a nightmare because the damn plastic cap was FROZEN on there. Had to beat, pull, pry, and cut it off. Replaced with motorcraft filter/gasket, new cap, filled bowl with kerosene. Started and ran for about 2 mins. No smoke, knocks , or ticks (thank God). Checked icp sensor , found the inside was saturated with oil. Got a new sensor from advance for $140, ouch. Threw it in there, she fired up no problem. Runs a lot better. Ran it around the block and let it idle for about 20-30 mins. Again, no ticks , knocks , smoke. However, it has a slight miss to it with a noticeable lack of power. The journey continues..

 

Glad you got it going, injector pump may be tired if the filter has been dirty for a while and let water or trash through, just a thought.

 

You have primary and secondary fuel filtration. The injection pump won't get tired.

 

That’s one big ass truck!!