99 F350 questions...

[Jer's 99]

I have an F350 and do not know too much about diesels!

No I changed out my fuel filter, didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but my Ram buddy was telling me about a switch or port or something that I may be able to purge allowing the collection of water to get emptied.... anything there??

Also, I do know I could probably tow just about anything (within common sense), but it is by far not the fasted truck. I do have 37" tires, but it's a diesel with what I thought was a fairly good size engine. When I nail it, she pour out black smoke, shifts down and goes, but about equal to an ordinary S-10... anyone have any suggestions??

I want to maintain the truck and wish to change the differential fluids, is there anything I should be aware of there???

Another item was, in the morning she's a bit coldblooded and seems to not want to go very fast. I'm the kind of guy that lets the auto go on its own, without pushing her - of course unless I'm passing a smaller truck Now, my issue is 2 fold:

1. Is this normal?
and
2. Is there anything I could possibly do during these cold moments (like push it a little more to get up to speed) that may hurt my motor? I don't mean me nailing it, but off of my street the speed limit is 50 and it normally takes me near 1/2 mile to get to 40 or so. I just don't want to damage my baby...

Lastly, I think I want to re-gear my diffs, due to my large tires, but don't have any idea what to go to... I do not know what gears are inside now, stock I assume because about 40'ish she bogs down pretty good and takes a lot to continue to like 50 or 60 and when climbing a small pass she kicks up and down from passing gear about 36 to 43 (the usual speed I take that road at) and it forces me to kick the overdrive off, which I do not want to have to do everytime.

 

[SMOKNZ]

Alot of your power issues are probably coming from having the stock 3.73 gears with large tires. After you get your gears right, add a DP tuners chip. The 80 econo program will really wake up the truck. I have a 99 as well, and was less than impressed with it's power and towing stock. I added some gauges and the chip (stock, 40Hp tow, 80Hp econo flip chip) and I couldn't believe the difference. It was a new truck! It also tows 100% better. In stock form the truck would bog going over overpasses and it would downshift on the interstate. After the chip it had plenty of power and never downshifted anymore. As for the cold issue, I'd replace all of your glow plugs, you probably have 1 or 2 that are bad. I also had the same problem of not wanting to move real fast after starting. I no longer have this issue after I replaced all the plugs... And use Motorcraft plugs!

Bill

 

[DaveBen]

A diesel engine is a heat engine and it will take a few minutes to build up power to normal levels. It is normal.

Dave

 

[dmd]

You will also hear a hissing from the exhaust when the engine is cold. Until
it warms up you will have some exhaust restriction to aid the warmup
process. If you have hard starting, or lots of white smoke on startup then
you may have glowplug issues. Until the trans will shift into OD, everything
is just too cold.

 

[Scarlet_Nape]

To add to the other replies, you may also want to the GPR (Glow Plug Relay). Here are some instructions that someone else put together:

How to check Glow Plug System

To check the Glow Plug Relay (GPR)
· Be sure the engine is cold, so that the PCM will tell the GPR to turn on. If the engine is hot, you won’t have as much time to check.
· Locate the GPR – Its behind the fuel filter on top of the engine, a little bit toward the passenger side of the valley. There may be two relays there. If so, the rear one is the GPR. It will have two fairly large wires (yellow and brown) connected to one of the large posts.
· With your multitmeter set to DC volts, and 15 V range (if not autoranging), clip the positive (red) lead to the output terminal (with yellow and brown wires connected), and the negative (black) lead to a good ground point (like the battery ground terminal or someplace metal directly on the engine block.)
· Turn the key to ON (do not start)
· If your GPR is good, it should click, and you’ll see 11 volts or so on your meter, then, depending on temperature, it will click off up to 2 minutes later. You should do this a couple of times to make sure it consistently makes the connection.
· If you don’t get voltage with this test, confirm by retesting as follows.
· Remove the two small wires from the smaller two of the four GPR terminals.
· With jumper wires, apply voltage from the battery across the two small terminals. If your voltmeter now reads voltage on the output terminal, your GPR is OK, and your problem is in the PCM circuit that tells the GPR to activate.

To check Glow Plugs.
· Remove the electrical connector on the inboard side of valve cover at the gasket. Press down on the top of the connector latch and pry gently with a screwdriver. Photo of disconnecting one and another Photo of it loose.
· There will be 9 pins on the valve cover gasket where you removed the connector. The two pins furthest forward and the two pins furthest back are for your glow plugs.
· With your multimeter set to resistance (ohms) and low range (single digits) if not autoranging, clip the negative (black) lead to a good ground point.
· Probe each of the 4 outer pins individually with the positive (red) lead, noting the resistance. Good glow plugs will have a resistance between 0.6 and 2 ohms. If you get infinite resistance on any glow plug, that one is either bad or the connector under the valve cover has come loose.

No I changed out my fuel filter, didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but my Ram buddy was telling me about a switch or port or something that I may be able to purge allowing the collection of water to get emptied.... anything there??

There is a drain on the fuel bowl to purge water from the fuel system. Here is a picture of the drain kit (not installed).View attachment 3207
You will want to attach some tubing to the drain before releasing the fluid, especially since you are lifted. I keep my tubing attached and just wrap it up under the frame. It keeps from making a mess all of the driveway/garage and you can drain directly into a jug or something with a lid. Just turn the yellow valve a quarter of turn, towards the firewall.
Hope that helps!

 

[BigDaveZJ]

If it's smoking like he says it is, something is probably already done to it like a chip, or something else is wrong. My bone stock 01 will NOT smoke at all.

 

[Jer's 99]

The dealership (a small one) said it had a chip, but I doubt it because they had to replace the motor at the trucks 131K mark with an 80K mile motor, which I'm cool with, but why also add a performance chip to it???


Scarlet_Nape. Is there aspecific spot to install that drain valve? Sorry I have to ask, if something is not directly pointed out to me, or I'm not replacing a part already installed, with the new part in hand - I am a women who can change her own oil... Sorry if anyone is offended, but So, if you have any other photos or instruction that would help me.

 

[Scarlet_Nape]

Jer,

Sorry for the confusion, but the drain is already installed on your fuel bowl (where the filter is located). You don't have to install it. I just posted the picture of a replacement to show you what it looks like. This picture shows you the location (red arrow): View attachment 3208

 

[Bluestroker415]

The 7.3 is a very cold natured motor. If your truck starts ok, but is sluggish moving, you dont have glow plug issues. Diesel engines fire off of combustion and not spark like a gasoline motor. The only purpose your glowplugs serve are the start the truck. Now, if it doesnt start right, you may have plug issues. As far as being sluggish goes, start your truck and let it run a little before you take off if possible. Also, there is a buttlerfly valve behind your turbo that shuts to return heat back to the motor to help it warm up. If your motor is cold the sensor tells it to stay shut giving you the sluggishness. On really cold mornings, heat your plugs twice before you fire the truck. Hope I could help.