Hi folks, new old guy here. I haven't been involved with a blog like this before but now have the need for advice. I have a 1999, 250, 7.3 with 260K, all easy driving. I now have a hard starting issue as follows.....I will say upfront that I replaced both batteries recently, they were still under warrenty as they were less than a year old. Cold mornings after glow plug routine, engine will crank for 4-5 seconds, no start, no more crank. If I wait for a couple of minutes and continue this process 4 or 5 times it will eventually start and run just fine. After warming up, it will start fine all day long. When idling I get about 14.5 volts at the batteries so Altenator seems fine, I have jumped the Glow plug module for 30 seconds and still won't fire when cold. I am thinking I may have a starter problem but it cranks just fine after warming up. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I should also say that this truck is not a daily runner, perhaps every other week I will take it for a run, just to charge the batteries.

 

Thanks for your time......Doug

My husband and I own a 99 Ford F350 7.3 Powerstroke diesel. It died on him coming home from work on night and now we can’t get it started. We have replaced number 1 & 7 injector, New ICP sensor, Crank Shaft position sensor, new fuel bowl and high press oil pump reservoir, new sensors on the fuel bowl. New fuel pump 34psi, new map sensor. ICP sensor is new. IPR sensor Motocraft. New interstate battery put in, in February. Everything on fuel system is new even all fuses. We have tried everything up and to including started fluid it will run off the starter fluid until it is burnt off and then dies. We got it started and it sat here and ran for a little bit and as soon as you gave it gas it would die. We have a MaxiDAS code reader and it keeps running the crank shaft sensor but it is new and the PO605 code. We are at our witch end with this truck...... our pocket book is running low trying to get it start and running. We r down to one vehicular for both of us to get back and forth to work. Please help any ideas would be great

I was out running around the other day and had made about 6 stops get what I needed. The last stop when I tried to start the truck which I had shut off about 20 minutes prior. I would not start. I caranked it a couple times and the notice the WTS light had not come on. Which operated before.  The first thing I thought that the Cam Shaft sensor died, which had happened before.

Truck: F350, 1999 7.3 , 340K, 6 speed, dually crewcab. I bought new in Feb 99.  I have not had this problem before, as this occurred.

I installed a aftermarket CSS, still no start. Check the solonoid for glow plugs with test light on the side to glow plugs, no power, so replaced it. Still no power going across to large terminals. Check #30 fuse under dash, not blown, removed fuel filter cover, full bowl.  Check intake heater solonoid no power across line going to heater, but hot on in side. 

I even tested all the fuses in both boxes, all good. check hpop resevior within 1" of top. Also check this am and still with I would say OK range, 1-1/2" down, but would fill on cranking.

I am at a stand still trying to figure what to check next. Any help would be appreciated.  At present I am in Yuma, AZ and temp

is not cold compared to. Also the dipstick show level in XXX area. 

Thanks for any assistance.
 

How much does it cost to replace a Duramax engine? 

If you own a diesel engine powered vehicle you likely already know that maintenance can be equal to or exceed that of gasoline powered vehicles. In cases of pickup trucks, up to commercial box trucks, heavy equipment and the big rigs, in general diesel engines are made to work hard and provide many years of heavy duty service. When they give out, sometimes engine replacement is necessary. So how much does it cost to replace a Duramax diesel engine?

 

For a GM pickup truck, expect an estimate of 30 hours labor for a diesel engine replacement with "no surprises" . That means no surprise issues pop up during the replacement of the engine, like other driveline problems, suspension problems etc. Depending on on the rebuilder, a Duramax engine replacement is going to cost at least $15,000. Depending on the year and other potential issues or wishes of the customer, you could expect a range likely between $15,000 and $25,000 for Duramax engine replacement. To get an accurate estimate, you must bring your truck in to a qualified diesel engine mechanic for diagnostics and the estimate must be based on the make, model, year and condition of your vehicle and it's systems and components. Good advice, don't just shop price on something like a diesel engine replacement, it's not something you want to have to deal with twice. We routinely perform diesel engine rebuilds, replacements etc not just for our shop but other shops that want it done right. We are not going to be the lowest price in town, but we are highly experienced and we stand behind our repairs and replacements. If you decide to shop for the lowest price and end up with a shit-show, we'll be happy to have you bring it in for diagnostics and an estimate on a proper Duramax engine replacement. In that case, and this does happen more often than you'd expect, the costs often far exceed bringing it in to us in the first place. We are absolutely not responsible for how much you paid any other shop for repairs and do not discount our fees because you took it to the cheapest mechanic you could find. Believe it or not, people have come in expecting us to fix another shops disaster at a discount because they took it to the other cheap mechanic first. Go to a top shop where you know they know what they're doing. We're that diesel shop if you're within range of Farmington Hills, MI.

 

The Duramax 6.6L diesel engine is widely used in such popular applications as the Chevrolet: Silverado HD, Express, and Kodiak; and GMC: Sierra HD, Savannah, and Topkick.

 

*Note: This post does not constitute an estimate for replacing your Duramax engine in your vehicle. It's for general information purposes only. If you want an estimate for Duramax engine replacement cost for your vehicle, you will need to bring it to our shop so that we can properly diagnose the problem and provide a proper estimate for you.

The Duramax LB7 fuel injectors are common problem. Due to the extreme pressures of the direct injection, which is what the LB7 diesel engine has, along with a good amount of carbon build up common to di systems, these injectors fail. The injectors are not easy to reach, and there are many low cost (garbage) injectors available to be careful selecting replacements. You don't want to replace the injectors again anytime soon. If you're experiencing hard starts and poor fuel economy bring your Chevy diesel truck to Garrett Auto and Truck Service for diagnostic and repair service from expert diesel engine mechanics.

I have a 1992 Ford F-350 7.3 diesel. No Crank no start. I already changed out the starter solenoid , got a new starter. Motor moves freely. The only thing I haven't done is check the the voltage to the starter. I'm running out of options to figure out the problem. Can anyone give me some options to figure it out. Thanks

I have a 99 7.3 with 160k miles, it has been sounding like an air compressor pumping air for a while then this week I noticed a lot of extra smoke coming out the exhaust while idling. Same day I noticed the smoke I turned the heater on and smelled antifreeze but the air was cold then going down the road it started running hot 230, I stopped pulled the oil stick out and white smoke was coming out the dip tube. I'm guessing a head gasket but not sure the best way to tell or what else to check, thanks

99 7.3 will crank but won't start ran fine idling for 45 min got in it to leave and it up and quit won't start back fuses are good fuel isn't gelled up and oil is good. Any ideas?

All right I'm at my wits end with this truck it's a 1995 Ford F3 50 7.3 dually quad cab It's Tabs Dad he run it out of fuel twice then about a month or so it started idling rough and not really want to start in the morning that went on for about a week or so then he was driving it and then it's hard to drive and rough just as rough as it was idling then he drove it like that for about another month and then it he started having it to where it was dying on him occasionally then we were at a stoplight one day and it died on him and took her straight home then we brought it here why I've been working on it First thing we discovered it wouldn't get enough fuel because of the tank selector valve so I tapped on it got it to work for the time being then we went to getting enough fuel pressure to the fuel bowl so we figured it he burn up the pump so we replace the tank fuel selector Valve and the fuel pump and also I took out all the injectors open them bottom part only and cleaned him come to find out one of them had a piece missing and one of them had a broken spring so I fixed it and put them back then we will get fuel to the bowl and all the cylinders were hidden but it just still wouldn't run so I did some more research it some more tinkering and replaced die PR valve and ICP valve because my troubleshooting led me to believe that those may be a problem as well so so far it's got a tank selector valve a brand new fuel pump ICP valve and I PR valve then we were able to scan it somehow or another we figured out that we could scan it so then we got a scanner and scan it it was saying high side was open on the driver side I'll send u the codes So I troubleshoot it that and found the valve cover gasket was bad and we just replaced it back last year this time so what I did was I replace them both and I did a Home reading on the entire system and I have that as well I will send you and I follow that procedure and I ohms it out 3.8 For the whole system and I double checked the IDM and everything to that seems to be OK as of yesterday it ran for about a minute and a half it chugged really bad but it ran There's proper amount of oil and a high-pressure oil pump There is enough oil in the motor there's proper amperage in the batteries proper voltage in the batteries had to replace the starter because I guess us trying to get it to crank over the other day her but a week ago it burned up starter so we replace the starter and I will send you the last thing it showed because now I'm having an issue to get the tester to read it For no longer works on his old vehicles and have no way to scan them so if you know anybody that has an in-depth scanner to do it it's it takes an OBD two that's what it's been updated to because I don't know what else to do we done everything that I could fine as far as troubleshooting and what I can fine as far as the half ass manual so I can get here in there Here is a list of all I have checked or replaced: 1) changed oil and filter, checked oil level. 2) checked fuel bowl for the loose heater - good 3) checked fuel filter, changed it less than 1000 miles ago 4) check glow plugs out of the motor 5) checked all engine compartment fuses 6) checked wiring harness for frayed ends 7) replaced the ECP? (front sensor) 8) checked for oil on the ICP sensor - none 9) replaced several CPS's 10) checked HPOP it's up to spec 11) changed both VC gaskets & checked harness.