I recently purchased a used F350 to replace my current work truck. The previous owner said it had been sitting for around 5-6 months and now it doesn’t start. I figured it probably just needs some fresh diesel and a little kick start to get going again. I couldn’t get it started after trying for a few days so I tried online solutions which also didn’t solve the problem. I called out a diesel mechanic and the truck stumped him too. He went through everything and still can’t figure out why the truck won’t start. At this point the oil filter and both fuel filters were replaced (I’m aware that sometimes aftermarket filters don’t fit with stock caps and did my due diligence to make sure it wouldn’t be a problem)
A farmer suggested that I tried manually running a fuel pressure test since that was the only thing he can think of. I took the little plug bolt from the motor and headed over to a hardware store to get the fittings I needed. During this time my brother tried starting it just to see if any fuel at all would come out. There was some fuel spillage from the plug hole however, he told me the engine sounded like it was very close to starting with the plug bolt out.
The diesel mechanic from before has no idea what’s going on and neither do I. If anyone can provide insight as to what might be happening that would be much appreciated.
ok, a 2007 should still be a Navistar engine. as such, the biggest fault issues that will cause a no start is a Fuel Injector Control Module not having the proper voltage (48V, I believe,) and the IPR not building enough pressure.
Here is a diag/repair of a 2005 with a bad IPR:
Find a different mechanic. and pray the heads aren’t blown or EGR issues. The 6.0L was a troublesome engine and it lead to the end of a decades long relationship between Ford and Navistar.
Diesels are more simple than gasoline engines in the sense the rpm is determined by the fuel flow rate, nothing to do with airflow. The downside is that most non-start problems are goiong to be due to a fuel problem. Either the diesel injector pump or its control module would be my first suspects. Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about repairing diesel engines, so what I’m offering is just a guess.
Well I learned someting. I had never heard of high oil pressure to operate the injectors. After 480,000 on my diesel, te cranking sound brought back memories. Agree though, upi need a mechanic that understands the engine.
I spoke with another mechanic who said he wanted nothing to do with it because of the motor I have. Didn’t realize it was a problem child. Anyway, after I finished cleaning it up I figured I’ll try to start it and by some miracle it cranked for a bit and then started up. Drove it around for a little to listen for any noises but it sounded sweet. Just this morning I tried to start it up again and now it won’t work again.
The truck is running reliably now. It was some terrible luck but the starter gave out immediately after I got it started that first time. In the end there was absolutely nothing wrong with the truck, it just wanted to take a break from it’s previous owner lol
It’s great you got your diesel engine configured truck starting and running reliably. Since it runs ok, likely no problem w/the injector pump or its electronic control module, so that’s good news. Still remains tbd what caused it not to start before. Maybe you just had a weak starter motor, couldn’t spin the engine rapidly enough to start it. It take more effort to do that w/a diesel engine, so any problem w/starter motor will show up. The other possibility is the glow plugs might not be working 100%. I’m not sure if glow plug operation is necessary during summer time ambient temperatures though. Definitely required in Colorado winter temps.
if it acts up again, this could be an issue with the FICM. If I remember correctly, they could get hot and some of the solders inside the FICM would get weak and could cause intermittent issues, and then fail completely. If you are decent at soldering circuit boards (which I am not,) it could be a do it yourself repair.
if you haven’t yet, do an oil change. it can only help.
it’s an interestingly impressive system, but very much relies on quality oil. poor oil, or even old oil could cause issues. the high pressure oil pump pushes like 18,000 psi of oil through the injectors to get them to fire. also makes the injectors VERY expensive, and the cores VERY valuable, lol
