OT........Ford F250 Pains

[JT]

Wow, got the shock of my life today. PSD has been a little sluggish the last year or so starting when cold. OK, probably glow plugs, called a friend who works at a Ford truck dealer, said it was the glow plug relay, they need to be replaced every year or two. Ok, off the Ford truck dealership to get one, looks like a starter solenoid off a older Ford truck, $20-30.00 ought to catch it. Nope, retailed at 102.00, cost me a little over $70.00 for this thing, about had a stroke. Wow, talk about sticker shock, and buddy told me they need to be replaced every 2 years or so. And I thought I was being raped every time I filled up with fuel.

 

[TWJanak]

Don't go to the dealer. Go to the IH truck dealer or NAPA or get it online. Anywhere else but the dealer.

 

[Animal]

I hear ya. I wanted one of those Power strokers ever since they came out, finally got a nice used one. I just love to drive it, but the only time I can afford to drive it is when I am working it......

 

[John M]

Napas are accually more than the dealers, but your right, an International trcuk dealer is definatly cheaper.

 

[John M]

Replaced every year or two, hmmmmm! New one on me. Im still running the same one that came on my 01. Next time you need parts, and really must have factory parts, see an International truck dealer, or go to powerstrokeshop.com.( BTW their relay is 57 bucks.) Napas are 215.

 

[rrlund]

Hadn't heard about the every few years thing. I changed mine last year and that wasn't it. It was the sensor that screws in to the block. If you think the relay was bad,try $210 for the sensor.

 

[Redmud]

You also need to test the glo plugs. Controller timing will change with each glo plug failure. I sold my 94 a couple years ago, it still had the controller that came on the truck.

 

[Bill in Colo]

My local CarQuest dealer sells ford ones the after markets cost twice as much.

 

[T_Bone]

Hi JT,

When complaing about any truck, always include the year as the 99'PSD has it's own problems that the 02'PSD didn't have.

Always reset the puter(disconnect the battery's over night) at every oil change as this resets the puter to factory defaults and WILL improve/resolve many engine complaints including increasing fuel mileage "IF" you already have good a driving style. Any DBW engine has to use a different driving style to achive maximum fuel mileage.

My 27k mile life time fuel mileage is ***15.2mpg*** that includes pulling 16kGCW to 31kGCW load weight for 9000 miles.

One user resolved there GP relay problem by using 2 relays, one for each bank. Besure to price out International OEM parts as there known to be cheaper than Ford and a better quality.

T_Bone

 

[JM in Merit]

Like others have said go to IH to get parts when possible. My local IH will do anything they can to get the parts.
I replaced glow plugs on mine about 5 years ago and not done anything else to it so not sure where the part about replacing it every few years.
this is a good site for Ford trucks. http://forums.thedieselstop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/cfrm



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[JDemaris]

I think someone is jerking your chain - unless Ford has been using some awful cheap parts lately. A generic relay with a steady current rating of 100 amps or more, and a 500 or more surge rating - will do fine and often cost $25 - sometimes less. My 85 Ford with the 6.9 still has the original relay, and so does my 82 Chevy with the 6.2 diesel. I've had a few controllers go bad over the years - but even that is rare. Usually the real problem is a sensor or inhibitor somewhere, but all gets blamed and changed - especially when a dealer - or non-diesel mechanic gets involved.

Hey . . . I just priced a new set of auto-hubs for my 94 Ford 4WD F250 and Ford gave me a price of over $900! That is truly amazing. I suppose Chevy would be just as bad - but it's of no consequence since I wouldn't pay $200, much less $900.

 

[KEB1]

On the PSD, glow plug timing is controlled by the computer and is not affected by the load on the selenoid. Bad glow plugs will not affect how long they stay on. By the way, the "wait to start" light on the dash has very little relationship to how long the glowplugs actually stay energized.

In the pre-powerstroke diesels, glow plug timing was based on the current drawn by the glow plugs, which would change as the plugs got hot and their resistance increased. With that system, if you lost a glow plug or two, the controller would think they were hotter than they really were and shut them down early, making starting even harder.

Do a search on thedieselstop dot com. There's a generic NAPA relay that's a direct replacement and costs (as I recall) about $30. Don't have the part number off the top of my head.

I have a '99, and am still on the original glow plug relay.

Keith

 

[Bob]

Did they stick you with the relay with the little wiring harness attached? The price of those is OUTRAGEOUS. A knowledgeable Navistar partsman can fix you up with just the relay in the $20 - $30 prive range.

 

[JT]

T-Bone,
Mine is a 2000. This is the second relay I have put on it since I had it, 5 years. The guy I talked to was Ford diesel mechanic and has always been straight with me. He told me a lot of people replace glow plugs, sensors and such only to find out it is a bad relay, said it will work, just not get enough current through it to get full voltage to the GPs. Don't know, I chickened out last night, I plugged it in. I will try it this wekend when it is not critical to go to work and see if the relay fixed it or not. But I never though of a International dealer for the parts, though.
Jim

 

[JT]

jdemaris,
thanks for the input, mine is a 2000, this guy is a Ford diesel mechanic on the small Ford trucks, F250-350-450. Yes it probably is a case of cheap parts, I own a lawn mower shop and we put more starter solenoids on lawn mowers than I can ever remember in the 30 years I have been doing this kind of work. I do not know what to say, I have known this guy for quite some time, and has always been pretty straight with me, and he just told me this is what is proabably wrong on the phone, and I put it on, so it was not a thing of he was making money selling me this relay and installing it. But as usual, I knew I would get some excellant feed back concerning this here, that is why I posted my comments.
Jim

 

[JT]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback, you probably will save me a bunch of money in the future. I had not though about going to a Navistar dealer, even though it is Navistar engine. Duh!!!
Thanks
Jim

 

[JDemaris]

In regard to small engine parts, they've always been crap and getting worse and worse. I first worked in a small engine shop in the 1960s - and even then we often bought some replacement parts from industrial supplies when quality was important.

The rely for a 2000 Powerstroke is the same for just about all the other 1994 up to 2003. I can't keep track of the Ford sells in the Ford-box now-adays. You can go out and buy something like a Stancor 586-902 for $35-$45 and it is twice as heavy-duty as the OEM Ford relay. It is rated 200 amps continuous and 600 amps surge - and I use them in all my diesels - including GM 6.2s, Ford-IH 6.9s and IDI 7.3s and later Powerstrokes. The Stancor takes LESS pull-in current than the OEM Ford instead of more and is much more durable (and cheaper). Physically, it's twice the size but still fits fine. You can buy from any industrial supply - I buy mine from Newark Inone Electronics - their stock # 44F3645.
Newarkinone (dot com ).

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[Anonymous-0]

F150online.com is a pretty good forum for F-series problems too.

 

[JT]

Thank you for the input. I will try these people and get a relay, because that relay was the problem, it was 7 here this morning and it started. Before relay, would not start. But this is the second one I have had to replace in 5 years, so I will have to get one and keep around, because this truck only has 145,000 miles on it, to it will be around for a while.
Thanks
Jim