1st Post - 1990 E350 7.3 IDI VANBULANCE

[aaclevy]

Ok, I bought an 1990 e350 ambulance. 4600 hours, 115,000 miles. A modicum of rust (maybe 10" square on the visible body). I'm starting a business "Tech Rescue"...

Just changed the thermostat - The thermostat works now - but only after I bled air from the junction above the IP that had a red and blue hose connected to it... which decided to leak, so i replaced the metal valve with a plastic straight through connector.

I put in ~6 gal Compleat ES antifreeze 50/50

I lost the bottom right bolt for the alternator / vac pump bracket casting! (anyone know where I can get one?) I figure the 2 should be OK for a year or two...

I dinged the 165 amp alternator fan so it has a vibration now... Might have a shop replace it with a 200+ amp alternator...

I can't find the electrical clip that goes to the accessory bracket slot on the alternator
The alternator only makes 13 volts at high idle, amperage unknown

The PS pump clinks and I did check the level

I didn't drain the block, but I did flush with 10 gal of distilled water and drained through radiator drain... I'll top it up with DCA4 and ethlene glycol pure until it's spec.

So:

1.) How many hours of labor should I expect to have someone change out the PS pump? And is there a belt tensioner I can adjust (this might be the clinking?)

2.) How many hours labor is spec to swap the alternator?

3.) What was the thing I broke 10" right above the IP - it looks like a Z shaped block with a threaded screw through the whole thing... block off / air bleed metallic device hooked up to a red coolant hose and a blue coolant hose - I just spliced em together because it was leaking, what is it and is it important...

4.) is the minor tapping I hear when I rev it up probably an injector (i only tested the left front 3 for function and replaced a single bad BB 7.3 injector with an single AA 6.9 injector (they were brandy-new from stanadyne, at $30 a piece, not reman, I might change em all out soon) or is it a valve?

5.) Do the valves on these engines need adjusted?

[aaclevy]

I took a razor and cut down the alternator where the dent was and greatly reduced the wobbling. Still may get the fan replaced and the diodes checked...

Left the van running for an hour and the PS pump no longer makes noises (I added some PS fluid to level with stop leak)

So I'm left with one problem: occassional white smoke when cold and long starts... (didn't white smoke with coolant empty so I assume it's fuel and it does smell like fuel)... I'm assuming the IP has a small leak and is draining fuel back, OR that drainback valve is stuck open... OR the compression is marginal from poor maintenance and few oil changes. 4600 hours for 117,000 miles with lots of idling is a lot of wear for 5000 mile oil changes in an ambulance... It does start fine when turned off and restarted.

I'll go buy an electric pump and a fuel filter after the tank switch solenoid bracket (my friend put an electric fuel pump on his 1990 ramp truck but the tank delam issue clogged it up).

My only question then is can you go into great detail about pump timing, the cost i should expect to pay for international to do it and how to do it myself i.e. where are those 3 bolts and can i do it with the truck running?

[cdnsarguy]

NO do not adjust IPs with truck running.......


On the housing that's mounted on the top front of the engine where the pump bolts into, There is a small line about 1/4" long stamped into the rear/upper face of the housing just where the pump would mate to the housing. Likewise, on the pump almost at exactly the same spot on the flange of the pump where it bolts to the housing is a similar line scribed into onto the top of the pump flange.

The idea is that when you put the pump into the housing on the engine, and if you have those two marks lined up such that the almost form one 1/2" Long line, then the timing will be close enough that the engine should start and run. This is known as static timing.

Dynamic timing via luminosity is done where a probe is put into the cylinder, and actually sees the light from the explosion of the fuel, and the timing is set accordingly.

Pulse timing is done where a sensor of a timing meter is installed on the #1 Fseries or #3 Eseries injection line at the injector end close to the injector. NOTE Different brands of pulse meters use different sensors and meters, but they use a normal timing light to show timing on the harmonic ballancer.

Some of us set the timing by "ear". This comes from some experimentation and experience.
I like mine so that when the engine is cold, as the cold advance is on, the engine rattles pretty loud, but once the cold advance drops off, then the rattle smooths out and the engine is much more quiet. If you have it too advanced, then it makes that loud rattle all the time, often accompanied by lots of black smoke, and if too retarded, will sound kinda flat most of the time, lack power, and often not smoke at all, or may even smoke greyish/whitish(unburned fuel).
When you are standing at the front of the truck facing the engine, if you turn the pump counterclockwise(top of the pump to the passenger side) you'll be advancing the timing, and obviously clockwise will retard the timing.

Ziggster's info with some additions by me............Pete


Note .... Never move the IP with the engine running, tighten at least 2 nuts before starting.

One thing to realize the timing is relevent to injector break point (fuel squirt) and IP condition (making the pressure)..... if either one is not exactly on, the timing will not be right no matter what you do.

You would need a Vgood IP and matched set of injectors to do it right.