I have read other threads for a couple of hours on "Cold Starting..etc" and couldn't find what I was looking for, so unfortunatley...I started another thread.
My issue... When it is 30+/- degrees outside, My truck won't start right away. Anything higher than say 35...no problems. When it is cold, i will let the GPs heat up for about 30-45 seconds before I start. The truck sounds like it wants to start (maybe 1/2 of a second of starting sound) then nothing. Last week when it was 12 degrees out, it took about 30 minutes of trying before it would finally "take" and stay running. The truck was even plugged in for 3 hours before I tried. I have Diesel Kleen additive (white bottle) in the fuel, and took off the fuel filter on the coldest day, and it was all full and fine (no gel).
Why i don't think it is the batteries... Well, after 30 minutes of trying to start the truck, the starter was still turning over fast and was able to start the truck (no I didn't hold the starter down for 30 minutes...just maybe a 5 seconds every minute or so). The oil level (Rotella 5w-30 syn) is fine (although it is at 5k miles).
What would be the symptoms of a bad/failing GPR or Glow Plugs? I live in Northern Nevada (Fallon) so it doesn't get any colder the 10degrees or so, but it is that cold almost every dawn during the winter...and quite frankly, i dread going out to try to start it when I know it is cold.
I'm going to change the oil to Mobil 1 diesel synthetic (because wally-world no longer carries the Rotella Synthetic...but I doubt that will help much. like I said, it wants to start at EVERY attempt, but never quite goes beyond that original fire. And when she does finally start, white smoke pours out for minutes.
Any suggestions??
Cold Start (or lack of a start)
1999 F350 CrewCab - 7.3 with 157k. New tranny at 130k. Predator Diablo Tuner (usually run at stock or lowest two settings) - 4" Turbo-back - DIY NAPA 6637 Intake
Linear Mode
