[do_lai]

I recently picked up a 1997 IH 4700 with the T444E in it (~110k miles) and had a couple questions on the engine.

1. The truck's "get up and go" is terrible compared with another identical truck that I test drove and maxxes out at around 63 mph on the flat. I know that IH can program a limiter on the truck for a certain speed that will simply cut out acceleration over that speed, but the last owner of this truck (who used it as a fleet vehicle) said that he had his mechanic limit the speed by "turning a screw on the fuel pump".

Any truth to this? If so, where is the fabled screw and how to I appropriately tune it? I would assume that there is a fuel pressure regulator for pre-injection pump pressure, but I am not sure how this would be adjusted and I haven't found any good info on this online.

2. The engine was this weekend a little difficult to start (admittedly it had been sitting for two weeks without me running it), but I want to make sure that there isn't something significant going on here. What should the glow plug resistance be? Is it easy to test?

3. And a more general question... there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on IH's web site about older trucks/engines... is there any way to get to it?


Thanks for the help...

 

[sdan27]

The t444e fuel injection is controlled electronically so there is no screw to adjust to turn the engine up. If you have two smaller wiring plugs going into each of your valve cover gaskets, then the leads for the glow plugs are the first and last pins, the ones on the outside edges. If it only has one big plug, I'm not sure which pins they are but you could take the valve covers off and test directly from the tops of the plugs to a good ground source. Resistance should be less than 1 ohm. To get manuals, I would suggest to look around on ebay or something like that. I found a good engine/powertrain manual for my F-250 powerstroke off ebay.

 

[do_lai]

Thanks sdan. It looks like the plugs are indeed under the cover. I haven't had the hard starting problem since, but I will check the resistance when I have the chance. I guess eBay's probably the best opportunity to pick a manual.

Re: fuel... yes, it seems that everything is electronically controlled. I checked the pressure at the Schrader valve by what is probably a fuel filter; it was 55 psi (which I guess is probably within normal limits). I probably just need to change fuel filter(s). Where and how many filters are there? I understand that there is also a screen that should be cleaned out... where is that? How do I change and avoid getting air in the system? Any good sources for fuel filters other than International dealers? Thanks.

 

[sdan27]

i tried to post last night but somehow lost my internet connection. guess i'll try again.
for filters i use all fleetguard stuff and the fuel filter number that fits that engine should be an fs1298. i checked the rating on it once and it is rated at picking up 95% of 7 micron particles. i've had some issues with algae in my fuel tanks in the past and i've plugged my fuel filter a few times so it must work pretty good. can pick one up at an international or cummins dealership or there are a few sites on the internet you can buy fleetguard products from. on ford applications, there is a small screen between the filter housing and the pressure regulator which bolts right onto the filter housing. i'm not sure if this is the same on international applications though. i know that there is a small plastic cone shaped piece in line with the fuel lines that you can unscrew that has a wire mesh screen in it that can get full of crap. there is a small lever on the filter housing that acts as a drain valve that you can drain water and debis out of the filter housing. just keep it open until you see clean fuel coming out down underneath the engine. just draining some fuel out and replacing the filter, should not introduce too much air into the system that it will give you a problem.