one54ton

my truck is having a tough time starting...i know it is a bit cold but it struggles. I just re-charged the batteries and they are fine. Im thinking its the fuel filter or the injectors? anyone?

gunny

Heater working?

Lots of white smoke when it does fire?

one54ton

heater works great...takes like 6 turns...not a ton of smoke

thewished

my lift pump killed my starting along with my starter, alt, batteries, battery cables and everything else I replaced...

I replaced all of the above except the lift pump because it started like crap, then finally had symptoms of my lift pump going out and now it is way better but I have an idle lope 3-4 seconds after I start and then it catches up and is fine so I already ordered a overflow valve since my mileage hadn't gotten much better.

Dartmouth 12V

If it is above 40F and you are having trouble starting, it is a fuel issue. Below that, you might be having a grid heater issue.

Does it get harder to start if it sits for longer? Does it matter whether it is nose up or nose down on a hill? Also, try pumping the primer bulb on the lift pump a bunch of times before you start it next and see whether it starts easier. If the answer to these questions was yes, you probably have an air leak in your fuel system. The common problem areas are the fuel lines(they leak air even though they still look good) and your fuel heater. If you do a search on these, you will find tons of info. If it isn't these, there are a few other places that it could be leaking air.

If you problem is a cold related one, your grid heater relays could have failed. If your volt gauge drops down when the wait to start light is on, at least one of the two heaters is working. The only way to check both is to look for voltage at the heaters with a voltmeter while a friend cycles the key.

greenrig

please excuse temporary hi jack..what were your lift pump failure symtoms? and how does overflow valve help mileage? i have similiar problems and need to narrow down focus and start going through some things. i suspect air in fuel and 10 other things but am only super rookie diagnoser. thanks

one54ton

when its warmer its a bit easier to start...it is also very tough when it sits for long periods of time.

Dartmouth 12V

How much are you having to crank before the truck fires up? Does giving it some pedal help? If you plug it in, does it start within the first second or two or does it still take a while?

one54ton

yes, the more pedal i give the truck the easier it is to start. runs real rough for a sec them get to idle.

Dartmouth 12V

If it is running real rough for a few seconds, you are probably sucking air into the fuel system.

If you can, try plugging the truck in(verify that the block heater works by feeling the temp of the motor after a few hours) overnight. This way you will be starting a warm engine that has sat for a while and had a chance for the fuel system to loose its prime. If you are still having problems(assuming the temp is above 10F or so), you almost definitely have an air leak. If it fires right up, you need to do some more looking.