Ford 3000 - Blueish hue smoke story / question

[thartweger]

yea i wish i had new sleeves also, but for the price i paid and the work that was done i cant really complain. it runs good, pulls great. hard to start when its cold but starts when its warm. id say its fine in my books. maybe 5 years from now if i still even have this thing ill consider a real full blow overhaul or longer?

i can say before they did the rings on it, you would crank it over and shoot it with ether and it would fire. it would rev up a bit, then drop down to where it would die so you would have to shoot it with ether again. it would rev up and start to die, more ether. you would have to do that till it built up enough friction to keep itself going. after i got it back this time with the new rings (while it was freezing mind you 20ish degrees or slightly higher) u shoot it with a shot of ether once it stays going. since its been warm, it will start with nothing and it stays going without it dieing and having to restart it. **** when it was 40ish out i started it without ether. i had actually shot it with ether initially with it cranking slow from a low battery, no fire, then hooked up jumper cables and tried to fire it without ether and it started up after like 10 cranks of the starter. id say thats a huge imrpovement, and i really think the battery has alot to do with it like somone has already said. if the engine isnt cranking as fast as it should be to start, its going to be harder to start, know what i mean?

i have still yet to meter my alternator, but i did check the magnetism thing and it has no magnetism. i will meter it as soon as i get it back. i am pretty sure teh battery is good. if the alternator is bad though ill be making the boys i got it from pay for it, or so i hope. what a long drawn out bunch of bs for somone to deal with right? i shoulda just went to a **** reputable dealer with my initial trade in and some cash and got something that wasnt jerry rigged by some small shop trying to make a buck without spending as much possible. im just glad its kinda worked out for me and im glad theyre kind being fair about it, although they tell you exactly whayt you wanna hear. you win some you lose some, and you learn from situations. i CAN say though, that after dealing with all of this, talking with you guys, diagnosing this and that, reading about whatever and **** im much more confident and knowledgable about what is going on with things. ive also been going to alot of auctions lately too. this has helped me know what to look for also in that aspect, which is good, cause itll help me along the way in finding better deals. blah blah i could ramble on for hours i guess lol. talk to you guys later.

 

[thartweger]

i also need to check to make sure the thermostart thing they put on actually WORKS. i am going to take the thing out next couple days and make sure its working.. i guess it has a heating element id see get red when i turn it on? its the thing they put into my intake manifold.

 

[thartweger]

Since you're liking the way it runs now, do yourself a favor and get the freeze plug heater now, not later. Even in mild weather it'll save your starter. Which sounds like it might need bushings anyway to get the amp draw back to spec. The block heater covers over some problems, but makes most of them much less important, and that's a plus!
Jim

and yes, i didnt overlook your input. i will put a freeze plug heater in it eventually, and i greatly appreciate the input here. i was considering a lower coolant hose heater, but id rather use a freeze plug heater. im skeptikal about having a heating element near rubber hoses, i just feel too much could go wrong there when it does go wrong.

 

[JB4310]

i was considering a lower coolant hose heater, but id rather use a freeze plug heater. im skeptikal about having a heating element near rubber hoses, i just feel too much could go wrong there when it does go wrong.

I put one in my 1700 and yes it does get real hot You can't touch it after just a few seconds of it being on, was simple to install and seems to work pretty good but don't know if it could cause a problem.

If you could get an element inside the block without to much hassle I'm sure that would work better/more efficiently.

JB