99 7.3 won't start without staring fluid

[cw97ss]

Since i bought this truck (99 f350 7.3)about a year ago i have had to spray a shot of starting fluid into the intake to crank it if it had sat over night. When you crank it over without starting fluid it sounds like it will almost crank. Then when it cranks it will idle rough but it wont rev up until you press the gas pedal to the floor and hold it there for about 10 seconds then if finally revs slowly to the red line and then it runs and drives pefect. Then all of the sudden now it will crank with starting fluid but it won't stay running, you have to keep giving it bursts of starting fluid to keep it running then after about 5 or 6 bursts of starting fluid to keep it running it will run by itself but you still have to hold the pedal to the floor and let it rev all the way up before you can drive it, and the same day it started that i drove it for 5 hours straight with no problems, i stopped to eat and shut it off and when i got back in it it fired right up but if you gave it any gas it would die so i had to let it idle for about 10 minutes before i could press the gas and it not die. does anyone have any idea what might be causing this??????

[alabamafrog]

Starting fluid bad, no use starting fluid on 7.3. If you have been doing this for a year now then you probably have fried the motor. Have you checked the $35 glow plug relay? Or the $100 glow plugs? Before ruining the $10,000 engine?

[horsehauler]

I have found that once you start using starting fluid you will usually have to continue using it. it hard to beleive that a machine can have an addiction.... like Alabamafrog said "Starting Fluid BAD".

[GoldieStroker944]

well i agree starting fluid bad!!!! i bet your motor is toast i am really surprised that you didnt blow the heads off of it already but i would seriously just go have it put on a computer that alot cheeper than a 10,000 dollar motor

[redstroker_2002]

i would use starting fluid with a 7.3!!!!!!!!!

[AFBLUE]

have you even tested your glow plug relay, or glow plugs before you destroy the motor? Dont mean to be harsh, but we dont want you to blow something up, welcome to the club!!!

[vitalidle]

Here is a writeup for testing out the relay and glow plugs 7.3 glow plug system diagnosis The reason you shouldn't use starting fuid on a diesel is the glow plugs will ignite the starting fluid when the piston isn't at top dead center and you can start bending or breaking things. Hopfully your glow plugs are inop thats why you have got away with it so long.

[AvroAero]

General rule of thumb with ether is use it very scarcely in the most extreme situations as rarely as possible.

[GoldieStroker944]

lol the only thing that could be worse is using starting fluid on one of those old old d-9 cat dozers they have an individual head for each cylinder so when you put ether to it it only goes to one head and when you have half a can and it finaly starts its pretty funny to watch the head pop off