M1008 crank/start issues

[Chasingwhitetail0-]

M1008 will struggle to turn over, then immediately die after a second or two.
Once it gets running (shot of ether and a heavy foot) it stays running and will start back up no problem unless it sits for 8hours, then it struggles to get going again.

just temporarily replaced part of the fuel line - could it be a clog somewhere?

two new hefty batteries, not a battery problem.

this is a new problem as of yesterday (replaced the fuel line portion on Friday. She’s a daily driver, haven’t had an issue before.

 

[Barrman]

Welcome to the fun!

Please don’t use either anymore. It can ignite when near a hot glow plug. WHOOSH flame back into your face, broken glow plugs or even bent engine internals could also happen.

You wrote the engine struggles to turn over. I read that as meaning the starter motor can barely turn the crankshaft. Which could be a battery problem, battery cable problem, starter relay problem or a starter motor problem. Yet, you write the batteries are new and not the problem. Just because they are new does not mean they are good. If the crankshaft is turning below 180 rpm on the starter, start by getting the batteries fully charged and then load tested. 1 bad cell in 1 battery could make it slowly turn.

If however you meant the crankshaft is turning fast enough to start the engine yet, the engine doesn’t start. That leads us to fuel and heat.

If the problems started when you changed the fuel line then you probably got air in the system and can either bleed the filter or still have an air leak. Once it starts, the injection pump will self bleed in a few minutes. However, if air is getting sucked in it will seem like the stupid thing hates you. Air in the injection pump normally takes about 2-3 minutes of cranking to get the engine running again. A brand new set of perfect batteries should be able to handle that in 20-30 second spurts. But no batteries can do it twice without getting charged an hour or more.

Or, is it struggling to start because you have bad glow plugs. If it is cranking away and a dirty white smoke is coming out the exhaust. Then you have fuel, compression and no heat. Have you ever checked your glow plugs or changed them?

Sorry for the rambling answer but I don’t have a clue what exactly you are experiencing.