T444E start weirdness

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Booyah45828

Use of a 5w40 in colder weather is also a big help to any heui engine.

I've seen on some vehicles where the actual block heater was a standard part, the only optional part was the cord for it. You can order the cord seperately if you do find yourself in that position. This was on duramax pickup trucks.

mine was that way.. in fact my 444E was a texas bus and was ordered with no EBPV. but the block heater was there just no cord.. I bought the cord and it works like a champ.. on a 20 degree morning my oil temp is typically above 100 and coolant at 105 or so.. definitely enough that the oil isnt Goo..


I talked to a couple friends and they found on their 444E the same thing, the heater is screwed in but there was no cord.. the heater if it exists is in the rear portion of the oil cooler near the filter.. it will be a hex head with 2 pins in the center and outside of it threaded..



this is the cord i ordered for mine..


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by PatrickBaptist

I've got a few videos about 7.3s, mind you it's powerstrokes but it's mostly the same engine.

First though, plug in your block heater, wait 2-4 hours and try to start.
DO NOT USE STARTING FLUID OF ANY KIND, great way to ruin these engines.
If you still need help hit me up, I'd be happy to help any way I can.

I sold a guy my minty 79 diesel vw rabbit back in the day. He drove it hard and had it a long while. His glowplugs started going out and he called me to ask what to do. I told him to replace em and go from there but he instead started using ether to start it. Didn't take long and he cracked the head between an intake and exhaust valve. I know because I tore it down to find out what happened.
Not saying that everyone who uses starting fluid's dick will fall off. Heck I've had to use in n a few instances where it was needed. But its always the LAST LAST resort and only if its ok to use. Never spray it through a grid heater intake!

[Joe45]

BINGO!!!
Finally crawled under the bus and, as per the advice given here, I found the oil filter and the block heater plug! Ordered the chord, which will be here Saturday!









Thank you all very much for the guidance!

[cadillackid]

on a cold night my block heater holds the coolant temp around 110 and the oil temp around 80.. so a very respectable temperature for a nice easy start

[Joe45]

A sincere THANK YOU to all of you and to this website!
After locating the plug for the heater based on advice on this thread, I ordered the connector chord. Plugged it in this morning, waited about two hours, and BINGO!!! She started up instantly!


Awesome indeed!!!

[Booyah45828]

Originally Posted by Joe45

A sincere THANK YOU to all of you and to this website!
After locating the plug for the heater based on advice on this thread, I ordered the connector chord. Plugged it in this morning, waited about two hours, and BINGO!!! She started up instantly!


Awesome indeed!!!

Good to hear you got the heater working.

You should still work on getting it to start well without the heater though. I agree with Christopher in that your video sounds like it has a misfire to it while running.

Next step is to check the glow plugs for any that aren't working and have those replaced. If you still struggle to start when cold, switch your oil out for a 5w40.

[Joe45]

Originally Posted by Booyah45828

Good to hear you got the heater working.

You should still work on getting it to start well without the heater though. I agree with Christopher in that your video sounds like it has a misfire to it while running.

Next step is to check the glow plugs for any that aren't working and have those replaced. If you still struggle to start when cold, switch your oil out for a 5w40.

The only time I've hear it run like that was that time, when I started it in the cold. I've started it and let it run twice since putting on the heater and it sounds fine.


In regular temperatures it starts immediately and runs great. We are up at 7,000 feet and it's been in the 20-30s range. Still, the bus is from the valley, so the oil would probably be best changed as you described.


Still, I'll have the mechanic check it all out once the big mound of snow blocking the gate goes away and I can drive it there. I'm also gonna have him look into upping the power, and reprogramming the transmission for a 5th (or is it 6th) gear...

[cadillackid]

since it starts anbd runs perfect when its warmer and when the block heater is connected, but runs really rough when its cold, i suspect a couple of your glow plugs are bad.. not all of them and the relay is good but a couple of the actual glow plugs...


your 2004 likely has an allison 2000 transmission.. (unless it has the pushbutton shifter with a digital display, then its a MD3000 series (3060)..). if its a 2000 then it has 5 gears and no 6th available.. (6th gear came out with 4th gen in the 2000 series which is 2006+)


-Christopher

[Joe45]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

since it starts anbd runs perfect when its warmer and when the block heater is connected, but runs really rough when its cold, i suspect a couple of your glow plugs are bad.. not all of them and the relay is good but a couple of the actual glow plugs...


your 2004 likely has an allison 2000 transmission.. (unless it has the pushbutton shifter with a digital display, then its a MD3000 series (3060)..). if its a 2000 then it has 5 gears and no 6th available.. (6th gear came out with 4th gen in the 2000 series which is 2006+)


-Christopher

Thanks for that info!
I'll have the glow plugs checked/replaced.
Yeah, Allison 2000