Newbe with questions on a project truck

[Ranchero50]

First of all hello to those who read this and thanks in advance to those who'll reply.

I just got finished a two month project that started with a friend's '84 crew cab dually diesel 4 speed truck that I cut in half and added a '81 1 ton dually frame and rear to and then mounted a '79 roll back pivot and deck onto to create a 30' 6" black crew cab diesel roll back. We had to mount a second carrier bearing and shortened a spare driveshaft and lengthened the brakes and wiring to get it to work.

The truck starts and runs good, but does chug a good bit of white smoke out of one exhaust pipe on startup (thinking leaking injector) and has very little power when cold (compared to another '84 diesel staight truck). It also has a fast surge above 55mph. We have several motors to pull parts off of including a broken 6.5l turbo motor which I may rob the turbo off of and install on this truck. I also have a 7.3 ford turbo setup I may convert to this motor.

I'd like to get rid of the surging and get the power up when cold. Any help is appreciated. I'll try to get some pics in the AM

Thanks, Jamie

[Robyn]

Check compression.
If comp good then check all the injectors.
If its got many miles an IP overhaul it and a set of squirts should do the trick.

[ronniejoe]

You said it smokes and has low power when cold. Make sure all of your glow plugs are working.

The surging is probably a pump problem

[Yukon6.2]

Hi
My 90 6.2 used to surge at highway speeds,The temperature inhibit switch was bad and would make contact while driving,That would incress the timing making it surge.New switch problem went away.
Try disconecting it after it has warmed up and take it for a drive. In my truck it was in the rear of the passenger head.
Good Luck

[Ranchero50]

Thanks for the replies. After working on Fords with the plug and play harnesses for the last few years I honestly think the chevy wiring stuff is pathetic. Is there a link to diesel wiring on these trucks so I can start fixing things? I don't have any good literature yet and the idle doesn't increase when cold, the voltmeter doesn't show charge until about ten minutes of running and the gauges are whacked.

The prior owners stop leak finally blew out of the radiator hole this morning so I got to swap that out with a good spare instead of haul the load of brush that was on the back. After whacking my head on the hood latch the third time I've resolved to relocate the hood spring mounts so the stupid thing is out of my way as well. I did notice some tiny air bubbles after the coolant was topped off, hoping that goes away. Tomorow will see the front shocks replaced and I'll try to figure out why the front brakes squeal on one side and the other shows rust on the rotor.

I did notice this morning that the smoke alternated from pipe to pipe so I'm note sure if it's glow plug related or the pump. It does start right up and stay running.

Sorry to rant, thanks for the suggestions and help.

Jamie