Strange Problem No Start-Fuel or Oil?

[jtanguay]

even if the gp's are good, maybe the relay or fuse is blown???

[burn_your_money]

It is possible that the relay is shot even though you are getting power to the plugs, it may not be holding them on long enough. If you can get a different relay try that. It could also be the temp sender
You might also want to try adding another ground strap from the engine to the battery, that usually helps.

How cold is it and what weigh of oil are you running?

[drshoebocks]

For oil I am using Rotella-T 15W40 and currently cold but was warm yesterday 40 degrees F.  
Thinking about it, when I tested the relay the power cut off pretty quick to the plugs.  Came on for a few seconds and then cut.  
How do I test the temp sender?

[burn_your_money]

15W40 is too thick below 32F and will make starting a lot harder (not impossible though)

I think there is a section in the bentley for checking resistance at varied temperatures for the temp sender. What you can do is just unplug it and see if it starts better. This puts the relay in a default mode where it powers the GPs for around a minute I think. If it works doing this it could still either be the sender or the relay

[drshoebocks]

Very Interesting
Is the temp sender the sensor that is on the side of the thermostat housing facing the back of the truck for the one facing the front?  I'll unplug it and try to cycle it for a minute.  Going to try and get my hands on a relay and try that as well.  
Thanks for the input, I feel real stumped right now, and it is nice to have new direction.

[burn_your_money]

Just unplug them both (remember which goes where) the other one is for the temp sender

[drshoebocks]

Ok
I took a break on this truck to work on my truck, and now I'm back into it.  After taking the entire glow plug system apart and testing it, everything seems to be working.  I switched to 5w synthetic oil, and charged the battery really good.  
Tried to start last night, no go
Plugged in the block heater over night, my GF tried this morning and no go.  Uggghhh
Here are my next steps.
Bleed the injectors and try to start (had to take the injection plumbing off to get to the glow plugs.
Try starting with the temp sensors unplugged.  
Then what?  
I'm puzzled because it starts with no trouble when we push start it, but can't get anything to go with a normal start.  This to me seems like fuel or glowplugs, could it be anything else?  Fuel is perfect, more so after I bleed it.   Wonder if I didn't follow the procedure right for the relay?  Should I just get a relay, and try that?  
Any advice will greatly improve my wavering sanity levels.

[dieselweasel]

Considering that you plugged it in and it still wouldn't start, I wouldn't think a failed glow plug system is the cause.  In 30-40F weather it should start right up when plugged in without cycling the glow plugs, at least my 1.9 does.  Make sure the block heater works of course!

Do you at least get a lot of white smoke when cranking?

Three possible causes I can think of for your problem are:
-very low compression, poss due to valves way out of adjustment
-injection pump out of time
-starting system not turning engine over fast enough

[jimfoo]

Timing or low compression.

[drshoebocks]

Would it start by pushing it with low compression or bad timing?

[dieselweasel]

Would it start by pushing it with low compression or bad timing?

When you push/pull the car, you get the engine cranking way faster than you would with the starter, therefore more heat is going to be built up faster.  Compression or timing may be marginal and there might not be enough heat generated from cranking with the starter.

[drshoebocks]

Bled the fuel system and there wasn't even a bubble.  The block was warm to the touch, so I'm really thinking the GP's aren't the problem.  Tried to crank for a while, and a few promising almost turn over chugs, but no go.  
I guess I need to check the compression and injection pump timing.  Don't have the tools for either, which should I get/check first?  
Still puzzled why it will start when we push it, right away, but not when we crank.  Could the starter be cranking too slow?  Any way to check this?  
Thank you for all the comments, I'm learning as I go, and really appreciate having a direction to head.

[drshoebocks]

One more thing I thought of
Once the car turns over and runs, it will start no problem until cold.  Could this still be timing or compression?

[burn_your_money]

Did you add a negative cable from the starter to the battery? I had an identical problem in my rabbit and the cable fixed it. I could crank for days and it wouldn't start but I could push start it myself and it would fire right up, usually within 30 feet

Actually take a voltmeter and put one end on the starter housing (make sure it has good contact) and the other end on the negative battery terminal. While cranking the engine over take a reading. Any number over 0.5v and your grounds are not up to the task. You can do the exact same test on the positive side.

[drshoebocks]

Very interesting.  
I will try this today.  What size should the negative cable be, and where should I connect it on the starter?