Hard Start. It is 32F, Block heater plugged in, 3/4 full tank of Shell Diesel. wait light goes right out, Crank maybe 2 sec., fires up, runs 2 or 3 sec.'s dies (like no fuel), if I crank, full throttle, for 20 to 30 sec.'s it will try to fire, wait 30 sec. try again (full throttle) fires up, runs a little rough, 5 seconds, smooths right out, no more problems the rest of the day, or until it goes cold again. (01 5.9L Auto Quad cab 4x4) any idea's?

Only two things can cause this (1) not getting gas and or (2) not getting spark.
Have someone crank while you hold spark plug wire just of off spark plug, if you see spark from wire too motor block then put a little gas into carb and see if it fires if it fires then look for a gas line or gas tank problem.

I drive a 2004 F-350 with a 6.0l. 5 glow plugs are out, have to start on ether when temp is below 40 deg F. CAUTION turn key on, wait for glow plug light to go out, spray approx 3 seconds, start. Should crank about 3-4 seconds then fire off. I work on heavy trucks by trade, mainly roadside service work.

Maybe needs new coils or module.

You need new glow plugs. Im guessing you live somewhere kind of cold maybe. It starts just fine after running because the motor is already warm. Quick start will work.....or at least it did for me until I used one mornig and went to crank and BOOM. It blew my air filter case to pieces and caught the filter on fire. Starting fluid is not meant for diesel motors. If you cant afford new glow plugs what worked for me is turn on the key all the way but dont crank wait 10 sec then repeat a few times and it should crank unless its really cold out or the plugs are really bad. Trust me thats what it is. I replaced mine and now It cranks right up even when its super cold.

your heater plugs one or two might be faulty
dont try to start it when heater light goes out wait for 20 or 30 seconds more and then try start .reason for this is the heater plugs are still heating after light goes out and therefore more heat for cold start goodluck

the compression has dropped only solution is a new engine

simple : obtain replacement pump from parts provider (no used stuff)

Now help me out here: thats the year they were bolted to the pass side front of engine
and not inside the tank right? (better go look to see for sure)

using a tube wrench unscrew the fuel lines (i use large wire nuts to temp block off fuel leakage)

with a 12 mm wrench undo the two side bolts holding the pump to block

wiggle pump it should come straight off

clean mounting place on block with solvent let dry

silicone back (or use gasket that comes with pump ) of pump

apply pump to block (depending on where crank stopped you may have some tension on arm you will have to overcome to get flange to meet block )

use locktite (blue)or simmiliar thread lock on bolts retighten firmly but not hang up the dog tight

use light grease or vasolene on tube connections don't try to tighten dry

Now the fun part your diesel now has air in the fuel system

there are two ways to remove this ( hard and harder)
your choice here are both methods

loosten the fuel supply line for #8 injector ( I did not say remove) 1 full turn ought to be enough

crank engine 30 seconds only
wait 5 minutes for starter to cool down
crank engine 30 sec again
did it start but runs rough while it's still running tighten #8 injector (caution fuel under high pressure)
engine smooth out good your lucky
engine did not start yet
wait 5 minutes
crank engine 30 sec again
start yet
if so tighten #8 injector up

Now here's something I've done to my diesel to make this much less a hasstle

trace fuel line as it comes up from pump
obtain a small low pressure electric fuel pump and a two short pieces of fuel line
and a few clamps

use tube cutter and cut fuel line just before it bends to go in filter
deburr edges
slide tube and clamps over pipe (both sides)
insert pump observe flow arrrow towards filter

the wires of pump can be stretched over to #1 battery terminals

now any time you change a filter or open your fuel system for any reason
all you need do is connect pump to battery
open sharader valve on top of filter for a few min
and start truck as normal
then disconnect wires and stow away for another day

Gasoline engines work with a spark plug, where an electrode ignites the fuel mixture. Diesel engines operate on the principle of heat and pressure. Compression ratios are very high in diesel engines and when the air is compressed into a very confined space it heats rapidly, then the fuel is injected and combusts. Most diesel engines have a "wait to start" light when you first turn the ignition to on. If the temp is below normal, I might would allow for a few extra seconds for the glow plugs to heat up. The block heater will help though, b/c it raises the temp on the engine and allows for it to build the heat neccesary for combustion.

HAd the same problem turned out to be the fuel tank selector vlv not sealing off m/t tank on return line so when truck sat cold fuel would drain off injectors making me reprime injectors (airbound)
found this by dumb luck I got a hole punched in front tank (muddin )so I removed it and ran off back tank I observed fuel draining out unhooked return line next morning
replaced valve (and tank) problem went away
Disected old vlv (broken O-Ring)

by the way quick way to ck glow plugs ,What's your voltmeter on your dash doing when wait to start just goes out -If it's bouncing There workin

DEPENDING HOW COLD OUT IT IS DIESELS DONT LIKE TO START IN COLD WHEATHER UNLESS THE GLOW PLUGS ARE WARM THIS IS THE REASON FOR PLUGGING DIESELS IN MOST WONT START IF ITS COLD OUT IF ITS NOT THAT COLD OUT IT SHOULD START IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH BATTERY POWER MAYBE THERES NOT ENOUGH FUEL GETTING UP TO THE THROTTLE BODY HOPE THIS HELPS