Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 1st Fuel Filter Change, Bunch of BS!!!

[Chief USA]

I did my 1st fuel filter change on my truck yesterday at 10,400 miles. I followed the direction posted on Dodge Ram.org and bumped the starter to prime the fuel filter housing 9 times instead of the 7 they did. I also jumped out of the truck and purged air from the injection pump shraeder valve while the lift pump was running until I got plenty of fuel out. When I started the engine, it died almost immediately and would not restart. I did not keep cranking on it for fear of pushing air into the injectors. I bumped the ignition 11 more times and purged a huge amount of fuel from the injector pump shraeder valve and still had to make 4 crank attempts before the engine would start. This is a limp Di!@ fuel system that is not capable of purging itself. Guess I have a weak lift pump and will be making a call to the dealer to set up an appointment to replace the pump. Next time I am using my old A/C fill hose to purge the pump into a large bottle. I purged it onto a large rag not realizing I had to push out nearly a quart of fuel to prime the system. WHAT A MESS!!! At least I got it started and the fuel filter change under my belt but this is STILL BS!!!!!!

 

[GeneralMachine]

fuel filter change

Fun ant it:-laf :-laf, You may be right for when I change mine it take's only 3 or 4 starter bump's and the fuel pressure guage will come right up and the CTD will come back to life. good luck Harv

 

[WBlackburn]

filter (fuel)

Honestly I dont know what all the fuss is about changing fuel filters. I have an 01 and all I have ever done is pull the old one out and put the new one in and start the engine. Have never had a problem. Have changed the filter, lets see about 7 times now (70k). What am I missing????

 

[merryman]

Like WBlackburn, I just lift out the old, suck out the fuel in the canister, check for any sediment (never have seen any), clean the water probes, fill the canister about 2/3 full of clean fuel, drop in the filter, close it up, start it like anyother time; it has never failed to start and has never died.

What am I doing wrong???

Vaughn

 

[Pit Bull]

Beings that I's a multi Billionare I think I will have the dealer do my change It's only money

 

[Huff N Puff]

It really is simple

First is to use a socket and NOT a 1\2in. drive extension it is likely to crack the plastic housing cover. Next step remove the filter,then drain the filter housing into a pan using the filter drain. Clean out the housing with a clean rag, watch for lint. Install your filter. Next Leave the cover of. This next step is very important,Just turn the key on DO NOT CRANK IT. You will notice the pump will turn on then it will turn off. Turn the key of again. wait 10sec then turn it on DO NOT CRANK IT. Repeat that over and over until the canister is full. Thread the cover back on. Start it up hold the throttle part way down,it might run a little rough then smooth out. Please make sure your lift pump is working before purging the system this way. One way to do that Just turn the key on and listen for it. It should buzz for about 5sec when you turn the key on without cranking,cause the processor turns it on when it sees key on power. Merv

 

[dresslered]

I use a similar method as Huff N Puff except I put the cover back on. My first few "bump starts" are done with the drain valve opened. Any overflow will exit the drain tube (which I extended) into a catch jar on the ground. I have done this several times and it always fires right up afterwords.

 

[RobbyRam]

I agree with a couple of the above posts. I 've had mine changed several times by a 'Big Rig' type oil/fuel filter change shop called 'Pro Fleet'! They've just pulled the old ones out and installed new ones(Baldwin. ) Starts right up immediatly. 94K miles on my beast.

Bob in Sacramento

 

[puffincoal]

never had any problems with my '00, just pull the old one out and toss a new one in (napa gold) i think that the secret is not to "over think" the project

 

[Tomscreek]

I quit draining the housing after the first couple changes which found it to be clean already and a waste of time. Now I just pull out the old one, look down in the canister with a good light to make sure it's clean and put the new one in and it starts right up.

 

[KatDiesel]

Re: It really is simple

Originally posted by Huff N Puff

First is to use a socket and NOT a 1\2in. drive extension it is likely to crack the plastic housing cover.

You can't use a ½" drive on the 02 trucks, they changed the lid and the only way to remove it is with a socket. Actually I think the change started on 01. 5 truck if I remember correctly.

 

[KatDiesel]

Originally posted by rfrazier

I did my 1st fuel filter change on my truck yesterday at 10,400 miles. I followed the direction posted on Dodge Ram.org and bumped the starter to prime the fuel filter housing 9 times instead of the 7 they did. I also jumped out of the truck and purged air from the injection pump shraeder valve while the lift pump was running until I got plenty of fuel out. When I started the engine, it died almost immediately and would not restart. I did not keep cranking on it for fear of pushing air into the injectors. I bumped the ignition 11 more times and purged a huge amount of fuel from the injector pump shraeder valve and still had to make 4 crank attempts before the engine would start. This is a limp Di!@ fuel system that is not capable of purging itself. Guess I have a weak lift pump and will be making a call to the dealer to set up an appointment to replace the pump. Next time I am using my old A/C fill hose to purge the pump into a large bottle. I purged it onto a large rag not realizing I had to push out nearly a quart of fuel to prime the system. WHAT A MESS!!! At least I got it started and the fuel filter change under my belt but this is STILL BS!!!!!!

Not trying to insult your intelligence, but did you truely bump the starter and hear the lift pump buzzing for about 20 seconds or did you just cycle the ignition on and the lift buzz for four seconds?? If the answer is yes have you checked your fuel pressure recently? If you had that much trouble then your lift pump must be shot. I bump my starter 3 times when I change mine but it fires right up every time so its not BS, its either an incorrect procedure or its a faulty lift pump already.

 

[Chief USA]

KatDiesel, yes, I checked for and heard the lift pump come on and cycle for 20 seconds each time. If you read towards the end of my post, I stated that I probably have a weak lift pump. I am going to get a fuel pressure guage and put on the system to see exactly what my fuel pressure is. Now that I have seen how clean the filter cannister was; I will probably not drain it in the future. It is still BS that a pump not capable of priming the fuel system is used. My John Deere is self priming and requires NO injector or filter bleeding if you run it completely out of fuel. Now that I have had more time to think about it; I feel it would probably work best to put the filter & cannister cap back on with just a few threads engaged to allow air to pass and bump start/prime the system until fuel pushes out of the cannister cap. It is still BS; there should be a shraeder or relief valve to allow venting of air from the cannister. The cannister should have purged the air when I vented fuel from the shraeder at the injection pump.





Huff n Puff, I did not use a half in socket extension, I used an 1 1/8" socket.





Thanks for the replies and the suggestion! I will apply them the next time I do this.

 

[krs]

rfrazier,

The truck IS self priming if the lift pump is good. You normally don't need to leave anything loose or crack any lines. Your whole problem sounds like a bad pump which you'll see easily if you install a gauge.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

As said, IF (and it's a big if) your lift pump is working to specs then the system is completely self priming - air is purged through the relief valve in the VP44 and the return line to the tank. I won't even go into the lift pump saga (as I'm sure you already know plenty) but there are solutions out there. I went through 4 lift pumps between 28,000 (when I bought the truck) and 60,000 miles and now have 130,000 and haven't replaced another (added a pusher pump).