Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) code 216, skipping

[BSander]

I was driving on a trip and my truck started to skip and lose speed on hills. It slowed down to about 20 on a hill on the interstate. On level ground it ran fine. When I got to my destination I changed the fuel and air filters, they were both quite dirty. The fuel filter had a lot of gel in the bottom and a lot of dirt (looked like sand) in the bowl. I pulled a code 216 with my scan tool, yet no check engine light ever came on.

The injector pump was replaced about 10K ago, the lift pump seems to be working fine. Could this have been just a dirty fuel filter? Does a 216 mean the pump is on its way out again?

This truck is my 99 3500 club cab 2wd, stock with a custom steel flat bed car hauler bed. Thanks in advance.

 

[JLandry]

Your P0216 code can also be caused by a restricted fuel filter or fuel lines, so by changing your fuel filter you probably have taken care of the problem.



Not all trouble codes cause the Check Engine Light to illuminate.



Best regards,



John L.

 

[LSchulz]

the lift pump seems to be working fine.

Do you know for sure? I'd put a fuel pressure gauge on there as soon as possible if you don't have one.

 

[BSander]

Drove back home today. The truck has a metal car hauler bed, weighs north of 10,000 lbs. loaded. I had a small car on it. It ran fine, but it did lug a bit on the big hills. No skipping though. The lift pump makes noise, but I have not checked the pressure. I will check it.

 

[Chief USA]

I believe if the problem is eliminated the trouble code is eliminated after 5 successful no code starts.



When my injector pump developed the P0216 code, the only sympton I noticed was a very occasional slight miss at low rpm under a load.



The only reason I caught the code was that the miss caused me to suspect a problem so I cycled the ignition switch 3 times and the P0216 code appeared on the odometer.



The engine could run fine for a long time but it could fail at the worst possible time. Mine ran fine with the P0216 code latched.



Mine was still under warranty so I had the dealer replace the pump immediately.



Whether to replace now or wait until it dies completely is your call. If a dealer replaced your pump the last time and a year has not gone by, it still might be under warranty. That will depend on the dealer and whether you have any mods they don't like.



Sorry to hear you are seeing this problem again and good luck on the solution.