cranked for 3 min after Fuel Filter change

[rraulston]

changed the FF today. I thought you just cycled the key to activate the lift pump and filled up the resivoir. Guess not. I cranked for 3 minutes before it lit. Damn. i had no fuel to prime the canister either. Did i put unecissary wear on the vp-44??

Also have 11 psi at idle on my NEW fuel gauge. I plumbed it into the forward plug on top of the canister top. Ran it up and through the back of my hood. So it rides on the black plastic window sill. Actually looks *****en. RRR

 

[Mactruck]

What you do is bump the starter. which is just turning the key for a brief second to activate the lift pump. This will cycle any air pockets out of the fuel system.

Three Minutes You've got some great batteries How hot is your starter

 

[Challenger-II]

Originally posted by Mactruck

Three Minutes You've got some great batteries ;

You mean had some great batteries!!



Just to clarify "bumping"..... turn the key on just until the starter turns the engine over for a split second and then release and you should hear the lift pump "wrrrrrring" as it purges the air. Do this at least 4-6 times after prefilling your canister with fresh fuel and you should be ok... . unless of course, your lift pump just crapped itself. :{

 

[LSMITH]

On a 98. 5-99 and some of the 00 trucks with the aluminum filter housing the easy way to do it is to loosen the plug closest to the center of the housing and bum the starter. If you do not do this you are forcing all of the air in the filter housing back to the tank, it is a long trip. Loosen the plug, bump the starter and as soon as fuel comes out of the plug tighten it. Wait a minute and do it again, tighten when you get fuel out. You can start the truck after this wih no problem, it may stumble and even die but it should start right back up. Doing it this way you are not putting unnecessary wear and tear on the batteries or starter. Hope it helps.

 

[emarsh]

It would seem like there would be a way to unplug the starter relay or something so that the starter does not actually crank when you turn the key to the "crank" position; on ford gassers you just unplug the small connctor on the starter relay. Anyone tried anything like this?

 

[Fiver]

Guys, I may be missing something here but am I the only one who fills the filter cannister up to about 2/3 or so, bumps the starter twice, and fires up? No wear on starter or lift pump and works every time.

 

[LSMITH]

Fiver, I don't do it like you said because I am nervous about contaminants in the fuel going through my injection pump and injectors. You are running a quantity of unfiltered fuel through yours. If it works for you great, I prefer to use the lift pump. Hope this helps clear it up.

 

[Fiver]

Good point but it's such a minor quantity of fuel that I guess I just figure it's worth the risk. I had the dealer change the first one out and was there to hear the "mechanic" grinding away on the starter and figured there's got to be a better way. No problems so far.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Warning: you are not supposed to run the starter for more than 30 seconds at a time and give a 2 minute cool down between those 30 second cycles or risk damage.

 

[azcummins]

I always fill my FF with ATF. Cleans the injectors and keeps wear on the batteries and lift pump down.

 

[John]

I agree with LSMITH!

Originally posted by LSMITH

I am nervous about contaminants in the fuel going through my injection pump and injectors. You are running a quantity of unfiltered fuel through yours.

I agree, unfiltered fuel may contain contamints that can easily plug an injector orifice. I would not and do not change my filter adding unfiltered Diesel fuel back in my filter cannister.

 

[Fiver]

az, does it start right up and run ok on the ATF? By the way, I only use fresh fuel from a high volume outlet, pour the extra into the tank. Is just about all diesel fuel contaminated or what?

 

[LSMITH]

Yes Fiver, it is all contaminated to some extent. Remember that the orifices in the injectors are only a few thousandths of an inch in diameter, and a particle that you cannot see unless you are looking long and hard will clog them. Drop the filter in dry and use the lift pump to fill it, you are not asking it to do anything is is not designed or supposed to do and you will only send filtered fuel to the injection pump and injectors.



Personally I would not use ATF either, again it is not filtered and IS contaminated some. It is also not formulated to burn in any way. Lots of people use it, and lots of old school diesel mechanics swear by it, but I won't do it. 2 cycle oil would be better suited for that type of use. MHO.

 

[Cobra]

ATF?? as in automatic transmission fluid???



Fiver, where are you getting the fuel to put into the canister?



Maybe I'm missing something here but after changing the ff he only has 11psi of fuel pressure. I think 11 is pretty low at idle. I like to see 8 to 10 at wot and my fuel pressure is at 14 at idle. Just my . 02

 

[Fiver]

Cobra, I just take a clean container to a local (but very busy) fuel stop (Flying J or whatever) and purchase about a quart or so. I've done this three times now but maybe I've just been lucky? Now I'm thinking about those tiny holes in the injectors.

 

[azcummins]

ATF is automatic transmission fluid. I thought it sounded nuts too but when I cranked through the truck start up fine and no need for bumping/dry starting



If old diesel techs swear by it, then it has probably been used successfully a lot. We swear by a long track record on our motors, so what is the difference?

 

[redram3]

My manual says to fill canister with fresh fuel, I;ve also seen them do this at the dealers when changing filters go figure.

 

[ralphr]

lift pump

I always had a real hard time starting after ff change. my last change really was something, (see my post on "hard starting" in the 911 section!



my lift pump pressure was 12 at idle, its now closer to 18. I would suspect the lift pump as being very weak. I agree that you should not use unfiltered fuel to "prime" the system. losen the center plug on the top of the fuel filter and "bump" the starter until fuel comes out, then tighten while pump is running. this should purge all the air out of the system. bump the starter 3 or 4 more times letting it run (I think it will run from 30 to 45 seconds). at this point it should fire right up! if it does not, (which was my case the last time ) I then loosened a couple of the injector hoses at the head and continued to bump until fuel was leaking from them. again I beleive that my weak lift pump was not capable of pushing the fuel all the way through the injector pump.



good luck, lift pump about $150 from cummins, and about 1/2 hour to change, do not forget the "sealing washers" and the wire harness. other option take to dealer and hope they know what they are doing, and that they will honer your warrenty!

 

[Challenger-II]

Originally posted by Fiver

Cobra, I just take a clean container to a local (but very busy) fuel stop (Flying J or whatever) and purchase about a quart or so. I've done this three times now but maybe I've just been lucky? Now I'm thinking about those tiny holes in the injectors.

Fiver..... I have always done the same on my '99 and have never had a problem. It seems the advice changes with time on this board. Back when I first came to TDR, everyone was saying, "prefill your canister with fresh fuel to help prime it". Now that is no good I do have agree with LSMITH's opinion about orifice size verses contaminates... makes sense! Now I'm really confused about which is the correct way. :{

 

[barryg41]

Fuel Filter

I changed my filter today! I was really surprised that it was not so black this time. On the first filter, it was black and I needed to clean the bowl out. This time it was clean and the filter was not half as dirty. I changed fuel stations after changing the first filter. The first gas station is a fuel station that has been around for a while. They are always quite busy. I started to use another station (brand new) right after I changed the first filter and the filter looked like it was brand new. (today) They both have the same diesel delivered from the same company. I know it is the same because Exxon bought Mobil!! Need I say more. The same distributor delievered the same fuel to both gas stations.



Not to get to far off subject, but I changed front disc pads also, over 43k. They were . 050 difference in thickness. Performance Friction Carbon Mets is what I used this time. I also tightened the rear disc pads with the star wheel. 10 clicks on the right and 4 on the left. Four sounds normal to me between oil changes! But I didnt change oil. I guess I could have changed oil but I still have over 1k left before I do that.



Gawd I had fun today!:--) Diesel smelling hands with brake dust under your finger nails.