D250 cranks, won't start, Help!

[Farmer_Matt]

Hi. I have an '89 D250 that is dead in the water, maybe you can help with advice!



A friend was driving it the other day, she hit the brakes really hard, and the truck stalled. Since then it cranks but won't start.



Here's what I tried so far:

Fuel filter had fuel, but I changed it anyway to be sure. I saw some rust in there. After cranking several times, the empty filter now has fuel in it.



I tried working the lift pump by hand, it seems kind of weak (not much resistance) but I'm assuming that if it filled the filter with fuel it is OK ?



I cracked the bleeder screw on the filter head and cranked the engine with a rag under the screw. No fuel came out even with several cranks.



The wire leading to the KSB (or is that the fuel shutoff solenoid?) on the injector pump is a little loose at the contact, but fiddling with that didn't give me any help. I jumped a wire from the positive battery terminal to the contact on that valve and it was drawing current (wire got hot) but I didn't hear anything moving in there, nor did it help the truck start.



The previous owner left a lot of funky wiring exposed below the dash, maybe something moved around down there when the truck stopped suddenly? I looked but didn't see anything obvious...



We have been messing around with home-made biodiesel, which is said to be a good fuel system cleaner. This means it has a tendency to loosen crud in the system and drop it in the filter. On my VW this resulted in a gradual starving for fuel that was rectified by a filter change. The stall of the D250 was sudden and an isolated event so far.



Well, any advice would be most helpful!

Thanks,



Farmer_matt

Chambersburg PA

1989 D250

1993 D250

 

[1stgen4evr]

dead in the water

There are several things you can do to eliminate things that might be till you get to thing that is wrong. What you have done is logical but may not have been required and in the procedure you may have ingested air into the injection pump. Once the injection pump has air in it, it won't purge itself without opening the lines at the injectors.



The sudden dead you mention leads me to think that you may have a loose connection at the on off solonoid. Not the KSB on the side of the pump but on the upper back of the injection pump. There are two spade connectors there that will often get to the point that they don't make good contact. Put a jumper to the solonoid there and you should feel a slight click as it opens. The jumper from the battery will insure that you are using a hot wire to test with. If it clicks, it is almost certainly good. Then test you circuit to know that it is hot with the key on. Remember that the connector itself can be the problem.



You don't mention if you are automatic or manual but if you are manual, you could pull the truck and save the starter. Automatic, your only method is to turn the engine to purge the system. Sudden death makes me think you have an open circuit and not a dead pump.



If you don't have fuel at the bleed screw, you are not feeding the pump. It helps to have the tank completely full when you are doing filter work as it will lighten the job of the lift pump (and your finger on the jigger lever). You MUST first have fuel at the bleed screw and only then will it do any good to turn the engine so as to purge fuel through the punp to the injectors. All the turning you did with air in the supply line was ingesting air into the injector pump.



Once you have fuel squirting at the injectors, tighten the four back injector lines and crank a bit more and the engine will run. Immediately tighten the other two.



If I have not been clear, get back with more questions.



James

 

[Farmer_Matt]

rats!

Thanks James for your reply. I'll try the jumper wire to the solenoid on the back of the pump tomorrow when it is light, and check the connection too. I'm hoping that you are right, sounds easy enough!



This is my first time fiddling with the lift pump. How much do I need to work it to get the fuel to the bleed screw? Do I pump it with the key off/ motor not cranking? When I do this it seems really slack.



So, if I got it right I will crack the bleeder screw, work the lift pump till I have fuel above the filter, then crack the injector lines. At this point I will crank the engine until I see fuel at the injectors. Then tighten and crank as you recommend.



The truck is an automatic. I have a spare battery if I need it and will take it easy on the starter.





Thanks, I'll let you know what happens,



farmer

 

[1stgen4evr]

So if you are in Pennsylvania you are surely in bed by now but for in the morning a couple of things on the lift pump. It has a dead spot where the jigger does no good. What it is, the cam lobe has the pump in the lift position and the lever does nothing. Bump the engine till you feel the pump working. When you finish, the lever has a detent position that will keep it from following the cam action and wearing it out prematurely. When you are done pumping (I have made a blister more than once doing this job. remember the full tank of fuel will help. I have also used the smallest size vise grip pliers to get an entension on the lever. ) stow the lever, snug the bleed screw and then you are ready to turn the motor over with the injector line nuts loosened. It is not necessary to completely remove the nuts, just loose. You ask if the switch needs to be on while working the lift pump. No, what you are doing is completly independent of the motor rotation with the exception that you have to find the right spot for the jigger to have any effect.



While you are cranking, if you have help, watch the lines and see when the fuel begins to squirt out around the nuts. Hold the accelerator to the floor while cranking. This purges the injection pump more quickly. As soon as you get a squirt at the injectors, start snugging them and the engine will fire up as normal.



Pet the starter here. It is working its fanny off. And be certain that the battery is fully charged. Low voltage will cause even more heating in the starter than just the cranking which will be bad enough.



James

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

Be sure to watch your cranking time... the starter will get REAL hot pretty quick. . it's one thing that the manual is right about... after two or three attempts at cranking, say, 20 seconds each, let it rest a few minutes... . or you'll be changing starters too... not good...



If you have any compressed air on hand you can pull the fuel filler cap, wrap a wrag around an air nozzle and insert it into the filler spout... pressurize the tank using the wrag to seal the spout off and while under pressure, crank... . I/we've had decent luck using this method when we have a truck that just doesn't want to play nice...



pb...