Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) dealership claims injector pump timing failure but have good lift pump pressure

[DLineberrys]

Airdog installations - NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

Well we FINALLY got this bad boy on. The first night we most spent time going over the instructions and researching what pictures we could find online. THE INSTALLATION TOOK US 9 HOURS - NOT 4. Our hats off to all of you who have been able to walk through the steps without much hassle. This Airdog bucked us ALL THE WAY from start to finish. This morning bright and early we got out and started looking for a good installation point. Our design dictated an outside-the-frame mount in order for the fuel lines to line up correctly. This was a major problem . There was only one place we could put it - by the emergency brake lever and under the driver's seat. We had to create a spacer out of channel in order to protect the return fuel line. This alone took 2 hours due to the awkwardness and hard-to-get-to hardware locations. After we got this squared away, we had a terrible time getting Dodge's old fuel tank suction line off :{. That took 1 1/2 hours. We finally got the hose itself off and had to work off the so-called "quick connect" with wire cutters. Getting the fuel fittings on the fuel hose was insane. Daniel manhandled it, which worked on 2 fittings. The rest we had to heat the hose in order to get it to slide over the fittings. This took up a lot of time. After we got it all together it took quite a few pumps to the ignition to get the fuel through the lines. After we got the fuel flowing, we still had to loosen some of the injector lines and "eye" if it was getting through. Once we knew the engine was getting the fuel, we cranked a few times and THANK GOODNESS IT TURNED OVER! Oo. If anyone is interested in seeing pictures of this I have left this set public for viewing: Airdog Installation - a set on Flickr



We want to profusely thank everyone for their help. You were all fundamental in helping us get back on the road. God Bless all of you!

 

[blacksheepdiesel]

Hey Guys,

Way to go! You did it!

I hate that it was confusing and took so long, but it is DONE!

Godspeed,
Trent

 

[DLineberrys]

Yes we are too! Don't get me wrong... . the installation may have been hard, but we are very happy to have it installed. Can't wait to see how Bucksnort pulls tomorrow on the way to Gunnison! One thing too. When Daniel was bumping the ignition and the fuel finally DID come through - it was A LOT OF FUEL! My little container overflowed and I was going "HELP!" lol. SO it does definately put out the fuel, and it was not frothy - very calm. Keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow!

 

[FLynes]

Dan & Toni,



It was a pleasure speaking with you on the phone last night. Glad to see everything went the way it should. If it's any consolation, my AirDog install took 7 hours.

 

[DLineberrys]

Glad to know that! We were starting to wonder about ourselves. Everyone else on these forums is boasting about 4 hours - could have done it quicker if not in the dark... . etc. Back at you on all your help - hope we stay in touch!

 

[DLineberrys]

Back The Truck Up!!!!!

This is crazy - the truck is OK - but now our RV refrigerator is most likely dieing now! We accidentally left it cracked yesterday afternoon. We were so distracted and tired from the installation. Hopefully it just got some vapor lock from having to work overtime. So there is no leaving town tomorrow... . still in Montrose. :{ We will let you know our performance when we ACTUALLY GET TO LEAVE!

 

[DLineberrys]

Well we found out that we have incurred the refrigerator equivalent to the VP-44 death code: yellow powder in the back of our RV refrigerator indicating a chemical leak! Major bummer. RV refrigerator costs the same as a VP-44... ... We are considering replacement with a standard refrigerator: Magic Chef 10 Cu. Ft. Compact Two Door Refrigerator which fits perfectly at only $339. 00. Anyway when we went out tonight to research what options we might have concerning refrigerators - we noticed that Bucksnort has a noticeable difference in performance thus far. With the Airdog installed, it has much more power in the torque phase of acceleration - 1st, 2nd, 3rd gears. I actually spun out a bit today in the gravel at takeoff. Our acceleration seemed adequate but anemic before the change to the Airdog. Can't wait to tow somewhere!

 

[CRWilliams]

Hey, are you still in Montrose? I live here. Sorry I didn't see your plight until tonight. I would have been more than happy to help.

 

[DLineberrys]

I am happy to say that thankfully we have MOVED ON. We are doing great. The truck runs very reliably. After leaving Montrose, we were able to pull over Monarch pass heading east in Colorado without a cough or hiccup. It handled the Rockies like Rocky. We do believe that the Airdog was a worthy investment despite being a bear to install. We can't thank everyone enough for supporting us.

 

[SnoKing]

Your 2002 VP44 did not fail for a bad LP or air in the line. I failed because the later ones like my 2001. 5 and yours had a brass bore in the pump. This was a bright idea that Bosch had that did not work out very well. All the rebuilds get the steel bore, and "hopefully" your replacement pump has a steel bore.



Was the pump a new pump or a Bosch certified rebuild?



BTW mine failed at 52K. For a while I had hoped that I had missed out on the brass bore as more and more 2002 trucks began reporting pump failures. Then on a RV trip in the Southwest in hot weather I started getting long cranking on a hot engine. I few months later back home I got dead pedal a couple times and found the 216 code of death.



DC refused to honor the warranty as written in the manual and I swapped the pump out myself. Truck has been running great. I relocated the stock LP to the frame rail and have always had good pressure.



SNOKING

 

[KKohagen]

It took me 8 hours from beginning to end, but 3 of those hours were burned up trying to get that quick-connect fitting off of the tank. It didn't have long enough tools to get into that tight space and my large hands were too big as well. I could get one of those tabs but not the second one. After ~ 3 hours I got it off!!!!! Then finished up. I have a quad cab too but mounted mine inside of the frame rail. just followed the instructions and used the included spacer bracket between the two frame brackets and the Air Dog bracket.
Other than the quick-connect fitting trouble the next hardest thing was the push-lock fittings. The first one took me 20 minutes to get in and the rest took about 30 seconds. I would use regular motor oil on the outside of the fitting, llike suggested in the manual, and a bench vise to hold the line. 30 seconds and back to putting line on the truck.
Sorry to hear that your RV fridge went out hope all is well.