Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Fuel pressure starting

[IdahoJim]

Yup...I'm going to get some clear vinyl tubing, and run an air test on the fuel going into the injection pump. That will either show an air leak on the lift pump side, or eliminate that as a possible problem.
Jim

 

[IdahoJim]

Well, I finally got the hard start issue resolved. Sadly, there wasn't a single definitive cause. Initially, I believe the major cause, when I was down in Nevada, was the bad threads on the filter
canister drain valve screws. But that wasn't all of it. Some of the rest was my own fault. as you know I ended up with a bad o-ring on the #4 cylinder crossover tube. I really think that may have been cause by leaking high-pressure fuel. That leak may have been caused by my not torquing the nut. Once I torqued that correctly, I did the other 3 (1,2,3) I could easily get to. Once the o-ring and the drain valve were fixed, it was much better, but still not quite right. I was still having an air leak at the canister. Somewhere, when I first bought my truck new, I read that you shouldn't use the large nut, in the top of the fuel canister cap, for anything more than removing the cap to change the filter. I was reading the section in the factory shop manual on that, and it said the cap should be tightened to 25 ft/lbs using that nut. I wasn't doing that. So, once i did that, another portion of the problem was solved, and the truck was starting much better, but still not quite right. So, I pulled the lift pump, and found that one of the mounting studs, that also holds the cap on the pumping chamber, was loose. I tightened that, and put things back together.

After it sat all night the problem was worse. I kept thinking about the #5 & 6 line nuts not being torqued correctly. I finally made up a couple of special tools that let me get that done, and got that torqued right. Still had the problem....grrrrrrr! I had ordered a new Carter lift pump, so yesterday I cdecided I would put that in, and a new 1/2" fuel; line from the pump to the canister. This is where I found another goof I'd done. When I pulled the old lift pump to look it over, a couple of weeks ago, I neglected to tighten the output hose clamp. That's why the problem got worse again when I'd been making progress. So, I went ahead and installed the new lift pump, but just left the old fuel line in. After sitting all night last night, it fired up this morning just like it did before all this started....hooray! So. a lot of lessons learned, some mistakes were just mistakes. Some of it was not having the right tools and not taking the time to make what I needed. Another was not believing what the manual said about the torque on the high pressure line nuts being critical. If you swap injectors, you must get that torque to the 28ft/lbs specified, or you'll probably have leaks, and usually the leaks aren't visible.


I'd like to thank everybody who helped me get this problem resolved, including TDR for this great forum. Jim

 

[KATOOM]

Your situation brings to light Jim that when people ask questions about a potential issue their having, there isnt always a definitive single solution as they may be dealing with more than one problem..... Unfortunately lots of people arent looking for that response though.

 

[phantomusa]

I agree katoom I once had a mechanic working for me that replaced the starter on a Peterbilt truck 4 times tryin to fix a starting problem on starter #5 I asked if he cleaned the battery terminals he said no its a starter problem not a battery problem
After I cleaned the battery terminals it never had a starting problem again
Sometimes your too close to the problem to see the answer always check the easy stuff first
Pappy

 

[IdahoJim]

What I find the most interesting about this is that I had no problem for several weeks after installing the injectors. Then all-of-a-sudden, I have a hard start issue that seems to spring from multiple problems.....really weird. One thing I noticed yesterday and today...the truck is running better. Mileage on the gizmo is up a bit, and the engine just feels smoother. I'm certain I had a fuel leak in the high pressure side.....even if I couldn't tell before the problem showed up.

Jim