Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) hesitation???

[dahowerig]

hey guys and girls. when i first start my truck, and start driving it i get a hesitation. doesnt matter if it warms up or if i take off fairly quickly. im sure its some kind of fun, cheap sensor that needs to be replaced, i would like to get this fixed as for i almost got tboned the other day cause i drove down the block all fine and dandy, went to pull out into traffic and she stalled on me. any ideas, ill read through the threads to see if anyone had similar problems. for now, im goin to bed.

 

[SnoKing]

Take it to an auto parts store and have them read the codes. Then hope that it does not return PO216. Is it just like the throttle pedal returns to idle and no go at all, then anything is suddenily back to normal? If so, you are looking at a VP44 replacement, but could be APPS. So get the codes and report back. SNOKING

 

[dahowerig]

well, i took it to the parts store and po216 came up. so now what am i looking at?

 

[SHobbs]

PO216 = Fuel injection pump timing failure. According to TDR issue #55. Looks like your VP44 is going under.

 

[John - K5AWO]

Take it from me. The symptoms you talked about, hesitation, dead peddle.

I bought a new vp44 and lift pump kit from Midwest Fuel Injection and that resolved my problems. I like their no nonsense exchange core policy too. No charge unless you forget to return the core.....

 

[SnoKing]

Check out Midwest Fuel Injection. Dodge VP44 Bosch Injection Pump Cummins 5. 9L 24 Valve

They have a good policy on cores exchanges.



If you are handy with tools, you can change it yourself. SNOKING

 

[coreyallan]

hesitation or "stumble"?

Ive had a hesitation for quite some time now, the same as you describe. I plugged the truck in a while ago when this first started and didnt find any codes. I did a little investagation and found on Geno's web sight a TSB 18-24-99 intermittent engine stumble. The dealer or whoever reflashes the ECM and presto, at least thats what I read. Check it out they provide the #'s to the engines that were affected.

 

[SnoKing]

Ive had a hesitation for quite some time now, the same as you describe. I plugged the truck in a while ago when this first started and didnt find any codes. I did a little investagation and found on Geno's web sight a TSB 18-24-99 intermittent engine stumble. The dealer or whoever reflashes the ECM and presto, at least thats what I read. Check it out they provide the #'s to the engines that were affected.

Nice try, but if he has dead pedal and PO216, it is the VP44 going south. SNOKING

 

[dahowerig]

i like coreyallans post the best so far! ;-)

 

[John - K5AWO]

Yeah! I like it for the $cheapest solve..... But for me, it was the Ex$pensive Route to fix Mine.

 

[coreyallan]

Yeah its a long shot....

HaHa, yeah I know it's a little far feched but I cant say for shure that the TSB symptom that I'm refering to would throw a po216 or not. It's easy and cheap if somone you know has a scan tool. Tomorro I'll let you know if my truck threw any codes.

 

[SHobbs]

The worst part of a dead VP44 is the price. My first time tackling this fix took about 3 1/2 hours. Hardest part was gettin the gear off the shaft of the VP44.

 

[dahowerig]

are there any other signs of the pump going out? cause it didnt stumble today when i drove it, and it only does it once for a brief second and then bam its fine for the rest of the day. what should i be expecting? is it going to be getting worse, or will it just all of a sudden leave me on the side of the road? if it is the pump, are their any upgrades i can do with the pump? or should i just do the midwest fuel injection exchange. i did find a couple of pumps in the tdr classifieds would that be worth it or just go with the midwest fuel 1?

 

[coreyallan]

wrenchrat Quote

VP44's are famous for 'just quitting'. I and several friends have experienced this. When mine went, the engine died abruptly with no warning of any kind, and put me at the side of the road quickly. It would start and run about 300 rpm, chug, chug, chug and quit again. Dead pedal.



Once back at the shop, the VP44 wouldn't even muster fuel at the injectors. Out came more wrenches and off with the VP44.



The only indication that something might be 'fishy' was hard hot starting AFTER installing a FASS 95. The previous Carter had finally failed. I say failed, it was dropping below ~5psi with modest acceleration (with a clean fuel filter). That's as good as failed to a VP44 from what I've been told by a rebuilder. Thanks TDR for pushing VP44 owners to get a fuel pressure guage.



And yes, the old pump was pulled and a new revised Bosch diaphragm and O-rings installed. (The old, original diaphragm was fine, but the O-rings were flat and obviously leaking. ) That fix did not solve the hot hard start. This went on for 9 months/10k miles. Driveability was fine, pulling and empty. Fuel mileage was unaffected. No one I talked to indicated that the hot start issue was related to a failing VP44. I was told it just happens sometimes. I would still like to know what component(s) failed in the VP44 that caused the hard hot start. (It seemed to be fuel TEMP related) Anybody?



When I put on the rebuilt VP44 (Industrial Injector rebuild bought from TST) the hard start went away immediately. 7k miles and all is well. I will be carrying a spare VP44 when headed for the boonies. (this is NOT a new VP44 idea)



Oh, be sure to check the integrity of your VP44 rear support mount. Mine had failed and showed signs of recently happening. This is a common failure as the original design is hoakey at best. I welded up my old one with an additional support to avoid a recurring failure. If you buy the new revised support (recommended), you will have to have the VP44 off to install the new part of the support that bolts to the pump. It no longer bolts to the rear of the pump, but to the side. -On the INSIDE right next to the block/sidecover. The mating part bolts up in the same location on the block. The revised mount is MUCH more robust. When R&R'ing the lower mount, it is necessary to pull the PS pump out of the way. You can leave the PS hoses hooked up. I find it easier to pull the PS pump and Vac pump as a unit. If you don't get the PS pump out of the way, you can't get to the button head cap screw behind the PS pump.



So, if you suspect your VP44 is headed south, get it AND the mount changed before it puts you at the side of the road.

 

[coreyallan]

No codes

Well, there were no codes found.

 

[dahowerig]

ok, so ill try that first and see what happens. what do i do, take it to a dealer and tell them i want the codes erased, or flashed or what is the procedure for this. . this of course will be a short term fix, if i can get through the winter i will be happy. also, i looked up pumps on midwest fuel like everyone suggested, would it be worth my while to get the fass even if i dont have any mods? i may do some in the future, but not too sure.