Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) lift pump

[HBarlow]

Lots of people make lots of big boastful claims about how wonderful their cheap aftermarket junk works but rarely do they talk in terms of miles of service.

 

[Bob4x4]

There are a couple belt driven pumps out there but neither impresses me

 

[JR]

The main issue with the OEM Carters is the lack of pressure they put out. They simply cannot maintain desired pressures with the engine under loads that the injection pump needs. This has been acknowledged by just about every certified bosch rebuilder on the market. 14 psi is needed to open the check to the return to provide fresh fuel circulating through the pump to keep the electronics as cool as possible. The Carters arent capable of that pressure right out of the box. Sure, some people have gotten lucky and ran them on a bone stock truck with no problems. But not very many

 

[VolsFan]

"Lots of people make lots of big boastful claims about how wonderful their cheap aftermarket junk works but rarely do they talk in terms of miles of service. "



Point taken, makes sense. My first dodge cummins was my 99, I got it with 100k on the clock and by 150k, I was on my 3rd carter, which left me stranded and had to pay nearly double the normal price for one and a parking lot swap just to get back home. I was ready to move on to something better. Put in a fass and had 50k trouble free miles with constant steady pressure. My new truck has an airdog, 100 gph vs. my old ddrp which I think was somewhere in the 40 gph range? The airdog will not get below 15 psi, pleased so far, not sure how long it has been on the truck. I understand there are exceptions to everything, my dads old 99 with over 400k on it has its 2nd carter pump (and 2nd VP) in the stock location. It doesnt see too much action anymore, I keep after him to atleast get a fuel pressure gauge so the lift pump doesnt take out the VP again.

 

[HBarlow]

I guess I might have seen the issue differently if I had experienced frequent failures like that but after the first one that was on my truck when new, I had great luck with the replacements. Never had another failure but replaced one or two to make sure. Perhaps I was somehow buying an improved version of the OEM Carter. Will never know.

 

[dieseldriver]

Thanks for all the feedback. Someone told me to try a sump pump bottom mount one if that makes sense because they are gravity fed and don't go bad. My only concern is if it is mounted on the bottom of the tank that it might pick up sediment. I guess you don't have to drop the tank either.

Does the tank have to be dropped to replace my oem lift pump?

Wouldn't this be the best option?

 

[cerberusiam]

Careful with some of this stuff, you end up with a butchered mess that will cost to fix.

The OE fix for the LP's going out is an in-tank pump like all the later trucks. From a life expectancy point they are about the best option. The pump sit sin fuel and is lubed\cooled constantly for longer life. The downside is when they quit you have to drop the tank or pull the box to fix them. Fortunately the failure rate is very low.

These pumps are all mounted in the fuel cannister so that is all that needs to be pulled to fix them. The in-tank pumps are capable of a lot more pressure than they typically put out. You have to modify the pump housing a bit to get that and there is no data life expectancy when you do that but it is doable.

 

[JR]

]Unfortunately you are not going to get a cleaR cut answer on this subject. Theres too many options out there and everybodys had good and bad experiences with all of them. The best I can offer is to do some research on the matter and make a decision that is best for your personal needs/budget. The most informative website Ive come across regarding the fuel systems on these trucks is Blue Chip Diesel. I encourage you to read through his diagnosis section and if you have any questions he is more than willing to talk you through any questions you may have, at least in my experiences.

m. bluechipdiesel.com/site/?tmz_st

 

[NIsaacs]

I guess I might have seen the issue differently if I had experienced frequent failures like that but after the first one that was on my truck when new, I had great luck with the replacements. Never had another failure but replaced one or two to make sure. Perhaps I was somehow buying an improved version of the OEM Carter. Will never know.

My experience mirrors Harvey. My first lift pump died at about 86,000, warranty replaced it. I changed the next one at about 160,000 before it quit, with an Airtex. My next one will be a DDRP. Original VP with 218K, no fuel pressure guage either I always drive on the top half of my fuel tank, I think that helps or maybe it is just an old man thing



Nick

 

[BK]

I have a 99, been thru 3 LPs total.
All stock engine, no programmer, no extras, all stock but for the exhaust.
So when I needed the 3rd, got a cummins stock LP for the 5. 9, did the relocation kit, and it's been fine ever since.

yup, put a gauge in first, find out where your at.

put in a stock LP with the genos relocation kit.
makes life a lot nicer for the stock LP by getting it a lot closer to the tank and off the engine.

 

[MMonday]

IMO electric fuel pumps have more push than they have pull

 

[gtwitch]

I had 2 carters on my 99 after I bought the truck at 100k and looked up Dodge warrenty info and there were 2 put on under new warrenty before I got the truck. When the second pump that I put on in the stock location went south at 145K, I decided to put the next pump on the frame and being an engineer I know what has been said on this post and others many times (Easier to push fuel than pull fuel, the 48 Ford flat heads were prime examples of this, with the pump on the top of the engine!!) I put Holley Blue on a frame mount, then, at about 190K I thought I had a pump problem because my fuel pressure would just start to fall when warm going down the road so I replaced this pump with another Holley blue and same thing , fuel pressure would fall when warm going down the road, look elsewhere!! I found that the fuel pressure sending unit was irratic and intermitent, replaced that and haven't looked back since and also have a spare pump in the "Boonie Box" Dont have an opinion about what pump to use but frame mount is a must and it is easy to replacee the pump is necessary. in reading many of the posts on TDR, I'm thinking that a gear rotor pump might be better than a rotary vane pump, only my thoughts here. In my case, a rotor/vane kit from Holley is $19. 00 and I also have that in my Boonie Box and can change it in 10 min. The only thing I dislike about the Holley Blue is it is noisey!, but it is a Cummins and I like the "rattle" in the morning.

These are my ramblings



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