Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Poor 12V mileage

[fest3er]

Heading home from the Fall Brawl last night, my fuel economy was real bad for a while - about 15 gpm. It's usually better than that.

Any ideas on what might've happened?

Thanks,
Fest3er

 

[Got Smoke?]

Were you in a hurry to get home? I know my foot gets heavy when I'm 3-4hrs away in KY or Ohio. :-laf



But seriously whens the last time you checked your fuel filter? Or perhaps the fuel screen on the underside of the pump?



Was there anything you noticed unusual that could have contributed to this?

 

[bighammer]

Originally posted by fest3er

Heading home from the Fall Brawl last night, my fuel economy was real bad for a while - about 15 gpm. It's usually better than that.



Any ideas on what might've happened?



Thanks,

Fest3er

Is that Gallons Per Mile? WOW that's really bad.

 

[y-knot]

I don't think that is that bad, I am usually right at the 14-15 mpg mark.

 

[fest3er]

OK. Not many bit on the gallons/mile. Yeah, it spewed 10-15 gallons out in a mile or so. That might be a record for poor mileage with a 6B! At least the undercarriage, tailgate and bumper are real clean now. (As an aside, my actual average mileage only dropped from about 19 to around 13 for that tankful. )

The bolt that holds the filter canister on broke, and the canister slid down just enough to let all the fuel out. And the engine stopped when the tank ran just about dry. And there I was, stopped on the side of 340 a mile north of highway 7 in VA - the middle of nowhere. It's 7PM, on a Sunday. It's getting dark and chilly.

So I called JetPilot. He and Hammer hooked me up with JStyer, who came out, saw the problem and ferried me about looking for a bolt, any bolt, that would put it back together long enough to get me home. We found a 5/16 bolt (should be 3/8) at Wally World, jury-rigged it, and it still doesn't leak. And I was on the road again at 11PM.

Went to Cummins Atlantic. Parts man looks through everything and kept reaching a dead end: the parts just aren't available. Turns out the filter head and canister were made by Racor (sp?). Cummins want $83 for the canister (which has the bolt and brass fitting); Dodge wants $200 for the same part!

So, I have 3 options. One, use the bolt Cummins gave me, dremel the brass fitting smooth again (we had to use vice-grips to remove it), and install the new bolt. Two, buy a new canister for $83. Three, find someone who installed a PrimeLoc or FASS system on a '97-'99 engine (that doesn't have either the spin-on filter or the new top-load Cummins housing) who is willing to sell the canister or canister and head.

Another option could've been installing the new top-loading unit. But that would require custom plumbing, and there really wouldn't be enough room above to get the filter in and out.

Since the brass fitting doesn't seem to have anything to do with sealing (the o-rings are elsewhere), I'll try the first option for now, just to get a proper size and grade of bolt in there.

The actual part # for my canister seems to be 3898282S.

So, does anyone have a canister or canister/head they're willing to sell?

Finally, many thanks to Doug and Andy for hooking me up with John. And profuse thanks to John for spending his Sunday evening helping me get going again. MDTDR to the rescue!

What's perplexing is that it couldn't have broken on the way from Doug's house to Kauffman's Sunday morning. Noooooo. It *had* to wait until I was nowhere. Ah well, life's an adventure, isn't it?

Again, thanks Doug and Andy. And John, I'll have a jug of preserves for you whenever it becomes available again.

Fest3er

 

[y-knot]

AH, a I thought I would be nice and not mention what I thought was a typo.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Could your diesel fuel station have converted to the winter fuel blend already? Your mileage will drop like a rock.

 

[onestackdram]

Or perhaps the fuel screen on the underside of the pump?







someone inform me where this screen is at? and how often should that be checked? i have gone through my 97 with a fine tooth comb on every thing in my mind and my mpg still suck in my opinion. granted the damn thing weighs about 8. 5k but still 11. 5 empty on the highway is still to low.



russell

 

[Got Smoke?]

Originally posted by onestackdram

Or perhaps the fuel screen on the underside of the pump?







someone inform me where this screen is at? and how often should that be checked? i have gone through my 97 with a fine tooth comb on every thing in my mind and my mpg still suck in my opinion. granted the damn thing weighs about 8. 5k but still 11. 5 empty on the highway is still to low.



russell

Russell do a search and you should come up with all the info and even the Cummins part # for the whole kit.



However if your local Cummins has it is another question.



I've been to mine twice (well sent dad once) and the comp. said they had 12 in stock and they couldn't find one!

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by onestackdram
Or perhaps the fuel screen on the underside of the pump?



someone inform me where this screen is at? and how often should that be checked? i have gone through my 97 with a fine tooth comb on every thing in my mind and my mpg still suck in my opinion. granted the damn thing weighs about 8. 5k but still 11. 5 empty on the highway is still to low.

russell

I'll take a pic of the one on my '98 tomorrow (today) and post it.

I hadn't changed my fuel filter in 40K miles. When I did change it, the old one looked just fine, except that the element was black. I checked the pre-screen, which was absolutely clean as well.

I guess I've been lucky in my fuel purchases.

N

 

[bmoeller]

Good pics, too.



http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/filter/pre-filt_clean.htm