Popping clutch to shut off

[Jacek]

Hi Ya'll,

I posted a while back about my injection pump leaking from the air vent. Well, my mechanic happened to have another VE pump so he swapped the top ends.

The leak stopped, but after a week, the truck intermittently refuses to shutoff.

I imagine there are some metal chips caught on the fuel-shutoff solenoid.

So I guess I have to start saving for a new VE pump, which will take a few months.

Am I damaging anything by putting the transmission in 3rd and popping the clutch to shut it off?? I sure would hate to fry the getrag and/or the clutch!



Thanks in advance,

Jacek

 

[Midnite]

Wow! I don't know if you're damaging anything, but popping the clutch to kill the engine sure isn't doing any good.



There's a little lever on the side of the pump that you pull back (towards the rear of the truck). It's a manual shutoff.



You're probably right about the metal shavings--that's exactly what my original pump was doing when it was dying. I became very familiar with the manual shutoff lever.



Mike

 

[sparks57]

My solenoid got stuck for a week or so last summer, and I used the lever on the side of the pump to shut it off. I haven't had a problem since.

 

[Jacek]

I know about the lever, but it sure is much quicker just to pop the clutch...

It sure doesn't give the Cummins a good image when I pull in at work and have to open the hood to shut it off. I guess I could run a makeshift cable - will check into that.



Jacek

 

[sparks57]

How about replacing the pump, or at least the solenoid? That would be the best thing to do.



Trust, me... I had to pop the hood all the time like you. I got over it.

 

[paccool]

Heck, just tell em that you are still trying to get it trained to stop when you say stop! Just like the energizer rabbit, keeps going and going and going... ... ... .....



Stan

 

[Greenleaf]

... ... ... ... ... . and going... .....

 

[AMikonis]

Why don't you pull the solenoid, clean the plunger, pump some fuel out of the hole, and put it back together. I've been doing this once or twice a year and it stops running on for that long...



Not that I recommend this, but if you are going to stall it, I think you are supposed to use top gear. I would consider 4th since it won't be as hard on the trans. Besides, if you drop the clutch in 3rd, the Cummins has enough torque to drive away...



Andy

 

[Jacek]

How the heck are you guys able to get that solenoid out of there? I even got a set of crowfoot wrenches to try to get the solenoid off. I can't even figure out what size it is as nothing will fit in there.



Jacek

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

The solenoid is in a nasty spot, which is made worse by that dumb bracket attached to the back of the pump.

Get an air tool and a small cut-off wheel and grind the darn thing off... . I did mine with no problem.

Just cut it off about 1/4" above the high pressure head surface... take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Trying to remove those dumb allen bolts is an even worse knuckle buster...

That bracket serves NO purpose on our application that I have found... .

Also, when you remove the solenoid/plunger/spring assembly look closely at the end of the plunger. It has a concave rubber tip. This is what seals off the fuel passage. If the tip is chipped or has a piece missing that is your problem. You may be able to carefully shape and contour a new tip by carefull dremel work. If you do, just stretch the spring a tad to compensate for the loss of length from your "reworking" of the rubber tip.

It's a cheap potential fix to try out...



Bob.

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

The solenoid is in a nasty spot, which is made worse by that dumb bracket attached to the back of the pump.

Get an air tool and a small cut-off wheel and grind the darn thing off... . I did mine with no problem.

Just cut it off about 1/4" above the high pressure head surface... take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Trying to remove those dumb allen bolts is an even worse knuckle buster...

That bracket serves NO purpose on our application that I have found... .

Also, when you remove the solenoid/plunger/spring assembly look closely at the end of the plunger. It has a concave rubber tip. This is what seals off the fuel passage. If the tip is chipped or has a piece missing that is your problem. You may be able to carefully shape and contour a new tip by carefull dremel work. If you do, just stretch the spring a tad to compensate for the loss of length from your "reworking" of the rubber tip.

It's a cheap potential fix to try out...

BTW, if there is a bit of the rubber tip missing don't worry about it causing more troubles. . it rarely has any downstream effects on things... it happens alot.



Bob.

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

The solenoid is in a nasty spot, which is made worse by that dumb bracket attached to the back of the pump.

Get an air tool and a small cut-off wheel and grind the darn thing off... . I did mine with no problem.

Just cut it off about 1/4" above the high pressure head surface... take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Trying to remove those dumb allen bolts is an even worse knuckle buster...

That bracket serves NO purpose on our application that I have found... .

Also, when you remove the solenoid/plunger/spring assembly look closely at the end of the plunger. It has a concave rubber tip. This is what seals off the fuel passage. If the tip is chipped or has a piece missing that is your problem. You may be able to carefully shape and contour a new tip by carefull dremel work. If you do, just stretch the spring a tad to compensate for the loss of length from your "reworking" of the rubber tip.

It's a cheap potential fix to try out...

BTW, if there is a bit of the rubber tip missing don't worry about it causing more troubles. . it rarely has any downstream effects on things... it happens alot.



Bob.

 

[Jacek]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have no access to air tools or a grinder to grind out that bracket that gets in the way.

There's got to be a way to get it off without grinding the bracket.

Where are the allen bolts???? I thought it was just the solenoid nut,

BTW, What size is the solenoid nut?



Jacek

 

[1stgen4evr]

Taking the solonoid out

When I get back to the shop I will take a picture of the wrench that I reshaped for that job. I THINK it is a fifteen sixteenths. I will PM you with that. The bracket serves NO purpose. If you want to take it off do so. If you are concerned that it needs to be on, after changing the solonoid, put it back on. If you don't mind a middle of the night solution, get an adjustable on the edge of the bracket and bend it till you can get the wrench on.



That solonoid is the only thing that almost made me walk since owning the Cummins. Got paranoid about it for a while and carried the wrench and an extra solonoid. Not any more.



When you raise the hood, anybody ask, tell them you are admiring the Cummins.



You could put a kill cable on the truck and just take the plunger out of the solonoid. Put the kill cable in an obscure place and Voila! Anti-theft device.



1stgen4evr

James



PS to the pastor, I am glad someone else has trouble with triple posting.

 

[Jacek]

Thanks James,

I think I will give taking out the solenoid another chance. I think the bracket is used to hold the shutoff cable in place on the marine applications, so if I mount the manual shutoff I'll need it.



Jacek