Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) still nothing

[KBurgoyne]

got the new lift pump and installed it with new fuel elbow. tried to start it after at least 200 pumps on the button. got nothing. tried that 3 times pumping 20 times between cranks. checked the fuel filter after. pushed up on the drain valve and no fuel came out. im running out of ideas:{

i took the pump off the day before and installed the new one the next day could be be a whole lot of air in the system.

 

[BigPapa]

I think you supplied your own answer. With the lines open that long, I'd say anything in them has drained out. Going to take you a while to get fuel back in them. Break the banjo bolt on top of the filter housing loose and keep on pumping till you get fuel out there. Be patient grasshopper, don't get frustrated (like I tend to do!).



Scott

 

[KBurgoyne]

any guess on how many pumps it will take. i should open a lottery.

 

[KBurgoyne]

can anybody out there tell im not a diesel mechanic. if not i suggest you go back and get your GED.

 

[fest3er]

Without cracking the lines, it usually takes me 30 pumps to get enough fuel into the filter to fill the p-pump. And then it's not much more than a couple minutes of cranking to fire it up, without cracking injector lines open. I did this recently when I completely ran out of fuel, deader 'n a doornail, no tools. It took a few minutes, but it did start and finally run smooth.

After just a few pumps, you should feel resistance (and hear it if your ears are any good) as the pump starts to move fuel. If you never feel this resistance, you aren't getting fuel from the tank. As proof, loosen the banjo bolt on the filter to the p-pump. It shouldn't take too long to fill the filter and get fuel out the fitting.

 

[Dr.Bob]

I know you won't like this, but get a FASS system, end your fuel problems.

 

[hsmith]

Or, you can pressure the fuel system with a test fuel cap. 5 or so psi while you are priming it should speed up the process.

 

[KBurgoyne]

i'd rather just get it running for now before i start modifying it again, and besides when the time comes im going with the air dog

 

[Dr.Bob]

I have a fuel preporator, thats what it was before they split into fass and air dog. Haven't had fuel problem in over 10 years.

 

[KBurgoyne]

pumped 7-800 times this morning with bleeder screw loose. still no fuel in the filter. if the lines were completely drained, how many pumps would it take to get fuel throughout the system. aproximately.

 

[fest3er]

30.









[Fodder to make the message long enough. ]

 

[KBurgoyne]

not the filter the entire system including lines from the tank all the way up. is it neccessary to crack the banjo bolt or will the bleed screw work.

 

[harrisonm3]

Run an airline into the tank and put a rag around it.

 

[fest3er]

not the filter the entire system including lines from the tank all the way up. is it neccessary to crack the banjo bolt or will the bleed screw work.

You shouldn't have to crack either. The manual prime should work without bleeding off the air. Bleeding the air (from the filter and from a couple injector lines) reduces the amount of cranking needed to start the engine.



At this point of non-success,

• Open the pre-screener. If it's dry, the lift pump isn't drawing any fuel from the tank.
  
• Pressurize the tank with shop air and a rag to seal it (or drill out an old fuel cap and pull a schraeder valve through it) and see where fuel flows. 5-10 PSI should be adequate.
  
• Triple-check the short 90 degree hose from the prescreener to the lift pump to make sure it is open.
  
• Work from the filter feed line back to the tank. *Something* is preventing fuel from flowing.
  
• Remove the short prescreener line from the lift pump and attach a hose dropped into a bucket or bottle of #2 (diesel fuel, that is). See if you get fuel flowing then.
  

 

[Mike Ellis]

Any chance you might have broken the fuel line? If you have a hose cracked or loose somewhere between the tank and the pump, you can pump all day with no results.

 

[KBurgoyne]

so put the compressor hose in the tank plug it and then keep primingand pray.

 

[GAmes]

I had the same problem once, after replacing a lift pump, and spent a lot of energy chasing my tail. I found my problem by setting the pressure regulator on my compressor to about 25 and pressurized the rubber supply hose that attaches to the steel supply line from the tank. I almost instantly saw air bubbles coming from the elbow threads where it is installed in the pump. Yup, when I took the elbow from the old pump and installed it into the new pump I had only tightened it down, then turned it enough to line up with the elbow hose from the prefilter. I had to remove the pump, put it in a vice, and give that fitting one more full turn. Problem solved.

 

[BigPapa]

Are you certain that when you replaced your fuel lines you didn't cross them up? You know, connected the return line to the supply line and the supply line to the return line down at the frame? Did you have both lines off at the same time?



Not trying to call you an idiot. I can just see where that coud happen if you had them both off at the same time. Actually sounds like something I would do... ... .....



(Not to derail, Hello Gary! Finally got the engine in the '98 and driving! 9 months without a truck! Enough to drive a man CRAZY!)



Scott

 

[KBurgoyne]

i had them off one at a time solely for the purpose of avoiding that problem. i didnt trust my judgement.

 

[BigPapa]

Good for you. Sharper than I probably would've been.



Scott