Archived warm.. 300yards.. stumble.. Dead :(

[David_VT]

UPDATE: Back on the road! Thx to those who helped!!

Well,

Time for the Green Monster to roar it's evil side again. . It's about a year since the $3500 front end mess. .



Today's issue. . The truck was warm, having ran for over an hour and then sat (off) in a parking lot at about 20 degrees for an hour. We started it normally and started on a short trip. About 300 yards after leaving the driveway the Cummins stumbled just a little bit. A few seconds later it died all together... . No check engine or warning lights initially.



So, after getting the monster to a safe driveway I started to sniff around...



Results:

• Full cranking speed from new batteries.
  
• No sound of lift pump when I bump the starter.
  
• Initial scan of fuses shows no problems
  
• Wait to start light does come on (20F ambient)
  
• After several failed start attempts the check engine light is coming on all the time now.
  

Do I go for the lift pump with these symptoms or get it hauled to the dealer? I am lucky enough to have a 2001 Cummins engine on a palet in the driveway. Will that lift pump be compatible with my 99? (and yes, the vacuum pump is still missing on that engine from last years nitemare)



I don't think I can pull engine codes on my 99 dashboard. Do others agree?

 

[mmclaughlin]

Same thing happened to me last year - it was around 25 degrees (and snowing like crazy) the truck fired up no problem, got out of the driveway and she started to stumble. Turned around and she dies right in the middle of the road. Was able to get her started after awhile and just made it back to my house. Same type of indications you have - lift pump was dead Went to Cummins and bought a new one for around $130 and put it in. When I first put it in, I couldn't get a prime off it, so I managed to get the truck in the garage to warm it up a bit (25 out, and I managed to get the garage up to ~ 45). That was enough after a few hours. Charged up the batteries and she fired up after some cranking Oo. I figured it was a couple of things that was causing me the problems - some sort of restriction in the fuel module (of which I still haven't done anything about) the lift pump going out and the cold weather. A couple of months later, the pump started to lose pressure, so I put the FASS in and haven't had a problem since.



When all this happened, I called the dealers in the area to find out if it was a warrenty issue. The truck is a 2001. 5 and it had about 50k miles on it. ALL the dealers told me that it was not an item that was covered under warrenty :{ that's why I did it myself. I've since learned that should have been covered, but I'm glad that I did it myself. If I had let the dealer do it, I would have had to give them the truck of like a week just to get it done, plus I get the satisfaction of doing the job myself.



Good luck with the truck - let us know how it turns out.



- Mike

 

[mmclaughlin]

oh - forgot to mention, I think they use the same type lift pump (the filter housing is different, though).



I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[David_VT]

Mike, Thanks for your quick response and for chating with me on Yahoo. Nice feature, that Yahoo link on the left!!

========= ======== =======



I will pull the 01's lift pump and see if it mates up to the harness under my 99. If so, maybe a quick turn of the key to see if it spins before I rip out the old one.



I will also first check under the 99 to see if the harness is loose.



Thanks and I will return here to see if others have thoughts on this problem.



David

 

[mmclaughlin]

Dave -



Here is a post that I had when I had my problem - looks like the connector may be different...

 

[DavidC]

Check Voltage to the lift pump before condemning it. Hate to see you spend 150. 00 plus when another issue may be present. If the pump should run during your diagnosis loosen the brass plugs on the filter housing and see if fuel flows out when and if the pump runs.



Dave

 

[David_VT]

Well we did not hear any pump noise on the old pump.

We pulled the lift pump and set the 'new' one (01) in close enough to plug it in.

Turned key to ignition (not bump) and heard the sweet sound of a spinning lift pump.

So we made up a pigtail to extend the 99 harness to the 01 lift pump.

We squeezed in around the ESPAR and mounted the rear bayonnet bolt and gaskets.

We threaded the front bayonet bolt in the 01 pump and as we tightened it up... ... we

CROSSTHREADED THAT LOVELY SOFT METAL of the lift pump. We went ahead and tried to get a seal but 'NOT'... damn!!



Oh well, I feel we found the problem but lost the battle trying to save money. .

I just wish there was a cummins shop around so I did not have to go to the rather expensive DC dealer



David

 

[David_VT]

The Green Monster is back on the road... PHEwww.... and the slight stumble I've had with my EDGE box is gone too. . Guess that pump has been on the edge of failure for a long time... .



Bought the Carter pump from a local car parts dealer, came with gaskets and conversion pig tail so it is good for both 99 and 01, about half the price of the DC pump. Had to buy Banjo bolts from the dealer and bought gaskets also not knowing they would be in the pump box.



Found the hard fuel line from the lift pump to the filter had a slight tweak in it that wanted to spring twist the front Banjo bolt out of alignment on the lift pump. I suspect that is what did us in on the first try. . $220 mistake

 

[mmclaughlin]

Glad to see that you got her running - better get that fuel pressure gauge installed so you can catch it the next time around without any down-time...

 

[David_VT]

Got my new TDR yesterday and the first thing I did was open Geno's Catalog to the gauge section... .