What I learned about the CR fuel system

[Alaskaskiff]

This is meant to be informative for others who might experience similiar issues in the future. I recently finished a 7000 mile move from Virginia to Kodiak, AK (via Wisconsin, Oregon, and the ALCAN). I had my slide-in camper on board and was pulling my boat. For the weight police, I was in spec for everything, even axle weights. Total weight 19,000 lbs. All was well until I was ready to depart Astoria, OR for the Alcan and Alaska. Started up the truck (after driving over 4K miles and getting 10 mpg almost exactly at speeds up to 72). Truck was missing badly, but only at idle. I had replaced two injectors 15 months earlier and had 75K on the truck. The symptoms were the same. As I was running heavy I was hoping that carbon would clear up and things would get better. Not so. I have also been running a GDP 2 micron inline in addition to the stock filter. LP fuel read 6. 2 as always. Drove to CA border above Wenatchee and decided to hang 6 new injectors and crossovers since things were getting worse not better. Tried my spare FCA first, no improvement. New injectors in (remans from Cummins NW in spokane). Problems gone UNTIL I took on fuel. Lost rail pressure on the hill leaving Cache CR, BC. Changed both filters and good again. Heard a 'squeal' under hood that went away. Drove to Prince George, filled up same thing happened again. Changed filters, but nervous, now. Went back to Northland Dodge in Prince George and ordered a Rail Relief Valve, figuring that was doing the squealing by letting by and then it was resetting. Had them do diagnostics after talking to their diesel tech (Lee, who is very high speed). Relief was bad. They changed it and checked all the return flows. Issue could not be reproduced. We drove on. Nex morning after leaving the CG, truck lost power again. Changed both filters and all good. Filled up in Ft St. John. Same thing. Change both filters and power came back. Drove to Ft Nelson, filled up and same thing again. Gave up and camped for the night. Found a mechanic shop to drop fuel tank and clean. Little water (had been checking filter and found a little water and misc things, but not much) and a fair amount of dirt, horse hair, and a lily pad looking thing of dirt and sawdust and grime that was floating and plugging the pickup tube. I think it had a specific gravity near Diesel Fuel and only plugged during a full tank. Cleaned up, but now problems getting worse. Put a new injection pump on after the FCA harness gave signal during start cycle that pump was no good. (light flash after 20 seconds of key on). Mostly solved issue. Replaced lift pump with my spare. Pressure went to 8. 3 PSI. Never so good before. Maybe the crud in the pickup had been there a while... who knows. Finally retorqued all injectors/crossover tubes and 6 boat units ($6k) later all is well. Lessons: Can't carry too many filters. Buy good fuel. Have good karma.



A boat unit is $1000 as that is the least amount of money that one can spend to do anything meaningful. Maybe these days it is a truck unit too!!!



I acknowledge that I threw more money at this than I could have gotten by with, but having a leaking injector AND the fuel restriction made this really hard to troubeshoot.



I had replaced the tank with a 56 gallon Xfer flow 18 months earlier and know that all was clean (except I didn't verify the pickup) at that point.



Hope this helps someone else. I would also like to thank Todd West from T&C Diesel who troubleshot this spot on over the phone with me for over two hours of his time... . THANKS!!!!!!



This truck has NO performance mods. I am wondering if I messed up the rail signal by adding an inline rail pressure gauge. Don't know. It is now unplugged.



I had a time schedule to keep as this was a military move and I had a ferry and an airplane schedule to meet to meet my ship which was on deployment.



I am concerned about the robustness of these newer systems and am missing the 12 valve days.



Hope this helps someone on the road fix their problems!!!

 

[JDiepstra]

Wow quite a trip. Out of curiosity, any idea how you could have blown the rail pressure relief valve on a stock truck? What did that part cost you to replace? I just capped mine for less than $70.

 

[Alaskaskiff]

I have no good explanation for losing the rail relief valve. My only 'guess' is that 'possibly' by adding the rail pressure gauge in line between the pressure sender on the rail and the ECM is that it 'may' have altered the rail pressure the ECM was getting and therefore allowing an overpressure of the rail. We ran around for a long time in Prince George with the DRB hooked up and I was reading the rail requested and provided pressures and saw nothing that varied widely to suggest this as the problem. I have no other explanation other than that parts will fail on occasion.

The relief valve cost $600 CN and had to be overnight bus freighted from Dawson Creek down to Prince George. Keeping my fixed time sked was more an issue than cost. I will most definitely be adding a more reasonably priced rail relief into my spares kit in the future.

On a side note, even with favorable exchange rates figured in, parts were noticably more expensive in Canada than in the US.

 

[CToney]

Yeah parts north of the 49th are more money but can vary significantly from place to place. The same place is not cheapest all the time. Sometimes dodge is the cheapest on a rare occaision. Just be glad that you didn't have 8 injectors to change, only 2 bolts to change a water pump, engine parts that are available and not just specific to one year and one manufacturer, and an engine that most shadetree mechanics can wrench on in their driveway. I hope your luck will change. My dad's truck has recently been a pain. Leaky fuel return line (rubbed trough by fuel tank), bad FCA, FASS mount bracket broken, Amsoil air filter got wet and sucked in, I am sure the list will lengthen.

 

[gjones813]

you may be able to recoupe your repairs by filling a insurance claim, most people I hear about getting bad fuel and the dealer wont warrantee the repairs, get it covered under insurance.

coundn't hurt to try, sorry for your troubles, that had to be a nightmare, I would have traded for a gas job after all that just on principal.

and I agree with you on the robustness of the engines,



Thanks for serving, Take care.

 

[TCDiesel]

I am glad you made it, and thanks for the info on the crab. I was so Puzzled why anyone would fish for crab in Dec/Jan in the Bearing sea. . I hope you are settled in by now,also watch out for all the crazy poeple on the water.

 

[Matt400]

Can't carry too many filters. Buy good fuel. Have good karma.

Glad you made it, sounds like the trouble was fuel quality. Do you remember what kind/brands of stations you used?

 

[Alaskaskiff]

Glad you made it, sounds like the trouble was fuel quality. Do you remember what kind/brands of stations you used?

You bet. I have two key culprits and the receipts for the entire trip as I need them for filing part of my travel claim for the move. I target high volume dealers primarily and if available.



Suspect 1 is the Safeway in Newport, WA. This was the last stop before problems started and I proceeded to drive all the way to the Oregon Coast from there, and that was the time I ran the tank the lowest. I have taken fuel several times there in the past, however, with no issues. Prior to that I only fueled at high volume truck stops.



Suspect 2 is a Shell station in Cache Creek, BC. I believe this one hit me the hardest once the injectors were fixed, primarily by plugging up the supply side of the fuel. Both Prince George (Northland Dodge and Freightliner) as well as the repair facility in Fort Nelson told me that I was not the first case of bad fuel out of Cache Creek, BC. Neither could remember the station. The Shell I fueled at there was just before leaving town and pulling the grade and was on the right. I would avoid this one at all costs.