need some 12v help from the pros..

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goldhatch94

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Aug 9, 2011
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ok guy i am full time auto tech for 12 years or more and do alot of fab work and turbo fab and tune work. but i am not a diesel guy.

i got my 1994 dodge ram 2500 2wd cummin to tow my car trailer and camper. and up till this paster winter here in CT it was mint..

now hang in there i am going to try to cover all the details i can to hope to get the best help from you pros as i can.

ok all last summer and most of the winter i had my truck it was flawless always fried right up with min cranking at all. half way threw the winter i notice a drip in the snow under the motor and looked and found a fuel leak.

after some freezing in the 2 feet of snow i found the leak it happen to be a rubber hose that joined the steel line from the tank to the steel line of the motor. i said "o thats a easy fix two small hose replacements" ok replaced the two hose (feed and return different sizes doing one at a time )

then i procees to prime the lift pump about 20-30 pump and when i tried to strat it no fire (long story short) i could not get it to fire up and it was gettin cold and dark and i was way to far away to plug the truck in....

had the truck towed inside to warm up and got her to run. for about a month after that it was all good.... then the prob came. plugged in she would fire right up right off the bat and after about two min of idle it would chugg and spit and spudder and stall.

i would fire her right back and and it wold run ruff like it was skipping or air in the fuel line. ok so after a few weeks of that on and off ( some days..... warmer day no issue it would fire right up and run mint) i talked to a local shop said replace the lift pump.


replaced the life pump first one leaked replace it again with a cummins one and had a buddy help me i pumped the lift pump and he cracked lines at the injectors. got it to run good. few months has gone by we are now in to summer no need to plug in, on and off days, some day it start and runs mint and other morings it start and after some warm up time it chuggs and sputter like it will stall and i have to fether it to keep it runnin. i dirve it for about 20 min and it clears out and runs mint the rest of the day.

i drove it like that for about a month and now this is were i am at right now with it .

last week i went to start it and she fired up idled mint for about 3 min and started to do it chiggin and skippin like air in the line i am ready for it sittin in the truck to fether it and clear it out... but this time it wont have any part of it stalls i try to crank it again and it wont start. fires over a time or two like it will start but wont catch.

so i get out and pump pump away on the lift pump and still wont go i get a chug or two like she wants to go but no go.


HELP!

what do you guys think could be my prob that all started with a simple rubber hose replacment? i have a very good local guy i went to school with and whem he is back from vaca sat i will have it towed in to him. but what buggs me is that i want to try to figure it out even if i cant fix it my self.

i have a good feeling it is the injection pump. another buddy says injector return lines or feed lines.???

motor is all stock on the truck as far as i know the last owner changed the fuel plate or moved it not sure witch one. and it has a K&N filter kit and the boost has been truned up.


thanks for any help you guys can throw at me.
 
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Whats your fuel pressure?

And check all the lines up to the lift pump for air leaks, pressurizing the tank might help. Everh line after the lift pump is pressurized and should leak fuel.
 
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mine did this for a long time. i replaced the rubber hoses and still had the sam issues. i ended up putting a holly blue as a pusher pump and then found that the lift pump rubber hoses were leaking.. maybe try and pressurize the tank and check for leaks...
 
I guess you have changed the fuel filter? Next guess would be fuel heater is getting air in the line. On a couple of 01's ive seen the fuel line between the fuel tank and frame have a whole rubbed in them and would cause air to get in the line.
 
DEZLFREK said:
mine did this for a long time. i replaced the rubber hoses and still had the sam issues. i ended up putting a holly blue as a pusher pump and then found that the lift pump rubber hoses were leaking.. maybe try and pressurize the tank and check for leaks...
Click to expand...

How did you like the holley blue? I know william was using one for a while, and then traded out. Did you do it for pressure or just because? I only ask because I have one sitting here, but I modified the OFV and I'm sitting pretty at 40psi right now.

Sorry to threadjack.
 
Could also be the strainer or strainer gasket. Either way I'd replace it if you haven't already.
 
i really did it because i was having low power issues combined with when i had low fuel in the tank i constanly would have idle issues.. i just ran it on the frame and it also showed me where it was leaking air between the strainer/heater and the pump on the lift pump. it will not hurt having the extra volume available
 
It definitely sounds like you are getting air in the lines. I would check all your fuel lines from the injection pump to the injectors and the return line on the injectors. It may be a small fuel leak not even big enough for the fuel to reach the ground from the leak. Look around all the injectors, if it looks damp at all there is most likely a leak and it will be sucking air. It could also be the sealing washers on the return line from the injectors where the banjo bolt is to the bigger fuel line between the injection pump and the firewall. Check all the copper horseshoe washers on the return line too. If any of the rubber fuel lines are damp from fuel its probably a leaker. I hope this helps a little bit anyways. good luck
 
ok guys that is alot of help so today it looks like i know what i am doing.

and i forgot to tell you guys i had my buddys shop replace some coffee strainer lookin things because they thogh it cold be the prob it was clooged up to.

and on the lift pump he replace the 90 degree hose with a new one and he said he presserized the fuel tank lookin for leaks and to help start it i guess he said.

has any one every used a smoke system to find a leak? at my work we have one to find evap leaks on reg cars i keep thinkin about trying to smoke the gas tank and see if i can find a leak that way?

so can i rule out the injection pump? i spend to much time lookin at them and the prices for them and it makes me not want to work on the truck any more lol :(
 
Doesn't sound like the IP at all, really just sounds like air is getting in the fuel lines somewhere right something is clogged.


No offense, but are you Sure you didn't let a piece of gunk or dirt get into a line swapping stuff? It's a long shot, but just racking my brain.
 
My 97 would do this. So I would change the fuel filter. . . . . EVERY 2000 MILES!!!!! But seriously, have you changed the fuel filter??? Over the years an algea builds up in the tank and random dirt enters when fueling. I had to drop my tank and clean it out.
 
Get it started and check fuel pressure at idle and then at 2500 rpm free rev. I'll bet the overflow valve needs to be replaced, and with a truck that old, probably the gasket on the strainer the preheater fuel bowl assembly before the lift pump.
 
the strainer and gasket where done already and the fuel filter was done 6 months ago the truck had a filter relocation kit on it i removed thinking it was the issues and put it back to stock.
 
check the preheater they can be a peta for air leaks, I bypassed mine no more problems.
 
One thing I didn't see mentioned above that has actually happened to me is where the wire harness plugs in to the fuel heater. It was leaking enough air around the pins to cause exactly the problems you described.

Good Luck.
 
will bypassing the heater make it hard to start in the winter i do like in CT and it can get cold here?

and also i willl look at the heater plug for leak i just went out and primed it and tried to fire it and it started for a second did its chugin and smokeing and stalled and the batterys are dead just about so on the charger they go.
 
i would delete the heater, it really doesnt do anything from what ive read on here minus catch your truck on fire. i would run new line from the tank to the injection pump. also check the connection's on the fuel tank, mine had small holes in them. for the winter i would block off your grill and just plug it in. also check your boot on the shut off soleniod. it cost like $15 to replace and if its torn or stretched it wont hold the solenoid up and will cause a hard start.
 
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