Cranks, won't fire

[mac]

Longish story, bear with me.
On the way to the bar tonight she was stallin out every so often, losing power for a second or two and then coming back. Died completely at a stoplight but fired right back up. Then as we were turning into the parking lot, it died and wouldn't fire up again, so we pushed it into a spot and went and had our fun at the bar. On the way out the girlfriend found a few other redneck guys that new their diesels and got them to give us a hand . They messed around under the hood and tried different combinations of clutch, throttle, and cranking, and got it running in about 10 min. Not 100% sure what they did, but it involved a little ether and removing the air filter (current one is soaked with oil). Took the girl home and the truck ran fine. I headed back to my place a few hours later and it kept stalling out again as I was driving, and I'd press the clutch twice and tap the throttle a couple times (what the guys at the bar told me to do) and it would fire up and I'd keep driving. Well, that worked for about half the way. Stopped at a light and the engine died and wouldn't fire up again. I gave it some ether and tried cranking it, nothing. By the time I remembered they removed the air filter and had gone to do so, the batteries were dead so I don't know if it'll go back to life with a little more air.


So, going off that, is it more likely to be a breathing problem where it could just need a new air filter, or is there something wrong in the fuel delivery system?

 

[Goofyexponent]

Change the air and fuel filters I would imagine. sounds like she is not getting one or the other properly. It's the cheapest thing to replace, and if they have been on there for a while it should be done anyways.

 

[Compu Doc]

Also make sure your fuel pump is working. Check the oil and see if you can smell raw diesel on the dipstick. A bad fuel pump will cause stalling issues and no start issues and hard starting issues.

 

[dyoung14]

Get them batteries charged for now, then go buy a new fuel filter, dont worry about the air filter for now just take it out and throw it in the back, also buy some automatic trans fluid, or diesel kleen of some other diesel fuel treatment fill the new fuel filter full of it, see if you can get the engine to fire back up run it for about 30 seconds then shut if off for a while maybe an hour or so, then fire her back up and drive it like you stole it

 

[Goofyexponent]

Tt could be your lift pump is on its way out. Do as stated and check you diesel in your oil pan. One step at a time though, change your filter. Filling it with ATF is a good trick for a warmed engine, but diesel kleen or diesel is your best bet for a colder engine. (it's only just above freezing here, and that's what I consider a cold engine for me, it may be warmer where you are) If it runs and stalls again, pull your filter back off and see if it's full.

Are your injector caps and return lines leaking? IT could be a source of air in your fuel system. How are the contacts on your shut off solenoid. If it has a bad contact it might not be letting fuel flow to the IP. Check those as well. Is the fuel system all original parts (painted grey still)? How many miles are on your truck?

 

[zpd307]

the return lines wont make it run that bad. mine were leaking bad for a long while, it never really made it run poorly. just the first start of the day was long.

 

[Goofyexponent]

If enough air gets in there though, it won't cause it to run like that? I had mine stall once or twice because of air in the filter. Not sure how it got there, but it hasn't done it since.

 

[zpd307]

my return lines were leaving puddles of fuel in the intake, before i changed them. you could see the fuel running out from underneath the cap. mine never stalled after it started. the starts were long and rough until the air was purged, and then it ran fine all day. i dont know where you would have gotten that much air to stall out after it had been running.
i would start out by putting on a new fuel filter and then checking for cranking fuel pressure. to make sure you lift pump is working....

 

[mac]

Alright, just woke up, gonna head to the parts store in a few. The list is:
air filter
fuel filter(s)
diesel klean
Engine has I think 80k on the rebuild, driveline and frame probably have around 200k but look to have been restored, and I don't know about the body. I'm pretty sure my fuel pump is good, I have an aux one on a toggle that needs to be on, according to the PO, and I can definitely hear it running good and strong. Why do I need auto trans fluid? And where would my shutoff solenoid be? Also, since I haven't been out to look, where are my fuel filters and how many do I have? Last question, how do I tell if any of my injectors are bad? I don't recall the stickys saying how to tell, just what to do if they are bad.

 

[Goofyexponent]

Alright, just woke up, gonna head to the parts store in a few. The list is:
air filter
fuel filter(s)
diesel klean
Engine has I think 80k on the rebuild, driveline and frame probably have around 200k but look to have been restored, and I don't know about the body. I'm pretty sure my fuel pump is good, I have an aux one on a toggle that needs to be on, according to the PO, and I can definitely hear it running good and strong. Why do I need auto trans fluid? And where would my shutoff solenoid be? Also, since I haven't been out to look, where are my fuel filters and how many do I have? Last question, how do I tell if any of my injectors are bad? I don't recall the stickys saying how to tell, just what to do if they are bad.

The trans fluid is poured into the new fuel filter then it is installed. Our engines will burn used motor oil, transmission fluid, etc (so long as it is properly filtered). However with my tryings, it is hard as hell to start a cold motor on straight trans fluid, oil or anyhting but diesel klean, or diesel. do NOT use ether unless you know what you are doing and have done it before. It's a good way to ruin head gaskets, bearings, and in some bad cases, eyebrows, ringers, other body hair.

The fuel shutoff solenoid is located right on the fuel filter, filter head. When you open your hood, look to the left and there should be a filter hanging over top of the passenger side valve cover. In the attached pic, the fuel filter is at the top of the engine...it is the red filter. There is only that filter on the engine, and no others AFAIK. The wires go into the filterhead (what the filter threads onto) are the solenoid wires. Clean the contacts and put them back on. make sure they are tight, you might have to squeeze them together gently to make them stay.

When you start the motor, look for smoke. What color is it and is it a lot? Does it run rough normally and clear up when she warms up? This could be a stuck injector. If your engine was rebuilt, I would imagine the injectors are fine.


As far as the electric pump, good move! No issues of fuel in the oil pan and you could possibly run a little WMO (waste motor oil, filtered of course) in the warmer times of year.

 

[dyoung14]

atf is a good kleener to put in the fuel filter to clean the injection pump in case its kinda gumed up

 

[Goofyexponent]

atf is a good kleener to put in the fuel filter to clean the injection pump in case its kinda gumed up

Agreed! All the detergents will slowly eat away any junk in the fuel system and lube up the injectors, pump, etc.

 

[dyoung14]

Ran a quart threw mine when i changed the filter, and it has run like a dream ever since

 

[sootman73]

The fuel shutoff solenoid is located right on the fuel filter, filter head. When you open your hood, look to the left and there should be a filter hanging over top of the passenger side valve cover. In the attached pic, the fuel filter is at the top of the engine...it is the red filter. There is only that filter on the engine, and no others AFAIK. The wires go into the filterhead (what the filter threads onto) are the solenoid wires. Clean the contacts and put them back on. make sure they are tight, you might have to squeeze them together gently to make them stay.

the fuel solenoid is not on the filter head. its in the top cover of the injection pump. that is the only filter. the wires are for water in fuel and the fuel heater.

if you go to the link below it lists the part numbers for various combinations of fuel filters. you can get some with a drain on the bottom. some without and some with the piece that screws on the bottom. then there is a wire attached to the bottom plate of the filter.(the plate does not come with the fuel filter. it is a truck part like the filter head)

i run the last of the three as thats what was in my truck and it doesn't leak. others have had the bottom leak on them though.

 

[Goofyexponent]

Yep, I don;t know why I posted it as the top of the filterhead . I was reading another post at the time. good editing catch