TestDriver
Registered User
Well, this is one I have not found using the search function on this web site.
Two days ago, my truck stalled as I was pulling into my driveway at about midnight. Convenient but still a pain. It had not broken down on me before. Lots of cranking and even some ether later, I decided the fuel filter needed replacement. After removing it, I looked inside to find a strange sight. One of the filter element's pleats had folded completely into the filter outlet tube. I assumed this was the problem and a new filter would take care of it. Not so. After much cranking and more ether, I gave up till the next morning.
Yesterday morning, I bled the lines to the injectors and after some cranking, it came to life. Later in the day, I drove into town on an errand and it stalled as I was slowing down for an intersection. I never started and after I pulled it home, I thought more about the defective filter. My thought was, the filter may have torn as it folded in and let junk past it to the IP. So, I proceeded to to take the IP inlet cone off to clean the screen.
What I found was a lot of gunk had accumulated inside the cone itself but most of it fell out on removal. Nothing really stuck to the screen except for a lot of metal shavings. These I could not explain. I filter before fueling through automotive oil filters and the shavings should have been caught by then. So, I blamed the log type Ford oil cooler I've been using as having contamination in it. I had installed it after my last filter change and any leftover shavings could have been washed out of it and into the filter that eventually tore.
I proceeded to clean the cone, screen and the surfaces around them. Of note is, I also checked the top of the pump through the return port and there was fuel all the way up there, though the check valve seemed to be stuck closed. I cleaned the valve and reattached everything. After a bit of priming, it came back to life.
I went on the exact same route and it happened to me again! The thing stalled on another intersection! Now I'm befuddled.
Where else should I check for gunk? Does the top of the pump get fuel from the cone before of after the screen? Is there a way for the pump to fail and create shavings that show up in the dirty side of the inlet screen?
Here is more info. This happened on all three instances. While driving home two days ago, and after pulling out the next two times, I switched tanks to the rear tank. Up till now, that tank was fueled exclusively with straight diesel. On the last fill up, I pumped it full of a 2/3 veggie and 1/3 diesel mix.
When filling up with diesel, the rear tank had a bad habit of spitting up a good amount of fuel when it topped. I got the hang of it so it did not happen much after the first couple of times but still, it happened to some extent. Every time it did, the stuff coming out was very rusty and dirty looking. The first time it happened, this caused me concern. After a while, I stopped worrying about it and just drove. After all, nothing was going wrong and I was only using this tank for purging. Now, I'm wondering if putting the mix did something to release more contaminants into the fuel filter. Is this possible? The mix I put into it came from the same batch I had just burnt through in the front tank.
I think I'll check the newly installed filter for contaminants. If it's full of stuff, I'll replace it and proceed to install another filter before it. In the meantime, I'd appreciate help with the pump questions.
Thanks.
Two days ago, my truck stalled as I was pulling into my driveway at about midnight. Convenient but still a pain. It had not broken down on me before. Lots of cranking and even some ether later, I decided the fuel filter needed replacement. After removing it, I looked inside to find a strange sight. One of the filter element's pleats had folded completely into the filter outlet tube. I assumed this was the problem and a new filter would take care of it. Not so. After much cranking and more ether, I gave up till the next morning.
Yesterday morning, I bled the lines to the injectors and after some cranking, it came to life. Later in the day, I drove into town on an errand and it stalled as I was slowing down for an intersection. I never started and after I pulled it home, I thought more about the defective filter. My thought was, the filter may have torn as it folded in and let junk past it to the IP. So, I proceeded to to take the IP inlet cone off to clean the screen.
What I found was a lot of gunk had accumulated inside the cone itself but most of it fell out on removal. Nothing really stuck to the screen except for a lot of metal shavings. These I could not explain. I filter before fueling through automotive oil filters and the shavings should have been caught by then. So, I blamed the log type Ford oil cooler I've been using as having contamination in it. I had installed it after my last filter change and any leftover shavings could have been washed out of it and into the filter that eventually tore.
I proceeded to clean the cone, screen and the surfaces around them. Of note is, I also checked the top of the pump through the return port and there was fuel all the way up there, though the check valve seemed to be stuck closed. I cleaned the valve and reattached everything. After a bit of priming, it came back to life.
I went on the exact same route and it happened to me again! The thing stalled on another intersection! Now I'm befuddled.
Where else should I check for gunk? Does the top of the pump get fuel from the cone before of after the screen? Is there a way for the pump to fail and create shavings that show up in the dirty side of the inlet screen?
Here is more info. This happened on all three instances. While driving home two days ago, and after pulling out the next two times, I switched tanks to the rear tank. Up till now, that tank was fueled exclusively with straight diesel. On the last fill up, I pumped it full of a 2/3 veggie and 1/3 diesel mix.
When filling up with diesel, the rear tank had a bad habit of spitting up a good amount of fuel when it topped. I got the hang of it so it did not happen much after the first couple of times but still, it happened to some extent. Every time it did, the stuff coming out was very rusty and dirty looking. The first time it happened, this caused me concern. After a while, I stopped worrying about it and just drove. After all, nothing was going wrong and I was only using this tank for purging. Now, I'm wondering if putting the mix did something to release more contaminants into the fuel filter. Is this possible? The mix I put into it came from the same batch I had just burnt through in the front tank.
I think I'll check the newly installed filter for contaminants. If it's full of stuff, I'll replace it and proceed to install another filter before it. In the meantime, I'd appreciate help with the pump questions.
Thanks.