Rogermiller
Registered User
Hello everyone! Longtime reader, but first time poster here… And I’m in a crisis. I think I’ve read every fuel related thread on here, and none match all the details of my problem. I’m expecting tons of replies stating ‘air intrusion in your return lines’ or ‘your shower head fell off’, but I really think I’m dealing with something weirder…
Back story on the truck: It’s a 1983 f-250 with a 6.9 and t-19. I bought and restored it about 15 years ago, as it was always a dream truck of mine. For the record, I’m an experienced mechanic and restorer. I mostly mess with old Mercedes and Ford products. My show cars are Mercedes, but main daily drivers are a ‘48 Ford pickup and a ‘29 Model A. This truck was also a daily for years, and I’ve put tons of miles on it hauling my camper and trailers for business. I installed the whole Banks Sidewinder kit in 2014 or so. This truck has always performed flawlessly, and I’m a huge fan of the 6.9 IDI.
About five years ago I parked it in a storage unit temporarily, as I had too many vehicles here at the house and needed them out of the way while I was building out my shop. I can’t stand to leave cars outside in the weather, so a few went to storage. It was meant to be for a month or so, but my wife suddenly passed away and life completely shut down. All those cars that were meant to sit for a month sat for five years.
I’m now having to move, and I’ve been working my way through those cars and selling them off. This truck, though, I intend to keep. It was in good working order when parked, and has been indoors the whole time. As the post title states, it has me pulling what little hair I have left out now!
I towed it to my shop, installed two new batteries, changed all fluids and filters, and since then I’ve been in an endless loop of effortless starts followed by a few minutes of perfect running and then a stumble and die. I’ve bypassed the tank selector valve and water separator, replaced every soft line in between, replaced the lift pump (original mechanical), added new fuel, and after every operation I bleed the air and fire it up only to have it die a few (maybe up to ten?) minutes later. Running the lift pump directly to a diesel jug is often mentioned as if it is a quick and easy thing to do… I will admit I haven’t done that.
What is consistent is a lack of fuel pressure at the schrader valve when it dies… But it has good pressure there at other times. At this point I’m thinking I have no choice but to pull the bed and see if something weird is going on in the tank. I tried to drop it, but the filler neck is a crispy critter. Before I cut it to remove I looked to see how hard a replacement was to obtain, and decided I better not mess it up. Time is somewhat of an issue right now… I NEED this truck back in action ASAP. I’m out in the sticks alone, so pulling the bed isn’t a very exciting prospect. Anyone have any brilliant ideas before I try to hire help to remove the bed? If you’ve read this far, thank you
Back story on the truck: It’s a 1983 f-250 with a 6.9 and t-19. I bought and restored it about 15 years ago, as it was always a dream truck of mine. For the record, I’m an experienced mechanic and restorer. I mostly mess with old Mercedes and Ford products. My show cars are Mercedes, but main daily drivers are a ‘48 Ford pickup and a ‘29 Model A. This truck was also a daily for years, and I’ve put tons of miles on it hauling my camper and trailers for business. I installed the whole Banks Sidewinder kit in 2014 or so. This truck has always performed flawlessly, and I’m a huge fan of the 6.9 IDI.
About five years ago I parked it in a storage unit temporarily, as I had too many vehicles here at the house and needed them out of the way while I was building out my shop. I can’t stand to leave cars outside in the weather, so a few went to storage. It was meant to be for a month or so, but my wife suddenly passed away and life completely shut down. All those cars that were meant to sit for a month sat for five years.
I’m now having to move, and I’ve been working my way through those cars and selling them off. This truck, though, I intend to keep. It was in good working order when parked, and has been indoors the whole time. As the post title states, it has me pulling what little hair I have left out now!
I towed it to my shop, installed two new batteries, changed all fluids and filters, and since then I’ve been in an endless loop of effortless starts followed by a few minutes of perfect running and then a stumble and die. I’ve bypassed the tank selector valve and water separator, replaced every soft line in between, replaced the lift pump (original mechanical), added new fuel, and after every operation I bleed the air and fire it up only to have it die a few (maybe up to ten?) minutes later. Running the lift pump directly to a diesel jug is often mentioned as if it is a quick and easy thing to do… I will admit I haven’t done that.
What is consistent is a lack of fuel pressure at the schrader valve when it dies… But it has good pressure there at other times. At this point I’m thinking I have no choice but to pull the bed and see if something weird is going on in the tank. I tried to drop it, but the filler neck is a crispy critter. Before I cut it to remove I looked to see how hard a replacement was to obtain, and decided I better not mess it up. Time is somewhat of an issue right now… I NEED this truck back in action ASAP. I’m out in the sticks alone, so pulling the bed isn’t a very exciting prospect. Anyone have any brilliant ideas before I try to hire help to remove the bed? If you’ve read this far, thank you
