Stuck in the woods with a full tank-need a list!

[duke3478]

Need a hand from my IDI buddies. My truck is 7 miles deep in the Dixie Nat. Forest, and it died when I was letting it idle to warm up while we cleaned up the camp. Didn't switch tanks when I should have, and it ran the rear dry.

I figurEd I needed the old crank-to-prime, (front tank is full) but two batteries worth of ten seconds on two minutes off didn't do it. I have air spitting out at the schrader, so I suspect it's sucking it in between the tank selector valve and lift pump.

What I need to know is hose/ line size I can pack into the woods to fix the air intrusion while laying on my back in the pine needles. I got it to fire once for a few seconds, after half hour of cranking, it raced, then died. I also fried the starter switch and have to hotwire it at the solenoid. Is there a fuse? Fusible link?

Need a shopping list to get what I need to limp back to town, or at least out of the woods to some concrete.
Thanks for looking!

 

[Goofyexponent]

1/4" for the return, and 5/16" for the supply.

Save yourself some trouble and just get a little 12 volt fuel pump and stick it in the supply line....hot wire it to the battery and let her pump the air out of the schrader valve. Crank with your FOOT TO THE FLOOR and see if she will kick.

 

[bghnkinf350]

Take a 5/8 inch open end, with two new batteries with you and a jumper wire. Loosen all the injection lines at the injectors, 1/4 turn or so. Jump the FSS to the battery. Hold the throttle open while you crank it for 10 seconds each time. Keep doing this until you see fuel seeping out of each injector. Tighten each injector as you see the fuel coming out. The truck should start after a little more cranking. You can then limp it home and replace the switch.

I had this same problem a few weeks ago.

 

[Diesel JD]

It's actually a 5/16" return and a 3/8" ID supply line.

 

[icanfixall]

Guys.. Way to many hose sizes floating around this post without clear information as to whats what. The lines from the tanks to the mechanical lift pump are 3/8. From the lift pump to the filter is another 3/8 line. From the filter to the injection pump is 5/16. The return lines off the injectors is 1/4 if you have anything but the turbo engine. If its a true turbo ingine it will have 5/16 returns. No the return line back to the tanks is 5/16 no matter what truck you have...
About the new batteries... Good call. Hopefully a starter wont be needed soon..
About cranking with the hard lines loose... That can be done but its far better to leave them tight. Crank for 10 or 20 seconds. Then crack loose each line and look and listen for fuel and air to purge out. Mel showed this to me and it really works. If you feel you can disable the glow plugs try some ether but in small amounts. Holding the throttle wide open will purge more air and fuel out of the system. An electric lift pump is a great idea too. Just a cheapy spliced into the main feed line from the tanks will work.... In the future what are you never going to do again.... Run a tank that low ever again....

 

[gatorman21218]

If you feel you can disable the glow plugs try some ether but in small amounts.

AS A LAST RESORT but spray as little as posible while cranking. to disable glowplugs, you can pull the 8 wires off of them or you can remove the two yellow wires off of the GP relay. Careful those wires are always hot so tape them up


ALSO if you ran her bone dry then you can spin off the fuel filter and fill it up with diesel, atf, 10w30 whatever. that will cut down on the bleeding time.

and yes crank at WOT.

 

[bghnkinf350]

For the old style, you can disable the glow Plugs by pulling the small red wire off the relay.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

It's actually a 5/16" return and a 3/8" ID supply line.

^^^ What he said.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Were it myself and my truck and plain old cranking wouldn't bring up the fuel (or in my true case, working the piston-pump mounted primer-pump or flipping on the auxilliary electric pump), I would already have dis-abled the glow-plugs (again, my engine don't have any), popped off the intake, and laid the ether to it while cranking.

If ether don't get it fired up and running, it's log-chain time.

 

[Ironman03R]

Guys I know for a fact that in my 94 with a factory turbo the fuel supply line from the tank to the lift pump is 5/16" and plastic with quick disconect ends you need the special tool for. I know the older trucks are different, just throwing that info out there.

 

[subway]

might sound crazy but i have used a handheld propane torch to get my engine to light off before after a stubbern purge with some fuel system work. i held the trigger down halfway to not ignite the torch but put the gas into the intake. i started small with only a few seconds but worked up to about 20 seconds of propane. the engine would catch for a few seconds like a lawnmower would with starting fluid.

after a couple of times the fuel system cleared up. still very flammible but better than starting fluid in a diesel in my opinion.

 

[duke3478]

Thank y'all so much for the info, I'm pretty sure if I get ten feet each of 5/16 and 3/8 I'll have her. I'll also fill the filter. No ether for me, she's a good starter usually and I've been thru a purge without this much trouble before. Wish I had a place to get a pump nearby but I don't.
Any ideas k for the starter switch? No start power to the little red signal wire at the solenoid.

 

[duke3478]

Thank y'all so much for the info, I'm pretty sure if I get ten feet each of 5/16 and 3/8 I'll have her. I'll also fill the filter. No ether for me, she's a good starter usually and I've been thru a purge without this much trouble before. Wish I had a place to get a pump nearby but I don't.
Any ideas k for the starter switch? No start power to the little red signal wire at the solenoid.

 

[Agnem]

Do NOT loosen injector lines. That only causes more problems then it solves. The pump will not pump air into the lines. When the plungers don't see fuel anymore, the engine STOPs. It's that simple. My recommendation would be to take a 6 gallon boat can with a lenght of hose, and a nipple assortment and put the can on the roof of the truck and run the hose right to the filter head inlet. No fuel pump required. To prime, hold the shrader open and have someone blow air with their mouth into the fuel fill until there is fuel. Once you've done that, the transfer pump in the IP will do the rest, and you will get out of the woods to where you can fix it properly without pine needles in your underwear.

 

[NapaBavarian]

I know it has been mentioned but seemed to be glossed over, fill that fuel filter, I've done this a couple times and it seems to work every time for me.