I was going down the road and the fuel gauge was on empty, I thought I would be able to make it 4 more miles to the fuel station. I have two tanks, the one had about 3 gallons left and the other had just run out. I switched over to the other tank and began cranking, and cranking, and cranking, and it would not start. So I went to the gas station and got five gallons to put into the tank. The gauge went up to 1/4. It still did not start.

The tanks are switching back and fourth because I can hear the valve clicking and the gauge is changing. I changed the fuel filter again, thinking it may have sucked up some dirt. I still can't get it started. Could I have damaged the lift pump or injection pump? Any Idea's?

 

You need to get all that air out of the fuel lines, an easy solution is to remove the fuel filter and fill it up with fuel. This will help, it will take a little to get it started and it will probally stall after it runs out of fuel, it may stay running though.

Dave

http://a2ztowing.homestead.com/a2ztowing.html

 

This weekend I did what you said and filled the fuel filter. It starts up and runs on the fuel in the filter and then dies out, I did this about 10 times. I also pressed the bleeder valve while it was running and a lot of air is coming out. I also by passed the water seperator. I am still getting a lot of air. Do they take any longer to get fuel to the filter? Could I have ruined the lift pump?

 

There could be a problem with the pickup. Maybe that got damaged, i dont know alot about the fuel system becuase i have never had problems with it. just keep fillin up the fuel filter and tryin that a few times. good luck.
Jacksland

 

You may have a bad fuel pump, but I would add more fuel to the tank, if the truck is not level it may be sucking up air and that may be your problem. Also if you have dual tanks, switch back and forth a few times, it may have a sticky selector valve. My truck sticks once in a while and dont have the time to change it right now.

Dave

http://a2ztowing.homestead.com/a2ztowing.html

 

yeah I have the same problem with my tractor when the gas runs out the engine gets are in it you have to take off the fuel filter and than fill it up. Than put it back on it should start. Don't ever let it run out it's a pain in the ##### to fix.

 

I have put 15 gallons in each tank. Still no luck. I have filled the fuel filter about 25 times now and it still gets no fuel. Could I have damaged the lift pump by running out of fuel. Could I have sucked up some dirt and plugged the line?

 

Remove the supply line that goes to the fuel filter, using a remote starter switch, crank the motor and see if you get any air coming out. It is possible that you may not have run out of fuel and the fuel pump may have gone bad. It may only be a conecidence. Check that and advise.

Dave

http://a2ztowing.homestead.com/a2ztowing.html

 

I bought a new supply pump and installed it today. I did what you said and I had someone else crank it over. It cranked and cranked and.............. still no fuel. I don't know if it is an air leak because it is getting no fuel at all. I also had the batteries on charge all night and it seems to turn slower ever since I have been cranking it. Could I have hurt the batteries? I cranked for 15 seconds, let cool for 30 seconds, and so on.

Do you think I could have clogged the filter in the tank? If there is one.

 

That is interesting. I have seen similar problems on a '91 Chevy. The solution for the Chevy was to simply keep cranking the engine.

The other place I saw the problem was on a '97 Dodge as the fuel pump was going bad. The dodge had to be parked with the back raised in the air, or else air kept getting into the lines.(that was a real pain). The interesting thing about the Dodge problem was that before the problem was actually found, a service tech thought the problem was with the valves not sealing and causing a big loss of compression.

I would really hope your not experiencing compression problems, that could get real expensive real fast.

Logan

 

I did this one time. Actually, I was given alot of fuel that had water in it and needed to purge the system.
Keep the fuel filter full, then disconnect the little rubber cap on the end of the fuel manafold on the top left rear of the engine. It has been a while so if there isn't a left rear cap, just do the left front cap. Obtain a suction device such as a drill mount or hand pump. Suck fuel through the system to ensure that it is full. Replace cap and retainer. They go bad quite easily and are very cheap, so if you smell fuel normally check these little bad boys first. It should start soon afterward.
Good luck.

 

I used to have a 1987 Ford F350 rollback with a faulty gas guage. To end your running out of gas problems , unscrew your fuel filter and fill it full of trans. fluid (dextron 3). This will crank it and it will run until it bleeds out the air.It always worked for me.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 21-Feb-01 AT 10:08 PM (EST)[/font][p]I don't agree with using 100% tranny fluid in the filter. I would say 50/50 fuel/tranny fluid. What will this accomplish? I would suggest finding where it is sucking air. I think it would probably be the water seperator.

 

the reason it has been so long, is because I burned out the starter from cranking so much. I only cranked it for 15 seconds at a time. I have no idea how it burned out. I also bypassed the water seperator. Both tanks have a hal a tank now. Still no fuel is getting from the tank to the injecton pump. I also disconnected to main feed line going INTO the supply pump from the tank. I forced a piece of rubber over the line and blew 30 psi through the line. No air leakes and no fuel spraying anywhere.

What's the next suggestion? I don't want to pull the tanks!

 

Disconect the two lines going into the fuel switch, add a little air presure into the tank and see if you get fuel coming out. If so, then you may have a bad fuel valve. If not then you need to pull the tank and take a look

Dave

http://a2ztowing.homestead.com/a2ztowing.html