Ok guys it been awhile so here we go. I was driveing yesterday and my truck just died,so i called for back up got a ride bought a fuel filter and put it in and nothing. i keep killing my batteries trying to get the damn thing primed by this i mean i cant get a straight stream of fuel to come out of the bleeder above my fuel filter. The truck is and 84 and its probly never had the fuel pump changed or tank cleand out. I poured alout of nastys out of the old filter but it was only 1 month old i had similar problems amonth ago and i changed the filter best its ran since i owned it. Can someone give me some insite to what might be going on. O yes i dont think it makes a diff but all my glow plugs are new. but also im shooting lots of white smoke when she tries to fire off.

 

well i just crawled out from under the beast and, i found that the fule pump was loose. I tighted it. could this be my problem i wonder. im chargeing the batteries noiw we shall soon find out

 

if your fp was loose it wasnt pumping correctly and i bet you were losing oil out of there too. I dont know what kind of damage that might have cause the cam arm on the pump but if it still doesnt work, they are cheap. Sounds like that was it but like you said, we shall see.

 

Dirty filter will cause low fuel pressure, loose pump will give less stroke. If the fuel level is at or near 1/4 full and you run out of fuel it will be the fuel pickup/filter assy is broken off in the tank. This will allow water and any contminants to remain in the tank and not be removed to the filter for collection. Also your age vehicle has a water separator/drain over by the booster in the corner....... if it is still connected drain it. If it leaks after shutting it off jamb a bolt up the hose or install a shut off spigot. Regular draining of water/contaminants is required BUT ensure it is sealed or air will get into the fuel system.

 

well all is not well. I found that i am getting fuel all the way to the injectors when i pull the small rubber hose on the first injector it shoots out fuel but when i try and bleed it from the filter mount all i get is air. PLC7 im not sure where are reffering to but Im wheeling to try almost anything. Theres a lil pump deal on the driver side thats says mopar maybe this is what ur refuring to im kinda new to the whole diesel thing ill go check it out again see what i can see

 

Is this a small electric pump? It seems that you are not getting fuel to the Inj pump. Is that small pump plumbed into the fuel lines?

Your basic fuel lines should come from the tank to themechanical fuel pump down on the pass side of the engine (I think this is what you said was loose, officially called the lift pump). From there it goes to the filter, then to IP, then hard metal lines to each injector. The small rubber lines on top of each injector are the return lines and they all combine and return excess back to the tank.

If you disconnect the line from the filter, but still connected to the lift pump, when cranking it should pump fuel. If no pumping, then your lift pump is bad or some other reason the lift pump is not pumping. You can prefill the filter with clean fuel to aid in filling it up completely before starting.

I suspect that small pump on your driver's side may be part of the windshield washer? Or for some other purpose not related to fuel.

 

i thougth it may be a seporator or something. I followed my fuel lines and on the driver side befor the lines hit the fuel tank there is something electrical in between the lines. i think its what switches my tanks but im not sure i am going to go see if my lifter is bad. If it is would it still be pumping air and and why is there fuel getting to the line on the first injector but not the bleeder valve THANKYOU

 

To see if you are indeed getting fuel to where it needs to be, pull the hose off of the IP that goes to the return system and crank it over. If you are getting fuel to the injectors but not the schrader valve, it would seem that you have either seriously low pressure or a blockage. From what you were saying with the bits and chunks in the filter, it wouldnt surprise me if it was blocked. Unscrew it all the way and check it out. You might just have fuel where it needs to be but it might be low pressure. If you are indeed seeing white smoke out the pipe when cranking it should be able to fire or at least try if its hot enough. You sure about the GP's?

 

well i gota ride to the store and i bought some starting fluid but it just wouldent bust over i dont know tommorows a new day i will try disconecting the that line and see if im getting fule thanx guys

 

hmmmm, have you tried checking the fuel shut off switch? its the front connector on top of the IP, there will be two spade type connectors on top on the right side top of the IP. With the key on, pull it off and then touch it again just to make sure you hear a click. Off and on with the connector and make sure you hear it engaging and disengaging. Know what i mean?

 

i am in fact getting fuel and the fuel shut off is working correctly. today i pulled my lines from the seporator and bypassed it, one question i have is the electrical going to it is this important or can it simply be disreguarded. I as well went around and made sure none of my other lines where leaking air in to the system,I still can not get a steady flow threw the shrader valve. tommorows friday ill be installing a new pump with my fingers crossed , and im gona try installing just my front tank from the seperator switch next to the tanks. Im really hopeing all this effort will pay off. One other question since im new to this must the glow plugs get hot even in 95 degree weather for the motor to fire off cause i say yes my buddy says thats only for winter.

 

I'm new here, but have owned my '85 F250 since 98, and have done a lot of work to it in that time. To answer your GP question, you shouldn't really need them in that temp, although if your automatic acctuator is still working, it will most likely come on for at least a couple of seconds. IIRC 2 seconds is the minimum it will ignite the glow plugs every time you start it. I personally have had horrible luck with the auto-ignitor (it blows within days of installing a new one) and have had it bi-passed with a manual, push-button switch essentially the entire 14 years I've owned it with no problems.

Since I have total control of the GP's, I only use them when I have to, which is usually only when the ambient temperature is below 70 degrees. However, this is with an engine that I installed 4 years ago and has 45K miles on it. The original engine (187K miles when it overheated and cracked) had some issues with compression loss and needed the GP's every time it started unless of course it had already been run recently.

As for your fuel problem, I haven't had the same issue, but from what you've said I would imagine you've got some issues with trash in your tanks. I know when I swapped the engine I dropped both tanks and both had about a half a cup of trash in them, with the rear sending unit being in pieces, sitting in the tank. They aren't that hard to drop with a decent floor jack to help you get it up there to re-install, and is a cheap thing to check out that might fix your problem. Obviously, if you find more trash in their, you probably need to change your filter again. Caution, be careful with removing the fuel lines from the sending units, as the connector's are most likely very brittle.

 

ill replace glow plugs over replacing batteries and a starter. If my truck takes longer than .5 seconds to start, something is wrong. When the truck is hot, of course you dont need them but you get my thinking. Maybe. Either way, i am curious to see if the pump helps the problem. Junk in the fuel filter is never a good sign, might be algae growing so if you saw slimy junk or it smelled other than diesel fuel, get some biocide and three extra filters, changing them often as it will die off and gum up fast.

 

well i would just like to thank everyone who helped me get the bugs out of my system. I have finally got her back on the road and shes runs better then ever. It was the fuel pump but in doing so ill also bypassed the water seporator seeing how its bassically thier for looks but thatnx again everyone

 

Noones gona belive this. so yesterday i took her for a drive and it did it again WITH A BRAND NEW FUEL PUMP. Today im gona drop the tank clean it all out and see if i cant get that damn pump to unstick so i can use it again. I hope crap in my tank is my problem cause she fired right off as soon as i put the pump on drove ten mile and now shes acting up again.any sugestions would be appriciated