Ok so just bought a 1995 E350 Short bus, with the 7.3 power stroke. When i got it everything seemed to be fine engine wise, Needed some break work and wheel bearings did all that, The real problem came after I had it up and running, Turns out the fuel gauge doesn't work, and what looked like half a tank was really almost nothing, so it ran out, not completely dead but coughing and sputtering, went out and got 10 gallons and filled it back up, got it up my drive way where it first started to die, its a steep hill, as i was turning around to back it in to the garage it started to choke and then died, then i started it back up got it in the garage and it did the same thing, and once more, couldnt keep it running. tried bleeding it at the fuel pump and the connectors that run into the back of the fuel rail,



I figured air in the system, bleed the injectors, first of all how do i get to them on these engines?

Then this morning I got up went out to try bleeding it again, it wouldn't fire, turns over and cranks fine, have had the batteries trickle charging all night and throughout the day, they are all good, I plunged in the block heater to help things out a bit,

So far i have, Bleed it at the fuel pump, bleed the two lines on the forward side of the fuel pump, bleed it at the two connectors at the back of the engine where it goes in to the fuel rail, opened up the return line under the bus and made sure i had good flow there, replaced the fuel filter, tested pressure at the fuel pump, 50psi.

I am new to these engines, what am i missing.

Before yesterday it ran fine, started on the first turn every time.

 

Have you looked at the fuel filter
Is the oil full
Do you have smoke out of the tailpipe while cranking

 

Welcome to FTE !

 

Fuel filter was brand new out of the box about 7 hours ago,
No smoke out the exhaust, dont even really smell diesel,

 

and have check the oil several times today just because I was scratching my head and had nothing else to do, its good.

 

after changing the filter , do you still get a WTS light ?...

 

yes when I turn the key to the run position I get wait to start, then when I turn it to start it says water in fuel, and engine temp,
what does the wts indicate? good or bad, very new to these engines, most diesel experience is on marine diesels, CATS and Perkins mostly, and my 83 audi TD

 

if you drain the fuel bowl will it fill it self back up

The fuel system on these eng are pretty much the same as on the CAT

The injectors or under the valve covers

 

Wait to start means the PCM is getting power , (good)....

 

It appears to, I primed it when I replaced the filter, but there has been a lot of bleeding and fuel flowing since then, so if it wasn't filling back up I'm sure I would have lost fuel somewhere down the line by now.

 

yeah is there an easy way to get to them. or pull the turbo off and go from there?

 

You don't have to pull the turbo to get to them. You can pull the valve covers with the turbo on (providing that you can get to the VC's in your E-series). HOWEVER, you shouldn't need to do any bleeding of the fuel system. The system is designed in such a way that it should be self bleeding. One thing that you can check is to pull the fuel filter again and look on the driver side of the fuel bowl. There is a hole in that side of the bowl about 1/4" in diameter. That hole leads out into the fuel pressure regulator assembly. There is a little screen in there that likes to get gunked up and when it does, the FPR doesn't work as it should. On these engines the FPR is designed as an air separator as well, so if that screen is plugged up, it may not be removing the air form the fuel system and self-priming as it should be. Take a q-tip and pull all the fuzz off one end then use the stick to gently scrape and clean all the junk off that FPR screen. If you're really feeling ambitious, you can pull the whole FPR assembly off the side of the bowl (there are only two bolts that hold it on) and give it a very thorough cleaning. The fuel bowl should re-fill itself if you drain it (small yellow handle on the passenger side of the bowl is the drain-turn it clockwise to open it and drain the bowl).

The other thing you can do is to check the fuel pump pressure while cranking the engine. You can use a stick style tire gauge for this (use a cheap one b/c the fuel may ruit the seals in it). There is a Schraeder valve on the outside of the FPR assembly on the driver side of the fuel bowl. Remove the black plastic cap and check the pressure while someone is cranking it. Press firmly and keep your face out of the way as fuel may spray. As long as you are seeing 20 or so PSI of fuel pressure while you're cranking it, you should be good to go.

Another thing you can check is the High Pressure Oil Pump (HPOP) reservoir. It is right in the front of the engine, right on top (rectangular in shape). It has a sensor on the passenger side and a small plug on the on the driver side. Pull that plug and look into the reservoir. These engines use HEUI injectors (much like the CAT engines) and they fire off of high pressure oil. That oil is pumped into that reservoir from the crankcase when the engine is running, but with a lot of cranking it is possible that the reservoir is empty and you're not firing any fuel. Top it off with good clean (diesel rated) engine oil. As long as it is within 1/2" of the top of the reservoir you're probably good to go.

Battery voltage is another source of issues on these when they go down. The PCM needs to see a pretty solid voltage or it won't have enough juice to fire the injectors. Make sure you 12+ volts on both batteries or you can always jump it to another vehicle if you're in doubt. Even with enough power to crank it over, if you don't have a minimum threshold of power (I think 10.5 volts) while cranking the IDM (Injector Drive Module) won't fire the injectors.

Sorry, for the long post here but welcome to the site and good luck getting your PSD going again.

 

Thanks for the help guys, love the detail. I am going to go check the high pressure oil now, I stuck a plug in jump start box on it and tried cranking that way just to make sure I had power. I am also just going to change the oil completely while im in there. ill keep you posted.

 

oil is right up to the top of the high pressure oil reservoir. what kind of voltage should I be getting on that sensor on the top? also where do the injector wires run back to? and what kind of readings/voltages should I be getting from them? I am kind of at a loss as to what else could cause the whole system not to fire, especially sense it was running at least starting and running for a little bit before I called it quits for the night, and now after just sitting for a few hours it wont fire at all.

 

How long have you been cranking? It can take awhile to get the air out.