Had an interesting moment this morning, I was crusing along in my truck and it said 1/8 of a tank (trying to squeeze it, bad idea I know) and as I was driving I could tell it wasn't running right, but I thought I was imagining it. Well a little while later it started loosing power, I canned it and all I saw was the tach getting lower and lower till finally it died and I'm along side the road. (A busy 4 lane highway I might add)

Crank crank crank. Nothing, no smoke, no nothing.

So I thought "Oh great! I should have bought a CKP sensor!" Of cousre I also felt that I had to wait for somthing to happen to do it. Also a bad idea.

So I let it sit thinking it might fire back up in a bit.

Cranked and cranked nothing.

So I switched to the full tank (I know what a concept! I need to stop being so cheap!) And I cranked again. No smoke or anything. So for the heck of it I kept cranking, and I started to see smoke, and the engine speed started to increase untill finally it was running. Horrible idle but running.

I let it sit and run for a bit, then took off and it cleared itself right up. And It ran great and I got everything else done. So pretty sure this was just being stupid and letting it run out of fuel. I would have thought though that I would have had to the red before I ran out. I guess not!

Needless to say I did stop at the International dealer and bought myself a CKP sensor anyways.

So my question is, is this common on our trucks? The fuel gauge thing. Believe me this will be the last time I let it fall below 1/4 before switching tanks!

 

I can run mine down to below E on both tanks, haven't ran out yet. Did that only twice, and only because there was no where to get fuel! Maybe you have a broken pickup in the tank.

 

Mine was the same as Darin's

 

Well it makes me wonder if it was fuel then. Unless its like you say and there is a broken pick up in the tank. I can only imagine how much diesel has been run through that tank over the course of 357,000 miles.

Is it pretty safe to rule out the CKP sensor at this point?

 

Sure sounds like it was just out of fuel. I'd just throw the sensor in the glove box along with a 10mm wrench, you'll need it sometime.

 

There is a screen on the bottom of the pickup that falls off and will cause you to run out if fuel around a 1/8-1/4 tank

Normally when a CPS starts to fail it will cause the truck to die and start right back up

I'm gonna say your gauge is off or the screen fail off

 

Oh I don't doubt that! I had been meaning to get one for awhile now.

I have never run a diesel out of fuel before but now I will know the warning signs of when to switch if it ever happens again.

Would it be worth it to pull the tank down and replace the pick up lines? I guess what Im asking is there alot involved in doing it?

 

On my truck when the needle hits empty I have a 10 gal reserve in the rear and 4 gal reserve in the front.

I always try to run the rear tank empty before I switch. You now know when to switch. When you start loosing power you have plenty of time to switch. I always try to do it on the highway.

When I get a chance I want to pull the rear 38 gal tank and see if I can adjust the float to be more accurate.

Richard

 

I guess thats a way to tell how accurate the gauge is. I'll have to see how much it takes when I fill it up tomorrow. If its close to capacity then I'll know my gauge is off. If its off by a gallon or two, then I'll know I pry have a broken pickup in the tank.

 

on mine i had just got it, it started sputtering and losing power. i thought it was something major as i had 1/8 left on the guage. no other vehicles i've owned had issues before the E. (wife seems to think that stands for Enough). I pulled into a parking lot and started looking for leaks, loose wires, smoke, something. nope switched tanks and it came back to life. i had heard horror stories of guys running diesels dry and having to be towed to a shop to prime the fuel system!! Ahhhhh not ok. now i switch at 1/4 and fill up at the next 1/4. I get about 2 weeks out of that.

glad you didn't end up actually stranded, and now you know when to quit being cheap.

 

Haha yeah I learned my lesson. I haven't had a vehicle that did that either. I do have one that when it's right on E you better get to the gas station! I think I'll just do that and not go below 1/4. That's a safe bet.

And yes I'm glad I didn't get stranded with air in the system! Although can our trucks get air locked being direct injection? Just curious. It took it a while to get going but when I saw the smoke I knew it would eventually fire. And it's run fine every since.

 

Front tank gauge is wacky, I don't trust it below 1/4 tank. Rear tank is right on. Yep, run out of fuel a few times though.

 

Mine has run out twice on me. Never had trouble with restarting. I did change the fuel filter just to be safe but it didn't look any worse for the wear. Still don't want to run out anymore. Having that 2nd tank always tempts me to take chances. I've never run out with a single tank vehicle

 

These are very expensive injectors to be running dry. I alway switch tanks before it starts losing power

 

I have a fuel pressure gauge on the pillar.i see fluctuation long before any power loss.it really is a life saver..1/8 or so and its a you never know proposition below that.