Couple weeks ago, maybe a month or two(I've no sense of time). The truck started running badly. Fuel filter light would start flickering on and eventually stay on and then the truck wouldn't have enough power to cruise at even 50 mph. It was suggested that it could be the lift pump, that pat was $28 at Oriely's and with the, "I complain way too much about price" discount I receive I got it down to $15. At the price and easy of install definitely worth changing. Well it didn't fix the problem, and it kept getting worse until the truck started topping out at about 30. Then I noticed that the FSV must have been stuck between tanks. Because it was drawing from the rear tank (the only one I've used in 12 years), and returning to the front tank. So I had this brilliant idea that I'd just bypass the FSV. And now that I'm layed off I have plenty of time to work on the truck and little money to do it. So I bought some Doorman nylon fuel line splice fittings and hooked the rear tank straight up to the engine. After I got everything hooked back up I pulled the schraeder valve, and jumped the starter relay about 15 sec until I had a nice stream of fuel, re-installed the valve core, started it and drove it. Made it about 2 blocks, power felt better than in a long time, and then it died. bled it again in the street, got it home and by the time i got there it seemed to have so much air in the system it would barely run.

After a thorough inspection of my shoddy work I noticed that I kinked that nylon line in two places . However when the truck isn't running they leak no fuel and I put about 18 wraps of electrical tape around them, just in case it's was one of those immaculate leaks that only draws air and never leaks fuel. But there is no change still just barely runs.

My question is: Is it possible that if those kinks are drawing air, could they draw enough to stop the truck dead in it's tracks. If Not is it possible that I just didnt' bleed enough air out of the system? I would have thought that the truck would have hit air in the lines a lot sooner if that was the case. Or worst possibility of all, could it be a bad IP .

I've got to get this truck working in the next week; I'm moving and my Mazda just isn't going to move my chest freezer.

 

A running truck shouldn't die because of air in the lines. Once you get it running, it should pretty much self-bleed.

Did you splice the return line to the rear tank as well?

 

Yep I spliced the return line to the tank too. I guess I assumed it was air because of all of the start and die's I had when the gaskets went bad on my filter bowl; and it would drain to half empty if it sat for an hour. But that Wix 33617 filter fixed that problem right up.

Every time it died on me last night it would start up pretty easy again as long as I bled the schraeder valve.

 

It could be air leaks, it just seems unlikely to me. They'd have to be pretty big.

Disconnect the soft line at the lift pump, and run a hose from the lift pump into a can of diesel on the ground. Bleed, start, and idle.

If it runs fine for 10 minutes or so, or however long it took for you to experience problems, then the lift pump, pressure lines, filter, and injector return lines aren't the problem, and your issue is in the fuel lines between the lift pump and the tank.

-Matt

 

my vote is replace lines from tank to lift pump....ive seen em suck air without leaking!!!

 

So today with an almost fresh set of eyes I looked at the darn thing again and realized that it was leaking fuel from the engine bound fuel line (big one) right off of the rear tank sending unit; apparently when I disconnected that line from the tank to keep it from siphoning onto me while I spliced the lines. I managed to completely destroy both O-rings inside the quick connector. So it was not sealing in the slightest. So I bought a new quick connector at the Auto parts store, soaked the nylon hose in boiling water for a few minutes and pushed the new connector into the hose. I then proceeded to destroy both O-rings in the new connector, bought new O-rings and spent an hour upside down trying to finagle the new O-rings into the connector with a pick set. Got those seated, greased the brass fitting on the sending unit and snapped the connector right into place.

Truck seems to run great.... for now

Lessons learned:
1) none of you would ever want me to work on your truck. Apparently, I am an ape when I work on things like this and break as much as I fix.

2) A little grease goes a long way. I've known this for years yet seem to forget it every-time I work with anything that doesn't have zerks.

3)Finesse, finesse, finesse. The application of a larger fulcrum, or bigger hammer. Isn't always a solution. Although it's way more fun.

4)Someone on some other thread told somebody else, "Don't be afraid to fix your truck." Those are words to live by, with more things than just the truck.

Thanks for all your help guys! Even when you didn't know you've given it.