today i was driving and the engine started to miss, like it was fuel starved. managed to get to town and changed out the fuel filter. no change, engine clatter like it was starved then died. Oil was just changed and is full.

I noticed fuel bowl wasnt full and that the fuel inlet from the pump was blowing air bubbles but no fuel as the fuel bowl stayed at the same level.

yes i have feul in the tank, tank is 3/4 full.

looked at the next possible culprit, the frame mounted pump, wasn't hot and seemed to run and shut off like it's supposed to. took off fuel inlet line and ended up breaking the darned plastic thing that clips it together (so the detroit boys dont have to operate a wrench). i know from this column that these clips can allow air into the line and cause a clatter but i never had this problem before. could this occur all at once or is it a more chronic problem ?

anyway, blew compressed air into the line that goes back into the tank, wiped up the diesel off the ground and out of my eyes and took off the gas cap and did it several more times. replaced the plastic hose section with real hose and clamps and started it up. it ran rough, but within minutes felt fine, ran the rest of the day without a problem.

went by the local service dude and he suggested "possibly" water had formed into ice and plugged the pipe or sediment accumulation. he sold me rotella diesle cleaner additive that i put in.

any ideas ?

seems like problem is solved, but it bugs the hair out of me not to know why or to have it happen again.

thanks in advance

 

I see you're in the AZ desert. Did you happen to be in Flag w/ sub-freezing temps?

The screen in your pick-up foot (inside tank) might be clogged up.

 

He he he you said figger. You may have fixed your problem by fixing you mistake. The quick connect you broke could have been sucking air. The in tank screen could have be partially plugged causing air to be pulled in the quick connect. The rough running after the fix is normal as it takes a while to get the air out of the system. Run it and see if the problem comes back.

 

yep, signature is old. i'm in willaims, az now and it do get cold up here.

 

Doh, I didn't see that.

 

Hey Barry, read his signature real close he's got two different kind of winches, one that gets him unstuck, and one he is stuck with..... You sure your not a transplant from Dixie.







I bet his, and Izzy's and white buffalo's have all compared notes on frying pans too.

 

yeah, but why would it suck air all of a sudden. never had the problem before. i do my own service, and know what the procedure for fuel filter change is.and have ran the sucker dry once or twice (oops). just torks me that i cant be sure it wont happen again if that wasnt the pro blem. i work in the middle of nowhere and carry survival gear due to the isolation, kinda raises the stakes.

 

"ended up breaking the darned plastic thing that clips it together" It may have been broke before you started and that was your problem. Maybe. Go Figger. Love that word, you sure your not from around here?

 

drummond-- yeah i tend to get left a lot... not super familiar with skillets but seen some come at me real fast. My last girlfriend said something like i bring it on myself, or something. I dunno, i wasn't really listening.

 

zx250-- no, i'm pretty sure i broke it right the first time, it was intact when i got fed up trying to get the damned thing apart and just "deleted" the mess, eliminated one more thing to go wrong. before that, i felt around the connecter and moved it some with the pump on and didnt see any change, not real sure it was the problem.

 

were you running antigel in the tank when this occured? if not I am leaning towards the gelled fule side of this . use a good dose of that rotella antigel,(double strength at least) and wait for it to happen again.

 

Why would you. It isn't like she was talking about your truck or something.

 

Roger that.


drummond-- thats what bugs me, the "wait for it to happen again" thing. The fuel i get in flagstaff is antifreeze green, i'm guessing they wouldnt sell fuel that gets gelled up. number 1 or number 2 i forget. it gets down to zero, zip, nada degrees here at night, ice or gelling could happen. is "power service" additive good for that ??

 

I think their anti-gel is the grey bottle. The other is white

 

But, would gelled fuel cause the air bubbles he saw? I guess if it was pre pump, yes, post pump, no way. So if he does indeed have fuel in his tank, and if it is running now without adding any, he does, the problem is most likely pre pump. Check the line good from the tank to the pump for any signs of trouble. Other than dropping and draining your tank, don't know much else to do other than wait and see.