Hey guys,
I'm having some trouble starting my truck once in a while. It seems to only happen when the fuel is below a half tank, and when the engine is cold. Sometimes I have to try 2-3 times turning it over for about 10-15 seconds each time.
I had it to a shop and they said the lift pump was doing nothing, but I have my doubts that they even checked it. If it was the lift pump wouldn't it do it all the time?
Thanks in advance for your help, I sure appreciate this forum!

 

what year truck? If you have one between 98 and 02, stop running the truck until you verify that you have good fuel pressure. If you keep running it like that you WILL destroy the injection pump as well. You may have caught it in time and you will only have to replace the lift pump. Have you checked for any codes?

 

I hate to say it, but if you've been driving it with the lift pump dead, the damage is already done.

We've seen the injection pump die in as little as 8 miles after the lift pump died.

If you're trying to crank and crank and crank it, it's like starting the motor with no oil.

The damage is done pretty fast.

 

Thanks guys for expressing the urgency of getting this thing changed out. I went and picked up the pump today, and the truck is sitting in the garage. My truck is an '02, and it has been acting this way for quite some time now, so I'm guessing there is other damage. It's strange there's no warning for this, if I didn't let my truck get down below a half tank I wouldn't have known there was a problem.
Thanks again for the help!

 

If it's acting up below 1/2 tank, drop the tank and check the pickup lines.

You may just have a cracked line that's letting air in.