Howdy.....now that I own a Dodge truck this forum is handy. I've done some searching to build a knowledge base, but I want to post this problem before I get deep into it.

Truck has been running fine, although over the last couple months I've barely noticed an intermittent miss at speed. Yesterday morning it won't start. Turns over rapidly......the battery is strong. I've got spark to the plugs, but no gas smell even after pumping the pedal and trying to flood it. It coughs for a couple seconds, but won't catch. It feels fuel-starved. I let it sit for hours and then overnight between attempts. No change.

Many threads say at this point it is probably the fuel pump, and the tank has to be dropped. Is there anything else I should look at first, because I can't drop it myself, and I suspect that will be expensive at the shop. Arrgh!

Would I learn anything by trying starter fluid, I guess just to see if it will fire up? Then if it dies I'll know it is for sure a fuel delivery problem.

Any ideas?

 

Hit it with starting fluid. (carefully...) If it will run for a bit, check and make sure you are getting power back to the pump while cranking. (need a friend to help.) if you have power back there, replace the pump. Stay away from Air-tex.... unless you like changing your pump every year. Denso, or Delphi are good.

 

Thanks.....is there anything else, ie, fuse or relay, that can cause the pump to not function? That would be a whole lot cheaper.

 

Update.....I sprayed some gasoline in the air filter and it fired right up and stayed running for 15 minutes. Sounds great, but now I'm afraid I haven't seen the last of this, and I don't want to get stranded on the road.

What's a person to do?

 

Suppose you could test fuel pressure, should hint at either pump problems or no pump problems.

 

does your truck have a test port on the fuel rail. it looks like an air valve. see if you can borrow/rent a fuel pressure gauge and check it. should be about 49 psi. it will likely relapse and leave you stranded.

an alternative to dropping the tank is to raise the bed. if you have a jack, some blocks, saw horses, etc, and patience you can lift the bed and access the top of the tank.

 

I've got a local shop that will raise the bed and replace the pump assembly for $120 if I provide the pump. That seems more than reasonable. I don't have the time to do it myself.

What I'm amazed at is how much has gone wrong with my truck in the last 5,000 miles. It has 79,000. I've had to replace the water pump, now this, and my heater doesn't work. My auto transmission makes funny sounds in reverse. And I've heard these A/C compressors don't last that long.

I wish I didn't have to say it, but I just sold my Toyota with 185,000 on it and all I ever did was change the brake pads, tires, oil, and tune it. All original. Nothing failed.

 

$120 seems pretty reasonable. its a 1-2 hour job.

before you do that - ask the shop to check the pressure with a gauge to verify that's your problem before you spend several hundred bucks. its only a 5 minute job.

if you do need a pump, shop for the best price at amazon, ebay, rockauto (w/discount code) and advance-ONLINE w/discount code). after you know your best price on a quality brand, ask the shop if they want to quote on supplying the part with warranty. they might have better discounts than you can get. careful on their brand.

 

10-4 on that advice. Duane Allman made me play guitar, and influenced me far more than any other player. I've been playing 40 years and there are still some things I don't know how he did. To this day I put on You Don't Love Me (Fillmore Live) and shake my head in disbelief.

On the Toyota.....it worked well, but it was a toy truck. Now I can haul stuff.

Thanks again for the help.....

 

good luck with it.

You Don't Love Me is the first song. Its such a shame there is almost no live film of Duane. What little film that does exist usually has the camera pointed in the wrong direction.

00:00 You Don't Love Me
19:15 Duane on Elizabeth Reed
23:45 Duane on Whipping Post



Duane contributed some fantastic guitar work on top of some other very talented people. i think this is one of the best.
Duane at 7:50



A very well done video to an alternate (and better) version of Layla.