I had to take one of the ranch's pwrstrk fords on a rescue mission today....We live 64 miles from town and my wife's 98.5 Dodge 24 valve quit her. She called me to inform me that when she came out of the store... the truck wouldnt start.. yeah it has fuel.. filled it this morning. Yeah...I can hear the lift pump run then shut off... So, I jump in the ford and head there with spare fuel filter and tool box... Got there, changed the fuel filter, bled everything and it started right up. I followed her home... 20 miles from home.. truck quits like the key was turned off. Iloosened the bleed screw on the filter housing.. bumped the key to start position.. lift pump startedpumping fuel like there is no tomorrow... crack a couple injection lines... number 1 and 3 are the easiest to get to...spin the engine.. fuel is coming out of #3 but it's not "high pressure" and non comes out of number one.. no matter how much you crank... close those lines and crack number four... same thing... some fuel comes out but damn little and its really lazy about it... What's happened.... is that "junk the day it was built" VP44 , toast? Ran fine all the way til the last 20 miles.. then just chuckled a second and died. I had to tow it to a neighbors ranch. The only other time it's ever failed to start was this past winter it jelled a couple of times... I dont care what you put in the fuel when it's minus 40... if it sets outside, and you forgot to plug it in.... it wont start.
SO ! ????? any ideas I might try before I yank that little wish pump out? ... I forgot to mention... I normally drive a 95 Cummins with a REAL fuel pump. I dont worry about this sensor or that taking a siesta and having to walk home. ifmine turns over and has fuel.. it will run. Does the VP 44 have anything stupid like a housing relief valve that could have stuck wide open?.. I'm open to suggestions here.... I mentioned I live 64 miles from a real town.. not crazy about yanking the inj pump if there is something else that is common on these... and the nearest good diesel pump shop is 190 miles from the ranch here.
Scott
Winifred + 30 miles of bad road, Montana

 

Have you checked for codes? Can you check the fuel pressure going to the injector pump?

 

Is it possible that you got a bad load of diesel and your new filter is also clogged?

Are you sure she filled it with DIESEL?

Water in fuel?

Codes?

The fact that it ran fine for a while and then died again is what's throwing me off

 

i would think that maybe it could possibly be an electrical problem. I would check all wires and grounds. Also i would check for codes. if it is the vp then there is a good possibility that there will be a code that is set such as a p0216.

 

Well, I got her truck home and stuffed in the shop.... plugged my little code scanner in it and it came up with three powerstrain codes.. of course they were manufacturers codes and the scanner wouldnt tell me what it meant,,,, so , I cleared them, bled the fuel lines and it started right up.. let it set in the shop for two days and tried to start it this morning... NO START... bled the lines again and it started... lift pump sounds like it runs longer than it should before it pressures up and shuts off... ordered a new one ... hopefully the VP isnt trashed... it started and ran after I bled it.so, thats encouraging.
Any of you out there use Autoenginuity? I've heard it's a good pc based diagnostic program/scanner.

 

It's starting to sound like the diaphram in the 44 is going. What happens is as the diaphram goes, fuel bleeds back to the fuel tank. You can try this if you want ...

The next time you park, park with your rear tires higher than your front tires, Meaning ... if you park on a hill, park nose down instead of nose up. That way the fuel can't bleed down. If it sits for 2 days and still fires up after being parked that way, you may have found your culprit.

 

If the VP diaphram is starting to go.... can it be replaced in truck? where to buy and how much?

 

If the diaphram is going, that means you'll need a new 44. You can't just replace the diaphram.

 

Do you remember the codes that you got ?

 

Ok ... Here is the latest update... now I'm getting ticked off at this pos ! I replaced the lift pump this morning.... bled everything, it started and ran great.... I drove the truck up to the top of the rim ( we live in the missouri river breaks and there is a 10% grade for two miles out of the valley).... truck still running great nary a bobble or hesitation... drove about 4 miles, turned around, went back down the hill towards the river. Stopped and turned around about a mile from my house in one of our fields and when I pulled back on the road and stepped on the gas....... SHE PUKED RIGHT THERE, NO WARNING, NOTHING, WILL NOT START.... Code scanner reads P1693 ( just a companion code.)... and !!! NOW!I have,P1689 (No Communication Between Injection Pump Control Module and ECM ) ! what the heck is going on here...?? I dont get it... this truck never works for a living... it's the school bus between our house and where the REAL school bus turns around 5 miles away... Thats it ! other than the once in awhile parts run to town... it's the only thing my wife will drive cause its automatic.

Fuel Pressure test with the new lift pump is 11psi with the engine idling. Tested pressure at bleed screw.

I WANT MY 95 P7100 fueledTruck Back!!! at least if you had fuel and the motor would turn over... it would run!!! I HATE THESE E. C . Trucks. This is a nice clean truck, but I'm about ready to send it down the road !!!! Wife wants me to trade it in on an older (97-00) Jeep Cherokee...She had one and it NEVER left her stranded ineight years... thistruck has put her on foot,twice now, in the last 4 months.