SGGilmo

Well like the title says. she won't start unless I use ether. now before yall try to kill me. I have only done this maybe a hand full of times. once to get the truck home when I bought it and then a few times to try and diagnos what's is going on. Now that the temperature has dropped below 60 i have not tried to start the truck again in fear of major damage. plus I think at this point I have done all the diag I can do and am looking for ideas now. that being said.

truck:
99 ram 2500 ext cab 24v cummins
189k miles
4x4
5 speed manual

symptoms:
no start without ether
runs perfect once running
no loss of power at all
no smoke of any kind
12psi at prime
no lower than 8psi under load
there is more fuel than oil in the oil pan.
very little if any blow by ( cap test, flutters but does not blow off)
shut the truck off off and 2 seconds later it will not restart eithout spray.

mods:
Diablo power puck
fass ddrp
otherwise stock

due to the amount of fuel in the oil I'm assuming the fuel tubes are leaking. but will that be enough for me to lose all prime instantly and cause a no start?

Lary Ellis (Top)

Fuel in the oil means injector or injectors are leaking...even a rather small amount of fuel in the oil will destroy the engine DO NOT RUN IT!

Basically what happens is the fuel robs the oil of its lubricating qualities and you have a pretty good idea what happens if you run it without oil.

SGGilmo

oh there's alot of fuel in the oil. or was. I've already drained it and changed the filter.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Time to at the very least get your injectors tested...

SGGilmo

could the injectors leaking cause an instant no start problem but still run perfectly once started? and would that end up in the oil? or can fuel only get in the oil from the crossover tubes leaking?

pind

Crossover tubes could be leaking, or seal in the front of the pump, or the injector o rings could be shot.

I would check all of the above.

You haven't mentioned the volume of fuel that is getting into the oil, so its tough to say where to start.

Easy front seal check is to take the cap out of the front cover, jumper the lift pump for constant run, and look into the front cover with a bore scope. You'll see fuel running down behind the injection pump drive gear.

To check the injector o rings, put some uv dye in the fuel, and run the engine with the valve cover off. Use a black light and see what glows. It'll show up right away.

SGGilmo

I've actually got it all apart right now. crossover tubes were definitely leaking at the injectors. 5 of the 6 were soaked in fuel. and #5 I didn't even have to pry out. slid right out with my finger tips. there is also a very distinct stain on the injectors around the holes from the fuel. gonna do a compression test tomorrow if I get a chance and then reseal everything and put it all back together. I'm thinkin it was just leaking that bad.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Clearly you state your truck is a second gen...but for some reason I was thinking you said 3rd gen... sorry

TGP

Yes it's loosing fuel prime from the leaking inj./lines.
After your repair and sure no more fuel is leaking
You will need to change the oil again.
Tom

SGGilmo

well getting closer atleast. took it all apart and put all new orings on the injectors and fuel tubes and new washers on the injectors. put it back togther. bled it all out and she fired! ran like crap for about 45 seconds while it cleared air out and then smoothed out. let it warm up and then shut it off. let it sit for a few seconds and she fired right back up. (before I couldn't do this) however I let it sit over night and sure enough. just cranks. have to bleed every line and then it will start. so I think I have fixed the major leak that was keeping it from firing after a short off period but I still have a leak somewhere that's releasing pressure over time. progress atleast

pind

Check the return line fitting on the back of the head

SGGilmo

I'm going to go ahead and replace all of the banjo bolts washers as I know most of them have been off and all of them are old. never hurts to have new seals. anyone know off the top of thier head how many 12mm washers and how many 14mm I'll need. I'm going to get the fully rubberized coated ones from xdp

SGGilmo

Alright guys. I'm back. winter is over so time to pay with the truck again. I have made progress. all washers have been replaced and I went ahead and put a sump on the bottom of the tank and ran new hose for the feed line so air should not be a problem anymore. got it to fire after that and it will now fire after about 3 10 second rounds of cranking. no more ether is needed! so progress I say. also someone told me to disconnect the lift pump harness and try and start it to see if the VP44 diagram was bad and it just cranked and cranked. plugged it back in and she lit off on the first hit. keep in mind now this is with no grid heater and the block heater plugged in. I'm getting so close. anyone have any ideas? do you think repairing the grid heater will solve this now that I think I have the air problem solved?