I replaced my fuel hater gasket over the weekend. I removed the loer bowl then used a 5/16" allen to remove the heater. I replaced the gasket and put everything back together. I pushed the fuel pum,p button about 2 dozen times to purge the air and started it up.

The truck fired and ran well for a few seconds and died. It was very difficult to start and blew a lot of white smoke. I took it around the bock and it seemed to run fine.

Later I tried to start it and it was difficult to start again. It ran fine once it started. Later, it died at idle and was difficult to start

I opened the air bleed screw at the top of the fuel filter and pushed the pump button. Some air came out so I pushed until it stopped. The symptoms didn't change.

Is there ar in my injector lines? I looked at the manual for the bleeding procedure. Can I bleed the lines with the engine running? It said there was lots of pressure (17000 psi if I remember correctly) It runs pretty well. Can it run that well with air in the system? Won't it purge if it is running?

help!

 

Theres 2 different directions to go , fuel pressure & leaks .
You have to find any leaks 1st , low pressure if you have leaks .
Make a fixture for the fuel tank fill neck , I put a shrader valve in a spare cap , then put 3 lbs. air pressure in tank , to look for leaks between tank & lift pump , this is a vacume side , so you would not see fuel ,
Then on the LP to main pump look for fuel , this is the pressure side , so if theres a leak you would see fuel , use a flashlite & mirror to see all lines , its possible that a line cracked when you were working on .
If no sign of leaks , then check fuel pressure , these LPs go slowly so , its comin that they will not lift fuel after opening system , or low on fuel , then there is the over flow valve , slowly pinch return line to see if pressure goes up , if it does then the OFV is weak .
If you need either , contact Mary Tompkins , Precision Diesel & turbo , in Michigan , he does not have a web site , so no link , do a search here & it should come up .

 

I don't have leaks. The truck ran great before I changed the gasket in the fuel heater. I believe I introduced air into the system when I put it back together. I think the cam was on the fuel pump and when I pushed the plunger I wasn't pumping fuel.

Can I bleed the lines with the truck running?

 

Yes , but with a big but , be careful , theres a lot of pressure at the injectors .