MAC702

I am en route home to Nevada, and started having some power issues (with some accompanying puffs of white smoke in the exhaust). I took some advice from a big diesel truck friend and added 1.25 quarts of two-stroke oil to the tank as I filled up here in Santa Rosa, NM, at the Love's. I left it to idle for 20 minutes while I ate and did some phone calls. After leaving the truck stop, I hit the first hill out of Santa Rosa toward Albuquerque and couldn't pull it faster than 25 MPH with an engine that did not sound happy about it. I am towing, but have towed this plenty of times and this was not a big hill. I was not in overdrive.

I recently wrote this thread, which is a fuel issue: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...n-t310602.html

I am being told that I have an underfuel condition. On level ground, I can accelerate smoothly and even get into overdrive and on up to 70+ MPH if I want to, but as soon as I hit a hill now, it bogs down quickly until I am putting on the hazards and taking the hill at 25 in 2nd gear.

I turned around, and limped it back to the bigger TA truck stop. I added a 2x concentration of Power Service silver bottle, and have been idling for an hour while doing research. I pushed the water separator in the fuel filter, but it looks like only fuel came out. There is a parts and service center at the TA here, but they say they don't have Fleetguard filters small enough for this engine. Looks like I will sleep here tonight while idling and limp to CarQuest in the morning to try a fuel filter before trying something else.

Research is worrying me that it could be injectors or injection pump. I am on the return leg of a towing trip to Florida and back. All that time I was babying this crappy transmission, only to now have fueling issues.

Ideas?
Suggestions?

If a fuel filter doesn't fix it, are there recommendations for a shop in Santa Rosa, NM? Should I limp the hills to Albuquerque (120 miles)?

Yeah, I know I should have a spare fuel filter on the truck. I actually usually do have lots of spare stuff. Believe it or not, I already used my spare idler pulley from the Booney Box on this trip! But I put in a new lift pump and filter only six months ago, so honestly thought a new fuel filter could wait before buying one to put back in the booney box.

patdaly

Probably won't help this trip, but you really need a fuel pressure gauge on a 12Valve. Could be your overflow valve dumping or the aforementioned module issue.

I am betting it is NOT the P7100 or Injectors though.

Sorry, can't help you with a good shop out there, any way to get a fuel pressure gauge on it with stuff from the truck stop?

MAC702

I am going to go to the NAPA here in this little town. Is a fuel pressure gauge easy enough to install in a parking lot? I have plenty of tools with me. What range gauge do I need and where should I install it? For diesel, I can use an oil pressure gauge, right?

It died while idling an hour ago, but I restarted and it has been idling again fine since then. I periodically revved the engine a bit while idling it all night.

infidel

Not really.
Instructions> http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94...-12-valve.html

BigIron70

Did you pull the filter screen on the fuel heater? Could be plugged up Also pickup screen in fuel tank could be plugged up. Fuel pressure gauge will not tell you if there is a restriction in fuel tank. Restriction will show up at WOT under load. Try pinching retun line if fuel pressure builds up then your overflow valve could be problem.

oliver foster

As BigIron70 said, try pinching the return fuel line [ black rubber hose behind fuel filter roughly] to see if the over flow valve is letting all your diesel flow right back to the tank.
Then rev the motor and see if it run better.

Try draining the fuel filter into a cup or something so you can look for water in it.

Replace the filter if possible too.

Other problems could be fuel screen on heater
or the maybe the lift pump going out.

Not likely that it is injectors or the injection pump.

My money is on the fuel delivery system to the pump, or the over flow valve not allowing fuel pressure to build

Diesel Avenger

Mac is up and running like a banshee. It was the fuel filter completely plugged with red goo. New filter and he's back to belching black smoke.

oliver foster

Atta boy!
You gotta love the cheap fix!

Robert Rausch

That's good news. Same thing happened to me last fall coming across I-40 in Okla City. Truck kept losing power over the last 50 miles into Okie City. Luckily the fuel filter was the first thing I tried. It ran like a champ afterwards.

On another note I love Santa Rosa. If you're ever there in the Summer, go to the Blue Hole and jump into the cool, cool water. It's a remarkable place.

joem

How do people get such poor fuel? The stations I use have a huge spin on filter right on the pump- is this not the case everywhere? I cut My last fuel filter that had 20k on it in half, the thing was clean as a new one!

MAC702

I get a lot of my fuel from cans and a tank when I do a lot of long-distance stuff and get the fuel cheaper when available.

HUGE thanks to my buddy Diesel Avenger for the perfect advice on the phone and for updating the thread while I was hauling *** through the rest of New Mexico.

infidel

The filters in the pump are there to protect their meter and don't filter very fine.
Most likely time to get poor fuel is when the tanker is unloading into the underground tank and churning up sediment from the bottom.
If I see a tanker unloading or leaving the station I go elsewhere.

I use a fuel pressure gauge to monitor the filter, 5 psi drop at 70 mph flat cruising and it's time for a change.
Usually go 30-50k miles on a filter.