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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
Yes, this is my truck we're talking about. Finally decided to make an account since there are so many problems on it that without the knowledge and expertise of the experts here, I'm screwed. I'm the same one who had a stuck brake switch, soft brakes, no speedo/odo etc. Thank You for all of the informative replies so far! I'll have to take a cool pic of it, though it currently doesn't drive/start. Probably is the KDP, but who knows. Need to take off the valve covers and check for opening/closing.
It's possible the old Canola oil has gelled and plugged up your fuel filter. You can try changing it and hope it doesn't clog up again. (filters can get expensive) If it clogs again you may have to clean out the tank.
My tank is 30 gallons. I think yours should be the same.
If you added a half gallon of canola oil to a full tank of diesel, then no--that's not going to cause any issues at all (I'm assuming it wasn't nasty and full of crap). I'm also assuming that normal temps in Spokane WA this time of year haven't changed radically from normal.
That 5% figure comes directly from Cummins, but I should point out that it relates not to veggie oil, but to the use of lube oil in the fuel. From a practical perspective that doesn't really matter, but thought I'd mention it anyhow. Also, keep in mind that gelled fuel symptoms are very different from what's being described here. Change your fuel filter if you like--that certainly won't cause any harm, but it's probably not going to help either.
The fact that you're getting fuel to the injectors seriously points to loss of compression.
Looks like the PO did quite a bit of maintenance stuff on the truck, however none of those items would cause the symptoms you described. The first thing I would do is pull a valve cover off and crank the motor over to see if the valve train is working, if not then it's time to pull the fan, radiator and front cover off your motor to see what is going on in there.
It could be the KDP fell out and caused some major damage, but I don't think so because you say that fuel will spurt out of the injectors when you crank it over.
Did it make any weird noise when it quit, or did it just suddenly die? Also if it is possible I would talk to the PO and see if he did the KDP while he owned it.
I think it would be possible to damage the cam gear and knock it out of time and still have the pump gear turning. It needs to be brought up to TDC with the valve cover off and see what is going on. Could have possibly broken the cam as well allowing the gear to still turn but the camshaft remain stationary.
It's really hard to say since we can't see the fuel spurting out to know if it is enough and under enough pressure or hear the engine turn over. But the OP is just going to have to start eliminating possibilities without major exploratory surgery.
Okay, so I took the valve covers off and gave it some cranks, but there seems like no movement at all. I did mess with the APC a bit. It has all the stock internals I believe, but the max. fuel position is ground down a bit from PO (where it was). I cranked the starwheel left two turns (vs right for more fuel) and put to min. fuel pos. to save fuel (since I don't haul anything). It sure did make less smoke. Then I did 4 turns and finally 8 (almost all the way up without removing it from the threads). Also, I remember it would make a whiny/sharp loud metallic grinding sound. I believe it sounded worse when getting less fuel. I researched it and assumed it was air leaking thru the stock ex. manifold. I did put it back to near original position when I was broken down though. Also, could it be that the vacuum pump failed and crammed up the gears, or? My brakes were AWESOME when I bought the truck. Since the ABS was disabled/removed? I could make the truck skid by pressing the pedal in half-way, and I have soft 35" mud terrains. One day we got up on a cooler fall morning and my brakes suddenly were REALLY hard yet would barely work. Since I have strong legs I can still make the brakes lock up if I press the pedal enough (like if I'm not gonna make a stoplight), but it's hard nonetheless. Seems like it can stop just as easy, but is slower to respond and takes WAY more effort. Thank You!
If the valvetrain is not moving, that indicates a serious failure. Like a keyway sheared or worse, broken cam or crank.
Your brake issue is just a bad booster or a bad vacuum pump- Check for vacuum once its running. The vacuum check the booster. You'll figure out which once failed
What your brother should be doing is coming here daily, and reading up on his ride. We would enjoy his company, and he would enjoy the fine group of people here. Lots of good tips and tricks here, and a few jokes along the way.
First thing to check is the FSS (Fuel Shutdown Solenoid). You will find it on the top of the fuel injector pump. There is usually a single, or two wires leading to the solenoid that energize it to allow fuel to open and enter the fuel lines.
Sometimes the plug falls off, loosens up, and it dies out. Clean the connector, and reconnect, or replace the tab with a hoop end on the wire, and it can never release itself again. Test with a test light, to ensure that when the ignition is in the on position, that there is 12V leading to that wire that's connected to the FSS. That power opens up the solenoid, and keeps the truck running.
See here:
Just to satisfy my curiosity, what it that on the bottom of your fuel filter? It looks sort of like you screwed a corn cob in there.
Not yet, I've been very busy. The truck is sitting in the street and I need someone to help me push it onto the side of the driveway where there's gravel . . . I know it'll be messy. Do I need to drain all the oil before pulling off the timing cover? It's probably due for an oil change anyways. It's winter and the abs on it doesn't work, or was pulled, though it has nice tires. I'm not exactly in a rush, but I do need to get to it.
I find ABS is pretty useless on these old trucks.
You don't need to drain the oil to pull the timing cover off. It should not be too messy to pull off the timing cover at all. You don't need to drain any fluids to do it.
09-22-2018, 06:39 PM
