OK.... I can't tell you guys how much help this site has been in educating me on my trucks. I have been helping my friends with all kinds of minor BOMBs and repair jobs over the last couple of years with the information that everyone has given so freely on this site.

I just got a call from a friend of mine who is in a real bind. He has an '89 with a lot of miles on it, somewhere near 200k. He has tinkered with it here and there and done what he thought was right over time, but now the truck is giving him some real problems. While this is not his only vehicle it is his primary work vehicle.

The temperature in Vegas just dropped last night. I woke up to a 32 degree reading on my thermometer. He has told me for awhile that he is getting bubbles around his injectors when starting the truck when it is cold. As the truck warms up the bubbles go away. I am guessing this is due to expansion of the metal sealing the gap causing the bubbles?

He mentioned that he regularly has to "crack" the injectors in order to "bleed out" the lines and that it won't idle when cold, he has to keep a foot on the pedal to keep the RPMs up until it is warm, then it will idle.

He also noted this morning that he was getting bubble "between the pump and the engine housing towards the rear of the engine".

So, this truck is stock, nothing has been modified. He can't tell me what transmission he has, other than it is a 3-speed auto without an overdrive.

I told him that I would research this and get back to him then schedule time to get it fixed this week. I hope you guys can point me in the right directions here. My first thought is that the "cracking" of the injectors may have damaged the seals. As for the bubbling at the pump I don't know.

Why he is having to bleed is another question. I am guessing there is a problem somewhere allowing air into the system when the truck is dormant...

Where should I start? He has also been bugging me to do some BOMBing to his truck, so if there are options to add power he/I are all for it.

 

I'd say deffinatly air coming in somewhere, bubbling around the lift pump would be a good place to start. Check the rubber line that connects to the input of the lift pump. Also check the lift pump

"bubbles around the injectors"
Where? near the line or close to the base of the injector near the head? Near the base would be compression leaking past the copper sealing washers under the injectors. Close to the lines could be not tight enough or he damaged the lines by bleeding them so many times and over tightening them once or twice.

 

So new copper seals couldn't hurt, and new rubber hoses are a piece of cake. Does anyone have sources that I can get these, or are they cheap enough I can just get them from my local Cummins shop? Does anyone have specific part numbers for this? What about torque value for the various fittings?

 

Any issues with starting the truck when faced uphill in front? if so this is and indication of a weak lift pump. fuel has to then be actually lifted/pumped to the IP. For $50 or so he otta replace it if he`s has no idea of its condition ans at 200K its probably spent. Just a thought.

 

Cummins or a Bosch pump shop can set you up with new injector coppers. You can try tightening the injectors a little, but that's not likely to help if they have been leaking a long time.

I'm with JD730 on bad fuel lines/lift pump. Replace all the rubber fuel hose and I bet the starting and idling problems will go away. Throwing a lift pump at it while the lines are off wouldn't hurt any either.

Not sure where the bubbles would be coming from on the left side of the engine? Can you get a better description or maybe even a pic?

 

No, the truck is always parked flat on the street. In considering replacing the Lift Pump, is there a better Lift Pump that stock that I should be looking for?

 

I will try and get a picture of it tonight...

Is there a hose kit, or a special type of hose that I should be looking at to replace the current lines?

 

Unless he is planning to crank the ol' girl up a bunch, the stock type lift pump will be fine.

No kit. Just make sure you use diesel rated fuel hose.

 

Does it come in different sizes? My guess is yes... Anyone know what size, and roughly how much to redo all the lines?

 

I think it's 5/16" on the suction and 1/4" on the return. The lines are mostly steel, I'd say if you got 4 or 5 feet of each you'd be set. The bad line is probably the one up on top of the fuel tank for maximum aggravation.

 

Is it safe to assume he has a VE pump?

 

Yes, that's what any 1st gen would have.

 

wanna, i've heard that inkector life is usually somewhere around 200K right? if he is looking to BOMB maybe he should start there and throw a larger set of injectors in with the new copper seals.

 

If he's just trying to limp along, the coppers will fix the bubbling for less than $20. Getting the injectors cleaned and repopped while they are out would be a good idea.

On a non-intercooled truck you need to go to POD's to make a difference, and not everybody likes smoke.

 

Where would I get them "cleaned and repopped"? Is this something I can do myself? Is there a good tech article on replacing the injectors on this truck?