Need the first gen fuel gurus to chime in!
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Calgary, Alberta
I'm thinking about how, on really cold days, little coolant and gasoline leaks always show up on vehicles, usually where a rubber hose is clamped or crimped to a steel line or fitting. And on radiators where the plastic tank is crimped to the core, and the rubber gasket shrinks. On a diesel truck's fuel system, it sure would be easy for a rubber fuel hose to shrink a bit on a cold day, where it's clamped to a steel line, and suck in a tiny bit of air. Pressurizing the fuel tank slightly and looking for leaks at all the connections might turn something up.
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Joined: Nov 2010
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From: Winterset, IA
I'm thinking about how, on really cold days, little coolant and gasoline leaks always show up on vehicles, usually where a rubber hose is clamped or crimped to a steel line or fitting. And on radiators where the plastic tank is crimped to the core, and the rubber gasket shrinks. On a diesel truck's fuel system, it sure would be easy for a rubber fuel hose to shrink a bit on a cold day, where it's clamped to a steel line, and suck in a tiny bit of air. Pressurizing the fuel tank slightly and looking for leaks at all the connections might turn something up.
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Joined: Dec 2008
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From: vermont
Torquefan might be on to something...
I have a'93 D-250 which starts hard in the cold and acts like it is fuel starved. I am guessing it is the fuel heater gasket /o-ring above the fuel filer that is going bad and doesn't like the cold. On warm days it starts great.
Or on cold days, once it has worked the air out of the line it runs great too.
I am picturing air is getting into the fuel system through the old dry gasket that doesn't like the cold. I have the new gasket on the shelf, I just need the time to install it and test my theory.
I have a'93 D-250 which starts hard in the cold and acts like it is fuel starved. I am guessing it is the fuel heater gasket /o-ring above the fuel filer that is going bad and doesn't like the cold. On warm days it starts great.
Or on cold days, once it has worked the air out of the line it runs great too.
I am picturing air is getting into the fuel system through the old dry gasket that doesn't like the cold. I have the new gasket on the shelf, I just need the time to install it and test my theory.
DTR's "Cooler than ice cubes 14 miles North of North Pole" member
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: 14mi North of North Pole
In all honesty, It was only about 1/2 mile and I lived on the flat part of the valley...
To the OP, I suppose an old, hardened fuel heater O-ring might shrink up enough in the cold to cause a problem but I would suspect you'd see a leak at other times there.
To the OP, I suppose an old, hardened fuel heater O-ring might shrink up enough in the cold to cause a problem but I would suspect you'd see a leak at other times there.
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From: Streator Illinois
I know your saying it’s not gelling but as a Canadian, I see guys in the lower 48 on the different forums say the same problem ever year when it gets even a bit cold & even more this year due to it being even colder. Your fuel suppliers are either lazy or don’t have a clue or too cheap to cut the fuel to a “proper" #1 diesel when it gets cold.
How come in Canada when it gets -40F or even colder, you don’t see anyone saying they are having a fuel problem ? It gets -40F or even colder here and no problems. I don’t even have a fuel heater on my truck. Yes, very grumpy firing up when cold but that has nothing to do with no fuel heater, just the cold air, period.
Find another fuel supplier or start treating your fuel with 50% Kerosene. And no, pouring a bottle of what ever in your tank isn’t going to cut it, no matter what the label says !!!
How come in Canada when it gets -40F or even colder, you don’t see anyone saying they are having a fuel problem ? It gets -40F or even colder here and no problems. I don’t even have a fuel heater on my truck. Yes, very grumpy firing up when cold but that has nothing to do with no fuel heater, just the cold air, period.
Find another fuel supplier or start treating your fuel with 50% Kerosene. And no, pouring a bottle of what ever in your tank isn’t going to cut it, no matter what the label says !!!
Been in the diesel game for a long time now, and trust me, if I couldn't get properly treated fuel, I have been known to run straight #1, I have dosed them with gasoline and just about everything else that will burn.
The bottom line is, my fuel supplier has fuel that is correctly treated to the temperatures we face here, as do the suppliers in your area, and as I said, same fuel in both trucks, his didn't stay running, mine did, and all I had to do was bleed out the injectors and it started.
New lines are now in, and we are now waiting on the next cold snap, that will tell the story, if it shuts off again, then I need something to look at next, because my theory will be proven wrong.
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From: Streator Illinois
I'm thinking about how, on really cold days, little coolant and gasoline leaks always show up on vehicles, usually where a rubber hose is clamped or crimped to a steel line or fitting. And on radiators where the plastic tank is crimped to the core, and the rubber gasket shrinks. On a diesel truck's fuel system, it sure would be easy for a rubber fuel hose to shrink a bit on a cold day, where it's clamped to a steel line, and suck in a tiny bit of air. Pressurizing the fuel tank slightly and looking for leaks at all the connections might turn something up.
I probably should have just run rubber all the way, but the price wasn't much different and this way I helped a neighbor Canadian worker out. ( Nova Scotia ).
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From: Phoenix AZ
Looking at your sig, I have to say that 115 also keeps those wimps away, they are just different wimps...Mark
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Solution
Did you even read what I wrote?
Been in the diesel game for a long time now, and trust me, if I couldn't get properly treated fuel, I have been known to run straight #1, I have dosed them with gasoline and just about everything else that will burn.
The bottom line is, my fuel supplier has fuel that is correctly treated to the temperatures we face here, as do the suppliers in your area, and as I said, same fuel in both trucks, his didn't stay running, mine did, and all I had to do was bleed out the injectors and it started.
New lines are now in, and we are now waiting on the next cold snap, that will tell the story, if it shuts off again, then I need something to look at next, because my theory will be proven wrong.
Been in the diesel game for a long time now, and trust me, if I couldn't get properly treated fuel, I have been known to run straight #1, I have dosed them with gasoline and just about everything else that will burn.
The bottom line is, my fuel supplier has fuel that is correctly treated to the temperatures we face here, as do the suppliers in your area, and as I said, same fuel in both trucks, his didn't stay running, mine did, and all I had to do was bleed out the injectors and it started.
New lines are now in, and we are now waiting on the next cold snap, that will tell the story, if it shuts off again, then I need something to look at next, because my theory will be proven wrong.
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