Today my '02 2500 died on the way to work. Turns out the lift pump had failed, leading to failure of injection pump. I will get both replaced under warranty, thankfully, with the upgraded lift pump ($3500 job for $100 deductible plus $65 tow).

I asked the mechanic if there was a way to avoid this in future. He recommended coming in every three months for an oil change, when they could read the codes, since the lift pump failure would show up there.

Which leads me to wonder:
a.) Why doesn't the lift pump failure pop a warning light (mostly rhetorical)?

b.) How best to watch this myself? there's no way I'm going to the dealer four times a year to have him check this (or change my oil, for that matter). I read links from here about the on-off-on-off-on/codes in odometer window trick; is that the best way, or is there a code reader to make it simpler? Not that this is really that complicated, but I like to know all my options.

thanks,
td

 

A little more reading, and now I'm thinking FP Gauge. Any brands/types to look for or any to avoid? Is this a pretty doable project for a driveway mechanic? I've worked on a 65 Chevy gasser quite a bit, but I'm pretty much a newbie when it comes to this truck.

 

Still more reading and I see most of my questions have been answered before. It's confusing to digest it all, though. I gather I have to tap into my fuel line and run a separate line to the gauge? I hate to wimp out, but this is sounding more and more like a project I don't want to get into. I don't mind electricity because it's on or off, but plumbing always gets me--the leaks are maddening. I'll keep trying to muddle through, though I still welcome any input here.

thx.
td

 

Easy way is to get yourself a special tapped bolt that connects the banjo connection at the VP44 inlet. From that you use a 1/8 NPT needle valve and a fuel line over to your gauge, isolator or pressure switch.

Its not hard to keep it from leaking. The maximum pressure is around 15 psi. The banjo bolt uses gaskets. Use sealant on the other threads. I use teflon tape. Just be very careful not to get any sealant on the inside of the connections so it could cause plugging. Do not over tighten the banjo bolt, you can snap it pretty easy. The truck may have some problems starting, in the worst case you will need to vent 3 injector lines.

Takes maybe 1-2 hours if you are doing it for the first time.

Jim

 

Thanks, Jim. I'm still iffy on this, since I run biodiesel most of the time and I'm not sure what materials are BD resistant. I know Viton will work for the tubing, but who knows what BD will do to the thread sealers and other leak-stopping goos?

td