on my 99 I refill the canister half or plus, then try to crank, not start. my Haynes manual says: loosen but not remove the banjo bolt on the VP44(the ones on the supply line) then turn the key and crank the engine for about 1sec and re-turn to the ON position, the LP runs for about 15,20sec and you see fuel leak throught the banjo bolt(do this until fuel leak out from the fitting), when fuel leaked out thigten the banjo bolt and crank the engine for about 30sec(repeat until it start) This allow the VP44 to push out any air.
Do filter replacement today for the first time on a Cummins, I follow this procedure and the baby starts after the first 30sec of cranking!! make me smile!
remember to dampen a bit the new filter gasket to ensure proper sealing.

hope this helps!

ROB

 

your lift pump sounds like its weak. doesn't seem to be priming that well causing the hard starts after the filter change.

you shouldn't have to add fuel to the canister.

 

Your lift pump isn't bad. You just wern't getting the air bled out of the lines. Just part of owning a diesel. Wait till your 500 miles from any tools and you get a bad batch of gas and have to change a filter on the side of the road.

Might be a good idea to collect the tools needed and a spare filter. Bag them together and stuff them in the cab somewhere. Might be 7 years from now, but you'll be glad you did when the time comes.

 

Like Charliez said youll be glad your carrying a spare filter i always do been helpful before. the only time i had trouble was when i first changed the filter i didn't bump the starter. now i don't prefill just bump starter 2-3 times and fires up runs like champ everytime. i change my filter every other oil change just to be safe.

 

On my truck, I lost about 8 dollars worth of fuel doing the 'crack the filter housing' on my filter replacement. One bump, full, plus some.

That was a fun cleanup.

 

Sometimes, just bumoing the starter to run the LP won't do it. You might need to open a line somewhere. You'd better have the wrench to do that in your kit too!

 

It would be nice to rig up a switch to the LP which would enable on/off pump operation while the ignition is off for bleeding the lines.

Change the filter, switch the LP on to bring fuel to the canister for a minuite or two.

 

This^^ works well for me.

You have to be fast though, because once you bump the starter, that canister will fill up FAST and make a big mess.

Also, do NOT wait for the "Wait to start" light to go out until you actually want to start the truck. This not only heats up the intake very hot, but it's really tough on the batteries.

Remember, you're not trying to start the truck at first-- just turn it over enough to make the ECM command fuel power to the lift pump.

I can't believe my original LP is still hanging in there-- 14psi at cruise, about 8psi WOT, and it's 5 years old with 70k on it.

jh

 

True that. I keep a 19mm stubby in the map pocket.

The main thing is to not crank the engine too much, because that's now you end up with air drawn into the VP and end up having to crack a line.

I've had to mess with that a lot with my FP guage plumbing letting air into the VP when I disconnect it.

jh

 

Each time it sucks air it gets easier.. the first time you panic, its all down hill from there.

I changed my fuel filter a few months back, went to prime the system.. dry as a bone.. LP dead. Walked nextdoor to the local cummins dealer for a Campagin pump, INstalled it over lunch. Got fuel to the canister, low pressure banjo fitting.. cracked 1 & 3.. cranked.. cranked.. cranked.. close 1&3 and let it run itself clean.. bingo.

 

I have NEVER had to "bump" my starter. I just turn the on and I hear the pump build some pressure for a few seconds; then it stops. Then I turn the key off. At that piont I wait for 30 seconds or so. Turn the key on agian to hear the pump agian for another few seconds or so. Then off and WAIT another 30 seconds or more. I'll repeat this process 6, 7 times. Then it starts right up. You must wait for several seconds between each prime or key on. If you do it too quick, the ECM doesn't spin the lift pump.

By actually "bumping" the starter, it seems to me that air will get into the VP-44 and inturn into the injector lines, making it more difficult to start.

EDIT: Oh yeah, the fuel filter canister lid is stightly loose to allow air to escape. As stated by a few others above.

 

I bleed mine at the fuel gage isolator. I just crack it then bump 2-3 times then close the bleeder while the pump is still running.

 

I am one of the ones that don't change there filter very often and watch the fuel pressure! Has anyone opened up there filter and looked inside to see what it looks like to check if it does need to be changed? Mine has been on for ahhhhhh ( would have to check my maintance book as everything else that the truck gets ) to see when it was changed? I only get fuel at P/Pass and have never got bad contaminated fuel. That makes it cheaper then wet or dirty fuel. The last one that I changed and I opened it, it had about a dozen grains of sand and two pieces of railing paint and was slightly black probably from the steel of the tanks? The next truck that I get I am thinking that I am going to plumb in a seperate pump and us my Racor 445 filter on it and just run the pump to filter the fuel from the bottom of the tank and return it back. If filter is clean then so is fuel! I see this as a real money maker changing filters this often for the dealershops or people are getting diry wet fuel?

 

I don't change mine until FP drops lower than I care for (under ~7psi)

My reasoning is similar to the FilterMinder thinking: I'm more likely to cause problems with the VP by cracking open the fuel system more than needed.

I also run the 7 mic FF for 3rd gen trucks instead of the 10mic 2nd gen FF. The canister is the same, so why not run a better filter?

jh

 

you can get the air out by loosening the banjo bolt on the VP44 supply line..crank just to make the LP run then watch for fuel leaking at the banjo bolt..when it leak crank for 30sec max at a time until engine start!