ZMG006

I have 185xxx miles on the truck and when its fairly hot outside and the truck has been driven for a while (20-30 mins) and then i turn it off to go into a store and come back it has a hard time starting. Replaced the batteries within the past year. Any thoughts on whats going on? If i remember correctly it seems as though it kind of had trouble starting last winter as well when it was really cold. It will crank just fine just has a hard time getting started.

Also i'm curious of what you think my truck might be worth, see signature below. 185k, nice 35" toyo tires, clean interior, moderate hail damage on hood/roof/passenger side. Truck hasn't been abused and serviced well since i've owned it from original owner. Just trying to understand what the market is for our trucks these days. Im in Dallas if that makes a difference.

ZMG006

After doing a little searching on here i've come up with a few possible issues. I'll just go ahead and state that i'm not mechanically inclined and will be taking the truck to the shop next week but want to be prepared for what to expect. From what i've found it could be injector pump, injectors, in tank pump, lift pump.... Can any one shed some light on those and being the least likely to most likely and cost from this is what im hoping it is to worst case scenario?

FMB

After 185k miles, and hard starting in the cold, I would suspect the injectors. Other folks here will have you check this and that, which is good if you were the mechanic, but since you are bringing it to a shop they will probably replace the injectors and you will be good to go (most likely). But it ain't cheap.
I sent my '03's injectors to F1 for testing and they rebuilt them all. It was some time ago so I don't remember the $,$$$ amount. You can check their site if you wish. It would entail your mechanic to pull the injectors and ship to F1, wait a week or two, get them back and install. Less time consuming options are to just put in new injectors or order re-manufactured injectors. New will cost you more, re-man less, and your truck will be out of commission less time. Good luck.
Back to morning brew . . .

Jeff in TD

As the injectors wear they bleed more fuel into the return line. Eventually they get bad enough that the engine has to crank a longer for the cp3 injection pump to build the required pressure to fire the injectors. Usually appears in either cold conditions when the engine cranks more slowly, or when hot starting.

There are a few fittings involved to seperate the injector return flow from the injection pump
return flow, so the volume per minute can be measured.

ZMG006

Have a fuel filter coming in tmr that I plan on throwing in (can at least manage those) just to make sure that doesn’t contribute to the problem.
Luckily I’ve discovered your recommendation of F1 is not but 30 mins away from me so if it is injectors then I could take them up there myself.

ZMG006

Well, i switched in the new fuel filter last night and drove it around afterwards, wont know if that helped at all until i run during the hotter part of the day. Also used the smarty to tune it back to stock in prep for taking it to a shop, not sure if that was necessary but ran after doing that a little bit to make sure it would run good, it did (also didnt have any codes at that time)... Turned on this am and pulled out into the street and pretty quickly it completely died on me. Wouldn't crank again. Plugged smarty in and got a CAN ERROR #122 WRONG COMMUNIC... Any thoughts?

ZMG006

Messed with battery cables and it would crank again and eventually fired up. Have it at the shop and their recommending i replace all the cables first before they can double check other things (fuel system). Said it would run around 1100 for 5 cables and 2.5 hrs of labor. He mentioned about possibly doing a temporary fix which i'm assuming would be to replace the ends. Any recommendations from afar? I know its tough to give advise without seeing it but maybe someone can assist.

FMB

I'm still thinking your injectors are the principal issue. The cables may be an issue, we folks out here can't see them and don't know what testing the shop did (if anything) to determine the need to pull another 11 Benjamins out of your wallet. Those Benjamins could go a long way towards your injectors.
Just my opinion, YMMV, back to morning brew . . .

Jeff in TD

If it is a reputable shop, and the cables are corroded more than just the ends, and it is cranking significantly slower than it should... it would need cables anyway.

I think I might also have the injector return flow measured. Shouldn’t take too long, and you would know where you stand.

ZMG006

I think i'm going to have him replace the ends to get by for now and then have him do the fuel systems tests.

ZMG006

Figure i'll start small and if it doesn't help then i can replace the cables.

Jeff in TD

Yeah have a look at how the cable looks once the old ends are off. If things look good, some anti ox, closed end fittings, and heat adhesive lined shrink tube and you may be good.

ZMG006

So they seemed to have the cables patched for now, cranking fine and its not throwing any codes. They replicated the long cranking to finally get started. Said its getting good fuel pressure. What hes suggesting to do is replace the injector pump and re-seat the lines/put new seals on something. I cant remember everything he said but what stood out to me was the injector pump. He said he doesn't think its the injections and i asked him that specifically (bc of this forum). New pump and additional work he mentioned totaled 2k. Any help or further advise would be appreciated. As far as this shop goes i haven't had experience with them in the past but they do have good reviews.
Do i ask him about the injector return flow specifically? If so what would be good/bad/telling results be? Thanks

ZMG006

From reading past posts/issues similar to mine ppl have said that fixed their issue...

FMB

If it is getting good fuel pressure, AND he wants to replace the injector pump, then he is just throwing parts at it at your expense. Apparently (just guessing here) he only checked the fuel pressure going to the injector pump (from the lift pump) and NOT fuel rail pressure. Rail Pressure would show if your injector pump is putting out or not but there is the issue of measuring the return fuel also. If he doesn't know this stuff, I would suggest you pick up your truck and take it to a real diesel mechanic.
BTW, my injector pump was still running strong at 295k miles when I sold it. YMMV . . .