a77ssii

Left this morn, fired up and ran fine. Plowed 5 passes down the road and left for work, got 6 miles down the road and it just shut down. Neighbor pulled me to the top of our hill and couldn't go any further, we had 2 Duramaxes and a 1T CTD hooked up at the same time and couldn't get mine up the last 25' of the hill. She will be spending the night blocking the road with 2 tires in the ditch. Dealer said the fuel filter was changed when they rcvd it at 159,000 miles it now has 162,000 miles but I am not ruling them out feeding me a line. I pumped the primer about 50+ times and no start, worked the little spring loaded water drain and I got a sucking noise. Pumped again for about 3 minutes and no start, just occasional puffs of black and a 2 second stumble. I have Amsoil additive in it with antigel so I should be good to -40 and the low last night was -20. Any suggestions? lift pump? My wife is bringing me a fuel filter in the morn but between now and then if I can get it started and off the hill....

sleepy03

That's rough man. We just got alot of rain this weekend and I am sure it is just dumping in colorado.

a77ssii

Your telling me. I actually drug all 3 of those truck down hill when they started to pull. I know if the truck does not get up the hill under its own power it will not get up the hill at all. I just gotta get it fixed while avoiding frostbite, towing to a shop is not an option. The nearest shop that will do anything to a diesel is 50 miles away. Any suggestions? I am a Newb to the CTD, can fix a gasser blindfolded but am learning quickly how to work on a CTD.

cumminsdriver635

I would most definately make sure your fuel filter isnt clogged to begin with. Get in the truck, and bump the starter, and leave the key in the "on" position and get out and make sure the shutoff solenoid is pulled all the way up. If it isnt, raise it by hand and see if you can get it to start. Its very rare a lift pump or injection pump dies on a CTD, I would loosen the banjo bolt on the side of the pump where fuel enters it, and have someone crack it while I watched for fuel coming out of it. If no fuel is coming out of it, it has to be either the Lift pump or fuel filter, but my bets are still on the fuel filter. Good luck

Eric

waldersha

When you are pumping the primer have you loosened the filter or the nut on top of the filter to let the air out? If not, it makes it real hard to prime. The nut on top of the filter housing is a 10MM head and is the bleed screw. Loosen that and prime until you get clear fuel coming out (no air bubbles). If you do that and the solenoid is working properly, it should start.

Good luck to you.

jkitterman

Did you check your air filter to make sure it didn't clog or ice up? I am guessing the snow would be powder where you are?

a77ssii

Thanks for the FP troubleshoot, I am headed back out in the morning to have another go at it. It's only 2 right now with a 40MPH wind and pitch black. I will have another body with me tomorrow so I can test out the pump. Will update tomorrow, its supposed to be a balmy 20 degrees with -7 as the low. What did I get myself into?

mr T

is the motor turning over and not catching?..does it feel liek ur about to catch?...crank the motor and pump the go pedal...it has worked for me to get over that "about to catch puffs of smoke" part...after that make sure the fuel shut off solenoid is energized and staying up...check the wiring to it...

and forget the fuel filter for now and don't drain the water anymore..ur just gonna be introducing air into the system..crack the banjo bolt directly in the middle on top of the filter...pump the primer and when u see the fuel coming out hold down the primer button while u tighten (like bleeding brakes)...then crank and pump the go pedal..it will catch and smoke like train for a min

one last thing u may end up killing the battery so bring a charger or whatever u need

pump and lift pump doesnt fail on 12 valves...very rarely

a77ssii

As you guys suggested I cracked the fuel line and started pumping the primer. I pumped for about 10 minutes, fingers finally quite working and all I got was air bubbles. Figured what have I got to lose and pulled the filter which was about 3/4 full of fuel. On the inside.. I figured this out by cutting the outer housing off with the filter upright just like I pulled it from the truck. I then put about 1/2C of gas (all I had at home) into the filter element and NOTHING dripped out. Waiting on my wife to bring the new filter.

a77ssii

Here's a few pics of where she's stuck and busted. Looks like fun huh?

mr T

od u have enough extension cord to plug the beast in for a couple hours to help the cranking?...it may take some time to start it because of the mount of time air has had to get in...but if u said it was about to catch then it will...make url
life easier and prefill the fuel filter...another thing are u taking the filter off and on by twistign ur arm around the lines? its a PIA...so undo the bolts on the master cylinder and swing it out of the way..you'll have easy access to the filer..works great (credit goes to Infidel for that one)

a77ssii

Replaced the filter, prefilled if beforehand and she fired right up, for 20 sec then died again. Pumping the primer for 20 minutes just produced constant air bubbles and still no start. It's gonna be picked up in about an hour and taken to the shop. I had a charger on the batteries, block heater and another heater on the oil pan for 12 hrs and I know the fuel wasn't gelled. Suspecting a cracked fuel line because of the air but its just too cold (-2 w/ the wind chill) to do anymore. Thanks to all for the troubleshooting up to this point, makes me feel a bit better about sending it to a shop knowing there was nothing I was able to do in these conditions.

RickCJ

Sounds gelled up to me!

vzdude

1st and 2nd gen lines are common to crack at the rear of engine between tank and lift pump. Also have seen 1st gens have a degraded pickup hose in the tank causing poor power and excessive air in fuel!

Good Luck!

mr T

if she ran and died then u have a fuekl shut off solenoid issue...either the relay or the solenoid is faulty...the solenoid is a tough unit that rarely fails...check the blue wire to it and the connections to the battery..ur shut off solenoid is falling down...either a wire is shot, exposed, dangling or whatever...or ur relay is gone