I have a 97 that is dead and wont start. Turns over fine.Dealer said to change fuel filter so i did still nothing. i know that the fuel is getting to the filter cause i can move the lever and it drains. i think i got a code but not sure i did what i was suppose to to get it any help would be great since this truck works every day on a large horse farm and need it back badly.

 

try this to get the codes:
Turn the ignition key ON,OFF,ON,OFF,and finally ON again(ENGINE NOT RUNNING)

 

That does not work until 2001 or something like that. My "99" does not read the codes out, I doubt if a 97 would.

 

i did that and got 4 numbers (1255) then it stopped flashing. It only did the pattern 1 time.

 

The codes on a 97 are not meaningful, and will never get you to a fuel problem.

You can have fuel in the filter and still not have it in the pump. Crack the line to the pump and start priming. Keep priming until you have clear fuel flowing out the line to the fuel pump itself, and yes your thumb will be killing you before you are done.

Once you get clean fuel, no air bubbles, at the injection pump tighten the fitting on the line and keep right on pumping. You will need good ears, as you are going to listen for the overflow valve to rattle, then you are done. The overflow valve is located inside the valley between the injection pump and the engine, and you will see the line from it that returns to the tank.

Now, before you start doing all this, be absolutely certain that you have the following things done:

All flexible fuel lines are less than two years old, if not change them now as they will leak microscopic air and keep causing mystery shutdowns. There are four of them, two on top of the tank and two to the engine from the frame.

Check and clean the frog screen located at the bottom of the fuel heater. If it is rusty, and most are if they have not been changed in a few years, get a new one from Cummins, they are cheap.

Unplug the fuel heater jack and fill it with silicone dielectric grease and replug it. They all leak a bit of air where the thermocement starts pulling away from the housing after a few years, and the grease seals them.

Once this is done, and you have primed the injection pump try starting the truck. If it does not start right up on a couple or more cylinders, then you will need to crack open a couple of injector lines on top of the injectors. If it starts and runs really rough, just let it run and leave the injection lines alone, it will clear itself after a while. If it is necessary to crack a couple of lines open be real careful, that fuel is under enough pressure it will blow right through your skin and kill you. Once you have a couple injector line fittings just barely cracked, start cranking the engine. It will spit fuel and then will start and cough around on a couple of cylinders, so just tighten the injection lines you cracked open and let it run. It will take a few minutes, but it will clear itself and start running on all six.