I stopped for fuel yesterday and fueled up my truck and noticed the smell of diesel on the last 15 miles of my trip home. Pulled in the driveway and had a puddle of diesel on the ground as I stopped and backed in. The truck never stopped running or seemed to have any lost power. I left it to check this morning after it cooled down and now it won't start. It appears there is a cracked hose above and in front of fuel filter. I believe this is the return line to tank and so am trying to remove and replace. Would this cause my leak and no loss of power or is something else broken, and also no run condition today? I have never changed any of the fuel lines and the truck has 167K and I bought it at 125K.

 

Ah, the return line failure. You've sucked enough air back through the system that you've lost prime. Plan on replacing both of the lines. I (and several others) recommend going all the way back to the tank with rubber and bypassing the steel lines that tend to crack. 5/16 and 3/8 inch hose. On mine it was about 12 feet of each.

 

Does that mean I have to drop the fuel tank to get to the connections or is it off to the frame rail side where I can get to the connection?

 

I would just replace that line. You can get it from Cummins. They rarely cause trouble on the 1st gens.

 

Replace both the fuel supply/return lines. Also recommend replacing the soft line from the fuel preheater to liftpump. There's also a screen and gaskets to replace inside the fuel preheater. The fuel lines can purchased from LarryB or a local marine supply place. I recommend using Marine grade diesel fuel line. Your post mentions you're at 167k for mileage. Have you replaced the starter contacts? If not, you're overdue. They will go bad and you're at the correct mileage for failure. Removing the front driveline and starter will make replacing the fuel supply/return line easier. Since the starter is out LarryB also has upgraded contacts that will keep the starter humming for sometime. My 96' had a crimp fitting for one of the fuel lines above the tranny. Mine required blind cutting with a dremel to remove. Recommend going to Cummins for the fuel preheater kit. Check out the two links for info and shopping.

http://dodgeram.org/support_pgs/diesel_ix.htm


http://www.fostertruck.com/dodge/default.htm

 

Replaced the line that was leaking and started the truck after about 25 pumps on the primer button with the bleed screw on fuel filter open. Truck started right up and no bleeding of injectors. Bought high pressure hose from NAPA and it cost $10/ft. Now that I have it running, tried it out and no leaks and back to regular running and no leaks when I shut it down will look at the back and see about replacing all of the line as suggested. Looks like mine connects to braided steel line on frame rail with a short piece of rigid steel down by the linkage. Is that braided steel prone to breaking down as it should be flexible for the vibration. The piece I replaced about 18" to 2' was all weather cracked. I rebuilt the starter about 1 year ago with the large contacts etc. so that is not needed at this time. I think the $10 per ft is pretty high and that is what they charged my wife, I will check the bill. Thanks for all the help guys!!!