ok so heres the scoop i was on my way to work this morning and it cut out and i couldnt get it restarted i tracked down what i thought was the problem which was the transition pump. so i got one and now the problem is that it seems to be trying to run backwards (sucking air into the exhaust and the intake) someone told me that theres a dowel pin on the cam somewhere that might have broken or something and the cam jumped timing. has anyone ever heard of this? any help would be better than im at now.

 

um for that year of truck you might want to do a little searching on the KDP (killer dowel pin) the timing may have jumped ship because if it broke there is a dowel that holds every thing in-line and sometimes they fall out and cause problems

 

By transition pump, do you mean lift pump or fuel pump? If so, you may have air in the fuel lines. Did you beeld all the air out? Did it ever restart after the pump change?

You do need to research the KDP issue. It's expensive to fix, and simple and cheap to avoid.

 

it would not restart after it died and yes i guess it would be considered the lift pump i was told it was a transition pump i think its the same thing though just diff name i searched the kdp but it still kind of confuses me.

 

"searched the kdp but it still kind of confuses me"

The kdp is a killer dowel pin. There are pins that locate the timi g gear cover, so it goes on in the exact right place. These pins are not fit tight enough from the factory and will work themselves out of thier holes, then fall into the turning timing gears. That's where the problem comes in. A steel pin trying to go thru the mesh of gears with thousands of an inch in clearence between them. Dosen't fit, so something has to give. It will be the gears. You can get a kit to install a keeper over the pin so it won't come out. I beleive it's an $80 kit, but the repair to fix the busted up gears can be thousands. Try this http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/Dowel_Pin/tab.htm. While your there, look at some of the other links. Good reading and good info. You can even back up a page or two and find some more really good info.

The lift pump is about the same as the fuel pump in a gas engine. The diffrence is the injector pump. This LP feed fuel to the injector pump and it puts it under high pressure and feeds it to the injectors. The lift pump can go out, and the IP is strong enough to draw some fuel to keep it running, but the extra load will killit eventually. The lift pump is afordable and not so bad to change. most guys like to relocate the lift pump to a frame rail so it's easy to check and easy to replace if they have to do it again.

It's a good idea to install a fuel pressure gauge, so you can see at all times, the lift pump is working. If the sending unit is installed after the fuel filter, you can even see a drop in pressure when the fuel filter needs changing. Another handy thing to know.

Hope this helps.

 

Charliez,

This fella has a 12 Valve by his signature. Different fuel system tha our '99's

12V have a mechanically driven transfer pump mounted on the engine.....

Quite a different situation.

 

thank you the info helps alot and yes i have a 12v so its a mech pump that runs off the cam.

 

but he does have the kdp. Thats the reason for the above info. And no matter how many valves he has, he still has a lift pump.

 

Yep, that's right..... But it sure isn't on the frame rail and a fp gauge isn't really necesary on a 12V...

Hope it's not a KDP issue..........

 

None of them are on the frame rail unless you modified it. They are both on the block. If you fuel hard a FP gauge is recommended on the 12 valve.

 

If Chris would have had an inexpensive fuel pressure gauge the transfer pump quite possibly wouldn't have been needlessly replaced. Would have paid for two FP gauges.

Chris, it seems like you have a bad situation there. Best that you can hope for is the timing slipped radically, worst is the dowel pin came out and really lunched your engine.

Here's what TST says about it:

If you have heard of “dowel pin issues” on the 12 valve Cummins 5.9 with the P7100 Bosch injection pump then you may already have taken care of your truck. This dowel pin issue applies to all ?89-?98 12 valve Rams with Cummins engines and many other non-Dodge Cummins 12 valve engines. If you have not heard of the issue, or you heard yet have done nothing and you are the owner of one of these vehicles, listen up. A dowel pin failure could destroy your engine completely or do no damage at all.



The aluminum front gear housing on the 5.9 Cummins is precisely located on the front of the cast iron engine block using dowel pins. The dowel pin is about 5/16 inch diameter by 3/4inch length made of steel. During engine assembly the dowel pins are driven into holes drilled in the block such that about half their length protrudes. Matching holes in the gear housing permit a precise fit of the housing the block. Several cap screws are used to hold the housing to the block. The problem with the dowel pin occurs because the hole in the aluminum gear housing was drilled through. During engine operation vibration could cause the dowel pin to work its way out of the hole and fall into the gear case. When the dowel pin falls, it can drop right to the oil pan or land in the gear housing, causing no damage at all.



On the other hand, the pin can be caught in the camshaft gear and forced into the aluminum gear housing, breaking out a big chunk of the housing which would cause a huge oil leak and an expensive, time consuming failure.



Worst-case failure is when the dowel pin goes between the cam and crank gears, or cam and injection pump gears, breaking the gear off the camshaft. The camshaft stops rotating instantly causing valves to stop operating, leaving some valves open and some closed. The crankshaft continues to rotate for a few seconds, slamming pistons into valves, and possibly ruining block, crank, rods, cylinder head, and valve train. Almost no reusable parts in this case, a complete engine swap could be required.



If you are the owner of one of these 12 valve 5.9 engines and you haven?t taken preventive action, we suggest you take action before the vehicle strands you in a bad location and sticks you with an expensive repair bill. TST offers a “Dowel Pin Kit” that includes the parts you need to access the dowel pin, positively lock it in place so that it does not come out. Installing this kit requires removal of the engine fan shroud, fan, damper, and front gear cover to gain access to the dowel pin. Once the dowel pin is secured, a new crankshaft seal included in the kit is installed in the gear cover and all parts are reinstalled. This kit sells for $48 and takes about 4 hours to install. See http://www.tstproducts.com/DowelPina.pdf for complete installation instructions

 

well i think i found some body to tow it so i can really get a look at everything thanks for the help.

 

I was looking on the KDP kit from TST, and i notice it comes with a new bolt. I was wondering if this bolt was a little longer, or if i was going to make my own little custom washer, if i could use the original. I have to go on a 400 mile trip this weekend before i have time to fix it, every mile i drive, ill be nervous. Sucks when you dont have enough time on your hands to fix it. Seems to take awhile to find time when it is your daily driver too.

 

I said re-locate it to the frame rail, not that it was on the frame rail.

With him having a mechanical pump, maybe that wouldn't be a viable option, unless maybe he disconnected and left his old because of the mounting and it running off the cam and possibly leaving a hole in the block.

 

ok heres the newest update on the prob had a friend come and help me with it yesterday and so we have good fuel presure to injectors 1-4 and a little presure to 5 and none to 6 but it still wont fire ive been told that it should run on 4 it will try to start for a second then nothing. the fuel shut off wasnt workin but once you lift it up it will stay up but the biggest problem is it gets hotter than hell my friend mentioned changing the brushes in the starter but shouldnt it still start though?