quantrill88

driving back to school today noticed something is definately wrong. at first it seemed like the tranny kept dropping out of overdrive and then shifting back in, with a substantial lack of power as well.......pulled over to check everything and the engine started to sputter badly (did it with the trans in park, neutral, and in drive)......unfortunately i was stuck at least 60 miles from anything helpful and nextel phones dont work out here so i shut her off for awhile. upon startup the idle was fine and i babied it for the next 20 miles till i got to school.<br><br>could this be a pump failure or has my transmission finally gone???? i unfortunately dont have gauges so i cant tell yall what they read.....<br><br>if it is either of these i would prefer to upgrade instead of having the stock pieces replaced, unfortunately the only place i know of is the ******* here in farmville and im not sure of the quality of their work<br><br>any help yall can give me would be extremely appreciated, thank u

Shovelhead

If the engine is &quot;Sputtering&quot; in any position including &quot;N&quot; &amp; &quot;P&quot;, I'd start looking at a fuel related trouble.<br>Has the fuel filter been changed recently?<br>Has the pressure been checked?<br>Did you just re-fuel? Could be bad fuel, or tanker dumped Gasoline in the station's underground diesel fuel tanks. (Yup it happens)<br><br>Ed

quantrill88

as far as checking the pressure, no i havent, and after this im definately ordering my gauges<br><br>the fuel filter was changed 6000 miles ago<br><br>as far as fuel, ive never had a problem at this station before and the truck ran fine all day, even running at 60-80 mph down I95, when the problem happened i was only doin around 50 outside of richmond, could it still be the fuel?

Shovelhead

Might be a pump issue then. [undecided]

still just tossin' out ideas here.

Tachometer wasn't dancing around? (Crank Position sensor)

Might want to check for a secure connection to the MAP sensor.

This is from another site, sounds kinda similar.
http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...threadid=69414

quantrill88

taking it down to the dealer here today, have to have it towed cuz it doesnt get more than 50 ft without dying.......ive been reading some other posts and im hopin its just the lift pump, not the injector pump.<br><br>when i tell them to check the injector pump, is this done by checking fuel pressure, and if so what would be the acceptable parameters for a vp44 in working order?<br><br>sorry to ask so many ?'s but having to go through this down here worries me as the dealer is the only place i know of to work on it

Shovelhead

I would hesitate to try to steer them in any particular direction. It could send them on a wild goose chase.<br>Just tell them what it's doing and let them do the Troubleshooting Diagnostics.<br><br>Ed

quantrill88

got a call from the dealer today, said it needs a new fuel filter. the one on there is only 4K miles old though ??? could a fuel filter really cuz this? its so bad i cant even run the truck for 20 seconds without it dying

Shovelhead

A completely clogged fuel filter could cause the problem (Bad load of fuel) starving the VP, but I'd make dang sure they test the fuel pressure again after changing it, and give them a filter too. Dealers charge $47.00 for a fuel filter you can get from Cummins for $14.00.

Wish you were closer, I've got 3 in the garage.
Moral: always keep a spare fuel filter in the truck. [undecided]

quantrill88

yep, plan on havin them check that pressure<br><br>thing that confuses me though is fuel up in northern va before makin my way down here and got all the way down 95 through richmond before it started acting up. after that i drove for between 20-30 mins and it was ok if i babied it, now it barely runs....sorry to babble on but im just wondering if i couldve damaged the vp in the process, thanks for bein so helpful through this

Shovelhead

Anything's possible. ???<br>Have you seen the &quot;Clogged&quot; fuel filter?<br><br>Are you still under the 100.000 mile warranty?<br>If you are, have them check for a toasted VP.<br><br>Just for S &amp; G, did you save the recipt from the station where you last bought fuel? <br>If the fuel is contaminated, take the repair bill, &amp; clogged filter, with a fuel sample back to the station.<br><br>

Sootblower

My bet is that you filled up at a station that just finished having its tanks filled by the tanker truck. This puts all the crap on bottom of tank into suspension and it goes into your vehicle. Takes several mile to coat your own filter with the garbage. Most truck stop stations have huge external fuel filters right on the pump hose as it exits the pump. Most small diesel stations have small internal filters that can not hold much junk, and when plugged I guess some must bypass the filter. Correct me if I am wrong, but that is my guess.

quantrill88

talked to the mechanic who serviced it and he said the same thing, i guess the reason it just took awhile for my filter to clog......thank u all for all ur help, know it wasnt that big of a problem i had but freaked me out cause of the fact that im on my own down here at school

Shovelhead

So does this mean you're back on the road again?<br><br>

quantrill88

yep, finally I talked with the mechanic and he seemed to think it was a fuel prob too. Definately will only fill up at truck stops now. Ended up having the lift pump as well as the fuel filter replaced. Also checked the vp, said it was ok. glad to have this taken care of and will definately be getting gauges as soon as possible. Thanks shovelhead and sootblower for all your input i really appreciate it