Tractorman

I watched your video. Your "wait to start" light went out at 15 seconds into the video yet you didn't crank the engine until 45 seconds into the video. Why did you wait? Since it sounds like the truck is close to starting, I would just bump the starter and leave the key in the run position. The lift pump will run for approximately 20 seconds. Do this two or three times and then try starting the engine immediately. If the truck is inside a shop or garage and the temperature is above 40 degrees, then don't wait for the grid heaters to cycle - it is just pulling down more battery power. - John

Same here for my '02. Plus I would have to relocate the exhaust brake - didn't want to do that. - John

I think so. I already do that with the original OEM turbo (HX35), RV275 hp injectors, and mild tune with a Smarty S03. My travel trailer is light - a little over 5,000 lbs (GCW is 12,500 lbs) and I pull 6% grades for 5 or 6 miles in 6th gear 60-65 mph (1,800 - 1,900 rpm) with egt's staying right around 1,150°. Kind of similar to what you are asking. I can easily attain 30 psi boost above 1,700 rpm, but a 6% grade will call for about 25-27 psi boost. - John

I think it is because you are on the other side of the world. - John

All of your statements of understanding are true, so I would not worry about harming the pump. One thing you could do if you have any issues at all with the new VP44 is to check continuity of all the wires that connect the ECM to the VP44. Inspect the connectors and make sure that there are no pins pushed back into the connector body. These codes are from you July 18 log entry. Just FYI: P0251 (M) Fuel Inj. Pump Mech. Failure Fuel Valve Feedback Circuit / Problem sensed with fuel circuit internal to fuel injection pump. P0252 - could not find this code in the 2002 FSM P0253 (M) Fuel Injection Pump Fuel Valve Open Circuit / Problem sensed with fuel circuit internal to fuel injection pump. P1688 (M) Internal Fuel Injection Pump Controller / Failure Internal problem within the fuel injection pump. Low power, engine derated, or engine stops. - John

Something doesn't quite make sense here. The cylinders are numbered 1 through 6 with #1 being the front. The firing order is 1,5,3,6,2,4. If you are saying that the the three rear cylinders are not firing, that would be 4,5 and 6 are not firing and the engine us running on 1,2 and 3. Can you clarify? - John You posted the above on November 11. What does "confirmed the hot wire test on the vp44" mean? Does this mean that the engine idled smoothly on all six cylinders? If so, this would mean that there is no mechanical problem and all of the other tests were unnecessary. If the statement means something else, then we need to know what it means. - John

Thank you for the historical log in chronological order. Just one question. The July 18th entry does not say anything about the VP44 that was currently in the truck at that time. How many miles / years? original VP44? or do you not know any information about the VP44. How many miles / years have you owned the truck? Is the "theory" referring to "THE diesel shop to go to" or are they referring the the re-builders of your previous VP44 pumps? - John

I tried it once, but to me, oak just doesn't taste that good. - John

My wife and I were selling our home in the Willamette Valley on the west side of the Cascade Mountains in 2019. I had a 12' x 24' wood shed full of split well seasoned oak firewood (seasoned well over 2 years). By then, we had purchased a 5 acre parcel of land near Baker City in eastern Oregon. I used my dump trailer to haul firewood from the Willamette Valley home to the eastern Oregon property when we traveled there to work on the property. Ended up hauling over six cords of firewood. In February of 2021, the Willamette Valley had a very destructive ice storm. It especially hit hard where I used to live. My neighbor there had two mature oak trees that went down. The following spring I took my 14,000 GVW equipment trailer and tractor there to help clean up my old neighbor's yard. Each of the three loads I brought backnetted over 10,000 lbs. - so well over six cords of firewood, again. We moved into our newly constructed house near Baker City in October of 2020. It is a 2200 sq ft home that is heated solely with the wood stove - propane furnace backup. We are in the middle of our third winter now and I have lots of oak firewood left. I just finished insulating the 30' x 36' shop that I am building and I am now heating the shop with a wood stove, as well. I am really going to miss burning the oak when it finally runs out. The firewood source around Baker City is red fir and tamarack - good firewood, just not the same as oak. - John

I agree. I currently have 370,000 miles on the OEM head gasket with running a mild tune for the last 100,000 miles. No studs. The truck has done its share of heavy hauling (up to 21,000 lbs gross combined weight) over long distances throughout its life. - John

If I were in your shoes, I would investigate the cause of the above-mentioned turbo performance issue before I started making any modifications to the engine. You could have something simple such as a broken clamp on a hose connection on either end of the intercooler or at the intake plenum. The leaking connection will only be heard under boost and the sound produced can vary widely. And, of course, black smoke would come out of the tail pipe due to not having enough air for the amount of fuel injected. If the turbocharger is found to be at fault (determined after a close inspection), then I would want to know what caused the failure and why before moving forward. - John

Dennis, welcome to the forum. Turbos are usually pretty bullet proof. Could you elaborate a bit more on "the turbo started acting up"? - John

Maybe you could put together the historical log mentioned earlier? - John

My truck is also an '02. The original VP44 set the P0216 code at 64,000 miles. Drove it that way for another year (learned how to get around the limp mode). VP44 replacement and lift pump relocation to tank was performed under warranty at 87,000 miles. The re-manufactured VP44 installed then has now logged 283,000 miles - no 2-stroke oil and maximum lift pump pressure ever observed is 12 psi, and that's at idle. The re-located in-tank lift pump ran for over 150,000 miles (over 11 years) at 6 psi idle and 3 psi wide open throttle. I changed location of the in-tank lift pump to a frame mount lift for easier access in case of failure. The in-tank lift pump never failed. I think there is a wide range of quality control with re-builders. The professional VP44 re-builders not only use new PSG' and fully test the pumps, but also use updated internal parts. - John

@Timburrr, since your particular problem has been hard to diagnose and it has occurred over a long period of time with many actions taken, can you make a log showing the history of your truck before and after the problem occurred. The log would show events that happened, things you observed, repairs you made, checks that you performed, etc. The log would like like the example below: Date Odometer Description 5-5-21 259,820 Installed new VP44 injection pump with new PSG by (vendor name) 6-9-21 260.020 Truck died on way to work. Would not restart, required a tow to dealer 6-25-21 260.020 Dealer called and said the PSG on the VP44 failed I think a log would help everybody see a clear picture of the events as they happened. And, the log could be copied to the latest post so that it would be fresh information for any forum member to respond to. Even if the dates and mileage were approximate, it would still help greatly. - John

Saying that you are "on your own" was a poor choice of words on my part. I apologize for that. However, the forum will need information regarding how the your headlight relays and bulbs are wired since your current headlight wiring is not likely to match the FSM wiring diagram. Also, if you let the forum know your skill set, then the forum can ask the right questions and help get this figured out. It is possible, although not likely, that both low beam filaments are burnt out. You don't want to skip this step. While you are checking, identify the bulbs - that will help with troubleshooting. - John

Since it has been modified, you are on your own here. I would verify whether the relays are using positive or negative switching (both on the coil part of the relay as well as the switch part of the relay). Then troubleshoot the lighting circuit from there. - John

Is it a factory 4 bulb system (Sport Package) or a modified 4 bulb system (after market)? - John

I agree. There are other areas for electric vehicles that are not being talked about much - small off road equipment, such as a mini-excavator. One of the most undesirable aspects of an electric vehicle is the large amount fixed weight (the batteries) the vehicle must carry around all of the time. In a mini-excavator, the weight of lots of battery power would be an asset. The heavy weight of these batteries would be part of the needed counterweight. There are already a few manufacturers of EV excavators. I have a Takeuchi TB016 mini-excavator. It weighs about 3500 lbs. It is powered by a 3 cylinder 14 hp Yanmar diesel engine. It would be an excellent candidate to be powered by a large battery pack. The high starting torque of DC electric motors would easily propel the tracks - no hydraulics. The volume of oil needed for the electric powered on-demand hydraulic pumps used for the auxiliary hydraulic circuits would be significantly reduced. A lot of pluses. - John

All of the air that leaves the blower chamber immediately flows through the evaporator core. If the evaporator core is partially blocked, then you will have reduced air flow from the vents - not reduced air temperature. In fact, the air temperature from the vents would probably slightly higher because of the longer saturation time while flowing through the heater core. You have not mentioned anything about low air flow - you have only mentioned low air temperature. It is possible the thermostat could be a problem, but I don't think so. I run a 180° thermostat in my truck and my heater works fine. I think that you are down to a partially plugged heater core, or the blend door actuator is not indexed correctly, or the blend door itself is damaged / not sealing. I think it would be worth a try to remove the blend door actuator again and rig something to prop the blend door in the correct position to ensure that all air is flowing through the heater core. If nothing changes, then you can rule out a blend door actuator problem. I know you will get it figured out. - John

To make the rear screw installation easier, I used a longer screw with a spacer (can't remember the length). This made the head of the screw more accessible for starting the threads and for keeping the tool driver on the screw. I don't think I would worry about the actual temperature coming from the vents. You will know if it is fixed. - John

Thanks for sharing your experience. Your story has well demonstrated how quickly things can get out of hand. Many times a safety device, such as a clutch safety switch, is mandated, but the reason is not thoroughly explained, even though the reason may seem obvious. Then, as time goes by, the value of that safety device changes even though the device itself hasn't changed. Let me explain (using the clutch safety switch as an example). In 1984, I purchased a new Ford E150 van with a 4 speed manual transmission. It had a clutch safety switch. I never modified it. But, if I would have modified it and activated the starter in gear while outside of the vehicle, the following could happen, even with the park brake set. * The engine could start before I let go of the key. That would be the worst case scenario, but probably would not happen. Why? Because back then most engines were gasoline engines and the engines were carbureted. Those engines would usually take a few revolutions of cranking before the engine would start. Plenty of time to let go of the key. Also, the resistance of cranking the engine in gear with park brake resistance would greatly reduce the chance of the engine starting. But the event would probably scare the heck out of me. So, fast forward a few years and you will find that the safety device has not changed, but the instant starting of a high torque, low RPM diesel engine has. Therefore, the risk of serious property damage or serious injury has greatly increased. @JAG1has illustrated this well. @JAG1has also made a good point regarding a tire shop employee starting the engine in his truck using poor safety habits - a risk that I did not think of. In this case the employee is relying on the operation of the safety switch and he is not placing himself in the driver seat every time he starts an engine. Over 50 years ago (before the addition of clutch safety switches), safety awareness regarding starting manual transmission engines was greater. Now, the safety awareness is posted within pages and pages of other safety awareness items. Not likely to be read. For all of these reasons, I think I will keep the clutch safety switches in my truck and my tractor fully operational. - John

According to the wiring diagram, it should work without any side affects. If you decide to do it, just be sure you continue to practice your learned engine starting safety habits - no starting the engine without being fully seated in the driver seat. - John

@JAG1, I am definitely interested. Three nights would be good. I would be willing to drive to the location in early May to check road conditions and report back. - John

If you have never changed out the plastic interposer that connects the blend door motor to the blend door, I would just do it. When I replaced mine several years ago, I could not see a crack in the interposer, but it was worn and it was the problem. Trying to diagnose a cabin heater problem by checking the temperature of the heater hoses is not a conclusive solution. If the blend door is stuck in a mid-range position, the symptoms will be the same as a partially plugged heater core. - John