Lift Pump

[jones154]

So I haven't driven my my pickup in a month and a half and it was gelled up when I parked it but I put a bunch of treatment in it before I parked it and ran it for a bit and then parked it... Yesterday I put a new fuel filter in bumped the key to cycle lift pump to fill the fuel filter housing... When I did this I heard the lift pump running but no fuel was being pumped it was about 20 degrees yesterday.... The pump is only like 2 years old...has anyone had the pump run but not move fuel before or do you think it might just be gel in the lines

[Kotta390]

Does your fuel pressure gauge move any when you bump the starter? I know with my airdog 150, if I turn the key on it will prime for about a sec and the fuel pressure goes up to about 10psi and slowly drop down. The when I crank it will stay at 18psi

[jones154]

My trucks 100 percent stock. So the only fuel pressure gauge I have is connected to the bottem of the fuel filter housing on the way from the filter to the injector pump so if no fuel is flowing into the fuel filter there will be no pressure there

[dripley]

It is possible for the pump to fail internally and still run. Was the fuel in the canister liquid? 20* should not cause regular diesel to gel. 

[jones154]

The fuel on the canister was liquid the old filter seemed like it may have had some fuel in it that was a little thick

[Mopar1973Man]

Q: what is your fuel pressure like with a starter bump?

 

Q: Does the fuel flow freely from the end at the VP44 if the banjo / fitting is removed?

 

Just because you hear the lift pump doesn't mean its pumping.

[dripley]

If the fuel was liquid in the canister it is probably not gelled. If you can warm everything up and it still does not pump any fuel I would say it is the pump.

[diesel4life]

What were the symptoms when you parked it? Was the truck running? Hard starts?

I'm just wondering if you have a leaky fuel line somewhere and are losing prime to the system.

[hex0rz]

You are going to want to get rid of the OEM lift pump setup as soon as possible... get ahold of some sort of aftermarket lift pump.

[rancherman]

if your fuel  was  gelled  a month and a half ago....and you haven't run it since....   20 degrees  won't  be enough..  no matter  how  much  'additive'  you put in the tank.   It takes   sloshing around  and   warmth  to  really re liquefy.     'that' alone  makes  it hard to do  when truck won't start!!    I'm assuming  your fuel was hit  by  earlier  sub zero temps,   and it just now  warmed up to 20!

 

I had  pretty bad  icing  problem  in early  December,   but that was my own fault,  and  my  bulk tank here on the  ranch.   (pump ran, but no fuel to the filter)    Since then,  I've replaced the  pump...

 

Try blowing  (little  bursts of compressed air)  backward  through the  supply-line-to-tank   (take off the  fuel cap first)  to make sure you don't have   frozen water  plugging the line,  or  at least  a  slug  of   'snot'    in the line  or  draw tube...  Ive  blown backwards  into many of my tractor  tanks  for several minutes  to  mix  additives/clear out the  pickup tube.   Again,  REMOVE  THE FUEL CAP FIRST!!

 

BTW,   does  the  factory  draw tube  use  a  sock??   never had mine out!    That  could be   smeared over  with  gel too!

Edited January 19, 2014 by rancherman

[mopartechnician]

There is a mesh screen

[jones154]

When I parked the truck it was starting to gel up almost wouldn't run so I shut it off to avoid starving the system any more....in the mean time it's been hit with some extreamly cold negative temps and some warm...we had a week where it warmed up and the hired man took it to go get some supplies from a colony 2 miles away he said it ran a little rough at first but came around...it only ran maybe 15- 20 min after that it was hit again with -30 degree temps for a while and the last week it's been getting up around 15 to 20 degrees during day and around 0 at night

I know it's running and not pumping which would cause it not to have pressure or flow to the injector pump unless the pickup was running which I never had ( is my thinking right there)

What are some reasons for wanting to get an after market lift pump instead of OEM

[Yankneck696]

The OEM pump never supplied enough pressure & flow to cool the computer on the VP44 injection pump from the beginning.

Ed

[jones154]

What all is everyone running for a lift pump

[Ilikeoldfords]

Look at FASS if you want to stay with an electric pump. You can get full fuel systems for pretty reasonable on websites like Vulcan or Diesel Auto Power. You can try Airdog too but their quality has fallen off the last couple years. If you have the coin the way to go now is mechanical pump. Glacier Diesel or DTT Assasin are good mechanical lift pumps.

[rancherman]

I  am  bone  stock,  and   am  running  a  fass  02.   It's  rated  for   18 psi,  which so far   it's  maintaining.    It uses  the factory  bracket  and  wiring.

[jones154]

As long as we are on fuel systems does anyone know where I can get a fuel level sending unit without going into an in-tank fuel pump

[MnTom]

Just order it at any dealer. If you just order the sending unit you won't get the module or a pump.

[hex0rz]

ANOTHER thought... I have read about people ending up having 2 lift pumps on their truck and did not know it. Some of these trucks had an in-tank lift pump and some have one mounted to the block under the OEM fuel filter canister.

 

IIRC, when one failed, the other had to work harder to provide the fuel, and sometimes exhibited the same symptoms you do. I know that can complicate things as you would need to find out if you had an in-tank lift pump. Although, if you are doing a new sending unit, you would find out...

 

You want to invest in a fuel pressure gauge and an aftermarket lift pump, as the bare minimum for these trucks. If you do not plan on ever doing anything with the truck except driving it to point A to B, that would be the very least I would do to the truck. Like stated before, the VP44 or injection pump needs a good pressure and flow of fuel to keep it in good working order. The stock lift pump is the weakest part of the whole system. It does not supply the injection pump like it should and causes accelerated wear to the pump.

 

An aftermarket lift pump will provide the proper pressure, flow, and fuel without air. Without proper pressures and flow, the injection pump does not receive enough fuel to keep the pump cool and lubricated. When the fuel also has air, cavitation occurs and you see damage from metal on metal wear.

 

Pressures should never go below 10psi but ideally never below 14psi. The pressure should also never exceed 20psi. This has become the consensus here through much research and trial, error.

 

IMHO, I have never used the FASS system, but only the Airdog. My first pump from AD burned out on me in less than a year. I think it was because I got their inferiorly designed pump. But after a no questions asked replacement, I have not had a problem since. I believe it was a hiccup in their pump design, but I'm willing to bet, they have fixed it and are back on track.

 

If it were me, and I could do it over again, I personally would go with a mechanical system. Like stated above, the GDP or DTT are the ones offered. IIRC, I believe people preferred the DTT over the GDP though. With this system, the pressures increase as the RPM's increase instead of the pressure decrease as the RPM's increase, like the electrical.

 

Skimping on a good lift pump and staying with the OEM lift pump, its only a matter of time until that injection pump goes out and your looking at an approximate $1000 repair!

[dripley]

I ran 2 pumps on mine for a while. One in the tank(from dodge) and a booster pump from BD diesel.Put the second one on when I found out the in tank was putting out less than 1# of pressure at WOT. Ran that setup for near 100k without a problem. I did worry about the in tank going all the way out and maybe screwing things up, but it held up.