A friend is working on a 1993 1 ton with 6.2. Vin 1GBKC34F5PJ106890. His aftermarket repair guide says this is the year before computer controled so apparently his problem is mechanical. When it gets warm and sits for 15-20 minutes, it will not start until it cools down. Cranks over fine, just will not fire and run. He ran a jumper wire to the prime pump and is sure it is pumping while cranking but still will not run.
Is it possible that the injector pump is getting worn and not building pressure when hot from pump parts expansion? I had the thought of shooting starting fluid in the hose between the turbo and intake plenum to see if it would start but have not gotten that far yet. When it is running it runs great and starts immediately for about 15 minutes after being shut down when warm. After that it just plain will not run until it cools down. He runs a small repair shop and has a lot of tools for gas, but does not want to invest several thousand $ for 6.2 diagnostic equipment when he is this green about diesels. He has minimal exposure to Cummins and none to anything else.
Thanks for any hints,

 

ok. its a 93 and if its got a stock turbo it should be a 6.5, but doesn't really matter. You are correct that its not electronic.

anyway.
How many miles are on it? I can't think of anything really helpful to add, except that if its starting cold but not hot, I'm not really sure when you plan on using the ether.

Blah blah blah don't ever ever never ever use starting fluid on a diesel or your mom will die, your wife will leave you, and your ***** will fall off.

If your gonna do it you don't need to pull that hose off, spray it through the front of the turbo. If you've never used it on a diesel be really careful, remember its got no throttle plate, rpms are controlled by fuel, so you get too much fuel it overrevs and messes stuff up. If you do decide to do it, have a piece of cardboard handy to put against the turbo inlet if it starts running away to kill it.

 

Thanks for the input on the size and also about the choke it to death idea. I was only thinking about shooting the juice to see if we could get it running when it would not start when warm. I am still thinking it has something to do with the injector pump. It has a new engine. The owner paid about 5K for the truck but has spent another 10K having the engine changed. I don't know if new or rebuilt but has just been replaced. He is a contractor and has about 15 of these trucks so my buddy thought if he can fix it he would have a good income stream in maintaining the guy's fleet. After getting it over to his shop, he was talking to other mechanics in a machine shop he is friends with and they told him, "If you want to keep coming over and shooting the breeze with us, don't bring the P.O.S. over here.", and now my friend is wondering if he made a mistake in even venturing to try to do anything with it. Someone suggested something about a valve that keeps the fuel from draining back from the injector pump but when the lift pump runs with key on, I would not think that would be a problem. That was why I was thinking of juicing to try to make it start warm when it would not start. It starts beautifully when cold, just will not start if it sits more than 20 minutes after shutting down hot until it cools all the way down.

 

yeah a little ether isn't gonna kill the motor. I agree with the idea of trying to get it fire up once warm for diagnostic purposes, just don't keep flogging it if it doesn't want to start. how many original miles are on the IP? It's never changed when the motors are, which sucks.
People who talk **** about the 6.5 just have never put any time into one. True, its got its quirks just like any motor, and its not gonna make big numbers without a lot of money, but it will do pretty damned well for a dime a dozen truck.
I don't know how to do it on the mechanical truck, but you might check timing. Has it run right since the motor was swapped? I don't know much about the IPs on them, but for diagnostics you might consider borrowing a known working pump and putting it on, see if it solves your problem. He's definitely got a good idea with maintaining the guy's fleet. Once you go through the problems once on the 6.5 its not hard to fix it the 2nd time.
Hopefully someone will chime in on how to check the timing on the mechanical pump and maybe on loaning you a working IP. I've still got my motor but its electronic so I can't help you there.

 

Yeah, i have to use starter fluid all the time. I have no glow plugs, they are rotted off to little nubs in my heads. I squirt it into the openin where the cdr tube goes into the intake. It only takes a tiny quick squirt to do anything, so use VERY little. I was told to use wd-40, but for the life of me i can never get it to start on that stuff. I heard it really doesnt ruin the engine when used VERY carefully, it ruins your glowplugs.. I have seen a friend use it on a super cold day, and after that he had to replace a bunch of his gp's, i dont know what it does to them..... Are you getting fuel??? How is your fuel filter? Crack the t valve to see if the lp is working, you should get a steady stream. Crank the engine with a injector line cracked to see if your getting fuel to the injector. You need to first know you are getting fuel.. Then we will go from there....

 

my grandpa tells me the exact same thing about using wd 40, and it never works for me, although if it did it'd be a lot less bad for the motor.

 

My buddy got ready to move it a couple of days ago after a 40 mile run and it would not start after about 15 minutes. He got to checking around and the fuel shutoff solenoid in front of the IP seemed to be sticking. He unpluged the wire and clicked it a few times and tried it and it started so he is now fairly sure it is the solenoid that is the culprit. He was afraid to take it out before talking to some first. He did not know how it comes apart and was going to get some input before venturing into the IP. He was afraid he might throw it out of time not knowing what was inside. It is all mechanical.

 

Gotta see if you are getting fuel to the ip first. Throwing money at it is the longest and most expensive way to fix it....

 

aint that the truth

 

Trust me i know, when i first bought my truck i just bought parts and hoped it was it, but turned out to be something else. Ever since forums, problem diagnosis has been much cheaper and easier... Just need ot start with the basics.
Story: I had a freind whose car started bucking an kickin then died. He thought it was the sensor on the side of the distributor (THis is a ford pickup with a 302). SO we towed it home. Bought a new module and still no start. The truck had a fuel pressure guage and it read 20 psi, it usually reads 37. But it didnt phase him. Until we took the fuel guage out and (mechanical guage) and tried to start the truck and NO FUEL!!!! It was building up pressure alright, air pressure from being cranked so much. DUHHH,.... Ran the truck out of fuel, the gas guage in the cab didnt work. Gotta start simple, good luck!!!!