Alright, I just got my truck back from having the T-case rebuilt, and the fuel was low when I had it towed to the shop, well my mechanic put in "Kerosene" to get it running, since it was sputtering. Well I put another $20 worth of real diesel back in it after I picked it up, and its been stalling, sputtering, and finally...stalling out on me while I was driving down the road. When it would start, it wouldn't idle long, then it would sputter and die, no matter how much pedal I gave it.

I popped off an injector line, and nothing spits out. However, when I open the fuel filter bowl, it will spit fuel and is pressurized. It seems like their is compressed air behind the fuel when it comes out. I have it sitting at the shop, inside, where its 48*. It has been cold outside, but I don't think its been below 10* while it sat.

What do you guys think? Fuel filter? Fuel itself? Lift Pump? Pre-heater/Filter screen? Something else?

Please get back to me, I just dropped about $4K into the truck, and can't afford any more, so I'm hoping somebody has gone through this before and fixed it.

I still have to replace some electrical stuff, and fix vacuum lines too, what a PITA this truck has become.

 

Well, i dont have much advice, but Kerosene doesnt gel or freeze like diesel will, so the temps should not be a factor...

What COULD be a factor is the grade of kerosene...we run Herman Nelson heaters on 'heating fuel' which is a very low grade kerosene and it has a horrible flash point...may be low enough to not ignite under pressure...I dont know enough about what types you guys have in the US but it may be the culprit...

I would definately be looking for a new mechanic though...

 

If your tank was so empty, that means you could have the possiblity of crap going through all your lines from the bottom of your tank. Your better to start off by changing your fuel filters, maybe bleeding your lines and start fresh..all your symtoms sound like contaminated fuel.
I know this cause when i put gas in my diesel it did the same thing before it died!!

 

Fuel pressure test 1st .
Find out whats wrong then find out why , the shotgun guessing technique is the exspensive way to go after this .
The P pump trucks are able to handle a wider verity of fuel , including kerosene , with something to help lube .
Just because it happened at the same time is not proof that the kerosene was an issue or not .
Pressure fuel tank with about 3 lbs , then look at all lines & hoses from tank to lift pump for fuel leaks [ normally vacuum so no fuel to see ] , then fuel pressure test , pinch off slowly the fuel return hose after OFV [ overflow valve ] , if pressure comes up , the replace OFV , then maybe lift pump .

 

Bump

 

Well, the truck is running again, but instead of going through wasting time figuring out which problem it was...I got impatient, and smart, and covered all my bases.

Steps along the way:

1. Replace Lift pump, strainer bowl screen, and grease electrical plug. No difference.

2. Replace Fuel filter. No difference.

3. Replace all fuel lines from strainer bowl to tank, and return lines from pump to tank, with Marine Grade B1 soft line. Also urethane paint applied to pickup elbows (which were steel) to seal up any possible corrosion leaks.

4. Replace screen on bottom of the pickup assembly.

After all that, the truck is now working, and running like it should. It does take a minute of cranking to fire up in the morning, or after its sat for a while, but its been fairly cold here. I still think I might have a leak somewhere loosing prime, and I have to replace the OFV.

Next up is a manual kill cable, and replacing a lot of busted vacuum hose, and I still have to put in my Thuren Trac bar.

 

any update???

 

On what? I gave a write up of what I did, and its mostly fixed... I still loose prime overnight, but there's not enough air getting in to kill the truck then its running.

The pull cable might come this weekend, but I'm busy, so IDK if I'll be able to get it up this weekend (the write up that is).

 

Glad to hear you got this working