To start at the beginning, I have a 99 Cummins 24 valve that I purchased this past summer. The truck has only 188k on the clock and, until recently, has started and run great. All that changed a couple weeks ago and I suspect I may have a air/fuel problem.

Sooo, I was working under the hood and bumped the drain valve handle on the fuel filter housing. It's an old school housing, with the filter cup that drops from the bottom, rather than having the screw off top. Anyway, I shut the valve again and didn't have any issues for a few days. But then a couple nights later, I went to start the truck and it wouldn't. I had to crank it a couple times and went probably 10 seconds on the ignition before it fired. After that it ran great and I took a 200 mile round trip with no issues. The truck ran fine for a few days, but then I had another crank no start. Same thing, it finally fired after cranking for a while. This is totally unusual, as the truck normally fires immediately, whether it's hot or cold.

The last time this happened, I fired the truck up immediately, and it ran fine for a few seconds but then died in the driveway. Now it's sitting out there, will crank but will not start. I'm guessing that I burned off whatever fuel was in my lines, and then that was it, so I assumed that it was a lift pump issue. I could hear the old pump humming, but I wasn't getting any fuel at the VP banjo, so I ordered a new one and installed it today.

Here's what I've done: I changed the fuel filter and put on a new lift pump. I cracked open the inlet banjo on the VP and got a good spray of fuel ( I didn't expect that!) and tightened it down.
I cracked open the #1, 3, and 4 injectors to bleed them, but only got a little bit of fuel from #3. #1 and #4 are still dry and nothing comes out when I bump the LP.

I've tried cranking and bumping the LP several times, but am not getting any fuel from the other lines. There is definitely fuel at the VP, so is there a possibility that the VP has an air block that isn't moving? How long does it typically take between cranking and bumping the LP for fuel to finally show up at the injectors? And is it common to have fuel come out of one injector and not the others? Last, once fuel is present, do I tighten that injector again and leave the others open?
Lots of questions for this Cummins newby - But thanking God to not be dealing with my old 6.0 PSD anymore!

 

When I have to bleed the lines I just bump the starter and let the lift pump run and keep bumping the starter until I get flow. It can take several times. I don't like trying to bleed while cranking because the lift pump does not run when cranking. Here is a website that has tests you can do and lots of info on vp44 Cummins www.bluechipdiesel.com