Probably best to give the whole story here . . . sorry my first post is asking for help.

I inherited a '01 24 valve with 136k on it. I've been using it as a daily commuter. It snowed really heavy last weekend, and the road home was very bumpy, about 40 miles of bumpy. Almost home, I slammed on the breaks where there was no traffic, to test the stopping power on bad roads, the engine stalled but started back up. The next day I drove it up and down the driveway, the engine seemed to stall more when it was warmed up. I took it to the autoparts store the following day, put "Sea Foam" diesel fuel treatment in it, ran it 40 miles, it didn't help. I went to a different parts store, replaced the air and fuel filter, went to bleed the lines, and after 15-20 times bumping the starter (and waiting for the lift pump to stop), no fuel came out of the intake line, completely off on the injection pump end. I had them use an OBD II error reader, and it came back with P0216. I replaced the lift pump with an Airtex one from the parts store, bled the line and got fuel immediately. The truck started, I drove for 10 miles, and it died and wouldn't start back up. I loosened the fuel intake again, and it pushed fuel out when I bumped the starter. I had it towed to a shop, they couldn't diagnose it. It's now waiting until after Xmas to be towed to a different shop.

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I forgot to mention that when I started it on the 3rd day it was making a horrible noise, and continued to until it was warmed up.

 

1.make sure you have fuel in the tank. pesky dodge fuel sending units seem to change often
2. Make sure there is fuel to the injection pump.
3. if you crack 3 or 4 lines and if fuel does not just pour out then you will be needing an injection pump.

 

I think I'm up to #3, I filled it up when I put the fuel treatment in. Should fuel pour out as soon as the lines are cracked, or when I try to turn it over?

 

a little bit of fuel may come out w/o being cranked.

once the pump is primed fuel should come out of every open line. Its easier to bless if you open several lines like 1, 3, 4

 

Got it. If I get the chance, I'll check it in the mechanic's parking lot. It wouldn't be surprising if it's the VP44, I've noticed fuel economy go from 22 mpg or so down to 17.9. If I can buy the part and give it to the mechanic to install, I'll be buying it from you, probably when I can make room in the budget.

 

there is a write up in the stickys on the vp44 it lists all the codes and what they mean. If you had the P0216 it most defanatly means your vp44 is toast. loss in fuel economy is something i had and the inability to get the engine temp over 140. If you bleed the injector lines and it is running rough with no throttle pedal a nother good sign your going to need a new vp44. I just got done putting a new one on my 01. Put a fuel gauge on asap this will keep you from toasting another pump

good luck

 

also if you get an intermittant "dead pedal" that could be a sign of a toasted VP, if you only have the p0216 and not an APPS related code

 

i got that code but a speed sensor in my tranny had went out and threw the timing off so there is a sensor on the botom of the tranny and one in the rear end just food for thought

 

Hey check out Blue Chip Diesel Performance Specialists... He has a LOT of VP44 info on there! Really informative site!!!

 

po216 does not always mean a dead VP44, it can mean you have not enough fuel pressure and the VP44 is not designed to pull fuel all the way from the tank and through a dead/weak lift pump. I am a site sponsor on here and my prices are far less than Blue chip.