Any dead pedal, missing, hestation? White smoke? Those are also telltale signs to at least watch for. Good luck.

 

It runs good most of the time! Just hard starts. I did just find a cracked exhaust housing where my wastgate closes. Its awsome!!!!

 

Hard starts is the main symptom of a failing vp44. The other thing I would check is water in the fuel. In the summer there is a lot more water in the fuel and after you shut your engine off the water drops to the bottom of your tank. I would drain my filter assembly on the side of the engine first and hope for the best - save the residue- it makes a really good tool cleaner. Also do you want to check the water percentage in your fuel - take a sample from the bottom of your filter housing - put 2 ounces in the bottom of a glass or plastic measuring cup. Blend the exact same amount of antifreeze with the diesel / water mixture. Let sit overnite to settle and separate. without disturbing the mixture see how much more the bottom fluid (antifreeze and water) has grown in relation to the fuel on the top. Then you can calculate how much water you have percentage wise if both levels are not the same. The water and the antifreeze will mix and "grow" if water is present and the fuel will stay the same.

 

My dodge starts fine when it's cold but when it warms up it might start good or it might not sometimes it will start like it does when it's cold in about a turn and a half to three turns but sometimes it's like you are starting a jet engine it might turn over 10 to 15 times befor it starts I talked to a mechanic and he said to try battery connections so I cleaned all the connections and went on a 300mile trip and it didnot act up untill I got there I've tried cleaning the connections again but it doesent help

 

Just went through this on mine found an old thread and it saved me. Basically for some reason the vp doesn't like the fuel pressure when starting. Everyone debates the reasoning but my truck still runs like a beast and I hauled 18k behind it this weekend. Quick test unhook your lift pump see if it fires. If so this is your issue. I ran mine off a temporary toggle I am in the process of a more permanent fix. I guess the most common fix is run the pump off the power window circuit since it loses power while cranking. This is what I plan to do this weekend. There is also ways to wire in a breaker and do it that way. My thread on this is a few days old.