Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
So here is the story. I was driving yesterday and my truck all of the sudden lost power, it then regained all power for another couple miles then lost all powe r(no throttle response) and died and would start back up but die after a few seconds. The fuel filter was due for a change so i changed it out this morning thinking that would do the trick, and it did, well for about 10 miles then i stopped to fuel up and it wont start back up. So for the second day in a row I had to get towed.
I bought this truck about a year ago and dont know a lot about the 5.9 all of my previous experience in gasoline engines. Its now 330am the tow truck just drooped me off and im in desperate need of help. Im taking the day off tomorrow to try and figure this out.
Any ideas?

 

Sounds like the lift pump died. It is the small electric pump that draws fuel from the tank and supplies it to the CP3 injection pump. It is attached directly to the back side of the fuel filter housing. Check the relay under the hood 1st, then turn the key to "run". You should be able to hear the pump humming (you may need to "bump" the starter). Even if the pump does run, it may not be supplying the fuel pressure required to keep the CP3 happy. They usually go south around 75,000-100,000 miles.

Don't bother going to the Dodge Garage to replace it. They discontinued that pump back in 2005 and the only factory fix for a dead lift pump in your truck is to relocate it to the fuel tank, which is pretty expensive (around $700.00-$800.00).

But don't fret. Most auto parts stores sell the original-style in-line pump for under $200.00 and can be changed easily yourself and get you back on the road.

What most people ultimately end up doing though is ditching the factory set-up and installing a FASS or AirDog fuel system. They are pump/filter combination assemblies that mount on the frame rail, move huge amounts of fuel to keep up with any mods you may have (work great for stock trucks too), filter MUCH better than the stock filter (2-micron) and separate both water and air from the fuel. They start around $500.00 for a system that will support 500hp at the wheels or you can get just the pump itself and use the stock filter assembly for around $350.00



While all this sounds inconvenient, be glad you don't own a 1998.5-2002 Cummins truck. When those lift pumps died, the truck would still run fine as the VP-44 injection pump would draw it's own fuel from the tank, so the driver wouldn't know there was a problem. Problem is, the VP-44 was never designed to draw it's own fuel and would eventually burn itself up doing so. The VP-44 runs roughly $1300.00 for the pump plus labor to install it. Not to mention, ya still have to replace the bad lift pump so ya don't kill the new injection pump!

 

thanks for the info. I ended up getting the error code in the odomiter window that stated there is low voltage to the lift pump. So im pretty sure thats it.
Is this something I can swap out in my garage fairly easily? or should i take it in? If it is something i can do, is there anything i should know before i start?

 

X2 on Dieseldudes reply, if you can spare the few extra days to get a system and the extra cash you will be much happier in the long run on an AirDog or Fass System. The newer systems are straight forword on the install but can be a little time consuming.

 

Yeah. It should be something you can do in yer garage.