Convert Cummins 5.9L from VP44 to common rail?
 

Howdy all!
My father gave me his 2000 Ram 2500 a couple of months back. I had never owned a diesel before. Turns out, the fuel gauge doesn't read quite right, and I ran out of fuel when it still showed 1/4 tank. After investigating and troubleshooting, I'm fairly certain that I siezed the rotor in the VP44 injection pump. :argh: I've read that the VP44 is an unreliable pump:booo:, so I would prefer not to shell out $1000 for a rebuilt one, then more money to get it replaced, and then run the risk of it screwing up again.
Is it possible to scrap this fuel delivery system completely and replace it with the common rail injection system from the '03-'06 5.9L Cummins engines?
Any info is appreciated!

Cheers,
DR

not with out swapping alot of electronics, the head, injectors, lines, pump. it would cost more in just geeting all of this than a new vp44 and an airdog. if ur wanting a more reliable pump, id go with a p-7100 pump off a 94-98 dodge. you would have to swap out the front cover, pump gear, pump, and lines. would be cheaper than swapping to a common rail setup. good luck with the truck :U: and let us know what ya decide. there are many vendors here who would help ya get anything u will be needing.

Thanks. I figured it would be fairly costly and involved, otherwise I would have seen some discussions about it online somewhere. I was hoping that my head would work, though. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. Looking for the least costly alternative right now. I just graduated from law school and took the bar exam in July, but results won't be in until November. Hopefully, I'll find a job and start making some money by then, but right now I'm pretty strapped for cash. I was looking to roll the dice on a used VP44 from ebay, but that scares me too. Any vendors that sell the pump for significantly less that $1000? Maybe my lottery numbers will hit tonight! :humm:

Fortunately, I was wrong as to what the problem was. I finally took the truck in to a local mechanic, and it turns out that the lift pump had gone out, and not the injector pump! :yeah: One instance when I don't mind being wrong. I finally found a mechanic I trust - wasn't easy. I spent a little under $600 for parts, labor, and towing, and the truck is running like a champ again! :choochoo:
Lesson learned: DON'T RUN OUT OF FUEL!!!!! :ouch:

hope he put on an air dog or fass and not another stock lift pump :w2:

need some gauges on that truck (fuel pressure)

Dr. Next lesson on the VP44 powered trucks - get a really good aftermarket lift pump and a fuel pressure gauge. Running it out of fuel is not a big deal but not something you want to do all the time.

Dr. you are going the wrong way with it - convert it to a P-7100 12V injector pump. As reliable as it gets.

Make sure you scan for codes. You easily could have damaged your VP-44. That and install a fuel pressure guage ASAP.