ALSO, if it makes you feel better, I spent the better part of 3hrs trying to remove an NPTxbarb fitting from the block on the passenger side that connected coolant flow to the factory trans fluid heat exchanger... after a bazillion attempts with various locking pliers and channel-lock sizes I finally deformed it enough to hammer an deep-well impact socked on it and cranked that bitch on out

12/14/2011 8:44:23 AM

hah damn thats ridiculous

nothin makes you feel like more of a man than spending all day on one bolt amirite

12/14/2011 10:37:20 AM

ohh god... i broke a banjo bolt off doing some work on my car and i was like FUUUCK... but then it was on an oil line and the oil galley on the bolt made a good flathead adapter and it came right out.. no problem.

12/14/2011 10:55:00 AM

oh damn, nice. assuming you had a spare? if I had a spare fuel line i'd have cut it out a long time ago

can't even get a torch up in there as it sits now, everything is covered in diesel and oil anyway i'd set the damn engine on fire

12/14/2011 11:02:13 AM

yeah no need to pull a maximadriver on us...

Yeah... well i ran to carquest and got a new banjo bolt.

12/14/2011 11:21:25 AM

yeah motherfuck that side of the engine bay on a 12V.

12/14/2011 11:31:03 AM

forgot to update...got the LPs swapped out finally as well as the new ofv and fuel solenoid relay and removed the pre-heater...still no start. I'm convinced now that it's just not getting any fuel to the LP but I ranout of time to fuck with it and had to come back to Raleigh. I guess il plan on goin back out there to drop the tank and make sure theres nothing clothing it up

12/15/2011 7:47:23 AM

Replace the fuel sending unit while you are at it.

12/15/2011 7:57:29 AM

did you try priming the system manually after swapping all of those parts? test for fuel at filter inlet? gotta be methodical

[Edited on December 15, 2011 at 8:16 AM. Reason : -]

12/15/2011 8:15:52 AM

what I just posted on DTR (more or less):

"I did not bleed the system fully, and though when I loosened the OFV and manually pumped it I didn't get any fuel coming out, I suppose it could have just taken more. I didn't bother cracking the injectors because I didn't see fuel at the OFV. Before dropping the tank next time I'll try pressurizing the tank and bleeding more thoroughly. I'll kick myself if it just didn't start because I was too impatient with it afterwards...

Is loosening the filter bleed screw tantamount to popping off the inlet banjo? That thing is a PITA to get to for a guy with big hands (not so much access as shredding my knuckles on all the wire wraps around there). That's good info though, I need to just bleed each stop step-by-step until I know I'm getting fuel to the injectors. I hate now that I didn't try that, I figured just cranking it a bunch would show SOME sign of life (i.e. trying to catch for a rev or few) at which point I'd bleed at the injectors to help it along."

^^ I'm not about to pay $200 for a new sending unit, that shit is ridiculous. $200 for a bunch of ammo? sure. For a great night at the bar? sure. For a stupidass fuel level indicator that's gonna break again w/in 50k? Nope. I'm gonna try this mod/repair though http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94-98-engine/58777-joe-gs-fuel-system-writeup.html . If that doesn't cut it, I'll keep using the good ol' odo until I win the lottery

^ I only tried manual bleeding at the ofv. I know now that I should have started sooner...

Also, for some reason the LP I got was a little different than the stock one and the rubber elbow that runs from the prefilter to the LP is under a lot of stress now due to an increase in angle, might be pinching a little and is certainly at risk for stress cracking with time. I want to replace that, can I just use any 1/2" diesel-rated hose (since that's not a high-pressure line)?

[Edited on December 15, 2011 at 2:35 PM. Reason : qwer]

12/15/2011 2:32:46 PM

- yes on the fuel hose
- there's a 12mm headed nut on the outlet banjo fitting on fuel filter... you must remove that to fill the fuel filter and prime the system. fuel has to be running out of it before you'll get anywhere

[Edited on December 15, 2011 at 2:41 PM. Reason : mm]

[Edited on December 15, 2011 at 2:42 PM. Reason : not talking down to you,making sure we're all on the same page, there are banjo fittings erywhere]

12/15/2011 2:41:11 PM

Yeah I know what you're talking about, I didn't know that was referred to as the bleed screw although that would only make perfect sense. When the guy on dtr brought it up I thought there might have been another screw somewhere that I missed. I've always just topped the fuel filter off with as much as I could get in there without spilling it all over the place while weaseling it back into position...and I pumped it manually probably 50 times before cranking it and/or checking for fuel at the ofv

12/15/2011 2:46:53 PM

yeahhhh.....


I swapped in a fresh, dry filter a few days ago and probably pumped about 400x before reaching prime, no shitting.

12/15/2011 2:58:29 PM

man you put it back dry...are you a glutton for punishment or did you just think your thumb was looking a little weak?

Yeah I'm really thinkin now that I just didn't spend enough time bleeding the system properly. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Anyway, assuming that's not the problem, I've gotta come back after the holiday prepared to drop the tank and check out the send/return fittings lines, the sending unit, the tank itself, etc. Any recommendations to that end? (I owe you at least a six-pack...)

12/15/2011 3:07:15 PM

there's some flexible fuel lines back there that probably will need to be replaced.

ALSO, if you havent replaced the 1/4" flexible rubber hose connecting to the OFV hard line and return line to tank, do so, else you're going to have a nice small diesel geiser coating your engine bay if it cracks

12/15/2011 3:14:09 PM

I have a kit from LarryB's to replace that return line actually, just haven't done it yet because I was just focused on getting the truck running so I can get it back to my garage and spend some real time on it

12/15/2011 3:19:58 PM

holy shit. guy on dtr just clued me into the fact that since i deleted the pre-heater that that whole assembly is basically dry and that priming the LP manually isn't doing too much of anything.

12/15/2011 3:55:50 PM

oh yeah, aha.

12/15/2011 4:00:00 PM