354 died…fuel pump

some of the hoses around the pump have screens inside the fittings ,I would start at the tank and go and check each end of the hoses to the pump.

I understand that on some models there is a screen inside the tank attached to the sediment bowl. There is also a very fine screen in the sediment bowl itself. Hope you don’t have bugs. See if have a dark sludge anywhere.

I understand that on some models there is a screen inside the tank attached to the sediment bowl. There is also a very fine screen in the sediment bowl itself. Hope you don’t have bugs. See if you have a dark sludge anywhere.

You should get a good gravity flow of fuel from the tank. Did you check the sediment bowl screen? You have to remove the bowl, the screen is located above the gasket. Did you drain the tank and remove the sediment bowl/shutoff valve assembly to see if there is an in-tank screen? Don't rely on just a trickle of fuel to determine there is no restrictions. You won't get any fuel flow downstream of the lift pump because it contains two spring loaded check valves – if you do, then that means the check valves aren't holding and the lift pump is defective. A defective lift pump will give the same symptoms as “sucking air”.

Also, how is the oil level in the fuel injection pump?

Cranking the engine with the line disconnected that goes to the filter won't be an accurate indicator of volume produced by the pump. It may pump some fuel but if there is a suction restriction it won't tell you that.

Ok, there's some oil in the injection pump, that's good.

Some of the fuel hoses were known to collapse on the inside and not show on the outside. I would do the cheapest replacement first, that being the fuel hose.

An eighth of 7 gallons isn't very much. Put another two gallons in it.

Because the sediment bowl is full, doesn't mean a thing. Even if you run out of fuel there will still be fuel in it. The lift pump takes it's suction from the TOP of the bowl. Are you reluctant to remove the sediment bowl and check the screen in the top? Do you have concerns about removing the sediment bowl assembly to see if you have a plugged in-tank screen? If it turns out you have diesel bugs you are going to have to do some serious tank cleaning, and treat your fuel with a biocide. If you have a stationary fuel storage tank, you will have to clean and treat that too. The bugs are corrosive and can ruin a fuel injection pump and all the injectors.

if you have a air compressor use LOW pressure and blow back into the fuel line to the tank with the fuel cap off .Maybe you can free up the blockage so it will drain faster, and if it does you will know where you need clean . I assume that you have checked your fuel turn off valve and it is not just partially open .

Diesel bugs are microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye. To correctly find out if you have a problem you test the fuel. it's cheap.

Get the HUM-BUG.

http://www.biobor.com/products…..additives/

If that stuff is dark brown / black and sludgy, it’s a bazillion dead bugs. You must have got a dose of moisture in your tank somehow. Let’s wait for the test. I’ve performed this test on ships and storage tanks. It’s very reliable.
I’ve even had them myself.

might want to check your tank for rust remember diesel bugs need water to survive, have you had any water in the fuel bowl show up?

Yep, that's them all right. Now you must thoroughly clean the tank because they are all over the insides of it. Get a small bug sprayer and pressure wash /rinse down the insides with kerosene before you install the new sediment bowl assembly and let it evaporate dry. Then start dosing with the biocide for at least six tankful's, and keep a close watch on the sediment bowl screen. Most people remove the in-tank screen from the bowl assembly for that very reason. You can't check for bugs in the bowl screen. An easy way to check if there is water in your fuel is to dab some Kolor-Kut on the end of a stick and see if oit turns pink. A little goes a long way.

 http://www.amazon.com/Kolor-Kut-Ounce-Water-Finding/dp/B00905UC5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428032757&sr=8-1&keywords=kolor+kut

Dead bugs are just as bad as live bugs.

Not pressure wash as in a pressure washer, but use a garden pump sprayer as best you can. You can warm the plastic wand and bend it upwards to get all around in the tank.

CTOA for some reason won't let me post a link. I guess I must be a real threat, and I'm tired of jumping through all the hoops just to post a simple picture (age maybe?). So here is a description. You can get them at any hardware store for under $20.

Hudson #60152 2 Gallon Poly Weed 'N Bug Eliminator Sprayer.

I'm slowly migrating to TBN.

Bob, it ain't you, it's Word Press. This bastard of a program cuts off links after around 15 characters making 99% of them useless. If you were to paste a link, go back and see where it cut you off, and manually finish the link it will work. But who the hell wants to do that? Oh and meexiles, if you were in Oregon or Washington BiMart has a 30 second sprayer (2 gallon pump it up and it lasts for 30 seconds) for $11.00 and change.

Don’t try to run it until you have the tank clean and dried out and have fresh treated fuel in it.

When all the kerosene is evaporated. You can warm the tank with a heat lamp to accelerate the evaporation process, but be very careful, the vapors are highly flammable. This will also remove any water moisture left in the tank.

I am not a pro at this but I am wondering about the foam you said you were getting. Did you have enough fuel in the tank? The only way I have seen foam in diesel is with agitation. I was wondering if there was not enough fuel in the tank the injector overflow falling back into the tank was making it foam and making it suck air at the fuel outlet in the tank. I will watch this one to see what the answer is.

Yes, it takes a little time. I’m assuming you are drying an empty tank. And don’t forget to change the fuel filter too.

I would think that if you put some acetone in the tank shook it around and emptied what you could that would speed up the drying process. Although kerosene will burn just fine in a diesel engine ,I believe that is some of the winterizing blend.   

The “Winter blend” you refer to is a blend of #1 and #2 diesel, which both currently have around 500 ppm sulfur. Kerosene does not have the lubricity of sulfur, so therefore isn't used in blending (not to say that some farmers might do it). Kerosene is closer to jet turbine fuel than it is to diesel.

you are probably right about the farmers using kero . in their bulk tanks to get the diesel to light off a little easier in the winter,that is probably where I heard it.

Re cold weather operation.

My 1979 Peugeot Diesel Owners manual recommended adding “Up to 10%” gasoline to the tank to improve cold weather fuel flow. It had a CAV rotary pump, I did put over 200K on it before I sold it and never had problems with the pump or injectors.  Ran out of fuel once and mixed 50% bar oil and 50% saw gas and made it the 20 miles to the fuel station lots faster than walking. I would not recommend either of these things but those old rotary pumps were pretty robust.

jim

Your '79 CAV pump was manufactured prior to the development of LSD and ULSD (currently at around 500 ppm sulfur content), so therefore was very forgiving. Trying anything like that nowadays is analogous to just tearing up $500 bills.

The foam could be one of two things:

1) An aerated fuel/water mixture.

2) An algae/fuel mixture.

Thankfully this mess was discovered in time before any expensive short term damage was done. Please dose the next three tankful's with a biocide. Those little critters are real tenacious.

I have had a bug problem that stopped me dead on the side of a hill. Finally removed bowl and all screens replacing with a pre-filter and filter that were easy to change.

My first biocide was from West Marine and found out the hard way that the biocide must be dual phase. Now I treat all my new diesel and do quarterly maintenance on all diesel in storage.

I have the dozer with 395T engine.  dual phase biocide treats both the water and diesel. I use Bio Kleen from Power Service. Recommend you read information on their site.

Will have to get back with you on filters.

Phil

Pre-filter: WIX 33972

Filter: Racor 025-RAC-02. Recommended by Bob Rooks. Has S2502 element which separates water from fuel.

Phil

Nope, no Teflon tape allowed there. Make sure the fittings are absolutely clean. Even the tiniest bit of dirt will make them leak. On the downside, there may be a microscopic crack in the flare, and pulsing at around 2,200 psig will leak.

There is also the remote possibility that there is a cracked flare, in which case the line should be replaced. Don't even entertain the idea of making your own lines, you can't, they are specially made from heavy wall steel tubing.