We had a new passenger door put on our 98 24 valve this week. My business partner went to pick it up today. The shop owner had started it and backed it out of the bay with no problem. My partner started it and it ran for about 5 seconds and shut itself down. He says it sounded like it ran out of fuel, i.e., stumbled and just died. (I wasn't there) Shop owner loosened the bleeder screw on top of the filter, had my partner turn it over and it started up reletively quickly. Been running fine ever since.

My question is, what would have caused this? I don't think it was fuel related because they didn't breach the fuel system in the first place. The shop owner isn't familiar with diesels, he just 'bled' it because he thinks that's what you always do to non-running diesels. Problems like this make me nervous, especially with a 900 mile trip coming up next week! Any thoughts?

chaikwa.

 

Lift pump on its way out? Whats the fuel pressure?

 

I agree, check LP for pressure and volume, can also check for codes with reader.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I HOPE it ain't the lift pump... just had that replaced a year ago. It hasn't done it since that first time. I thought if it was gonna mess up, it would do it when it was cold this morning and after sitting all night. Started up and ran fine tho.

I guess we'll just wait and see what happens. At least it isn't the middle of winter where if it dies on the highway we'll freeze to death!

chaikwa.

 

Maybe the body shop installed some performance parts on the truck while it was at their shop, took it out drag raceing at night, won some money , then striped the parts back off and returned your truck to you.

 

Check the connection of the fuel shut off. Sometimes they corrode and will give you problems.

 

It's a 24v, not a 12.

 

Duh...

 

Well, I'm in the catagory too I guess. If there isn't a fuel shut off, how does it shut off? It seemed a reasonable explanation to me. My JCB had that problem when I first bought it so I shoulda thought of this myself, not that it woulda done me any good if there ISN'T a fuel shut off connection!

Just a FYI... it's been running fine so far. Hasn't even stumbled since the first time it died. I'm still nervous tho, seeing as how we leave here tomorrow for Michigan. Just the way my luck runs, we'll get to the middle of Ohio, at night, in the rain and out of cell phone signal and it'll screw up!

chaikwa.

 

Did you ever check the fuel pressure?

 

No. I have no way of doing that out here. I will when (if!) I get back to K'zoo.

chaikwa.

 

where are you now?

 

Hey 47, I'm in Massachusetts right at the moment. I'll be leaving here tomorrow, (Wednesday), morning around 6AM. Should be into k'zoo around midnight or 1AM Thursday AM.

chaikwa.

 

Did they do any welding? wonder if they did and it caused the computer to glitch?

 

Not that I know of. I thought of that too and didn't see any evidence of where welding may have taken place. They DID say they had disconnected the battery. I suppose in the process of moving the cables around they could have dead shorted them which might mess up the computer.

chaikwa.