gaRam

i have a 99 with 182,000 miles. i bought the truck a few weeks ago and love it, but it is hard to start when warm. i didn't think nothing of it when i bought it because it wasn't that bad. it would fire off after a few sconds. now it is getting worse. it will not start up to 5 times of turning the key over. the truck is parked right now because i cannot figure out what is wrong with it. i've changed the batteries to two larger ones. i've also replaced the lift pump and fuel filter and primed the system accordingly. i've also replaced a check valve that i thought could be bad. recently i did a test on the fuel system to see if it was getting air into it. there were alot of air bubbles coming through the hose before any fuel came out. so i figured there was a leak in the system somewhere. so i pulled the gas tank down and did a vaccum test on the probe. the probe held up good but the gas line from the tank to the pump looked rather old so i ordered a new one. it will take a few days for it to come in since i had to order it at a dealership. if this doesn't fix the prblem i am going to break down and take it to a deisel specialist. does anyone know of any explaination of why this problem could be occuring? any way to fix it? or other parts to check? i really need some help.

dodgediesel4x4

Has it set any codes? Take her to autozone, if you can, and have them pull the codes, if there are any. Takes only a few minutes, and its free. We'll see whats up after that.

gaRam

well the truck isn't running right now. it has no fuel tank or line in it. i just got the fuel line in this morning and i am going to put it in ASAP. hopefully the problem will be fixed. but if not i will take it to get the codes pulled.

BigBlue

Sounds like your VP44 injection pump is dying. Had starting when warm is a symptom of it. I'll bet when you pull the codes, you'll get a P0216 code.

Mcmopar

What big blue said!!

gaRam

well if that is the case, does anyone know where i can find the best price on one? wouldn't it throw a check engine light though?

phox_mulder

Mine didn't, no codes whatsoever.

Never did the hard start either, just "missed" at idle.


I'd say don't jump ahead yet,
could very well be just air in the system from a small crack in the fuel line you're replacing.


phox

MCummings

I know where.

And yes, it does sound like a VP44.

Rebuilt '44s are around $1,000,
NEW '44's are around $1,400
HOT ROD '44's are around $1,500 (50 HP)

Merrick

KATOOM

If I towed in the heat of the day in summer I also had to crank it a few extra times. But after increasing the size of the fuel lines from LP to VP, and installed a new LP at the same time I havent seen it do it. Dont really know if that was the real problem but I thought I'd throw that out there for you.

BigBlue

Is that all the difference in price is for a HOT ROD pump? Hmmm. The hamster cage in my head is slowly starting to spin.

gaRam

well i put the new line in last night. after the install i primed the system and made sure there was enough fuel. there is strted the truck. it ran and kinda knocked for a minute, i guess it was just trying to purge the air out of it. i drove it around. it idles much smoother than before but doesn't feel like i've gained any more power. it just feels like it is a smoother truck. then i get back home when the motor has reached running temperature, and i try to crank it when warm. so i took the key out and put it back in, waited for the pump to prime, and it was hard starting. so i moved the key back to the "on" position and let the pump prime for 25 seconds or however long it does, and tried again. cranked right off the bat. i've done this 3 or 4 times now and everytime it'll do the same thing. if i turn it off and then trun it right back over it'll crank fine. but if it sits there for over 5 min. after it's warmed, it won't crank the first time. i think there might still be some air in the system so i'm gonna crack some injector lines and try to get some air out of them. hopefully that is the prblem because the truck makes me feel as thought the fuel line helped something. i mean it is still 10x better than before, i just wish it'll fire right off the first time. but i'll crack some lines and let ya'll know how it goes. thanks for all the help.

CCollar

There is a TSB for a "hard-start when warm" problem. Check out dodgeram.org and look at the TSB section for more info.

You might want to try this. Turn the key to "RUN" and wait 30 seconds. Then turn to "START." Some of the earlier pumps don't like the initial high fuel pressure when they are hot.

gaRam

CCollar,
thanks for the post. the website held alot of valuable information.
the tsb basically said that some diesels made in a certain time frame, which i think mine falls into because it was one of the early 24v's, require the ECM to be re-flashed with new software. the dates were dec. 16, 1997 to nov. 15, 2000. mine falls right into there.it basically says my ECM software is "out-dated" and "flawed" and it needs to be re-flashed with new software. would i have to get this done at a dealer? all the dealrships are crappy around here.

BigBlue

I would. It might help you some.

CCollar

You will have to visit a dealer to get your ECM reflashed. As I recall, the new program reduces the time the lift pump runs when the key is in the "On" position -- from somethling like 5 seconds to 2 seconds.

You might want to print out the TSB, explain your problem, hand them the TSB and say "Do this." Sometime dealer's appreciate the extra guidance, some time, not so much.

Craig