1998 24valve.
Just recently with the heat of summer, if I don't want extremely long cranking times,...I have to bump the starter a couple seconds before I start it. If I use this method, it starts instantly as it always has. But if I do not bump the starter,..I get very long cranking times.

Can I assume this is an either a fuel filter o-ring,.. or a banjo o-ring on the lift pump or LP side of the filter?????? Not sure what else to think. I am going to change the fuel filter tomorrow. I do know that the last time I changed the fuel filter (which has been well over a year) the o rings seemed like they were a little less beefy,.. And also, if I parked on a steep uphill....I had to prime (loosen 2 injectors) to start it. This happenned only about 3 times and was always in the middle of a very hot summer period (and right now it is really hot).

Anybody got any ideas?

 

Could also be any one of the lines............ Small cracks that don't even leak fuel will allow air in. Seems like the 24V has a tee on the back of the engine that causes problems also.

But I think you are 100 percent correct as to what is causing it.

 

Holy crap.
2 things I just discovered.
1) the TOP housing is cracked, I have a fuel pressure guage on there,...it's cracked where the guage goes in,....like I may have screwed it in too tight,. I'll admit...I probably did, I think that stuff is probably pot metal and strips out about as easy as the threads on a harley chain case.
2) when priming, I realized that the fuel pump does not turn on until about 5 seconds after I bump the starter. I could swear it wasn't that way originally, but I could be wrong.

Don't know how hard it is going to be to find the upper housing. I may have to call dodge and beg.

 

OVER $1K FOR A FUEL FILTER HOUSING?????? pLEASE HELP

 

OK,
I didn't need the fuel pressure guage that bad (at least not for a thousand bucks). So I put a plug back into the little goosneck fitting (not very tight), while packing the back of it with automotive grade epoxy. Actually, I would like a guage, but if dodge or cummins made a non-steel part that they are going to charge that kind of money for????????
Why in the hell would you put a pipe thread on aluminum??????? THey KNEW it would fail because the banjo fitting are curiously NOT pipe thread fittings. Pipe thread fittings push outward and will break the gooseneck part of the fitting, regular threadings (like banjo) don't.
Well, I learned my lesson. Hope it works.

By the way,..DO I NEED THAT FUEL HEATER BUSINESS THAT IS IN THE UPPER FUEL FILTER HOUSING????? Once a year here it might get down to 10 degrees, Last year it got close to 5 degrees two times and it was a record. What would happen if I took that to a good TIG guy and nuked the heater while I'm at it (if this brass plug doesn't seal/???)

 

1.) Shouldn't be a fuel heater, it should be the water in fuel sensor. Do you need it? Nah, but it has to be plugged anyway.

2.) Yea, since they no longer support it, the price has skyrocketed, fleabay usually has some, some guys have moved up to the 2000-2002 style, though I don't know what it takes to change it, can't be that bad. I would also think you could go back to the 94-96 spin on style...... but I don't know anyone who has done so, just that our style the 97-99 spanned both the 12 valve and the 24 valve era, so common port sizes, etc...

I would almost bet the housing didn't split because of the NPT port, most get split if you don't catch that the slot and tab aren't aligned during a filter change and you pull it home with the nut, I always make sure I can see threads above the nut before I put the wrench to her.