Yesterday my truck stalled out three times on the way home, as though it ran out of fuel (1/2 tank left). Stop and go street traffic all the way home, but every time it cut out I was coasting along around 45mph. Electrical stayed on, no check engine light, all gauges were fine. RPM's were falling due to no power, but never went to zero. After about 10 seconds of coasting, the engine would come back on by itself without me having to turn the key. Perhaps because the manual transmission was spinning it.

Then this morning it was hard to start. After a couple cranks it turned over. Got about 10 ft down the drive and it stalled. Hard to start, then 5-10 seconds later it dies. Did this a couple times before putting it back in garage. I pushed the drain lever on the fuel filter, a little bit came out. Turned the key on and did not hear the usual priming sound I would expect to hear after relieving pressure in the filter canister. I replaced the fuel filter only 2 months ago.

The only engine or "performance" mod on the truck is Air Raid air filter. Bone stock otherwise. I know, I know, sad 2003, 6spd manual. No gauges of any kind. Appx 150,000 miles. Never had a fuel issue before so it's the 03 stock config.

After reading through the boards here, I'm thinking the most likley culprit is the fuel pump. Is this a slam dunk diagnosis, or should I be checking something else before ordering an external pump? If I need a pump, are there any mfg's I should avoid, or any favorites out there? I see some upgrades in my future, so I want to get a nice one that doesn't break the bank. Easy install is a plus as well.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can offer!

 

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like the pump has almost failed or the filter is partually plugged. Most likely the pump has failed. Put a container on the drain line from the filter, open the drain and bump the starter. The pump should run for 25 seconds and you should get at least 2 qts of fuel. If not replace the pump. If you get 2 qts then replace the filter.

NAPA or Geno's garage has an OE type replacement and is the easiest and probably the cheapest way to go. This is very easy to replace and can be done in less than one hour.

The best way to go is to replace the OE pump with an after market pump such as an Air Dog or a FASS. Much more expensive and a lot more time to install. You should also think of adding additional fuel/water sepreator and a 2 mic filter.

 

Yeap, Lift Pump (LP) time.

 

Sounds like your LP, but are there any codes?

 

Sure sounds like a lift pump.

The 03's and 04's had a canister mounted lift pump that had a huge failure rate.

Do the key code trick, see what you get. I bet you'll find a P0628...

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...s-t224833.html

Turn the key on, listen for the pump to run next to the driver side front fender. If you don't hear a steady hum, it's bad.

I recommend Air Dog, I've had great dealings with them. You can either go with an Air Dog (has filters) or a raptor (just the pump). If you just do the raptor, you can do it without removing the tank or bed.

http://www.dodge-diesel.org/putein.html

You could also go with a stock replacement from Geno's.

http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo....UMP_FPD4089602

Let me know if you want more info, I've done this quite a few times...

Fill your sig out too...

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...e-t224825.html

And welcome to the forum.

 

Thank you all! I had no idea the dash would display codes like that. Yes, a P0628 error. I drained the canister, bumped the starter, no sound from the lifter pump.

I was one click away from pulling the trigger on the AirDog II 165 last night, when I found the stock replacement option at Geno's. Since I'm all stock and money is tight, I'm just going to go that route.

Just dropped ~$3k at the local auto shop in replacing my entire front end (sway bars, ball joints, steering stabilizer and mount, steering box, etc) so my pocket book is still feeling a little beat up from that experience

Thanks everyone!

 

No prob, buddy. Best way to do it is to remove the fender well and front tire so you can get up in there. Just be safe and use jack stands.

 

you had better make sure you have the engine mounted LP, before buying one, my 03 had the LP in the fuel tank, so if your listening for a pump near the engine, its possible there is none there anyway....not sure if when the intank one fails if it blocks fuel flow or not

 

Nick, did you buy the truck used?

To check this, remove the fender well and look on the back of the fuel filter canister. In the pic below, I have the fuel pump removed, it is where the silver block is...



AFAIK, the canister mounted pump was on the 03-04.5's.

 

Do yourself a favor and get a remote mounted pump. Mount it on the frame rail with a big line kit, which is an bigger fuel line. Once it's easy to get to, it never seems to fail again. It will make it easy to add any other filtering system's you might want and easy to add a fuel pressure gauge which would have told you this was happening, if you had one.

 

Yup. I can see it on the side of the filter canister. Plus when changing my fuel filter in the past, that's where the sound came from while priming.Thanks!

 

Just wanted to thank you guys for the all the advice and tips. Removed tire and fender well and whole job took an hour. Truck is running fine and all is well.

So, how do I clear that P0628 code It still shows up when I do the key X 3 trick.

 

The code should clear after the truck has been driven a few times. Or you can disconnect the batteries for about 15 minutes and that should clear the codes. I would drive it and see if it clears.

 

If code doesn't go away you can always go your local auto parts store....most all of them can scan and clear codes for free.

 

What has been said above...