Scotty

Just got off the phone with the dealer about my exhaust leak in the cab and we got to discussing the failed lift pumps on the 3rd gen Rams.
He has dozens of trucks with failed pumps. After talking to Bosch in the USA and Cummins, he has learned that the highest amount of failures are in Western Canada. People are speculating poor fuel quality or very low lubricity and are taking samples to compare to other regions.
Moving the pump to the tank may or may not help the situation in the 05's. Nobody knows.

So when I have my truck there he wants to discuss my fuel system as an alternative and the DC rep will be there too. I said if the rep plans on lecturing me about modifications and warranty, I will not participate.

I was assured that this is going to be about a solution for the pumps as well as a day for us to address the exhaust in the cab. We also talked about a buy back if needed to resolve but we are not at that step yet.

I will post my findings after Thursday.

Scotty

Casey Balvert

I will be looking forward to hearing the results of your meeting.

Casey

Blygy

Scotty .. good to hear some one at chrysler is listening to you.. Keep us informed.. I'm still saving my pennies for the smart setup..

Blygy

AlbertaBear

Just got my 04 back a few hours ago,

2nd liftpump at 69000km

first went last April at about 40000km

It took the dealer 13 days to get the new pump.

Not very happy or impressed.

At this rate the next one will fail at 100000km, sometime in August 05.

Great,,,,,, holidaying somewhere far from home!!

Scotty

I am going to the dealer today. I will be looking into another problem I am having...Water in Fuel light is on for the 5th time this winter. I have changed the filter 3 times and tried different diesel stations. The other day I had a hard start, cranked and fired but no start several times. Once it started, I had the engine light on, checked for code...none.

I will post later on today on what has been determined.

Scotty

B Proctor

I currently own a '05 and have been through lift pump hell with a '95. I carried a spare pump with me at all times. It would go out every 6 months or so depending on mileage. I was a call-out service mechanic and traveled over several states in my work. Nothing like having lift pump problems at 2AM, 300 miles from home. I was extremely aggravated by the fact that the lift pumps failed regularly, and the fact that the dealers at that time refused to warranty them. I also carried a electric fuel pump I had rigged up that could be used in case the spare pump couldn't bring me home. I had it to the dealer countless times, they removed the bed and checked everything. Replaced filter housing, fuel lines, etc, etc, and nothing seemed to fix it. I also was having a issue with water in the fuel when ever there was a film of water on the road or during rain. Oh what fun that was, standing on the side of the interstate draining water from the fuel filters during rain storms. Ah yes, the good ole days.

I endured this aggravation for 5 years. I finally found and fixed the problem myself. It was a poor connection at the fuel tank where the fuel lines made up to the fuel pickup tubes. Seems I was sucking a slight amount of air at that connection and overworking the springs in the pump, hence the frequent lift pump failure. On rainy days I was picking up the wash off the rear wheels and thus the water in fuel light. After correcting the pickup line leak I didn't have any more problems. Now I'm certainly not claiming that this is the problem that others are having, I'm simply relating a similar problem that I was having, and what the problem turned out to be. The lft pump's internal springs would fall out in pieces when I would check the pump after failure. It makes sense to me that if a small amount of air is introduced into the fuel that the spring would become overworked. Also my fuel filters would get pinhole leaks from electrolisis if not changed regularly. This '05 seems really nice to me right now, but if it starts eating up lift pumps it'll find itself parked on a dealer lot ASAP. I'm not going through that nightmare again.

Gwoody

I had heard all these issues with the favtory lift pumps so I decide to put an Air Dog on and am very pleased with it so far. Only time will tell how long it will last, but the way this thing looks I would think it would go very many miles.

Scotty

We put the new flaps in the cowl and sealed up two holes. Still sucking fumes. Found that the truck was pulling the exhaust back into the cab on defrost. We held a piece of paper over the grill under the windshield, turned the fan on high on defrost and it sucked the paper to the grill. Now I see why it would pull fumes in. So I am going to rig up an internal cowl carcoal filter with a UNI foam material as well. We shall see. Its the last attempt to resolve this. At least now I understand why its happening...that fan is POWERFUL.

Also, we put my latest fuel pump on that I am testing and evaluating. Its something this dealer wants to have access too.

Perhaps Fass or Air Dog would like to discuss this as we talked about entrained air and getting rig of it too. PM me.

Now the water in fuel light...national back order for the water in fuel sensor. Will put it in when it gets here. We also found a huge amount of snow stuck to the top of the fuel tank...not sure if that would be the cause as its been -20 and colder for weeks here and the truck is outside.

Checked for codes since the engine light was on and then went off...no codes even with the VA and EZ on there.

Scotty

EDIT:

I just got a call that enlightened me a whole lot.

Our fuels are not helping our issues. Canada has some of the worst fuel and the west appears to be leading the way to problems caused by poor quality fuels. Its not just here but is much worse here. I am rethinking my view on additives now for different reasons then I used them for before. Now it appears that the longevity of the fuel system, injector pump and injectors is much more dependent on additives now.
On my 2001 I used the additives to enhance performance and mileage. Now I have to look at increased lubricity, anti-gelling and water displacement as the primary reason I would use them.
I was also told that the poorer the quality of the fuel, the more troublesome the exhaust fumes can be. Not sure I believe this but I recall when in the USA, my exhaust was not nearly as strong and it smelled a lot different. I also had better mileage. So perhaps the fuel is better down south, thats a given. However, the reduction of sulpher is still going to have adverse effects if we cannot prove that additives are indeed being put in the fuel at a level that will alleviate the premature wear and failure of components. Peace of mind for me will now come from seeking out a premium additive and use it all the time.

lucey

Scotty, what do you think about running conditioner to add some lubricity to the fuel. Do you think it would help at all in reducing lift pump wear ?

Scotty

Yes it would. Some folks use Howes Lubricant, you can get that at Husky or try Fort Gary industries or Fleet Brake.

I just picked up some POLAR MAX premium anti gel from Diesel Services group which I suspect is a relabelled product and some Kleen Flow diesel conditoner. You should be able to find it easily. I would have got the Kleen Flow anti gel but Fort Gary was sold out. I was looking for Howes but did not have time to get to the Husky truck stop.

Scotty

lucey

I just started using the Kleen Flo, i ws just curious if this was a decent conditioner. Scotty where do you reside ? How far north ? You are not close to oil town AB are you ?

AaronT

Add improvers for lubricity anywhere in north america, it is not just a Canada thing.
On the WIF, connectors have been poor with less than adequate seals. Adding a touch of silicone to connector seals will do wonders for clearing up the problem.

Blygy

Watch out for conditioners that contains alcohol. Scotty if the Kleen Flo is in a tin can watch it.. It is very harsh and doesn't help lubricity at all. We use it at the mine. Howes is what I use but I have a friend who samples his oil and he has high potasium in his oil.. due to the Howes.

I also have heard good things about Power Up. This is from a Finning mechanic with a 7.3 and he is quite happy with it..

I always wanted to try some of the DSG stuff but I haven't found a retailer here in AB yet.

Blygy

lucey

On the can it says the Kleen Flo is methyl hydrate free and helps to lubricate injectors and pumps. Anyone else have views on the Kleen Flo ?

Scotty

The Kleen Flow I have is in a clear plastic bottle and looks just like Howes.
I will look and see what the lable says.

Scotty