ok so I have a Dodge Power Ram 50 Royal 2.3 L Diesel that was passed down from my grandfather. anyway it sat for 3-4 odd years and was started in the winter each year but since he couldn't drive anymore it just sat. I decided to save it from death and began to put some money into getting it running. So I replaced the air filter, fuel filter, drained the tank and put in 5 gal fresh diesel, and attempted to bleed the injectors, bed a bit and stopped, so i continued anyway... no fuel... thought maybe it could also a starting problem so used some starting fluid in the air intake and it started briefly on the fluid so its gotta be a fuel problem... maybe with the injector pump? not sure but i gotta get it going by july because I volunteer at a youth camp and have to drive up supplies about 100 miles and it wont fit in my mustang lol.

any help you can give me is much appreciated!

Joshua S. Powell
Intern
Stanfield Assembly of God

Vehicles:
1985 Dodge Power Ram 50 2.3 L Diesel
1993 Ford Mustang LX Convertable 4 cyl
1999 Ford Escort SE 4 cyl (blown engine)

 

i would say it is a fuel pump problem we had one on a farm i worked at the fuel pump is mechanical and feeds the injector pump. i would start their

 

i thought on these the injector pump and fuel pump are one in the same... ? there's two?... >.< um ok...

 

There is a pump between the tank and the Injector pump. Called a lift pump on one of these, but it's about the same a a fuel pump on a gasser.

Find it and open a line on it's output. See if you have fuel there. If not consider replacing it. You can get a better aftermarket fuel pump. I'm running an Airtex. Consider getting a fuel pressure gauge. Low or no fuel pressure will kill the IP, and you don't want to have to replace that.

 

do you know if its located under the chassis or in the engine compartment...?

 

follow the fuel lines from the tank

 

There is no lift pump - if you loose prime, or have a leak in the line somewhere that air can get into, it's going to be a real pain to get the thing started and keep it able to start.

IIRC, there is a fuel filter canister on the firewall, driver's side. It has a white plastic '****' thingy on it. You unscrew the ****, and pull it out, it is a primer pump. I also remember a 16 or 17mm 'plug' on top of the filter assembly you could open to bleed the air out.

The fuel system is quite similar to the old VW's that didn't have lift pumps, either. Just a large fuel filter/water separator and lines back to the tank.

If you get it running, you probably want to consider having the timing belt(s) changed if you intend on keeping it around. If the belt breaks you're going to need new valves and possibly pistons.

I used to have one of these trucks, 15 years ago. Simple, reliable, and got really good fuel mileage.

 

lol thank goodness you posted this i went through my entire chilton's guide and couldnt find 1 so i was gonna go hunting 4 1 tomorrow and wouldn'y have found 1 lol. i did use the hand pump when we replaced the fuel filter a wile back, so if im not getting fuel should i assume that there's a beak in the line or maybe something wrong with the fuel pressure relief valve (white plastic 1-way valve cylinder near tank in fuel line)?