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All of a sudden. No fuel? Did someone sabotage my fuel tank?

R

Ratchetnator

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Banner Elk, NC
So I left my truck at work over the weekend. Started her up and let it run for about 10 mins. I then drove to the gas station and put in about 7 gallons. Got back to my house and once I pulled in the driveway the truck started cutting out, blowing puffs of unburnt fuel and wanting to stall. I went to put it in reverse to back in and it stalled. Restarted and laid on the gas a little to get it into place. Then she cut out. When I went to restart nothing at all. I pulled the fuel cap off and a huge rush of air came out. Like 150psi rush!. I barely opened the valve on the fuel filter and fuel began spitting out under high pressure as well. What could this be? Could my tank sock just be clogged? I let it cool down and tried to restart in case of a pmd issue and still nothing. Please help Im stumped..
 
Drain some fuel in to a clear glass container from the water drain and see if the fuel is good. Smell like gasoline or have water in it? Stations can screw up and mix gasoline and diesel - this could cause tank pressure.
Pull the fuel filter and look at it.
 
WarWagon said:
Drain some fuel in to a clear glass container from the water drain and see if the fuel is good. Smell like gasoline or have water in it? Stations can screw up and mix gasoline and diesel - this could cause tank pressure.
Pull the fuel filter and look at it.
Click to expand...

Good advice and NOT uncommon occurence.
 
This, checking the oil and coolant are usually the first things I do no matter the symptoms or problems.

Note the flow coming out the T drain. After a while you will get a feel for what it should look like.

WarWagon said:
Drain some fuel in to a clear glass container from the water drain and see if the fuel is good. Smell like gasoline or have water in it? Stations can screw up and mix gasoline and diesel - this could cause tank pressure.
Pull the fuel filter and look at it.
Click to expand...
 
Ok. Air came blasting out of the fuel tank when I opened the cap.Where is the water drain? And yes, I didi try to run it without the fuel cap. Also the fuel that came out of the fuel filter bleed was defiitely diesel fuel. But Ive never seen it come out with so much pressure. it was a geyser!
 
Typically it is the brass T valve by the thermostat. Make sure you get a jar and capture some of it.
 
I use a gallon pickle jar.

I hot wire the lift pump. On a 1997 there should be a spade connector towards the firewall and below the under-hood fuse box.

It can be kind of hard to find. I like to make a short jumper and leave it plugged in, so I can find it easier. It's best to use an inline fuse between the jumper and the 12 volt source.

You can hook to one of the studs on the back of the under hood fuse box. They are battery direct and hot all the time. You can even put a toggle switch inline and leave it permanently hooked up. Just make sure nothing is exposed to create a short.

Once you have the lift pump running, find a place to set the jug - I usually set it down by the alternator it kind of wedges in and sits nicely. Pull the drain hose up. It comes off the T drain and usually is stuffed down behind the alternator. There should be enough length to stick the hose in the jar you use.

Crack the T valve and note the flow. Look for any crud that might come out. Let the jug sit for 20 minutes or so. Sometimes it takes a while for the water balls to collect in the bottom of the jar.

Shut the lift pump off. Close the T. Pull the fuel filter. Look in the bowl for crud or whatever. If the inside of the bowl doesn't look clean, get something to suck the remaining fuel out. I use a cheap 12 volt inline fuel pump with a piece of hose about 2' or so long on each end. I stick one exit end in the jar and use the suction end to suck out the bowl. If it needs further cleaning. I use a rag on a screwdriver to clean the bowl and then a little Sea Foam, Diesel additive or diesel and suck the bowl out again.
Re-install the filter or a new one.
Hook the lift pump back up again. crack the T until the air is out. Then I crack the bleeder on the fuel filter again.
The pressure in the tank doesn't make much sense if you have fuel to prime the filter with.

At some point in time you may want to take the return line off the front of the injection pump and run it to a container. These vehicles will not run with a plugged return line.
Keep us posted
 
jrsavoie said:
I use a gallon pickle jar.

I hot wire the lift pump. On a 1997 there should be a spade connector towards the firewall and below the under-hood fuse box.

It can be kind of hard to find. I like to make a short jumper and leave it plugged in, so I can find it easier. It's best to use an inline fuse between the jumper and the 12 volt source.

You can hook to one of the studs on the back of the under hood fuse box. They are battery direct and hot all the time. You can even put a toggle switch inline and leave it permanently hooked up. Just make sure nothing is exposed to create a short.
Click to expand...

Hard to find...."What-chu talking Bout Willis" pictures, words & everything one need to needs to know about 6.5 fuel delivery in the TRL http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/sh...t-Pumps-amp-OPS-operation-and-troubleshooting my how easily they forget about it :) http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/forumdisplay.php?218-6-2-and-6-5-Technical-Reference-Library

:)
 
Ratchetnator said:
So theres gas in my tank........ Truck ran for about 2 mins on gasoline.. whats the next step here?
Click to expand...

Is the fuel station paying for damages or was this your mistake? You will have to drain the tank and dispose of the mix mess.
Then you are looking at scored injectors, IP damage, and possible engine damage. Depends on the gas concentration.
Depending on who is paying for this you may want a diesel shop to do the work.
When you pull an injector out look for aluminum flakes in case it melted the pistons. Not sure a boar o scope would fit through the precups to check the cylinders.

At the minimum after draining the fuel tank you should have a few injectors pop tested to make sure they are ok.
 
WarWagon said:
Is the fuel station paying for damages or was this your mistake? You will have to drain the tank and dispose of the mix mess.
Then you are looking at scored injectors, IP damage, and possible engine damage. Depends on the gas concentration.
Depending on who is paying for this you may want a diesel shop to do the work.
When you pull an injector out look for aluminum flakes in case it melted the pistons. Not sure a boar o scope would fit through the precups to check the cylinders.

At the minimum after draining the fuel tank you should have a few injectors pop tested to make sure they are ok.
Click to expand...

They should be paying for it. I'll havet to go this evening when the managers there but hopefully I didnt pump gas by accident. We'll see. The gas concentration should be fairly high. There was barely a green hue to the fuel I drained out
 
i had a very high concentration of gas in mine and it did no damage at all. siphoned the tank bled the lines good to go
 
Found out I pumped it.... what an idiot.. Good to hear diesel driver! I may just syphon this tank. Everythings so seized in place. at least its tipped down so I can make sure I get 99 percent of it out. How do I bleed the lines?
 
disconnect the fuel line at the IP and then run the LP until you get good fuel. then crack the lines at the injectors and try to pump as much as you can while cranking the engine. take it easy on the starter as extended cranking can burn em up pretty fast.
 
When our daughter filled ours with gas, I used the lift pump to suck the tank dry. Refilled with diesel, changed the fuel filter, sucked the filter bowl dry & bled the system out the T valve and bled the fuel filter normally. No problems in the last 150,000 miles
 
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