2003 Chevy diesel mechanic wanted

[KsRancher]

Looking for some help. Pickup broke down and cant get it looked at for 2 weeks. Would really like to get it going sooner.

Driving down the road it just sputtered and died like it ran out of fuel. The gauge hasn't worked it years. I can go 300 miles per tank minimum before fueling up. I was at only 163 miles on this fill up. But I thought maybe I reset the miles or something and was really out of fuel. So put 10 gallons in it. Pumped the hand primer until it got full. Truck fired right up, idle about 10 seconds and died. I primed it again and same thing. So 3rd time had my dad keep pumping the primer. As long as you are pumping the primer the truck will run. Stop and it runs a few seconds and dies.

I assumed it was the fuel pump went out in the tank. Come to find out these dont have a pump in the fuel tank. They work by pulling a vacuum. Which makes sense that there is a hand primer on the filter housing. Otherwise the fuel pump would fill the filter. So I assume it has to be sucking air somewhere between the filter housing and wherever its pulling a vacuum from. Which I think is a gear driven pump.

So to find the leak I installed a 12v in-line fuel pump. With the pump running the truck still wont run very long unless you are pumping the hand primer on the filter housing.

Anyone got any ideas on this one?

 

[mt terry d]

Did you change the fuel filter?

 

[KsRancher]

Just serviced it a couple of weeks ago. Put a filter on it then. Did not put another one on. Filter has about 1000 miles on it

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

Not sure how the filters work on that truck but I have a 2015 ram that had a fuel filter crack/break and wasn’t pressing down the ball valve to let fuel in. It would run 20-30 seconds before dying and if you waited 3-5 minutes it would start again for 20-30 seconds. Seems like it could be similar.

 

[skipper907]

it could be the return line going back to the tank having a hole. I had a similar truck that I had the same problem. It would run then die i would pump the filter pump to get it going again.
the hole in the return line on mine was around front of the bed and the cab

 

[mt terry d]

Just serviced it a couple of weeks ago. Put a filter on it then. Did not put another one on. Filter has about 1000 miles on it

5.9 Cummins owner so I’m not up on chevys
Not to discount the possible air leaks or pump issues but id check the filter again
You could have a bunch of water or algae in your tank. I know my tank doesn’t have a drain on it so I can’t drain water out. No doubt intentionally designed to create issues. When I had a semi id drain water out occasionally in the winter.
Just a thought

 

[coloradodrifter]

Those years are pretty notorious for the fuel filter head/ primer pump to suck air and loose prime. I would look at replacing the filer head.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

Fuel filter is blocked because you have water or algae or something in the tank. Or, you have an air leak in the fuel system somewhere - fuel filter gasket, pinhole rust in a line, loose connection, or bad seal somewhere.

 

[Wrench]

Open the bleeder and turn the key on....if it pumps, you likely have an air leak (bad seal at filter or cracked line/hardware).....no pump.....you need a filter. I'm not sure how the returns work on that engine, but if it's leaking diesel....it can happen on the returns and sometimes cause the same issue.

 

[KsRancher]

Thanks guys. I will give it another try again tomorrow.

 

[Customweld]

Bad CP3? Is it throwing any codes?

 

[KsRancher]

No codes. I REALLY hope its not the CP3

 

[FarmerWI]

Those years are pretty notorious for the fuel filter head/ primer pump to suck air and loose prime. I would look at replacing the filer head.

2nd this. My 04 duramax had the same issue.

 

[mt terry d]

Am I correct in assuming from some of the posts that the Chevy relies completely
on the injector pump without any other fuel pump?
I have a CP3 on my cummins and know that if the filters or fuel
pump isn't up to snuff it overtaxes the injector pump and causes premature failure.

It's not rocket science to replace the pump if necessary. It is pricey though.

 

[downsouth175]

I would concur with two of the comments above, I would start with the fuel filter head/primer pump. They are notorious for having issues. Had this problem with a 2003 Duramax.

 

[Smithb9841]

Agree with the others on the fuel filter primer pump I had to rebuild mine in the driveway of an Airbnb on a Montana hunt a few years ago. I wouldn’t rebuild it if I were you buy a new one. Only reason I rebuilt mine was ThTs all I could get where I was at in Montana

 

[KsRancher]

Am I correct in assuming from some of the posts that the Chevy relies completely
on the injector pump without any other fuel pump?
I have a CP3 on my cummins and know that if the filters or fuel
pump isn't up to snuff it overtaxes the injector pump and causes premature failure.

It's not rocket science to replace the pump if necessary. It is pricey though.

I believe it relies solely on the CP3

 

[KsRancher]

I replaced the filter housing around 10yrs ago. I knew it was bad then because it was leaking fuel around the primer pump. I didn't give it a thought that it might be bad again because its not leaking. But I am going to put a new one and filter on and see.


The truck is getting up there in miles. And it owes me absolutely nothing. It has 420,000 on it and the only thing I have done to the motor itself is the water pump.