Can't prime fuel filter

[Shuck]

Just got a "new" to me 95 K1500 6.5TD. Was stumbling a little but under a load, so the first thing I thought to do was change out the fuel filter.

Put in a new filter (after sucking all the stuff out of the bowl) and now I can't get it to prime. The lift pump is running when I put the truck in drive and the key to start, but the bowl hasn't filled up but just a bit. Have been trying it for a good 5 mins.

How much do I need to unscrew the air vent on the top of the filter? I even tried removing it while the lift pump was running, but still no fuel.

Ideas? My truck is hard to move right now.

[G. Gearloose]

Perhaps you found the stumbing problem..

[Shuck]

Could my lift pump not be working even though I can hear it? Come to think of it, it's kind of loud.

And let me guess, Autozone probably isn't going to have one of these lift pumps.

[KerrySchrantz]

Hey Y'all,

I've been away from the group for quite some time.

Yup, you can get a lift pump from Autozone, Advance, O'Rielly, etc... they usually run about 90.00us If your filter bowl will not fill then it is likely the lift pump is dead. Before you spend $$ try and get a pressure gauge on it, it should read no less than 4.5 PSI.

When my lift pump quit I did notice the sound was little louder than normal.

Kerry

[Shuck]

Thanks for the info. I ended up getting it fixed last night. Unhooked the fuel line from the exit side of the fuel pump and ran it. No fuel came out, so that was a pretty good indication to me.

Went to autozone and got a replacement (not a huge fan of autozone, but my truck wasn't running and it was Sunday late afternoon - choices were limited). Put it on and tried it a again, primed the filter in under 5 seconds.

So, for anyone else looking for this info in the future. If you have to run your lift pump in excess of 30 seconds, you probably have a problem somewhere.

[Hye]

The pumps are amazingly simple. There is almost nothing inside except the electronics that actualy goes bad. They just get dirt from the tank that keeps them from pumping.
If your pump is clicking, the electronics are OK and it is trying to pump. With no filter between the tank and the lift pump, they occasionally get clogged with dirt. I've gotten them to start pumping again by tapping the pump. Better to do this while it is running, if possible. This sometimes works on pumps that aren't clicking, too.
If that doesn't work, remove the pump. With the pump removed, see if fuel comes flows from the tank. You might have clogged lines(or an empty tank ;) ).
While you have the pump off the truck, put the pump in the can of diesel fuel you collected while removing the pump and see if it works off the truck. It will run on 12V battery, but I wouldn't try running it from a battery charger. I don't remember which lead is +, but a pump I took apart had a diode inside which would prevent damage if the wires were switched.

[CareyWeber]

In apr 04 I replaced my oil pressure switch (GM dealer part) and my lift pump (Napa/Carter) and my truck was running great with around 180K miles at that time. Well I noticed it stumbled last week a couple of times, so Saturday I pressure tested the lift pump and got nada nothing zilch and I only have added about 8K miles since I installed this pump. :mad: I got about +175K miles on the stock GM pump. This pump I got has a lifetime warrenty on it, but I hoped to get more than 10 months and no towing out of the pump. We'll have to see how long its replacement lasts.

I know that unfiltered fuel did not cause this Napa pump to die becuase it has always been run with a 30 micron Racor installed prelift pump. My factory pump went at least 130K miles with no filter before I installed the Racor 445. If I keep losing the Napa (Carter) pumps I may go back to a GM unit.

Carey

[ 02-07-2005, 04:03 PM: Message edited by: CareyWeber ]

[tom.mcinerney]

Carey-
Maybe got a bad pump?
Gomers/U.S.Diesel parts may sell oem Delphi good price...
Now we see why RJWest has (and GMCTD had) a dash fuel pressure gage??