89 Shut down Driving - No Start

[Jfriedlin]

Ok guys I got a tough one and I hope yall can help me out. I hear there is alot of smart guys on this site so lets see what you got. I'll go into as much detail as possible and if anyone has any questions for me please ask.

So here goes, I was drivin home from class yesterday and got stopped up by a car makin a left. After the car got cleared I gassed it and blew the normal amount of black smoke out then when I let off the accelerator the engine shut down and has not made a pop since. I rewired some stuff comin off the battery beacuse of corroded wires and put a new connector on the unit on the drivers side of the injection pump and no luck. So I pulled the main feed fuel line off the front of the injector pump and cranked it over, plenty of fuel there. The oil has no diesel fuel in it. I cracked the injector lines and cranked it over. It had a lil bit of air but fuel popping off all 6 injector lines. Tightened them all back up, tried to start and it wont fire and no visible smoke out of the exhaust. We also pulled the #1 and #5 valve covers off just to make sure the cam was turning and everything looked good. The turbo is spinning freely and the truck seems like its got good compression by how hard the starter is workin cranking the truck over. Ive never had to crank on it that much cuz it usually fires right up with a touch of the key. I dont have a fuel pressure gauge, I know Iknow, I need to get one but there seems to be plenty of fuel. So if anybody has any ideas on what the problem could be all help would be greatly appreciated. I think I covered everything oh BTW its a 1989 250 4x4. It has always run like a top and I definitely need it back. Thanks for the help

Oh yeah, forgot to mention I checked the voltalge to the fuel shut off solenoid and have 12 volts goin to it.

[oldcool90]

I would take the fuel kill solenoid out and take the plunger and spring out and put it to the side, screw the body of the solenoid back in and see if it starts.If it does then that is what is bad,you can replace it or use the choke cable method.The lever on the side of the injection pump is how you shut it off with a guted fuel kill solenoid.

[SNOOT]

Bleed your injectors ..

[Jfriedlin]

I'll try takin the fuel shutoff solenoid off and doin that tomorrow. I've already bled the injectors and no luck. Thanks for the replies

[RSWORDS]

Jason try bleeding teh injectors lines at the rear of the pump, it might have some fuel in it but if there is any air in the line you wont get enough pressure to pop the injectors.

Have you put fuel in it? I know you say you show 1/4 tank on the gauge... but you never know...

[Mark Nixon]

If it was running before and more or less just died, why would you need to bleed air out?
The way I read it, there was no warning, just BAM! dead.
Usually air will give a symptom.
I'm going with the dead solenoid theory.
I've seen them fail where they allow just a trickle of fuel through, but not enough to increase pressure to pop the injectors.

Besides, the pump will still push a little fuel even when the solenoid is disabled, but lacks pressure because the fuel supply is sealed off, much like the engine will crank faster if you block off air to the intake, put the supply of air back and it cranks slower.

Mark.

[RSWORDS]

When I talked to him on teh phone yesterday he said he was running it hard and it just up and quit, I was thinking ith the low level in teh tank maybe he got a big gulo of air. Plus when he took off teh gas cap he said there was alot of vacum on the tank, Maybe the vent is clogged and the lift pump wont pick up any fuel. Just thinking out loud.

[Jfriedlin]

If it was running before and more or less just died, why would you need to bleed air out?
The way I read it, there was no warning, just BAM! dead.
Usually air will give a symptom.
I'm going with the dead solenoid theory.
I've seen them fail where they allow just a trickle of fuel through, but not enough to increase pressure to pop the injectors.

Besides, the pump will still push a little fuel even when the solenoid is disabled, but lacks pressure because the fuel supply is sealed off, much like the engine will crank faster if you block off air to the intake, put the supply of air back and it cranks slower.

Mark.

Thats more or less how it happened. I gassed it for a few seconds, let off of it and it shut off just like u turned the key off. No warning or strange noises whatsoever

[RSWORDS]

Pull out your shut off, gut it put it back and then start it up!

[Mark Nixon]

....I was thinking ith the low level in teh tank....Plus when he took off teh gas cap he said there was alot of vacum on the tank, Maybe the vent is clogged and the lift pump wont pick up any fuel. Just thinking out loud.

Funny, but that damned '96 I sold pulltilbroke STILL keeps haunting me!!

I had a situation with it where IT, too would pull vacuum on the tank, like no to-morrow.
I got to where I'd run the cap loose, but every now and again I would forget, and in cold weather, it would suck up and not come back, which affected fill ups by as much as 5 gallons!
First time I ever noticed it was actually collapsing, it was smaller in size by almost 1/3rd!

I don't know WHY it had never sprung a leak, it darned well should have.
The more I think, the more it may well have been my own doings that killed the Piston Pump set-up on that thing.

Mark.

[jbaker]

mine did the same i just wiggled the electrical connector on shutoff solenoid starts right up
after doing this a hundred times i replaced the connections with eyes and screws

[Jfriedlin]

Just got it goin guys. Took the fuel shutoff solenoid out and gutted it and its runnin like a champ. Thanks for all ya'lls help!!

[Jfriedlin]

Now the fuel shutoff solenoid is leaking a lil bit of fuel, looks like up top where the wire hooks to it. Has anybody else had this problem. Thinkin I might have to go ahead and replace it

[Ace]

After mine did that I turned it into a plug with a 1/2" NPT pipe plug and some JB weld for thread lube.

http://stuff.is-a-geek.net/PhotoAlbum/1 ... TD_172.jpg

[Jfriedlin]

Thats a good ide, I'll have to see what I can find tomorrow. Man I wish my engine was that clean lol