O/T any cummins experts around?

Got a 92 Dodge 3/4 ton to use as a farm truck last winter and havn't had a lick of trouble with it until acouple weeks ago....I seem to have this "random" problem where it just seems to run out of fuel...(tank is full). Somedays i can get in it, start it and not have an issue one. Then out of the blue i'll get in it and get about 3 or 4 miles and it'll start to cough and sputter and die. I can get out, bleed the injector lines, it'll start and usually run the rest of the day with out a hitch. (sometimes it takes a time or two of bleeding the lines). My filter is new and always full of fuel when this problem occurs, the lift pump is about 3 years old and i can pump it by hand and get a nice strong stream of fuel. Is there a filter in the tank that i'm missing? I put new connections on all the wires running to the injection pump thinking there was a bad connection somewhere. Like i say i put on a new wix filter in the beginning of all of this, could it already be clogged again? I've never had a problem with bad fuel before but i know it's not uncommon in my area. Before yall ask temperature makes no difference, so i know it's not gelled up. (I also treat my fuel, so i'm not worried about that) Right now i'm just looking for a direction to start heading in. I'm going to go ahead and try a new fuel filter tonight just for shits and grins.

I'm really hoping it's not an injection pump problem, it has plenty of power. Starts right up no matter how cold it is, it just has this "random" problem. I drive the truck daily and sometimes i'll go 2 days without a problem, sometimes it's first thing in the morning.

When you bleed the lines, do you get fuel right from the get-go or do you get indications of actual air in the lines?

From watching from in the cab while i crank, i'm going to say i get fuel right from the start.

Now be advised tht I'm no kind of expert so... It sounds like a definite air leak and I don't believe it takes much. Since you recently changed the fuel filter, I did some checking and came up with this: "I also had air leak issues on my 97 cummins. It took awhile to figure out where it was. I finally checked the bolts on top of the diesel filter. One was a little loose and after tightening it my problems were gone." Otherwise I'd suspect that the filter housing was leaking. If the filter was clogged for some reason like starting to use bio, then it shouldn't go away.

The flexible lines could have a crack in them that open up when the engine moves. Let in air and you lose fuel.
When it stops, do you have to crank it long to get it going? Usually if you run it out, it takes a bit of cranking to get the air out.
Any chance you have a collapsing fuel line? Or something blocking the fuel pickup?
Have you drained the water separator?

I drive diesel engines everday but I am certainly no diesel mechanic. We have a four cylinder Cummins in a loader that had kind of the same problem awhile back. I would start it and back it out of the shed and if I shut it off without letting it warm up first it wouldn't start till I bled the lines. Then ran fine. Finally one day it wouldn't start. I put a new fuel pump on it and it works fine. Took the old pump apart and there is a phony little metal clip on the pump rod that wore out and fell off. Wouldn't operate the diaphram. Pump was about three years old. I am assuming yours is a six cylinder. Uses the same pump.

It is the lift pump on your LH side of block. You go three or four miles, i used to warm up truck for 5 min or so and it would be off when i walked out of house. Did this a few times and she finally wouldnt start. Btw... I am a certified diesel mech and love the first gens.

Does the first gen have a prefilter like the second gens, if so, I would start with that.
Unless you have a hard time starting it first thing in the morning it's doubtful it's an air leak. If you have an air leak in the fuel system the fuel will drain back to the tank when the trucks not running.
As far as the lift pump goes, I have not had one fail like that but that doesn't mean it's not the problem.

Kinda sounds to me like it may possibly getting trash over the pickup in the tank. If you have fuel at the injectors from the get go of trying to bleed them then I would think you have plenty of fuel and it would not be the lift pump or the injector pump.

Got a fuel pressure gauge? They are not that hard to turn onto that pump. Goes on by the banjo bolt. See what kind of pressure you have. If your less than 5 psi, your pump will be what quits next. Some guys will tell you you have to have at least 20 but Bosch says all is well with 5.

Messed up and gave information for the wrong year. Thought I read 02.

Your truck is supposed to have a large inlet filter on the bottom of the pickup/fuel gauge float in the tank. One tank of bad fuel is all it took to plug mine up. When you drop the tank, check your fuel tank straps and repair or replace as necessary. If you have a SRW truck and access to a loader or a tree and a come-a-long, it might be easier to lift the bed up for access. I was only able to find the inlet filter at a Dodge dealer, but it is large and well made.

We had one at a place I worked at that had the same problem . Turned out to be a hole in the fuel pick up tube and when the tank got below that point it would suck air and not run. Worth checking into

I had a similar problem with my '97 dodge cummins. DODGE used cheap plastic connector hoses between the fuel tank fittings and the steel fuel lines. Replaced the plastic hoses with their poorly designed push on connectors with heavy duty fuel hose and worm gear clamps, and it has run great ever since. Have you tried temporarily installing some clear plastic tubing on the supply and return lines to see where air is getting into the system?

If it turns out to be your lift pump, get the piston-pump replacement for the first-gen, and one for the 2nd-gen 12 valve. Tear them apart. Put the weaker spring from the first-gen pump in the 2nd-gen housing with the larger bore. It will move more fuel through your IP (which is cooled and lubricated by the fuel) while not over-pressuring it.
The front seal is known to get pushed out of the housing of the VE44 at more than 15 psi, filling your crankcase with fuel, which doesn"t lubricate the rest of the motor very well.

I had a similar problem with my 01 diesel. I had the injector pump rebuilt and still had this problem. I took it to the man that had the pump rebuuilt and he cleaned the battery cables and the other fittings. It now runs like it is supposed to. Hope this helps. Roy

My 1990 has done that several times over the years. Every single time it was a fuel line problem. Usually the steel lines with a hole rusted in it. One time it was the rubber lines that go from the tank to the steel lines.

The hole will let the system suck air randomly. So I would just replace the steel and rubber lines from the tank to the lift pump.

A bad lift pump can cause this too. I would replace it as well. They are not too high either.

Your 01 is all electronic, his 92 is mechanical. Other than no charge, no AC, you can completely fry the computer and still run it.

Just got done fixing the same thing on my 92 ended up being the plate on the back of the injection pump part of the governor the screws came loose and the seal blew out of the plate