Lack of fuel pressure

My 2000 2500 with the Cummins and auto transmission is acting funny and I have some thoughts but would like some input.

Best I can describe the engine is stumbling. Acting very similar to when a diesel engine is gelled. I know that is not the case as the farms fuel is rated to -40 and no one else is having this issue.

I need to put a fuel guage on the pickup and that will be done when I am making whatever repair seems to fit the problem.

Anyway this is an intermittent problem. Today I was pulling a trailer with 40 mph head winds and I still had all the power I could ever need... yesterday I barely got to 30 mph with no trailer and no wind. When I tried to push it a little faster the engine stumbled and stalled. Never had it stall before. I cant decide if its failing injectors, injector lump or lift lump. (Fuel filter is brand new) I've been told by 1 guy there is only a in tank lift pump, and another said I have a lift pump on the engine as well, under the filter. I'm not sure if that's the case as I have not had anytime to do any real digging under the hood since this started happening.

Any info would be very helpful.

I also have a thought of adding a in line pump on the frame with a cut off switch on my dashboard in case there is no lift pump on the engine and the in tank one is not giving enough pressure. I've heard even a good stock pump in the tank doesnt supply enough pressure on it's own. Thoughts?

My half ton is getting me around for now but I need the big ole girl back up and running reliably when I need to move some cows.

Also at what point are repairs more expensive than replacing the pickup? It has 330k miles and repairs seem to be happening every couple weeks and it's not cheap

The lift pump fuel pressure needs to be known.
Screw a 0-30psi pressure gauge on the forward-most fitting of the fuel filter top on the driver's side of the engine.
Turn the keyswitch just enough to "bump" the starter to get The Free 25 Second Lift Pump Run.

Please disregard the text in RED

The port with the needle valve & elbow is the correct port.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/1999fuelpress.jpg

Thanks Hamel!

Stock spec is 10psi+, most folks look for 15psi.

My fuel filter looks different. It's the kind that unscrews from the top and I pull the filter out upward. Looks like that's the kind with the canister that unscrews from the bottom. Do you know where the fitting would he on the style that I have? Thanks for the quick reply

The lift pump fuel pressure needs to be known,
Fuel pressure test kits are available at most chain type auto parts stores. The gasser kits work fine.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/Image042.jpg


Screw the connector on the fitting of the injector pump on the driver's side of the engine.
Turn the keyswitch just enough to "bump" the starter to get The Free 25 Second Lift Pump Run.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/Image046.jpg

Stock spec is 10psi+, most folks look for 15psi.

I'll give that a try and get back to you on fuel pressure. Let's just assume for a minute that lift pump pressure is good do you think that it would be the injector pump or something else... or if pressure at the lift pump is bad would you think bad lift pump or bad in tank pump?

My '01 does not have an intank pump. It was behind the fuel filter before I relocated it to the frame rail in front of the fuel tank. If yours is behind the fuel filter and there are electrical wiring going to it with no spicing going to the fuel tank, I'd say you most likely don't have an intank pump.
Believe it or not, your 2000 Dodge w/cummins is still worth many thousands of dollars if it looks pretty good. If my injector pump quit again, I'd replace it before getting disgusted and selling the truck.

Mine has been fitted with an in tank pump as well as the factory lift pump still in operation. The in tank one was not done by a professional so who knows if it works, but the lift pump on the motor does not make any noise, it makes sense why it was a pain to prime when I did the fuel filter since the lift pump makes no noise. I'll be replacing that soon hopefully. I dont go to town but once a month or so. I know the pickup is worth around 5k and the motor itself will probably get me to 500k miles. My issue is it was used to tow a large stock trailer for 200k miles with minimal time without the trailer so parts are very worn. I'm replacing parts seems like non stop. Just did a $700 brake job, literally everything but the lines are new and I cant trust it to stop like it should. Front end is loose on a good day. When would you give up on adding new parts? Not because the pickup isnt going to run much longer but because it no longer makes sense financially. Main reasons it's still around is because I use it for some pretty massive loads and no gas replacement can fill its shoes.

Check out the monthly payments and insurance on a replacement truck that will pull like your truck.
You can get a lift pump fuel pressure test gauge kit at harbor freight reasonable.

Pressure at the lift pump is 2 psi at idle... I have a new one on the way. Next question is did I do any damage to the injector pump running this way? Since the issue started getting bad I've been using the little pickup except the 120 miles I needed to pull my trailer. Should I be expecting my injector pump to go soon now?

The payments on a replacement would be cheaper in the short run but I keep telling myself that I'm going to run out of parts to replace and be better off. Hopefully that's right.

Is the Check Engine light On?

No check engine light. No codes show on my reader

Then your injector pump should be ok.
Lift pumps by design are not designed to have fuel pass through them if they are not running. If your intank pump is dead, the new lift pump at the stock location will have a hard time drawing fuel through the dead intank pump and certainly without reaching sufficient flow and pressure to take care of the injector pumps needs.
You're looking at removing the intank pump IF there is one installed in your fuel tank.

Ok, I was told it has a pump in the tank but I dont know for sure. I have never dug that deep into the pickup to know if it has one or not. Replaced the lift pump earlier today and put about 70 miles on it and it seems like all my issues have been resolved.

Now just in case anyone is curious, on a 2000 Cummins it is important to know the actual build date when replacing some parts. I just found that out yesterday as the correct lift pump for a 2000 Cummins is only correct if the build date is from 2000. Mine was built in 99 therefore took the same pump as a 99. Not too big of a deal except you may be taking an extra trip to the parts store. If your build date is in 99 the the pump will have a horizontal cylinder, a 00 build date has a vertical cylinder.

You might check the lift pump fuel pressure now for your future reference.

Probably a good idea. How would I go about putting in a gauge so I always have a pressure reading?

Buy a about 4 feet of grease gun line extensions & fittings, a needle valve and a 0-30psi pressure gauge. Seal the connections with permatex non-hardening sealer then start yer pump.

Here's my cheapo getup,

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/biggaugelines.jpg
Greasegun extension leaving the Vulcan fitting tapped for the guage.


http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/needlevalve2.jpg
Needle valve for damping pressure pulses to calm the gauge needle.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/plumbing/valves/needle-valves/4506572

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/Image031.jpg
It ain't pretty but this dog hunts and he don't leak.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/Clunk_/Image052.jpg
The whole contraption using the fuel pressure check kit to screw onto the port on the injector pump and later I added needle valve to dampen the pressure pulses.

Awesome thank you. It will be a bit before I have time to do it but I'm sure it will be well worth the time and effort.

This has nothing to do with what we were talking about, but my last exhuast hanger finally rusted through and I was dragging my exhuast down the road. I cut off all the rusted pieces between the cat and muffler. I want to put on a deep note muffler and dont know which to buy. Should I take the cat off then put the new muffler there or after the cat. I dont want a super loud exhuast but I want the deepest note possible. Thoughts?

The 2000 Dodge Ram w/Cummins Diesel did not come with a catalytic converter as far as I know. You might have a muffler and resonator on your exhaust.
I don't know how to deepen the exhaust tone....sorry pal.

Your right it ended up being a resonator. Looked like a cat till I started looking more closely. That poor old pickup finally gave out. It did good with the new lift pump till I pulled my trailer with 5 cows. Did great till I got to a hill then lost all power and died. Had to get a tow, mechanic said total rebuild to get the poor old thing going again. Ended up trading it for a 08 Cummins. It was a sad day. But I have to say that 6.7 is insane. Hope they're as reliable as that old 5.9 was.

Yup, I understand the 6.7's are torque monsters.