[carlykali9]

Fuel issue, truck goes 10mph....

I am at a loss and would love some ideas!
My truck ran great until earlier this year when she started having serious issues. After filling the tank and pulling out of the gas station she lost all power, started coughing, sputtering and shut off. We managed to limp her the few miles to the house (never going more than 10-15mph) and started troubleshooting.
After replacing the fuel pump (which had burnt diodes), cleaning the tank and adding fresh gas. She made it a few hundred feet, bogged down and died.
Then we replaced the spark plugs, wires, air filter... anything we could think of that might cause a loss of spark, fuel or air. Same story.
We checked the threads on here and realized that every issue she had was a symptom of a clogged/bad catalytic converter. So we followed the detailed plan we found for fixing that, checking the o2 sensors and making sure the muffler was not damaged. For about a month she ran like a dream and with great power and mileage.
Last night she did the same darn thing but, now we have a new symptom to add. There is pressurized air in the fuel line. We bled the air out and she went about 75ft before she bogged down, started randomly misfiring her cylinders and died. We did that about three times trying to get the problem diagnosed and each time we had to bleed a bunch of air out of the fuel line.
I'm stumped, we don't have any fuel leaks or anywhere i could think of that much air getting in in less that 3min of running time.
Anyone have any thoughts? I would love some help please! :4-dontknow:

 

[carlykali9]

While searching threads someone with some of the same issues was told to check for an injector sticking open. Could that be an issue in my case? Also, whats the best way to do that if that could be the problem?

 

[carlykali9]

Alright, after all morning reading threads I have decided that the best course of action will be to start by REchecking the o2 sensors since she smells a little rich and others have had the same issues with that as the problem. Then I will prob check the possibly stuck injectors, followed by the dreaded plenum gasket... i will update later so anyone with the same problems will know what worked (or not) for me.

 

[carlykali9]

So far I have ruled out the plenum gasket. I failed to realize what gasket everyone was talking about at first so i was dreading it a little because it sounded like a real pain. Much to my surprise I have done that one before and its in good shape lol. I am still trying to find more info on how to properly check the injectors, so back on here today to keep looking.
Also, I still wouldn't mind some advice if anyone has some to toss this way

 

[Warlock III]

Hi Carly, I must say you seem determined.

Since you seem to have a problem when it warms up I'd consider checking the cam position sensor in the distributor.

 

[carlykali9]

Yeah I am a bit, lol. I just need to get her up and running again, you know how that is. Thanks for getting back to me! I will give that a try and post the results :thk:

 

[Warlock III]

It's the sign of a good member. And it's a great quality in a member.

:rep:

 

[carlykali9]

Alrighty, time for updates!
Haven't got around the the injectors yet but, while under the hood we noticed that the recently replaced coil looked like it needed to be redone. So after doing that she ran good for about two days then, had to be towed home again. Since warlock had suggested the cam position sensor we waited until payday :smiley_thumbs_up: then pulled her out. We only replaced it about two years ago and when it failed last time the symptoms were very different so we were a little doubtful that it may be the problem. We were happy that we had listened to the good advice though because it looked way older than it was and had a bit of rust on it. Apparently the auto parts stores no longer carry the 'cam sensor' sooo..... after a bit of internet research we found that they do have the part but they call it the 'distributor ignition pickup' because they aren't allowed to sell dodge cam sensors anymore.
Oookayyy then. Seems like dodge was trying to make the part only available through them (not cool guys).
Anyway, we replaced it last night and we shall see if that was the magic part that keeps her going.
We also realized while messing around that 1998 ram 1500's don't come with an EGR valve, so don't waste your time trying to find one.

 

[Warlock III]

Okay. so where are we now!

 

[carlykali9]

Just towed her home again... same darn issue.:doh:

 

[Warlock III]

That sucks. Tell us what you have done to it.

 

[Gen1dak]

If you think it's a stuck injector, pour a can of Seafoam in the fuel tank, turn on the key and let the pump run and circulate the mix. Seafoam can dissolve the hard deposits that may be keeping the injector stuck open. Might also be a good time to pull the plugs and see if you can see a wet plug while the key is on (but engine is off) to help determine which injector is stuck. A series of taps on the engine near each injector may also help jar the stuck injector pintle loose.

 

[carlykali9]

ok, last night we replaced the upstream o2 sensor just in case. As usual she ran well and died today.So we changed the recently done distributor cap... no change.
Still massive amounts of pressurized air in the fuel line, So we checked the injectors and they are good. The last thing we can figure is the computer but, its a bit pricey and if there are any other possibilities that we are missing then I would prefer to start there.
We all but missed the first day of squirrel season and my ol man was debating shooting the truck instead... :box2:
Anyway I would love any ideas, we are running out of things to fix.

 

[carlykali9]

Btw, thanks Gen for telling me how to check those :smiley_thumbs_up: I was having a difficult time finding that info.

 

[RayK]

Try leaving the gas cap loose and see if it happens.

 

[carlykali9]

Thanks RayK, we just tried it and still no difference. I think I am going to spend the next few days scouring the web again to see if I can come up with anything else. I really appreciate all the info you guys are giving!!

 

[carlykali9]

I keep saying air in the fuel line its not... (that I know of). The air is in the fuel rail. When the truck is running properly we can hit the bleeder on the fuel RAIL and fuel sprays out like it should. When the truck acts up you can hit the bleeder and air sprays out for at least 5 seconds before any fuel. It is pressurized enough that it sounds like you are letting air out of a full tire, I think all of my other symptoms are because of this issue. If you bleed the air and drive it ten feet, you have to bleed out that much air again. Are there any parts between the tank and fuel rail that could cause this without any fuel leaks? I have checked and rechecked the pump to make sure that I hooked all the lines up tight and it looks good.

 

[carlykali9]

Could the fuel rail be getting too hot and 'vaporizing' the gas so it looks like air? The truck has no temp issues so that does not seem likely. Would a partly clogged fuel line somehow suck air somewhere between the clog and the rail? My research says that the gas level could be to low in the tank, that's not my problem either.

 

[Gen1dak]

My next suspect would be the evaporation canister/evap canister purge solenoid. If these vapors aren't vented properly, the buildup of pressure in the fuel tank could be an issue. As mentioned, loosen the gas cap and see if it happens. A quick solution, in this case would be to use an old-style vented cap. Looks just like the non-vented cap, easy swap, and will release pressure til you get the canister fixed.....if that's the problem.

 

[carlykali9]

Thank you! I tried the gas cap thing but it didn't really do anything. Whats the best way to test the evaporation canister/evap canister purge solenoid? I have been googling it since you posted the suggestion and can't find anything other than "look for leaks in the hoses"