Changed Fuel Filter now Won't Start

[.bucketlist]

When I changed the fuel filter on my '99 Winnebago with the 5.9 Cummings I installed the fuel filter dry. Naturally I had the same problem. You need to bleed the injector lines to get the air out of the system. I was lucky and only had to loosen a couple of injector lines at the injectors to get it started. Next time I will fill the fuel filter before installation.

[Skip426]

PastorB. Info on posting pictures , is in this link.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f62/forum...ics-49134.html

Took me about three weeks in the forums to get on to adding photos to posts .
Some tips ; resize any photo before posting ( 640 pixels works best for me ) and when you have the attachment box open , and click upload attachments , WAIT till you see "upload complete " displayed in the box before closing it and returning to the main screen .

When asking questions about your Caterpillar engine , make sure any member with advice is talking about Caterpillar engines , because although Cat & Cummins both burn diesel fuel , their fuel injection systems are as different as chalk and cheese.
After 14 years working on Dodge/Cummins engines , I bought a coach with a Caterpillar , and it was a steep learning curve.
Some info on your 3126B , that you might find handy.

[JaminSamin]

Originally Posted by PastorB

I really appreciate everyone's patience with me. This has a learning curve, my wife was pretty upset I did it myself but I have learned so much already.

I unsrewed the pump, it had never been used and was really on there. I pumped up so much pressure I could hardly get the pump screwed back in but it is very late and I will wait until tomorrow to start it and change the main fuel filter Cat 1R-1807.

I am confident that I now know how to get this back up and running tomorrow.

Thanks again,

You do know that the 1R-1807 is an oil filter...right?

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by cataska

I always fill my filters use a 1/4" hose and siphon the fuel into the small holes (filtered fuel) by the way all fuel from the pumps is filtered

I think you might have missed something!

[cataska]

Originally Posted by Ted Lambert

I think you might have missed something!

What did i miss i didn't spill any.

[Rob Mitch]

Learning how to do this maintenance can really help you out in the future. Tell your wife that at least one of you need to understand how these things work (and don't work) She can choose. 😃

[Rob Mitch]

Always carry an extra set of filters. Getting contaminated fuel is always a possibility.

[FatChance]

Last year I spoke with a diesel service guy I met at an RV park who said he fills the fuel filters with ATF. He said that straight out of the bottle he didn't have to worry about filtering it and he has been doing that for years.

[FrogHollow]

At work we had a fleet of 12 ISL Cummins. Cummins was clear that the filters were to be installed dry. The reason is the extremely tight clearances in modern fuel injection systems. The injection pressure at the rail on an ISL was over 20,000 psi if I remember correctly, even a super tiny partical of dirt can cause real damage. What we came up with to prime the filters is most likely more work that the average guy may want to do, but I will lay it out here anyway.
Cummins makes test fittings called comp u check. These resemble a hyd coupler. with a male comp u check on the output side of the filters you can just snap the female comp up check with a gauge attached over it to check output pressure of the lift pump. In our case we used a Mityvac® fluid evacuator tool with a female comp u check fitting to put a vacuum on the filters until clear fuel with no bubbles comes into the Mityvac tank. Unsnap the comp up check and off you go.
To install a comp u check on the output of the filters you may have to install a t fitting which could be tricky, we were lucky on the Cummins as the filter housing had test plugs which we just removed and screwed the comp u check into.

[mrboyer]

I think the secondary fuel filter is Cat#1R-0751. A cat pump that mounts on the head of the secondary filter comes in a long and short version. The parts for the short one are:105-2508 primer pump, 1P-0436 primer pump gasket, 8C-6561 bolt, 7Y-2501 bolt, 8T-4205 washer, and 8T-4224 washer.

[DMareno652]

I did the same thing on my Newmar with a Cat 330 as it said not to fill the filter I do not have the pump so we ( my friend being a diesel mechanic) removed the feed line and using a compressor we pushed fuel from the tank back up . I was told to put a plug in the center of the filter and fill it using the outer holes with clean fuel then put the filter back on but to be sure to close the valves on both sides of the filter before removing the old one .

[John Jackson]

My Cat engine only has one fuel filter; the one with the water separator. One day after reading all the manuals that came with the RV I thought I'd go out and drain the water from it . I turned the valve on the bottom and drained into a can until it stopped. Started the engine to make sure all was well and it ran fine for a minute or so and then stopped.

After checking all that I did I found that I did not close the valve at the bottom of the filter. I also realized that there was probably no water in the separator, only fuel, which I had drained out.

Took pictures of everything and went down to my local Cat Repair Facility for help. Turns out there was no primer on the line and would have to be towed. After asking what the alternatives might be the service manager asked if I had an air compressor. I did, so he explained that after I filled the separator with filtered fuel I could put the compressor hose in the fuel filler with a rag wrapped around it. This would build pressure in the fuel tank. With wife cranking the engine for short periods we were able push the fuel up the line from the separator to the engine and get it started.

After this episode I learned that it's best to read everything you can before you venture in to doing maintenance on anything. Forums like this is where I've gone and have not made a blunder like this since.

[nehog]

Originally Posted by Ted Lambert

Yes you created your own problem. The reason they say not to fill the filters is because you would be filling it with unfiltered fuel and warranty is a manufactures issue...

Interestingly the filters (Fleetguard) all tell you to pre-fill the filter on the instructions on the side. Always fill from the outside, (the inlet side) so that no unflitered fuel is allowed into the system.

I always (carefully) prefill my filters and never have problems at all.

I can understand the reluctance to have inexperienced or not well trained people pre-filling a filter however.

[sirbill393]

Air lock in the fuel system. I have a Cat diesel and same thing happened to me, filter has to be filled with diesel before replacing.