fuel problems?

[dogbone]

My 85 diesel truck runs fine until the last few gallons of gas(diesel) so being a lazy person I have been making sure I keep fuel in it instead of dealing with the problem. Today I was getting low on gas and after pulling off the road to take a call the truck wouldn't start. I have been thinking I have water in the tank or something plugging the line out of the gas tank when the fuel gets low. I am scratching my head now though. After putting a half tank of diesel in the truck, it wouldn't restart like in the past. I replaced the fuel filter and filled the filter with diesel. My friend took the fuel line off the filter, the line coming up from the fuel pump and we found the line had no fuel in it and nothing came out when I turned the engine over. I don't understand that. I don't see any fuel leaks or air leaks. Where did the fuel go or how did the air get in? I filled up all the fuel lines and tried to start the truck but it wont start and the fuel I replace in the lines is still there. Has the fuel pump I replaced last year decided to break down at the same time as my original problem? Or are they related?
Thanks for any help. I am going out right now to see if fuel will run out of the line coming from the tank in case it is plugged at that end.
John

[leolkfrm]

did you prime it after the filter change?

[dogbone]

Thanks Leo. Yes I filled the new filter with diesel, then filled all the fuel lines from the fuel pump and down to the tank. I just removed the line from the tank and it isn't clogged. Lots of flow from the tank.

[leolkfrm]

I talking about the primer pump, i believe they had it on the 85's. to try and get it to fire, spray some silicone spray in the intake while someone cranks it. silicone is better then either. it shoud fire if all else is ok

[dogbone]

There is no primer pump. I will try spraying the intake tomorrow to see if I can get it started. I am curious how much air would cause the pump to not work? There is one fuel line junction up in the engine compartment that flows from the fuel tank. I can't fill it to the top because the fuel I add flows back down into the tank so there is some air in the junction when I clamp it off. How do I get this air out?
Thanks leo, I am not a mechanic. I have better luck when I am just mixing cement.
John

[bradrhale]

injector pump might have crashed on you. i am nowhere near being a ford diesel expert so take my suggestion at face value. if you hae run out of diesel, you will have to prime the injectors. on a cat or case tractor, this is easy since you have full access to the engine. remove one injector line off of the block and crank it til it starts squirting fluid. do this one at a time. come people can use the ether like suggested above to get started but sometimes, the older trucks can be somewhat cantankerous like many of our members here.

[leolkfrm]

NO!!! not either...silicone spray, it is safer!

[dogbone]

I still had about two gallons of gas left when the truck died. I think along with air in the line that I put in working on it, I also have a water/diesel mixture up in the injectors. Thanks for the suggestions. I will see what I can do today.
John

[dogbone]

One more thing. If my fuel pump is good and I fill both the fuel line to the pump and the fuel line out from the pump with diesel, shouldn't fuel squirt out of the line coming from the pump when I turn the engine over?

[Case 7230]

You probably have a broken/cracked fuel pickup pipe in the tank although that usually happens around quarter full.
Check the water seperator canister, may be full of water. Also they are very prone to leak air so may be a good idea to bypass it with a short length of hard line and a couple of clamps. It should be tucked in beside the drivers side inner fender against the firewall with a ring pull on the top of it.
Leo is right about the starting fluid, use something like WD40.