Ran out of gas

jonnys63 · May 21, 2009

Hey Fellas
A guy on our crew ran our 2004 Cat 924G Loader out of gas and now I can't get it started. I have bled the fuel lines up to the injectors and still nothing. Theres no smoke from the exhaust. Any thoughts?

Soundguy · May 21, 2009

hope you mean diesel and not gas.. but anyway.

Did you actually crack lines at the injectors and see fuel bubble out?

soundguy

J_J · May 21, 2009

Did you check one injector or all of them. Bleed them all. Check the water separator, and drain if necessary.

Soundguy · May 21, 2009

hope you replaced all filters too.. and checked the tank tap.. when they run dry.. all sorts of crud gets sucked up.

soundguy

jonnys63 · May 22, 2009

I do mean diesel of course and the filters were just replaced. I have cracked all the lines at the injectors and there was fuel squirting out of each. Thats why i don't understand why it wont start up. A friend suggested that there might be air still in the pump and that it will push fuel but wont have the pressure to open the injectors. I have gone through the simple solutions and now I am wondering where I should go from here.

kenstrac · May 22, 2009

Make sure all the lines are tight on input side of injector and filter gaskets or filter is tight you might be sucking air in.

If all else fails take WD40 and spray into intake manifold while cranking it it will want to start once the engine starts to catch release starter keep spraying until engine picks up speed. DO NOT CRANK STARTER for more than 30 sec.let the starter rest for about 2-3 min after each try.

banjodunn · May 22, 2009

G'day some of these cat motors are notorious for being hard to start when run dry if you have got good fuel squirt at the inj then give it a quick shot of ether (DONT SHOOT ME

0) they sometimes need to get the injection pressures up to bleed the injector itself and they won't do it at cranking speed it does not take alot just a quick sniff and that usually does the trick. I know alot of you guys hate the stuff but 24 years as a heavy vehicle mechanic I have always had a can nearby for the stubborn ones. Best of luck

Jon

Soundguy · May 22, 2009

I've run a 353 detroit with a can of wd before.. i think I'd use that vs either.

so.. you got fuel at the injectors.. but no smoke? no smoke means no fuel inthe cyl.. or way low compression...

soundguy

J_J · May 22, 2009

How much fuel did you release out of the injectors? Unscrew the fuel filter and see if you have a steady stream. If you think you have air, just crack open one injector, until you see bubbles or hear air being expelled. I believe Some of the injector manifolds have a purge button. If you have glow plugs, leave them on for about thirty seconds, then crank.

jonnys63 · May 25, 2009

allright guys I have tighted all lines to make sure there is no air leaking in i have drained the water separator i even used a little wd-40 to help out. i bled the lines up to to injectors and i am getting white smoke while i crank the engine but its not firing up. With all the suggestions you have given is there anything else i could do. I also covered the exhaust to see if it was a compression thing.