HELP!! RAN OUT OF DIESEL!!!

[after oil]

ill bet my account here you do not need to bleed. the tank has a mechanism inside that A: drops a float and stops the fuel from coming in before its empty, and B: has a screen on it to keep the crap out. im estimating the screen at about 400 microns....

YOU CANNOT RUN THE TANKS DRY

[dennis_lambert]

[quote="crushers"]the idea of disconnecting the battery is not a bad one.

also understand it takes a lot to ignite diesel. a spark will not ignite it, a constant "glow" from a shorted out wrench soaked in diesel might be a concern though.

My concern is more for vapor build up as our engines bays are in the cab.It may be a long shot but its the build up of diesel fumes in the cab that may be ignited with a spark.You can(not recomended) drop a match in a bucket of diesal and get no explosion.....but stick that same bucket in an enclosed area for awhile a light a match and ...boom.

[loki]

I would think that disconnecting and reconnecting the batteries is about the only thing that would create a spark while doing this job, seems to me that is it more likely to cause the problem you are trying to avoid than anything else.

but hey that's just me :)

[loki]

CHANGE THE FUEL FILTER FIRST!! It will be full of stuff at the bottom of the tank and you risk doing damage to the injector pump $$$$$$$$$$

Good luck

how? the pickup is at the bottom of t he tank regardless of how much fuel is in it.

also as stated by someone else in the other thread the deli has a mechanism to block the pickup when the fuel light gets low so unless that is malfunctioning not much if anything should need to be done to get it going after putting diesel in the tank.

[mararmeisto]

the idea of disconnecting the battery is not a bad one.

also understand it takes a lot to ignite diesel. a spark will not ignite it, a constant "glow" from a shorted out wrench soaked in diesel might be a concern though.

My concern is more for vapor build up as our engines bays are in the cab.It may be a long shot but its the build up of diesel fumes in the cab that may be ignited with a spark.You can(not recomended) drop a match in a bucket of diesal and get no explosion.....but stick that same bucket in an enclosed area for awhile a light a match and ...boom.

You could throw a lit cigarette into a bucket of diesel fuel and it will not light: diesel has a higher flash point than gasoline.

[after oil]

so.. original poster: howd you make out?

[dennis_lambert]

With all due respect In my opinion Disconecting Battery before working on the fuel system is good maintence practice on any Vehicle regadless of fuel type.If you want to use candles for light and smoke a cigar while wearing polyester pants go for it...
Maybe the original poster did and thats why we have not heard how he made out.

[dfnder]

I spent a a good portion of a summer in a small village in northern Italy. The family that I stayed with ran the local gas station, everyone that worked there smoked while filling your tank. I think the threat of explosion is a little overdone.

[thedjjack]

Read any repair manual and step one is to disconnect the battery. Never paid attention to it until the one day a friend and I where pulling the engine out of his car to put a clutch in and a wrench shorted across the back of the alternator. Almost, burned the car up. Now I disconnect the battery when doing anything. It is not a bad idea.

I personally would still change the fuel filter. If there is x amount of floaty stuff in y amount of fuel. The ratio of floaty stuff goes up as y goes down asumming x stays the same. Fuel pumps expensive, filter cheap, I would rather be wrong with an new filter then right without the new filter.\


CHeers

[dennis_lambert]

Yeah I would change the filter too!!
Good luck!!!
And may the force be with you

[Taynton]

Hi Guys soory for the late reply! Afteroil i think you owe me your account lol the van did not start after putting diesel in it, but once i primed it (which was super easy) it started right up! If any of you run out of diesel dont worry!!! its super easy and it only takes 5 min

Thanks Again guys!!

[after oil]

Hi Guys soory for the late reply! Afteroil i think you owe me your account lol the van did not start after putting diesel in it, but once i primed it (which was super easy) it started right up! If any of you run out of diesel dont worry!!! its super easy and it only takes 5 min

Thanks Again guys!!

well then... i sit corrected!

[mararmeisto]

While there may be a ball float that does not allow the tanks to run dry and keeps the crud from getting sucked up into your fuel lines...

... you can run out of fuel.

Good to hear you got it going again. It's not difficult to figure it out when you know where to look, but it's that first time. Now you're back on the road again - yeah!