:help: I am a total diesel novice have read through past threads but still at a loss?

I have just replaced the sender on gas tank now my 1982 6.2 blazer will not start, i have been told that need to prime fuel filters, looked in my chilterns repair and tuneup book it says they are on the firewall and inlet manifold but what do they look like:confused: I know this may sound dumb but have never had diesel so do not know where to start.

This may sound a dumb question to you boys but I am a female trying to restore this truck and it is drivng me mad, I live in Cornwall, UK so am not able to go to local dealer and if i ask mechinic to take a look they charge treble the normal or just own't touch americans, I have had many classic american over the years but they have all been V8 gas so am find this one really hard but am dertemined to do it.

I have doen all body work and will put picktures up once she is in a fit state, but if anyone can help I will be very grateful.
regards
adele

One fuel filter is on the passenger side by the ac evaporator and the second one is on the back of the intake manifold. the problem is it has a mechanical fuel pump so it will take a while to prime up. if you replaced the sending unit at the tank you shouldn't have to prime the filters. Did it start at first and then cut off or never started at all

It never started it just keeps turning over, my only other thought was there could be air in the system but i do not know how to get rid of it.

Welcome to the forum! There is nothing too complicated on these engines. It will just take a while to get used to working on the diesel.

You could have air in the system. It is odd that it didn't start up for a second, but try the following purge procedure to remove the air before looking at other things.

You will need to start by loosening the fuel filter fitting on the primary filter enough that it is a loose fit. Then you can either crank the air out (kills batteries and starters if you aren't careful, so put the batteries on charge and crank for 20 seconds, then let the batteries charge for five minutes, then crank again) or you can bleed it out with air pressure.

To use compressed air to do it, put an air hose from an air compressor in the filler neck on the tank or hook it up to the return line at the injection pump (rubber hose that hooks into the front of the IP) and pressure it up to about 2-3 psi.

Either way you do it, continue to do it until you get fuel coming out of the fitting that you loosened at the filter. When you've got a good steady flow of fuel, tighten the fitting and then turn off the air. From this point, it is all about cranking. Just crank until it starts. Do remember not to crank for too long without giving the starter a chance to rest up and the batteries to charge.

If you need more detail, let me know.

Good luck!

On edit: That was my 500th post! :D

thanks for help we managed to get the air out now trying to start her still no oy but i will get there. regards adele

Hi Adele,

Are the glowplugs working?

Cheers,
Mark

If it still won't start, you either need to keep cranking or something else is wrong.

Other things to check include the glow plugs, glow plug relay and controller, and injection pump shutoff solenoid.

Check the glow plugs first. There is one for each cylinder. They are mounted near the fuel injectors (kind of where a spark plug is on a gasser), and they are the only things with wires going to them in that area. Disconnect the electrical connector from the top of each plug, then use a test light to check them. Do this by clipping one lead from the light to the positive battery terminal, then touch the other end to the metal connection on the top of the glow plug. If the test light illuminates, the glow plug is good. If not, it needs to be replaced. If there are a couple or three dead ones, don't worry about it. It should still start, so they are not your problem. Hook all the wires back up, but leave one disconnected.

If that looks good, check the glow plug relay and controller using the following procedure.

Hook one lead on the test light to the negative post on the battery and hook the other end up to the wire you left disconnected. Have someone turn the ignition key on. The light should illuminate and stay lit for 10 seconds or so. If it doesn't light, or it lights but only stays on for a very short period of time, there is something wrong with your glow plug controller or relay.

To check the injection pump shutoff solenoid:

With the key on, try connecting and disconnecting the pink wire that goes to the injection pump. You should hear a click each time you connect or disconnect it.

Good luck!

thanks for all the advice the glow plugs are fine did all the test you suggested i got her started it was battery one is shot so need to get another.