changed fuel pump filled tank half full now truck keeps trying to stall out

60

Asked by dogger73 May 30, 2014 at 02:33 PM about the 1998 Dodge RAM 1500

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

truck sat with an almost empty gas tank for months before replacing the bad fuel pump. Drove it about 10 miles with new fuel pump stopped to get gas and filled it half full. It started to sputter and trying to stall out almost as so as I got back on the road. Could the new gas mixed with dirt or rust in the tank and plugged the pump? If so can the pump be cleaned and reused after flushing the tank?

9 Answers

199,785

Might try some sea foam in your gas. Sounds like the new gas stirred up the condensation on the bottom of the tank. Sea foam will help get it all out. Or syphon all gas out and add new gas with sea foam.(this is what I would do). Condensation builds up quickly in a tank with not much gas in it. And the longer is sets the more you will have in it.

2 people found this helpful.
25,325

if you did what you said -.....drove with new pump and almost no gas then you put gas in. That means you drove 10 miles on a new pump that had almost no gas in the tank!! Wonder what that did to your brand new pump?

60

It doesn't seem to have done anything to the pump. I have been driving it around the fields out back with no issues, just do not dare take it back out on the highway until I know what's going on. Right now there is less than 1/8 gas in the tank , I had been adding sea foam to the gas after it was filled halfway originally just prior to the problem starting.

2 people found this helpful.
199,785

Adding more gas now will help delute the old gas. Personally I would fill it up.

1 people found this helpful.
25,325

1/ I am not going to look up where your fuel filter is [you can do that yourself] but it may be clogged.....2/ don't be so cheap - fill the tank.......3/ I always feel like the whole question leans towards being a tad off when you contradict your original facts.....a/...."almost empty...before replacing the bad pump".....b/,,,"it was filled halfway originally just prior"

60

Chassy - let me try to clear what you think you read up - the truck sat almost empty with a bad fuel pump in it for awhile - new fuel pump put in drove 10 miles +/- to nearest gas station with very little fuel in tank - tank then filled about half full - problems started literally a couple hundred feet after leaving the gas station with the new gas - the truck has been driven around a field out back ( with no acceleration or demand) on it with no problems ( sea foam, dry gas were added to the half tank of gas ) currently the tank now is 1/8 full

2 people found this helpful.
25,325

I got ya, your first probllem was you aleady knew the pump was bad so you replaced it.Second problem is that after the new pump and a 10 mile drive on empty it runs lousy. And that takes us back to: fill the tank and change the filter for a start.( you aleady got the sea foam). You aleady know what you did by driving it on empty ;so,let';s try to start with the cheapest fix first and work your way up.

25,325

We all make silly mistakes so let's try to cure your's as inexpensively as possible.

My truck does the same thing, has for over a year, if I fill it up or past half full runs like trash. Anywhere below half runs great so I never bothered to change the filter. I was told to change the charcoal canister or the pcv valve, anyone have another idea.

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