it takes about 30 cranks for it to start and now it wont start in less you cycle the key about 15 to 20 times and it will start but it starts hard. the dodge shop is telling me that it has bad inj

you could have a bad lift pump, it is located on the back side of the filter housing. if it is bad it will cost 600 to 800 to replace it with a retro fit pump that goes in the fuel tank. get ready this one is not cheep and it may have taken out the inj. pump from lack of fuel. PS l worked on Dodge for 15 years.

v replace fuel filter &prime

if you live where it is always cold you may need new glow plugs (if your engine uses that) and diesel engines should last a lot longer than 5 years its probably because it is a cummins CUMMINS SUCK l would sell the truck and get a ford super duty with a powerstroke diesel engine those are much better and last a heck of a lot longer

First off did u change the fuel filter>On Dodge diesel u turn the key on wait till all the test lights go off before starting> There is a relay for the pre heat? Is it working>Volt meter will drop down if working>When u turn the key on do u hear the fuel pump working> Try Opening the drain on the fuel filter an turn key on fuel should flow out making a mess> That will tell u if the tank pump is working> If fuel flows than it might be an injection pump> Check & see if there was a recall on that yr as they had issues with some of the pumps> Dodge dealer can plug into it & tell which injectors r bad if any are>

Jacob is full of it! A Cummins does not have glow plugs, it uses a grid heater located in the intake air horn. Plus against the Powerstroke there is no comparison. This is not really what this question is about but look at it this way. In the Ford F-650 & F-750 lineup for many years the Powerstroke was the BASE engine. The 5.9 Cummins was an upgrade. Then there was a CAT 7.2L above that. Currently Ford does not even offer the Powerstroke in the F-650 & F-750 lineup. The new 6.7L Cummins is the base engine with the larger CAT being the upgrade.

One closing note, have u ever heard of a Powerstroke being swapped into a Dodge? I've not. But l have seen a bunch of Fords with a Cummins swapped into them. l know of at least two companies devoted just to putting a Cummins in a Ford.


Anyway to ur question. It could be a lift pump problem like referenced by the first poster. However if it is do not get the Dodge in tank replacement. The cost of this pump vs its performance is just not worth it! If its ur lift pump look into some aftermarket lift pumps like FASS, Airdog, Raptor or Glacier.

l personally run a Glacier lift pump & its super quiet, good for over 100 GPH & it runs right at 20 psi at idle & about 17.5~18 psi at WOT. My stock in tank pump (same pump as the Dodge in tank replacment pump) would make 8 psi at idle & drop to about 3~4 psi at WOT. My Glacier setup cost about $450 & the Dodge in tank replacement is $600 (according to the above post). So tell me which u would rather have?

An ok test for the lift pump is to slip a 2 liter bottle onto the water drain on the fuel filter canister. Open the drain & let it drain into the bottle. Get another empty bottle & slip it onto the drain & with the drain still open, bump the starter (do not try to start it). The lift pump should run for 25 or so seconds & should be able to fill the bottle up over half way.

Check the simple/cheap stuff first. Change ur fuel filter too.


If u have a bad injector there r a few tell tale signs that u might be seeing. Hard start is one, you've got that.

But others that usually accompany the hard start r a bunch of white smoke at startup & increased oil levels (a very bad thing).

Both r caused by the injector not closing & dumping diesel unregulated into the cylinder when running & after the engine is cut off (until the rail drains).

If u need new injectors l would not go with Dodge. Go with Formula 1 diesel is injectors. http://f1diesel.com/
Consensus is that these r the best aftermarket injectors u can get. A set of Flux 1 injectors will give u a little more hp & will be much better than stock. The increase is about 40 hp.

It would also be a good idea to address ur fuel filtration while ur at it.

Originally the common rail Cummins engines were shipped from the factory with a 10 micron fuel filter. Starting in 2005 they switched to a 7 micron filter. All this is good except for the fact that Bosch specs 3 micron filtration for the common rail injection system.

l upgraded to a Glacier diesel 2 micron filter setup that places a spin on fuel filter under the intake air horn & filters the fuel after it passes through the stock filter.

AFE now has a 3 micron drop in filter that fits in the stock canister that will meet Bosch spec. The part number is 44-FF003 & its called the Pro Guard D2 Fuel Filter. Its about $20 but is certainly much better than the 7 micron unit u get from Fleetguard (Dodge)

http://afefilters.com/productreviews/44ff010/44ff010.htm

They're just now coming out & should be a hot item.

In short if u replaced ur lift pump with a better unit, got better (and slightly larger) injectors & run a good filter, u will have a little more hp & better reliability.

Have u cycled the key 3 times (with the drivers door closed), leaving key in the on position on the last cycle to check for codes? Do that & the codes present will flash onto the odometer.

Also please visit http://dieseltruckresource.com
and join the forums. The site is dedicated to the Dodge Cummins trucks. The forums r free & r filled with tons of great information & lots of very knowledgeable helpful folks. You will learn more than u ever wanted to know about ur truck there!

Hope this helps!

david b is right on the money on this one,in the military l was a diesel engine mech,and it sounds like ur inj pump is shot.its hard to tell which one though with out being there, cause if any one of them goes out,its a chain reaction. also in expansion to his statements on the cummins vs pstroke, the military has many vehicles running ( tactical vehicles mind u ) running a cummins, but none of them have a pstroke. the one most people would be familiar with is the new stryker, which runs a 5.9. the 900 series 5-ton truck also uses 2 different version of the cummins, one turbo-ed,the other non. some of these trucks r over 30 years old, with the ORIGINAL engine still in them. plus look how many million plus mile clubs there r for the cummins, when looking for a pstroke, or a duramax, bueller,bueller,bueller, tends to come to mind