[VAC] Re: 987 6.2 liter Suburban

["T Meeker" <tmeeker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Colin,

What *exactly* do you mean by the use of the words "getting airlocked"?

What does the engine do when this happens?  You say, "If I bleed the air
'out of the filter' into a bottle it'll start and run fine.

All kidding aside but how can you do that?  Do you mean that you add
fuel to the filter and then you re-install the filter which is full of
fuel and *then* the engine runs OK for a bit?

If what I've described above is what you meant in your words, then your
engine is "sucking air" from somewhere along the fuel route from the
tank to the filter.  This problem will *not* fix itself.  I suspect you
have a leaking gasket somewhere in the fuel line or the fuel hose itself
has developed a crack due to old age and perhaps sitting around not
really being used for so long.

I don't know much about your particular diesel engine, but I do know
quite a bit about how they work and what some of the problems can be
when they don't.

Some diesel engines will purge themselves of any air that is in the fuel
line and the others need to have the fuel filter first filled with fuel
*before* they are installed on the engine.  This holds true for even
some of the large trucks on the highway or it used to anyway.  Maybe,
hopefully, today's engines are able to purge the air in the fuel line
because I know first hand how miserable it can be when they don't and
you are "on the side", on the side of the road that is.

I'm afraid you will need to get this situation fixed *before* you leave
and hit the road.

Also, you may want to consider fully draining the fuel tank and perhaps
washing it out with some fresh fuel.  After beginning with a very clean
tank you should always add a very high quality diesel fuel "conditioner"
to make sure that your engine is getting the proper nutrition it needs
to do its job.

I faithfully add 8 ounces of John Deere fuel conditioner to every 44
gallons that the tank holds on our Ford Excursion with the 7.3 liter
Powerstroke turbo-diesel engine.  Today you never know what kind of
quality diesel fuel you are pumping into your tank and the JD fuel
conditioner makes sure that your fuel is good to your engine and you
will certainly notice good results with this product.  You can read all
about "why" you should be adding fuel conditioner faithfully every time
you refuel the vehicle.

If you are not familiar with diesel engines and what can grow and
survive the fuel itself you certainly have an education awaiting you. ;)
But, it's a good education and you need to be aware of how these things
work and the proper care and feeding of them as well.

Tom