How Hard Is It To Change A Vp44 In A 2002 Dodge 2500

How to Keep the VP44 in Your '98.5-'02 Cummins Live

• May 16, 2019
• Story By

The dead pedal, the long-crank hot restarts, the engine dying suddenly while driving downwardly the road, never to restart once more. Yep, sounds like a '98.v-'02 5.9L Cummins. This version of Cummins' 359 ci inline-six, the 24-valve ISB, came equipped with the Bosch VP44 injection pump—an electronic rotary pump that is notorious for failing unexpectedly. It followed a period of time where the fully-mechanical Bosch P7100 aboard the 12-valve 5.9L offered in '94-'98 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500s wouldn't dice even if yous were trying to kill it. Needless to say, the VP44 got a bad wrap from the kickoff, effectively becoming the cherry-headed stepchild of the injection pump world.

Just despite the VP44's unpredictable nature and the fact that many prospective Cummins owners avoid them similar the plague, it still enjoys a loyal following. With knowledgeable diesel mechanics, injection system experts and enthusiasts in that following, all of the VP44's weaknesses have been exposed, well-documented and some have even fixed past the manufacturer over the years. To exist sure, the VP44 remains one of the ficklest components to always grace the legendary Cummins lineage, but in that location is now an unofficial protocol to follow in order to keep one live. Below, we'll highlight the cardinal causes of VP44 failure and what can exist done to prevent it from happening.

For more than light reading on diagnosis and functionality of the VP44 from a highly reputable source, visit Blue Scrap Diesel fuel. Information technology's a company that has specialized in the '98.5-'02 VP44 Cummins since it was introduced.

The Bosch VP44

To come across always-tightening emissions standards on pickup trucks, Cummins introduced both a 24-valve cylinder caput and electronically variable injection timing midway through Dodge's '98 model twelvemonth. The '98.5 5.9L ISB Cummins was equipped with the Bosch VP44 distributor mode rotary injection pump. A cam-driven, radial piston pump, it features iii internal pumping plungers, a fuel metering solenoid, a timing advance solenoid and a built-in computer chosen a PSG (or EDC) that monitors and controls fueling. The VP44 is capable of supporting 1600 bar (23,200 psi).

Well-nigh Mutual Failure

The majority of VP44 failures can be traced back to the PSG, the figurer that'due south married to the meridian of the pump. Excessive heat and thousands of oestrus cycles accept their toll on the pb-free soldering that was used in the PSG's internal excursion board, periodically interrupting the electrical signal. During PSG failure, several different symptoms surface, with the virtually frequent being long cranking when attempting to restart a hot engine. In recent years, better soldering has become part of the remanufacturing process on VP44s, which has led to improved reliability.

Rotor Seizure

Rotor seizure in the distributor portion of the VP44 is some other event that was specially common on early pumps due to an inferior de-burring process from the manufacturer. In essence, the sharp border of the rotor makes contact with the benefactor, digging into both mating surfaces. Later on enough contact (and damage), the rotor seizes up, breaking the drive plate. At that betoken only the VP44'southward input shaft is left turning, but pressurized fuel is no longer making it out to the injectors. This sudden failure will stop your truck dead in its tracks.

Diaphragm Failure

The diaphragm, which is located at the pump's benefactor caput inlet and supplies fuel to the bores of the distributor shaft, is also notorious for failure in early on VP44s. Thank you to being fabricated from a material that wasn't upward to the chore of dealing with loftier-pressure fuel spill pulses, information technology was decumbent to not bad over time. The diaphragm's life is further shortened when information technology'south exposed to lengthy periods with little or no fuel supply pressure from the elevator pump. A hard cold get-go is the biggest indicator of diaphragm failure. The revised, later model VP44s came with a solid steel backing behind the diaphragm, which eliminated the flexing that resulted in failures.

Worn Out Distributor

Various internal components in the VP44 tend to article of clothing out over time, the rotor and distributor being a couple of them. The distributor's task is to route fuel from the pressurized pumping chamber through delivery valves, toward the injectors. When the distributor section of the pump is on its manner out, hot restart problems will exist nowadays, and many times rotor and distributor failure become hand-in-hand.

Lack of Fuel Supply

Being that the VP44 relies on adequate fuel supply pressure and volume in lodge to operate, lubricate and keep it cool, a failing lift pump can spell disaster. Unfortunately, elevator pump failure runs rampant on '98.5-'02 Dodges. A self-priming, electric Carter lift pump came standard on the 5.9L ISB Cummins in Rams, but due to its being mounted on the engine cake it is constantly exposed to vibration, which does not aid longevity. The manufactory set up was to supplant the elevator pump with an in-tank unit, and while that helped information technology didn't provide the kind of reliability about customers expected. Bottom line: If the VP44 is non seeing at least five psi of fuel supply from the elevator pump, information technology volition not be happy.

Rut Is a Major Killer

A lack of fuel supply leads to hotter fuel existence sent through the VP44—and every bit we've already alluded to, the VP44 doesn't like excessive heat. Did you know the hottest the VP44 gets is actually 15 to xx minutes after the engine has been turned off? This is due to heat soak. So if you're driving a truck that makes frequent short trips and is subjected to a lot of hot restarts, your VP44's life expectancy can be cut in half. Nine times out of ten, having problem restarting a warm engine means the VP44 is on its way out. The only mode to ensure the VP44 stays as cool equally possible is to feed it practiced supply pressure and volume.

12-15 PSI Is Ideal

To continue the notorious concatenation reaction event of a failed lift pump from starving (and then killing) the VP44, v psi of supply force per unit area is the minimum y'all should see during idle, driving and/or wide-open throttle. Whenever possible, 12 to 15 psi worth of fuel pressure should be your goal. In the image above, the fuel force per unit area gauge is illustrating the fact that an '01 Dodge Ram 3500'southward non-functioning manufacturing plant lift pump is supplying zero positive pressure to the VP44. Hooking up a mechanical fuel force per unit area estimate to a '98.v-'02 truck is 1 of the first steps in diagnosing VP44-related failures.

Install a Reputable Lift Pump

Aftermarket electrical pumps from Fuelab, FASS and AirDog have proven more than capable of delivering adequate pressure level (again, 12 to 15 psi) to the VP44 on a consistent basis. For operation applications, both companies also offering comprehensive tank-to-engine fuel systems, complete with a high-menses electric elevator pump, added filtration and larger diameter fuel lines. With proficient fuel supply, there is no reason why a VP44 can't go 150,000 miles, if not 200,000 or more than. Merely remember to run a fuel pressure gauge in example you ever take an issue with your lift pump.

Mechanical Aftermarket Elevator Pump

Power Driven Diesel's Predator lift pump for '98.five-'02 Dodges is relatively new to the Cummins aftermarket, but it shows a lot of promise. Kickoff and foremost, the pump is belt-driven and fully-mechanical, which means the faster you spin the engine the more fuel it pumps. 2nd, information technology features an internal pressure regulator valve that's fix up to work with the factory overflow valve on the VP44, which eliminates any possible overpressure scenarios. Terminal just not to the lowest degree, its 400,000-mile blueprint means it will likely outlive any truck it'due south installed on.

Become a Fuel Pressure Gauge

To proceed tabs on the wellness of your lift pump (even if you've installed an aftermarket one), do yourself a favor and install a fuel force per unit area judge. Trust us, the sooner you notice your lift pump no longer keeping up, the more money you'll salve in the long run past non having to fork over $i,000 or more for a remanufactured VP44. Some aftermarket gauges even offer a low fuel pressure warning calorie-free that you can configure to come up on at whichever pressure threshold y'all deem as being likewise depression.

Curious to know what problems torment other generations of Cummins-powered Rams? Click here.

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Source: https://www.drivingline.com/articles/how-to-keep-the-vp44-in-your-985-02-cummins-alive/

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