Hi all: Longtime lurker (3+ years). There are a lot of "good reads" here. I have a Perkins 1004 (4 cyl turbo) in a 2003 Terex 760 that I just can't seem to prime. A little background: I have two Topkick 8500's with Cat 3126's that I just changed the fuel filters on. Primed with Seafoam, preheated, shutoff, preheated (with 1/4 pedal) and they fired right up. So now to my problem. I've had this 760 for a few months, and have put 20 hours on it thus far (1200 hour machine). It has always fired right up. Anyhow, the engine was filthy, there is water in the transmission oil, and there was a 1/4" of clay in the primary filter (know that the clay had solidified at the bottom, and the fuel coming out of the primary was "clean"). So I decided to lightly clean the engine compartment (so I can see all the fittings and filters), and change the fuel filters. I changed the primary (cleaned) and secondary and primed both with Seafoam. I took the manual pump apart and cleaned (all in all not to dirty, except for some crud on the screen). I reconnected and loosened the fuel line next to the thermostat (per directions) and manually primed, but can barely get a dribble there. I disconnected the line after the secondary filter leading into the pump, and there is plenty of fuel there. I know the manual pump is working because in a minute of manual priming the primary filter turned from green (Seafoam) to red (diesel). I have been able to get it to fire, but not stay running for more than a few seconds, which leads me to believe there is a lot of air in the lines. Anybody here know of a surefire way to prime this engine and rid it of air in the lines?
use a suction pump on the fuel return line to the fuel tank
Thanks. I'll try that tomorrow and post back.