Loss of power on hills, then engine wont start. HELP!

Luke Wilson · September 09, 2015, 10:41:49 AM

Need the collective wisdom of the busnut community for this one

I have a job for the next four months via the Amazon CamperForce program in Murfreesboro, TN. Orientation is on Friday at 9:00 am, so we were on our way down yesterday to give ourselves plenty of time.

Everything seemed to be fine with the bus until I crossed the Ohio into Kentucky at Madison, IN. There is a bluff on the KY side that is extremely steep and the bus immediately slowed to a crawl. I pulled over three times to let traffic pass. Occassionally it would get a burst of energy for a few seconds, and then bog back down again.

After reaching the top, finally, the bus seemed to go back to normal, except that every time we started to go up any hill it just had very little power.

Eventually we reached another fairly steep hill and it barely got started up it before it just wouldn't go anymore. I was able to get mostly off the road, and a couple minutes after I had stopped, so did the engine.

It was not overheating at the time. My fuel gauge is not working correctly, but based on my calculations we still should have had plenty of fuel, but now I'm just confused.

It turns over just fine, but it does not stay running - feels like its not getting any fuel. Could it be the fuel filters? My thought was that maybe going up such a steep grade stirred up the junk at the bottom of the tank. But again, why would that just be an issue going up hills.?

Needless to say, this busnut noob is confused and frustrated. The bus got towed during the night, too, so now we have a $500 tow bill on top of whatever is wrong. And, to top it all off, the alternator was going out on the car at the same time. So I'm dealing with that before I can even think about the bus.

Grateful for any ideas - I'm at a loss... We just wanted to get to Nashville!

I'm in Campbellsburg, KY (about 40 minutes northeast of Louisville) - any busnuts nearby?

eagle19952 · September 09, 2015, 11:34:08 AM

FUEL FILTERS WOULD DEFINITELY BE THE FIRST THING I'D CHANGE

Fuel filters first and air filter of course

bevans6 · September 09, 2015, 11:43:41 AM

Air filter - remember the guy who had his air filter come apart and get ingested into the engine? But first question is what smoke is it making when it's cranking?

But likely you are low on fuel and sucked up some crap, or similar. So filters... and prime...

moosemanusa · September 09, 2015, 01:14:01 PM

Fuel Filters - Sounds like something shifted and is now restricting fuel! remember to fill the new ones with fresh clean fuel.

Luke Wilson · September 09, 2015, 01:34:20 PM

Thanks guys - it's nice to know that my initial idea of fuel filters wasn't off!

Now the question is where have you all bought your filters in the past? I have a secondary one already (was in one of the bays when I bought the bus), but i need a primary one still. Would the MCI parts warehouse in Louisville have it, or is it too old?

And also just for my own understanding, why would the problem be so much worse on hills if it's fuel filter related? I would think it would still have the problem on flat ground.

moosemanusa · September 09, 2015, 01:36:58 PM

look at the filter, should be a part number.. now google that with "cross reference" next to it..

You should see sites with lists of choice filters.

I bet Napa will even sell similar..

eagle19952 · September 09, 2015, 02:17:42 PM

NAPA, CarQuest, or O'Reilly auto parts.

luvrbus · September 09, 2015, 02:42:20 PM

Napa numbers are 3118 and 3120 for fuel filters you need to buy some fuel all the fuel in the tank is not usable it won't pickup the last 15 or 20 gals

OneLapper · September 09, 2015, 04:09:04 PM

I may be late to this game, but I agree the fuel filters are suspect. My bus 4106 had power issues for years, I became a master at swapping out fuel filters. I eventually found a clog in the 90 degree fitting on top of the fuel tank. Cleared that and never another problem.

Keep us posted

Scott & Heather · September 09, 2015, 07:08:14 PM

Nuther vote for fuel filters. BTDT.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jim Eh. · September 09, 2015, 08:16:18 PM

When you were on that "extremely steep slope" all the crud in the tank probably concentrated in the back (or front) of the fuel tank and the system picked up more than the filters wanted to handle. Always carry a spare set of fuel filters onboard. You never know when you are going to need them.

Scott Crosby · September 09, 2015, 11:46:50 PM

Fuel level? I have shut down from fuel starvation with 40 gallons still in the tank on steep pitched hills. My fuel pickup is on the far side of the tank and is able to suck air on big angles especially when pitched left. More than once I've done that.

gg04 · September 10, 2015, 07:25:57 AM

Had the same problem when we first built this bus .. Was a pin hole 5" off the bottom in the suction line. Some time in it's past it had set with just that amount of fuel for quite a while. Drove me crazy for nearly 6 months.rdw

gumpy · September 10, 2015, 04:24:04 PM

I'm the dissenting vote on the filters. That's not the problem. You're not getting fuel because of the grade. You either have a hole in your pickup tube, the tube is broken and is too short, or you have a shop rag or some other debris in the tank that's moving with the fuel as you climb the hill and blocking the pickup tube.

First thing is get the stick out and check the level of fuel. It's not unusual for thieves to steal fuel from buses.

Next, add 30 gallons. You'll probably have to reprime the filters now, if it's been sucking air.

Alternative: get a couple fuel cans and some fuel line. Bypass the tank pickup line in the engine compartment to get the thing running.

Luke Wilson · September 14, 2015, 07:23:17 AM

Thanks for the advice everyone. Back up in KY to hopefully get it running and to Nashville today.

Next question: what's the best way to bleed and prime the fuel lines after this situation? I've got a garden sprayer specifically for this purpose...

Luke