ran out of fuel; no won't start

[rhombus]

I lost track of how much fuel I had (broken fuel gauge) and the truck stuttered and the died on me. I barely got it back up my driveway. It's a '99 7.3.
I put 5 gallons in, cycled the ignition to get fuel running in the lines again but the truck won't start. It turns over but it never starts. I checked the fuel bowl and opened the yellow lever and could see fuel dumping out. I also cycled the ignition about 30 times before trying to start it. For a while, I thought I was hearing bubbles or glugging while the fuel pump was running. Do you think I have air in my lines? Is there a valve that I can use to purge it?

[jesilvas]

You just run the fuel pump plenty of times. And you probably will have to crank the air out of the fuel rails.

[rhombus]

Thanks for the response. So I can just keep on cycling the ignition and trying to crank the engine? I've done it near 50 times and it hasn't started. I'm getting a little concerned that I might bust up my starter. I hear tale of some kind of schraeder valve that can help rid the air from the fuel system. Would this help at all? I'm not sure where it is located.

[700xxmaniac]

Don't even cycle the ignition. When I ran out of fuel I just cranked for ten seconds at a time for about an 20 min with the petal to the floor till it finally fired up.. Sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders but it cleared up after a few minutes of idle..


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[coloradovegistroke]

There's a plug in the back of the engine you can open and push all the air out. I've had to do it a few times. It'll fire right up.

[jesilvas]

Originally Posted by coloradovegistroke

There's a plug in the back of the engine you can open and push all the air out. I've had to do it a few times. It'll fire right up.

The fuel rail plugs? There's some on each end of the fuel rails.

Originally Posted by 700xxmaniac

Don't even cycle the ignition. When I ran out of fuel I just cranked for ten seconds at a time for about an 20 min with the petal to the floor till it finally fired up.. Sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders but it cleared up after a few minutes of idle..


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

Don't cycle the ignition? Then what if there's air in the lines before the motor? You're just cranking air into the injectors.
And held the pedal to the floor? Why? This does not have a throttle body, nor a carb.

Originally Posted by rhombus

Thanks for the response. So I can just keep on cycling the ignition and trying to crank the engine? I've done it near 50 times and it hasn't started. I'm getting a little concerned that I might bust up my starter. I hear tale of some kind of schraeder valve that can help rid the air from the fuel system. Would this help at all? I'm not sure where it is located.

Schraeder valve is on an OBS.

[rhombus]

I put another 5 gallons in and hooked up the jumper cables because I must have tried to start it about 30 times yesterday. After cycling the ignition a few times it started right up. I let it run for about 10 minutes and it smoothed out. That's the last time I let that happen. I'm gonna fill it up this week and top it off every other week or so. Thanks for your suggestions.

[jesilvas]

I shoulda thought about 5gals not being a lot in such a big tank. Your fuel pickup assembly might be cracked and drawing in a lot of air with it being so low.