Fuel gauges are especially important when you're on the highway and the exit ramps are limited. I personally believe half full should be treated as "almost empty" so that one is at least beginning to pay attention. Nevertheless, it happens. If you're distracted, for whatever reason, when that first wheezing occurs you know you're in trouble. What do you do?
This summer K.J. Jones wrote an article on the Truck Trend Network addressing this issue.
He begins by pointing out that technological advances these past two decades have eliminated some of the former hands-on procedures for dealing with this situation, such as manually priming the fuel system. Even so, if you do run out of fuel, the first thing you need to know is what NOT to do. That is, don't try to start the engine on empty, Jones says, because injectors and other parts can be damaged when there's a lack of lubrication.
Actually, he doesn't promise a lot of detail here in this article, but it's information that diesel owners should be aware of, foremost being that the task can be messy and is more than inconvenient.
Putting fuel in the tank is the first step. Unfortunately, that isn't the end of it. You're not going to be able to start the engine again after you refuel because there's air in the lines.
The next step, logically, is to bleed the lines and injectors, a task not too unlike bleeding your brakes. You'll likely want to have your owners manual handy to locate the bleed screws, especially if you have never done that before on this vehicle. Have a few rags handy as well as a bottle to collect the priming fluid.
BLUE FLAME TIP: If you're a rookie on bleeding air from your lines, there are diesel forums for every make of engine listed here in the right hand column. You can find the help you need by doing a search. For example, here's what I found at the Diesel Hub when I asked about bleed procedures for a 6.5 diesel fuel system: https://www.dieselhub.com/maintenance/6.5-diesel-fuel-system-bleed-procedures.html
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The Jones article has some helpful photos, but keep in mind that vehicles are not uniform. The Truck Trend article aims to get you thinking in the right direction, though. The next steps are up to you.
Here's the Link:
http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/engine/how-to-start-a-diesel-engine-when-it-runs-out-of-fuel
