So, I happened. Wife got about 9 gallons of gasoline in the tank before realizing what she was doing. We drug it home and I drained the tank from the inlet side of the filter housing, changed the fuel filter and filled the tank back up with diesel. Easy enough.

Problem is now it seems that I am never able to get all the air out of the lines. Every time I think the lines are purged of air, get it started and take it for a test drive to find that it's acting up to par.....I come back to the jeep after shutting it down for a while and NO START. The prime pump is soft, and when I get pressure in it and crack the lines they spit air!

Any pointers are starting points on where I might find the culprit?

The lines back at the tank. The factory push fittings are garbage. Most of us do an in tank lift pump and then swap the supply and return line with new fuel lines with clamps

_________________
2005 Crd Silver Limited- arps, rockers, 7v etechno's, egr deleted, v6 airbox, metal cac's. Yeti's stage 2 tune. Euro TC, Ram tcm, pml transmission pan, facet lift pump

I've read a bit on the lift pump addition, but seems kinda spendy considering the vehicle has made it 130k without missing a beat. If I were trying to push for performance a little harder it would make sense, but at this point I'm just trying to keep the vehicle running in the same manner it did when it rolled off the lot.

Are the seals of the push fittings serviceable? I'm going to go back over the fuel head tomorrow to make sure everything there is sealing well. Is there a a location at the injection pump or fuel rail to further bleed the fuel system?

The fuel filter head has two eletrical connections that are known to leak and create air in fuel problems.
There is a upgraded version available from mopar that corrects this problem.
If you havent already replaced this part you need to.

_________________
U.S. Army Retired

i suspect that the leak must be at the connections that were recently detached, since you hadn't experienced this problem prior.

Recheck the fuel line connections that you worked on, re tighten all the clamps, re-bleed the air out at the fuel filter head.

Plunger should be rock hard now.

_________________
2006 Liberty Limited CRD, Deep Beryl Green, Yeti tune, Arp studs, new cams, rockers, lifters, TB. "Green Monster"
2005 Liberty Sport CRD, Deep Beryl Green, GDE Hot Tune, ARP studs. "Rocket"
1982 Fiat 124 Spider Convertible. "Fiona"

you can put in an in-line pump under the drivers side rear, on the frame. The wires are already near there, and I think I paid $45 for one of them. With this, you can probably avoid the fuel head and dropping the tank. It probably won't fix the junk fitting at the tank that isn't worth messing with. The plastic connectors will probably break if you mess with them... Just need to put a short piece of line with two hose clamps on the supply side

_________________
05 CRD: H.D.S2 stat,WW Ironrock trilink&LCA's, OX rear,ARB front, 4.10's, ARB bumper, Suncoast,OME 3.5, JBA UCA,rock rails, Moabs&265/75 Duratracs, GDE tunes ,FFD fan,ARP's, 2 micron fuel, new valves,sasquatch battery tray & grid heater, tensioner relocated
Mech fan, VH & AC delete

Back to the beginning as I read the OP the tank and its connections were not messed with but the filter inlet line was removed and the filter changed so.
1. did you leave the inner/small fuel filter gasket on when you pulled the old filter? If so filter base will leak air
2. did you seat the WIF sensor all the way; tighten the filter ca. 3/4 turn past when the gasket makes contact; and/or make sure the fuel inlet clamp is just past (toward the filter head) the "bulb" at the end of the pipe that hose fits on (if not that hose can leak air)? - a dry paper towel is an excellent tool to check for fuel leaks around these areas; a fuel leak out can also leak air in.
3. proper bleeding sequence is pump primer until hard, crack bleeder, close bleeder and repeat. Is that how you are doing it? I like a bit of clear vinyl hose on bleeder leading to a catch can as it keeps the mess down and lets you see when air starts coming out.
4. you can temporarily splice a bit of clear vinyl hose into both the inlet and outlet of the filter head which may let you see if air is coming from the tank for just from somewhere in the head. If from the tank the cheapest fix is to drop the tank and replace the outflow fuel line quick disconnects with a bit or marine grade diesel rated fuel line and clamps; then you have essentially a solid fuel line from tank to filter.

FYI if you fuel filter head has a blue connection on the driver's side that's good if not it's the original 1s gen head and really should be replaced with a new 2n gen head and new fuel heater wiring; see idparts.

_________________
Sold to LOST member my 05 Ltd, GDE Stg II turbo + TCM tune, SunCoast TC w. Transgo kit, Steiger window regulators, Samcos, Fumoto valve, 2nd gen filter head with Lub. Spec. bleeder, Hayden clutch & 11 blade fan, inverted spare, P-1 battery, BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, Etecno1 glow plugs, timing belt at 50K miles/8 yrs

For verification, I do have the new style fuel head (blue plug on driver side)

So here is the update. I took both hoses loose from the fuel head and removed the filter. Checked the sensor at the bottom of the filter, made sure the inner seal from the old filter wasn't left behind, cleaned everything including the electrical connectors, and reassembled everything. Bled the head, which only took three cycles to get a firm primer. The truck started after maybe a second of cranking.

Took it for a test drive, and it ran great until I gave it everything it had. I held the gas petal nearly to the floor for about 5 seconds and it fell on its face. I let off, and the truck died completely. Pulled over rebled and it started again. Same thing.

Told the wife if she needed to drive it to take it easy on the throttle and it should be fine. She went to the grocery the next day, and it wouldn't start when she came out. Pumped the primer and bled it, and it stared. No visible leakage at the head at this point, or anywhere from there to the injectors. if there is a leak, I suspect it is at the head and only leaks air inward under vaccuum or the leak is at the tank.

Any other ideas?

I know it is a bit of a pain to install, but an in-tank lift pump will be one of the best mods you can ever do to your Jeep CRD. It WILL solve any and all air leak problems in the system. An in-tank lift pump will be your best friend...

_________________
Supporting Vendor and Moderator of LOST
05 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
Ironman Springs/Bilstein/Shocks
Yeti StgIV Hot Tune
Week's BatteryTray
No FCV/EGR
Samcos/ProVent
SunCoast/Transgo
Carter Intank-pmp
2mic.Sec.Fuel Filter
Flowmaster/NO CAT
V6Airbox/noVH
GM11 Bld.fan/HDClutch
IronrockArms/wwdieselMount
98 Dodge Cummins 24 Valve

Well it looks like the cheapest pump on rockauto is the same one listed in your sig. Looking at the write up in the noob guide it sounds like 200$ or so should cover the parts, and it's nearly completely a bolt in/plug in application. I got the skills to pay the bills, so I can handle dropping the tank and all, it just sounds too good to be true that the wiring and operational electrics are already in 90% of the way in place for a component the was never intended to be in this vehicle.

I read that it has a 20 second cycle time without the engine on, does it continue to run once the engine is started? If so, is there a return line in place to bleed excess pressure back to the tank?

It's either 15 or 20 seconds. Yes it continues to run while the jeep is running. And yes there is a fuel return line

_________________
2005 Crd Silver Limited- arps, rockers, 7v etechno's, egr deleted, v6 airbox, metal cac's. Yeti's stage 2 tune. Euro TC, Ram tcm, pml transmission pan, facet lift pump

Well, I decided to bite the bullet and have a carter pump on the way from rockauto as well as some electrical supplies to add the needed wiring to my existing harness.

The gasser harness can't be found for less than 100 dollars shipped, which is way to high for something that was only half right to get the job done. I'll report back after the dirty work is done.

Well, I fear I may have done something wrong. With the last little bit of daylight I managed to get the system hooked up for a test run. Plugged the modified stock harness back in with the new pump unit in the tank and cycled the key to the on position, then back off.....then back on. No pump cycle.

Checked the ground for conductivity and verified that the new power wire was pinned into the right socket. Everything good...so my question is what fuse controls this circuit and where is the relay for this circuit located? I couldn't check for power in the back seat and be in the front seat cycling the key at the same time, so I'm not positive that it is getting 12v back there.