I was again heartened yesterday that after a fuel filter change, all that was necessary to bleed the system was a few opening and closings of the knurled knob on the injector pump.
Bleeding is one of the most discussed topics on our form and I think the most recent consensus is to have some clean fuel in the filter bowl and then turn the fuel pump on and try to bleed without cracking the filter on the engine. I think Ron and Stu have pointed out that if the system has too much air, bleeding at the engine mounted filter may be necessary. I always had done this routinely but not any longer----
It's great not having to deal with a bubbling diesel fuel under pressure at the engine filter. Patience is important as it probably took a couple of minutes for the bowl to completely fill and the system to become pressurized (evidenced by tick-tick as opposed to the rattle.
In short - try messing with the knurled knob first----much neater and quicker!
Ken
Ken's earlier story is here: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2884.0
Guys : Fill the filter an bowl completely. Air in the fuel line is the worst enemy of a diesel, so why interduce any??
I use 100% PS additive (gray bottle) in the filter and bowel. That way I get slightly diluted injector cleaner directly to the injectors after opening and closing the bleed valve a few times. Try it - you (& your engine)'ll like it!! :clap
Filling the bowls with fuel before installing works. I had replaced both filters as well as the fuel lines and cleaned the fuel tank over the winter. Splashed the boat today. It started on the second try. The first one I hadn't advanced the throttle at all (it has been a long winter). The air temp was 40 and the water is 43. Don't be afraid to do this. :clap