For the very first time in some 60 years of driving, I ran out of fuel
yesterday. Der Klunker ('81 300SD) suddenly started sputtering and
stumbled to a halt, luckily in a parking lot. Opened the hood. Sure
enough, no fuel in the sight glass. A couple of kind gentlemen helped me
push the car out of the way and in due course road service arrived with
two gallons of diesel fuel. They were concerned that it would be very
hard to get a diesel that has been sucking air to start without a lot of
work. If this had been my boat they would have been entirely correct. But
this car has a built-in priming pump on the engine. A few strokes on the
pump, the sight glkass filled up and a few more strokes later a hissing
sound confirmed that the byapass valve on the injectopr pump had openen
meaning the pump was now ready to send fuel with no air to the injectors.
She started with a couple of turns on the starter.

Now, why can't boat diesel engines be set up like that? I live in terror
of the boat engine sucking air becaise it will stop and bleeding the
system in a seaway or even at the dock is an exercize in contortion and I
don't pretzileize so well anymore.