2.5td Starting problems

2.5td with 124K on the clock. A b**ch to start when cold. Often runs battery down which is nearly new. Have removed fuel lines and there is fuel to injectors. 12V at plugs... Any other thoughts? It is a smoker with lots at rocker cover and some light pressure from dipstick. Thinking compression? I could test it if someone could tell me what pressure should be. Any thoughts welcome.

Big Seans ya man he,ll tell wot appins at about 120.000

Even if you've got 12V at the plugs, are the plugs OK?
Take them out and put 12v into them and see if they glow. If they don't, change them. Use jump leads and I wouldn't hold onto them while you do it.

sounds pretty normal to me! Try doing the glowplugs for about 20 seconds, turn em off for about 10. warm em up for another 20 and fire it up. They are a fookin pain in the arse on cold mornings!

Mine always started but needed ages on the glowplugs. 20 secs, then try, then another 20 secs then it'd usually fire up. It was worse running on veg oil.

Snap mate, my 2.5td is the same. Once started it runs fine but always takes 2 - 3 turns to start.
Going to try that 20 seconds on plugs 10 seconds off and 20 seconds back on.

Thanks, battery is on charge after last nights attempts. Will give it a go later. Proud to be a member of the "Hard Starting Oily Air Filter 2.5td Club". Looks like we got a lot of members!

if you've got fuel, and assuming yer air filter isn't totally blocked and that yer starter is turning the engine over the only thing that's really going to prevent it firing is lack of compression, usually due to ring wear or splitting - a healthy engine with air+fuel+compression wont need the assistance of plugs

as mentioned don't just assume that because the plugs have 12v across them that they are working - take them out put a high current 12v source across them and if they don't start glowing red within 10-15 seconds replace them (they aren't expensive)

any helpfull garage would be able to do a compression test for you for the price of a pint

I have my own tester. What pressure am I looking for? The heat, rest heat and start worked. Will test but need to know what pressure to expect? Any thoughts?

is the compression tester designed for diesel engines ?

Yes. I am not new to this... just new to Landy. I have been an RD28 Nissan Patrol Man for years, just shifted camps! Recently completed rebuilt the Nissan then flogged it. Tempted to fit a 200tdi if the compression is not good.

Are you touching the pedal when starting it?

If you do you are canceling the cold start mechanism and it can make starting these engines much harder.

Also, if the throttle is badly adjusted then it could be pulling on the level slightly even without you touching it - make should the throttle lever is back against the stop.

Take your glow plugs out, and run them with some wires and see if they glow RED hot after about 10-15seconds, if they don't really do much heating then get a new set.

70 psi rings a bell - but look it up first

but it's more how balanced they are rather than individual pressures

if you have the head off check for cracked pistons as the TD is very good at doing that around your sort of mileage

discomania said:

Take your glow plugs out, and run them with some wires and see if they glow RED hot after about 10-15seconds, if they don't really do much heating then get a new set.

Click to expand...

that's the third time someone has suggested that, i think he might have taken the hint by now

70 psi? you pump bike tyres up more than that...

Its more like 400-500 PSI.

It should be considerably more than 300.

50 - 70 psi is the difference between the cylinders

i did say to look it up first

ahh that makes more sense. Mate has my manwell atm, i gotta stick with a guess!!

For the record the compression on these engines is 308.7PSI, as its a 21:1 compression ratio on the 12J and 19J engine.

While I am at it, the 200tdi & 300tdi engine is 286.65PSI as its 19.5:1.

300 (20 bar) seems really low as a good value. I am used to 20bar as low and 34 as brand new on a |Nissan Patrol 2.8

As a general rule of thumb these diesels are 20:1 (the 200/300 being 19 and the 12/19J's 21).

Diesels as a whole range from about 14:1 to 25:1, the TD5 is only 19.5:1 and the TDV6 is even less at 17.3:1.

So in short without going on any more - YES these figures are right, perhaps your getting muddled with injection pressures?