cheap ass glow plugs.... HELP PLEASE

I think the fuel you saw coming from the bottom of the lift pump was from a split diaphragm. It may not be able to draw the fuel up because it cannot create a vaccum, the bosch pump can actually work OK without the lift pump just not high revs. However it cannot prime an empty system i.e if there is a hole in the lift pump diaphragm then diesel can flow back into the tank when the engine is off.

I would, undo the bleed bolt on top of the filter housing, unscrew it a lot and pump the lift pump, do you get a good load of diesel spilling from the bleed bolt? If not crank the engine over once in case it is sitting on cam. Try again. If you cannot get it to spill diesel I would say the lift pump has had it.

If that works, undo the injection lines and see if you are getting diesel to the injectors, if so then it is probabaly compression related.

Hello DM,
That is exactly what is happening, nI have undone the bleed screw and manual pumped the lift pump and got fuel spirting out the top if the filer housing.
When I try to get fuel up to the top of the injector pipes nothing happens, I strongly think it is the split diaphragm you are talking about, is this a replacable part??

Mike, the diaphragm that Disco mania is talking about is in the lift pump. If you can manually pump it and get fuel from the bleed screw on the filter housing, but not from the injector pipes then the problem must be after the lift pump...fuel stop solonoid? Once you have a charged battery turn the ignition on and use a multimeter to check you have 12v on the stop solonoid terminal, if you don't there is a wiring problem. If there is 12v there then I would question the operation of the solonoid.

Also, I'm still concerned about the fuel leak you saw earlier, when I read it I assumed you meant it was from the fuel injection pump but discomania assumes you mean the lift pump. Which was it?

Hi Mike. If you are getting diesel manually then the lift pump will be OK. I am not sure what the spilling fuel was from your lift pump.

OK, what you need to do now is make sure there is diesel getting into the pump, you can undo the feed to the pump and just make sure it’s getting there OK, next thing is to make sure you know that the fuel shutoff solenoid is working properly. This is not a sure way of checking but it gives you an idea. With the ignition on, pull the wire off the fuel pump, does it click? Put the wire back onto the pump, does it click and are you aware of a small spark as you do? This would indicated it probably is working but don’t rule it out.

With the ignition still on pump the lift pump, this will send diesel into the injection pump, push any air out the injection pump body and make sure the whole casing is full of diesel and ready to go. Now undo all the diesel lines at the injectors, get into the car and deck the throttle and crank it for 5 seconds, on inspection (or get someone to watch) has diesel spilled from the diesel lines?

If you cannot get diesel to your injectors then go back and think about removing that solenoid taking the plunger out and putting the top back on – this will rule out the solenoid. Also, not likely but there is a small chance, check your timing belt has not for some reason snapped – undo the oil filler and get someone to turn the engine over, can you see the rockers moving?

If you did get diesel, connect them all back up, and try starting again this time with the throttle floored (Bosch system not to be confused with Lucas system where you should NOT even so much as touch the throttle – this will help – however they don’t normally need it, this is just to get maximum fuel to purge any air and get the system going.

Does it start now? If not I think you need to think compression issues.

and another thing you said earlier on that it normally starts after cranking 5 or 6 times...this is not normal, it should start immediately. This could be a sign of an air leak in the fuel system after the fip..could be the spill pipes after the injectors...or it could be a bad earth between the engine and the chassis..test this by temporarily connecting your jump lead from the -ve on the battery to somewhere on the engine and try starting it

Im stuck at work now, but in the morning I will be looking more into the stop solenoid suggestions.
I have recently replaced the injector feed pipes, cleaned out sedimentor, checked all fuel lines for leaks, checked sender unit for cracks, just replaced the glow plugs which has caused on this hassle. the only thing I havnt checked as regards to normal starting is compression.
I will concentrate on getting it going 1st thing in the morning with the stop solenoid test suggested by DM and go from there...

Really cant thank you all your all your help and advice over the past few days would of been seriously lost or skint without your help.

Could a dodgy / unreponsive stop solenoid cause a fuel starvation issue with regards to my bad starting??

MikeDISCO said:

Could a dodgy / unreponsive stop solenoid cause a fuel starvation issue with regards to my bad starting??

Click to expand...

It could cause the not starting at all now...at first I thought it wouldn't cause the five or six cranks to fire, but may be if it is sticky and takes awhile to open it would.

Is the five or six cranks to start it only when cold?
Once it is sorted (starts) try the jump lead to the engine when starting it from cold.

cold and warm to be honest, abit longer when cold, once i have driven it for abit it starts 1st turn no probs.....

Checked the stop solenoid by removing connector, turning ignition on and touching the connector onto the connection, small spark and mechanical movement all good.
Please help........

If you slacken the pipes going to the injectors then turn it over does any fuel come out ?.

Its hardly turning over now as the battery is flat as a pancake and typically my charger is fooked.
Trying the manual lift pump this morning nothing seems to be coming up to the fuel filter bleed screw or injector pipes, I know it operates on a cam and i have tried to quickly turn it over to get it in the right position but havnt managed it yet....is there a way i can manualy move the cam?

You can get a socket on the front pulley.

Dent said:

If you slacken the pipes going to the injectors then turn it over does any fuel come out ?.

Click to expand...

Keep up man, he's doing that...

Yeah socket on the front pulley.

Mike try out those things as discussed on the phone. However I am beginning to wonder if the pump has infact failed. Faults with these pumps are quite uncommon but not impossible. I know it was common on some Bosch pumps for the spill valve to fail meaning that it spilled most of the diesel back into the pump body than sending it up the injection lines. After the head I am sure that is the last thing you want to have to do, take the pump off but it is beginning to look like pump failure.

Out of a matter of interest were you running it on high quantities of veg oil?

I bloody hope your not mate right but i think you very well maybe.
The problem I am facing now is the battery is totally dead, charger is dead and the bank account is dead.
around 25% SVO for the past 4 weeks so not too heavy.
I need a mate with a spare battery or a set of decent jump leads just so I can turn the engine over.
I am close to giving up at the moment.

Did as you suggested and removed stop solenoid completely and using the lift pump diesel is getting to the hole the stop solenoid came out of......

Don't give up yet! You only think you want to give up (haha).

One other thing to check, undo the bleed bolt on top of the filter housing and try cranking the engine over (if you can find some juice) does diesel spill from it when being operated by the cam shaft as apposed to the manual lever. It should not fail this way due to the way it is designed, i.e. it works manualy but not on the cam, sometimes the levers fails but the pump still works fine on cam. Just make sure it is OK on cam.

If that facts say: you have diesel to the filter house and beyond
the solenoid plunger was removed and diesel got to this point
the timing belt is OK (got to rule everything out first)

Then I need to say that it does look like it might just be the pump. If the bank account is dead you could get a second hand unit from ebay and stick that in until you can spare £100 ish to get your old one rebuild then fit it and you know then everything is spot on.

Hahaha I am still hanging in there, just !

The battery is just pancaked, I need to try and figure out a way of getting to my mates and borrowing his charger, give it a good charge for a few hours then start again in the morning. cheapest IP on ebay I can find is £75, which at the moment is £75 more than I have got.

Thanks again for your continued support

Before I go out and try and half inch a pump hahaha how do i check this fine mesh filter your talking about?...

It is under the fuel inlet union - treat it with care, if it is full of crud and you break the mesh the junk all falls into the pump.