Parking on a hill - the continuing fuel problem story!

1996 Defender 300TDI SW

So, I recently had a new old engine installed on which the fuel pump had a faulty distributor head gasket causing some fuel leaking. The engine was under warranty so I had the gasket replaced and everything is working fine.

Before this fix, if I parked it on a hill facing upwards, it wouldn't start straight away, as if there wasn't enough fuel getting in. After a few turns, it would then start.

I thought there must be air getting in via the fuel pump leak and the fuel was somehow running back into the tank or away from the pump.

Since then, I hadn't tested it to see if it still did it but last night I parked on a hill and this morning, it wouldn't start straight away.

I checked the fuel filter to see if it was tight (it was) and looked around for other leaks but there aren't any.

The tank is ok as it was replaced a couple of years ago and this never happened before I replaced the engine.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Regards,

Mo

A section of clear pipe in the line just before the lift pump is handy for detecting air leaks.
In your case after switch off observe it for a while, and if you have it at the highest point between lift pump and where the fuel pipe heads down towards tank air can collect over time for you to see. First I would change fuel filter though.

tottot said:

A section of clear pipe in the line just before the lift pump is handy for detecting air leaks.
In your case after switch off observe it for a while, and if you have it at the highest point between lift pump and where the fuel pipe heads down towards tank air can collect over time for you to see. First I would change fuel filter though.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll change the fuel filter first to see if anything changes!

It's possible to have a leak which will let air in, but not fuel out. They can be tricky to find, as you can imagine. I'd check the connections around the injectors and return lines.

Injector leak off pipes are usually first suspect for this as above.