Poor starting & holding back

Defender TD5 2006 105k. I had a recent issue with poor starting, changed fuel filter and improved though not perfect. At weekend starting very poor to the extent that I thought it woul not start, however did so. Since then not pulling well, get up to 40 in 5th and feels like engine tightening up. Feels like I have a fuelling problem have booked into local 4x4 centre but would appreciate any pointers.

Sounds to me like the pump... Not the hardest of jobs but does require patience... Anyway good luck

Ps search for the air bleed valve which sits in the filter housing this can be a prime culprit for cold start

Discodevon said:

Sounds to me like the pump... Not the hardest of jobs but does require patience... Anyway good luck

Ps search for the air bleed valve which sits in the filter housing this can be a prime culprit for cold start

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Ok thank you

my 2002 td5 had issues with the maf sensor this put the engine into a limp mode situation... the ecu would not allow the engine to fuel up and this created no boost I never had the long cranking issue though with this issue
normally when there is a blockage in the fuel system you can hear the fuel pump in the fuel tank change tones or you can hear it struggling .. or it may scream like a cat due to the combustion washers allowing combustion gasses into the fuel system
normally these engines are very good at starting with low fuel pressure without any air in the system as I have tested with mine ..I would also be looking at crank sensor .when these fail or on the edge of failing this may be a hard starter the engine has a 1 in 5 chance of starting ie longer cranking times and may be when the sensor warms up a bit via the power supplied it may come to life

as for the air bleed valves and none return valve I have removed both of mine (with no ill side affects ) the none return valve can not be purchased separate (need to purchase the full filter housing .even then they will not tell you if it comes with the none return valve

the air bleed valve in the same filter housing can be purchased on line separate
the reason I removed mine I was trying to diagnose a fuel issue that turned out to be combustion gasses entering the fuel system diesel engine do not like air in there fuel this gave me longer cranking time but no power issues

regardless if the air in fuel system or a slight blockage ..take note on any white or grey smoke coming out of the chimney (exhaust ) while cold morning long cranking issues

ps did you inspect the fuel in the old fuel filter ? for any cross contamination or water

Quite a few threads on TD5 starting on here and elsewhere a bit tedious to read them all, but would pay you to learn what works and what doesn't work.
Seems to me having been through the mill with my TD5 one of the big issues is gasses in the fuel feed to the head, and the copper injector washers are prime culprit they allow combustion gass to blast past and into the fuel system, the bleed valve deals with this ok for a while but it gets made up with muck and gives up, pressure regulator on the back L hand side of the head can be a problem look for any diesel running down the back of the engine and over the starter motor, they are pretty cheap (use a repair kit not the whole unit) and not too hard to change.
I took off the filter housing and gave it a good fetteling then re sealed all four connections with new copper washers changing the bleed valve at the same time, this seemed to help loads.
Take care before you go ahead and change the pump, seen loads of posts where they change it and find it's just the same, not saying it's 100% that this is not the problem but try and check. Pressure at the regulator should be maintained at 4 bar if it falls away when the engine is pulling and consuming more fuel then could be the pump, but it may be that this is when the injector washers are allowing gas to blow through into the fuel rail and the injectors can't fuel correctly.
One other thing is the fuel filter, it has a seal in the centre which can get left on the centre stem, when you put a new filter in place complete with seal then you have two seals on the stem, and it causes a sealing problem.
Most of all good luck and let us know how things go.

depends on what side of the regulator should be tested hopefully the 4 wd centre is legit
its very easy to manipulate pressures or even get it wrong ..hopefully they understand the fuel system lay out

No I didn't keep the old filter the mechanic said the contents would have been useful! Thanks for the pointers.

ozzyboydeano said:

depends on what side of the regulator should be tested hopefully the 4 wd centre is legit
its very easy to manipulate pressures or even get it wrong ..hopefully they understand the fuel system lay out

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The guy at the 4x4 centre is sound, knows his stuff.

when was the last time you checked your engine oil level ..and coolant I only ask to rule a few things out

also is there any smoke at all from the exhaust on the long cranking

The oil in the ECU red plug issue should be ruled out too cos the injector loom can cause various symptoms

ozzyboydeano said:

when was the last time you checked your engine oil level ..and coolant I only ask to rule a few things out

also is there any smoke at all from the exhaust on the long cranking

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Oil & coolant have been checked and are fine there is no smoke

sierrafery said:

The oil in the ECU red plug issue should be ruled out too cos the injector loom can cause various symptoms

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I checked the ECU red plug in driver seat box last night and no trace of oil

Connorefc said:

Oil & coolant have been checked and are fine there is no smoke

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if there is no smoke this means no fuel not even the slightest even the fuel that has been left inside the injector to enough to emit some sort white or grey smoke ... so this means all 5 injectors have been cut off electronically .so timing of the engine is critical to the ecu like crank sensor

ozzyboydeano said:

if there is no smoke this means no fuel not even the slightest even the fuel that has been left inside the injector to enough to emit some sort white or grey smoke ... so this means all 5 injectors have been cut off electronically .so timing of the engine is critical to the ecu like crank sensor

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I am going to print off all the replies I have had to this and hand it over to the mechanic on Monday, it may help him it tracing what is wrong. Appreciate everyone's pointers, I will post what happens. Cheers John

Turns out it was the fuel pump which will only run up to 1/2 volume, so now being replaced. However as this was not diagnosed till Thursday and we were holidaying in Pembrokeshire from Friday. I have had to hire an estate ( have ) for the holiday. Got a Peugeot 308 1.6 HDI for £173 for 9 days from Budget which is a good price. not keen as space not as good as Defender, wife loves it as it is comfy & quiet. Must admit myself it is a nice car quite rapid and very well equipped. Have to keep remembering not to wave at Defender drivers!
Hopefully al be sorted with Defender when I get home.

raywin said:

Quite a few threads on TD5 starting on here and elsewhere a bit tedious to read them all, but would pay you to learn what works and what doesn't work.
Seems to me having been through the mill with my TD5 one of the big issues is gasses in the fuel feed to the head, and the copper injector washers are prime culprit they allow combustion gass to blast past and into the fuel system, the bleed valve deals with this ok for a while but it gets made up with muck and gives up, pressure regulator on the back L hand side of the head can be a problem look for any diesel running down the back of the engine and over the starter motor, they are pretty cheap (use a repair kit not the whole unit) and not too hard to change.
I took off the filter housing and gave it a good fetteling then re sealed all four connections with new copper washers changing the bleed valve at the same time, this seemed to help loads.
Take care before you go ahead and change the pump, seen loads of posts where they change it and find it's just the same, not saying it's 100% that this is not the problem but try and check. Pressure at the regulator should be maintained at 4 bar if it falls away when the engine is pulling and consuming more fuel then could be the pump, but it may be that this is when the injector washers are allowing gas to blow through into the fuel rail and the injectors can't fuel correctly.
One other thing is the fuel filter, it has a seal in the centre which can get left on the centre stem, when you put a new filter in place complete with seal then you have two seals on the stem, and it causes a sealing problem.
Most of all good luck and let us know how things go.

Click to expand...

Fuel pump appears to be the issue.

Hope that's it and it runs well now.