Series 3 Perkins 4.203 fuel system bleeding issues

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FRAJ

Member
Posts
42
Location
UK
Hello - I am at my wits end trying to start the engine after cleaning out the glass filter bowl. If anyone has experience bleeding a diesel, esp a perkins , any tips would be really appreciated.
What I did: After running fine yesterday, I cleaned out the glass fuel bowl, bled some fuel through to the main filter outlet and tried to start it. It fired and ran for maybe 5 seconds and cut out.
What I tried already: I bled using the lift pump at: 1. The filter housing top and outlet. 2. the fuel pump bleed - I had it flowing out of there no problem. 3. Cracked the feed to all 4 injectors and cranked and I can see fuel has come out at all of them. 4. Repeated step 2 & 3 several times.
Las time I was stupid enough to touch the fuel system, I got it working again just by bleeding at the injectors when cranking - once was enough.
Thanks!
 
Cheers Steve, I had not seen that post. I had bled at the banjo on top of the filter earlier, but will try taking it off and cleaning it - it is hiding under the exhaust manifold....
 
Started the b@stard! Persistence is the key, and belief it will start eventually - you start to think something else must have failed when it cranks for so long without so much as a cough.
Thanks again Steve; I went round the loop a few more times, even though I never saw any air bleeding out.
I am not touching it again, I've blown most of the day on it..
 
Glad you got it going, sorry i missed your post. A couple of tips for next time:
If the fuel pump is getting tired (the diaphram gets stiff) it is very hard to bleed as it hardly pushes any fuel, they seem to be able to run like this so long as there's no air because the DPA pump sucks hard enough. You only find theres a problem when you drain it and have to pull the fuel up again.
Some have looped injector drain off to the filter, some don't, I took mine off. Its very easy to put these pipes on the wrong way round
Do the filter, then pump inlet, then screw on the side then crack 2 injector pipes not all 4 (this is in the Perkins manual). Crank until it fires then do the other 2 up. This really seems to work, I'm not sure why.
 
Have you bled the FIP at the 2 blead screws as sometimes they can take ages to blead up also is the single glow plug getting fuel as the glow plug won't work if the engine is cold.
 
The flame starter, mine has its own little tank on the bulkhead. Its a great bit of kit, much better than glowplugs. Draws 1/4 the current and generates a lot more heat (or a great deal more if the airfilter goes up in smoke). My instructions for cold starting say hold for somthing like 18 secs.
 
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