Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:32:12 -0800
Reply-To: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Subject: Diesel fuel lines and air leaks = nostart
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Typing "Diesel" into the search box there doesn't seem to have
been any Diesel posts since Sept! Are we Diesel owners so few, or
is it just that the Diesel is too reliable and therefore not
many Diesel topics?
After exactly 10 years of reliable service since my 1.6 to 1.9TD
conversion in 1998, I got some starting problems this month.
(Only other repair was a broken throttle cable some years ago
-- can't blame that on the engine though).
The symptoms were the same as I had experienced on my Passat TD
years ago. Lots of cranking before it would fire. (bad for starter and
injection pump). Finally no go regardless of amount of cranking...
I guessed problem was likely the same as on the Passat also: an
air leak into the fuel system.
Only issue is how to find the culprit. In the good old days
Diesel VW's came with a transparent fuel hose between the fuel
filter and injection pump. At 26 years of age my hose was no
longer transparent and I didn't see anything. Off to the VW dealer
to try to get the right hose. No luck, oldest tech mentioned he
remembered they having this transparent fuel hose a decade back,
but not recently. Instead they set me up with some VAG generic
fuel hose to replace sections until it would work again.
I replaced, replaced and replaced, checked fuel filter, junctions
etc. Still no go. A tricky issue is that leaks both in the line
from the tank and the various return lines will give the problem.
Tired of mindlessly replacing hoses I remembered that I had found
a lab vacuum pump at a dumpster as a kid. Rummaging through the
house I finally found the pump and a bit of clear hose.
Pulling fuel up from the tank it was full of bubbles. I was just
about to start tearing out the fuel line from the tank, when I thought
I should try the return circuits also. Bubbles there also...
What now? Holes everywhere?
Luckily I noticed that cranking the engine with a partially filled
fuel pump would be "frothing" the fuel. Then when not cranking this
air-fuel mixture would get pulled back down in both the inlet and
return fuel lines. Sure enough, after pumping enough fuel (a
litre or two (the volume of the fuel filter + line maybe), it
finally ran clear and bubble free from the input line.
I similarly pumped the frothy stuff out of the return line and
pump housing (which is normally fully filled with Diesel).
Now sure enough, the engine would finally start and run well.
Found and replaced a marginal hose, the one between the injector
returns and the fuel pump. Engine now starts after sitting a
few hours. Will let it sit a few days now and see if it still
works.
Next was to charge the battery after all the cranking. Almost
knocked myself out, not seeing that the hatch was hanging a bit
lower due to weak struts and cold fall weather. Then I remembered
that I recently stumbled across a piece of PVC pipe I got at one
of the camp outs out east a decade ago. Inside was a piece of
paper from Karl and Kristina Bloss on how to install it around
the hatch strut so to prop up the strut and keep the hatch up
regardless of temperature. Installed in a snap, and no more banged
heads!
Karl and Kristina: Thanks! Hope you are still around.
Cheers,
Martin and Poppie '82 Westy 1.9TD
__________________________________________________________________
Connect with friends from any web browser - no download required. Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger for the Web BETA at http://ca.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php
------------------------------------------------------------
+ To unsubscribe from the Vanagon List send an e-mail to
+ listserv@gerry.vanagon.com with SIGNOFF VANAGON
+ in the body of the message.
------------------------------------------------------------