Xantia 1996 1.9TD 293K starting problem

[romie]

ah you've not found the air leak yet. Good luck!

I'll start peering round the fuel filter housing.

[romie]

Sounds like you're doing the right things. If you're running veg its worth looking at the fuel filter housing. They start to leak on the off side towards the bottom.

Elma, when you say "They start to leak on the off side towards the bottom", is that an o-ring/joint thing or is it a crack in the housing itself?

I'm wondering if I should just by-pass and put a separate fuel filter in?

[romie]

I'm gonna hunt around garage for transparent hose :p

[romie]

Nuts, I found a 8mm ID pipe fitted, but alas. No bubbles :/
See this vid



I'll wait till morning, now there is a few loops in there as well I can check if I get an air pocket build up :/

[Stewart(oily)]

Leak off pipes, including the "dead end " a tiny split on one will have you squeezing the priming bulb every morning.

[RichardW]

If it's an air leak, then you can usually overcome it by pumping the primer before trying to start it. When it does start with an air leak, it normally does so cleanly.

If there is a heating problem then it will generally start in cloud of smoke, and often takes a short while to go from cranking to running.

if it starts like the latter, and the glow plugs are OK, then I would check the valve clearances.

[romie]

Pumping the primer has no effect on her starting issue.
ZERO air bubbles this morning. Took a while to fire again, with cloud of smoke. But I believe my plugs are ok as only recently changed and tested each one.
Will check each one again to make sure!

Cheers, annnd yup. It does start like the latter.
Valve clearances eh?
I've had her since 177K, She's now on 293K and tbf I've never checked the clearances :p
Is this a major two day affair? :/
Any tips on doing this before I start?

I'll get a vid of her firing up after work today.

[RichardW]

Checking the clearances is relatively easy (1). Changing them if they are wrong is a rather more involved affair! (2)

1. Just take the rocker cover off, and measure with a feeler gauge
2. As they are direct acting the clearances are set with shims under the cam followers - changing of which requires the removal of the cam shaft And if you start out with no clearances at all (which I suspect is what you will find) then it will be cam shaft in and out a few times till you get it right. Oh, and the shims are diabolically expensive for what they are - and you probably need to buy a truck full just to get one Of course, those with more bodge it tendencies might just grind the shims down carefully till the clearances come right....

[romie]

ah, here we go.
It really sounds like a fuelling issue?

You hear it try to fire, then stop.
Then on the next turns it seems to be trying, then all of a sudden boom, all ok! :/
Hmm.

1st try: Starts to run a little, then dies (as if she's run out of fuel?)
2nd try: Runs for a second then dies.
3rd try: I leave the starter motor turning for 5 seconds.
4th try: I leave the starter motor turning for another 5 seconds but this time she suddenly fires up without any more issues.




Does this sound like a valve clearances issue?

Cheers

[romie]

Having been driven.

Fires up nice and easy....... on three cylinders!! xD
Love this car :p

Here's with cylinder No.1 cracked off

[romie]

Fantastic that she runs so well on three cylinders!
Hmm, wonder if I can have a switch that blocks one off to save fuel on flat motorway runs! (hahah Better than 45mpg?? (only kidding))

... and cylinder No.4 cracked off

[romie]

but this is what she's like in the mornings and even after work, 6pm ambient temperature 19oC

[romie]

Next job is to test each glow plug in turn. Prob have to remove pump for this ugh

[elma]

You don't need to remove the diesel pump. The plug behind it can be had with an offset spanner reasonably painlessly.

The fuel filter housing leak I spoke of earlier tends to be outwards not inwards, you'd know about it by now if yours had it.

[romie]

I'll give it a go
4ohms for each plug yeah?
So I should get a 12 amp draw yup?
Maybe the easy way to test is to just measure the amp draw from the battery? How's about that?
Quick test - booom!?