I've been having problems with my ZX TD starting, mostly from cold and more recently if left for a few hours. Amongst all of the usual remedies I also cracked open the fuel filter housing and cleaned it out, replaced the filter and proceeded to pump some fuel through. For whatever reason I decided to take a small amount of fuel out through the water drain....with several pumps on the priming bulb. The fuel that came out was milky white?? It then settled into two parts water / fuel. This was from only 100ml of fuel and it was at least a third water.
Is there a particularly watery mix in my tank? Is this why its been starting badly.
How do I get rid of it?? The water that is.
Milky Diesel
Moderator: RichardW
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Jon
If you're convinced that the diesel really is water contaminated in a big way, then the best plan would be to drain the tank completely. Some sort of long tube down the filler neck to a pump and container would be ideal to do a syphon job. To do a proper job I suppose that I would slide rear sear fully forward, undo the torx screws securing it to the floor, tilt seat up and then you will see 2 big plastic bungs in the floor (under the soundproofing) Remove the bung towards the n/s of the car, and knock round the plastic ring anti clockwise, carefully! This will release the tank sender unit and leave a 3" hole. You can then carefully remove any contaminated fuel in the tank, and visually inspect it.
If this is all a bit drastic, try and run the fuel through by normal driving, and frequently drain the diesel filter.
From reading this thread I'm pretty sure you have an air leak somewhere, the injector rubber return pipes, the fuel filter housing rubber ring (base) and diesel primer bulb being favourite culprits at high mileage.
Also, did you check that the cold start device (located in thermo housing) is actually pulling the cable to the back of the pump fully taught when the engine is cold? Failure of this can also produce similar problems to those that you mention, in winter.
If this is all a bit drastic, try and run the fuel through by normal driving, and frequently drain the diesel filter.
From reading this thread I'm pretty sure you have an air leak somewhere, the injector rubber return pipes, the fuel filter housing rubber ring (base) and diesel primer bulb being favourite culprits at high mileage.
Also, did you check that the cold start device (located in thermo housing) is actually pulling the cable to the back of the pump fully taught when the engine is cold? Failure of this can also produce similar problems to those that you mention, in winter.
Water + oil = a milky looking mix. (diesel fuel is an "oil")
Sounds like you have to investigate the tank filler lid for tightness.
If you can remember where you last filled the tank - I'd try avoid this station - untill you're confident what the problem is.
And that milkshake needs to be drained out [}:)]
If no drain plug found on tank then it's the good old way seeping up a bit with a hose - and then place the open end of hose lower than bottom of tank - into a suitable container. The fluid will flow untill air enters the tank end of the hose.
If you don't like the taste of diesel - then you better use a rubber bulb to make the fluid start flowing [8)]
Sounds like you have to investigate the tank filler lid for tightness.
If you can remember where you last filled the tank - I'd try avoid this station - untill you're confident what the problem is.
And that milkshake needs to be drained out [}:)]
If no drain plug found on tank then it's the good old way seeping up a bit with a hose - and then place the open end of hose lower than bottom of tank - into a suitable container. The fluid will flow untill air enters the tank end of the hose.
If you don't like the taste of diesel - then you better use a rubber bulb to make the fluid start flowing [8)]
Cheers Jon. I checked the cold start device earlier. The cable is tight and the lever pulled over towards the gearbox end of the engine (bosch pump)when cold. I also checked all the pump timing, all the holes lined up!
It's only been happening recently, a bad batch of fuel??? The wife drives until empty and then completely refills. She commutes a lot and needs the car to be reliable. 40 litres of watery diesel would take a while to get rid of wouldn't it?
Would a filter bowl full of water, first start of the day, cause bad starting as I've mentioned??
I've seen additives that supposedly help to rid you of water in fuel, do they work? Any recommendations?
Thankyou.
It's only been happening recently, a bad batch of fuel??? The wife drives until empty and then completely refills. She commutes a lot and needs the car to be reliable. 40 litres of watery diesel would take a while to get rid of wouldn't it?
Would a filter bowl full of water, first start of the day, cause bad starting as I've mentioned??
I've seen additives that supposedly help to rid you of water in fuel, do they work? Any recommendations?
Thankyou.
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Jon
Water in fuel would definately not aid cold starting. I'd be surprised if you really are taking on water though, unless you always fill up at the same filling station each time. The only other way you could get water in the tank is possible via the filler neck or breather tunes being split, I'm sure one Member did mention this on a ZX D last year, will have to do a search. I can't remember who posted it.
This subject is one that I'm interested in, although my current ZX is a great starter (wheres that bit of wood to touch) even though the Glows are 8 year old (!) I once owned a Volcane TD that was the car from hell to start from cold. I did all 4 glows (Beru), the injector return piping, the fuel filter seal, the primer bulb, the cold start waxstat, the full monty. I even tried the last resort (no not the Isle of Wight), a one way valve in the fuel line. Still no good, it would crank away for ages and show no contructive signs of firing. [:(!]
After I actually got so fed up that I sold the thing (there were loads of other problems) to a trader I know, he rang and told me that they tried everything I'd tried, and as a last resort found that the valve clearances were way out, and had to reshim. He claimed that cured it. I was never sure about that one as after the thing eventually started it was the fastest ZX TD I've ever driven.
Someone got a "good buy" there, lets hope that they are not a member of this Forum. The heater control valve had snapped inside the dash so you could never demist the screen and the rear arms squeaked like mice in a vice.[:p]
This subject is one that I'm interested in, although my current ZX is a great starter (wheres that bit of wood to touch) even though the Glows are 8 year old (!) I once owned a Volcane TD that was the car from hell to start from cold. I did all 4 glows (Beru), the injector return piping, the fuel filter seal, the primer bulb, the cold start waxstat, the full monty. I even tried the last resort (no not the Isle of Wight), a one way valve in the fuel line. Still no good, it would crank away for ages and show no contructive signs of firing. [:(!]
After I actually got so fed up that I sold the thing (there were loads of other problems) to a trader I know, he rang and told me that they tried everything I'd tried, and as a last resort found that the valve clearances were way out, and had to reshim. He claimed that cured it. I was never sure about that one as after the thing eventually started it was the fastest ZX TD I've ever driven.
Someone got a "good buy" there, lets hope that they are not a member of this Forum. The heater control valve had snapped inside the dash so you could never demist the screen and the rear arms squeaked like mice in a vice.[:p]
We do tend to use the same service station for most fill ups!! I'll try to avoid that one for a few weeks and se if that helps.
I don't much fancy re-shimming the valve clearances though, I think my time would be better spent elsewhere. Like on sorting my 16v out.[:D]
Any ideas on those de-watering additives though??
I don't much fancy re-shimming the valve clearances though, I think my time would be better spent elsewhere. Like on sorting my 16v out.[:D]
Any ideas on those de-watering additives though??
gjb,
Don't know the ZX too well but most likely cause is the jubilees which hold the rubber downpipe from the filler to the tank are corroded and bust. Being under the wheel arch it is bombarded with water from the raodwheel. The water gets past the rubber/metal tube seal because the jubilees don't hold it tight and gets into the tank.
It's easy to blame the petrol station and I'm not saying they are blameless but they do have water traps of their own built into the pumps. Only if the self draining mechanism is bust will they pass water to the cars.
cheers
noz
Don't know the ZX too well but most likely cause is the jubilees which hold the rubber downpipe from the filler to the tank are corroded and bust. Being under the wheel arch it is bombarded with water from the raodwheel. The water gets past the rubber/metal tube seal because the jubilees don't hold it tight and gets into the tank.
It's easy to blame the petrol station and I'm not saying they are blameless but they do have water traps of their own built into the pumps. Only if the self draining mechanism is bust will they pass water to the cars.
cheers
noz
When we bought our 94 ZX D about 18 months ago we had a split breather pipe. It was right on the top of the tank and just leaked fuel when the tank was full, and didn't cause any other problems. What it does mean is that some of the pipe used is prone to splitting and from what I remember the other end of the pipe went into the filler tube somewhere near the cap.
The fuel filter is designed so that minor water contamination will not affect the running of the engine and is retained in the bottom of the filter bowl until you drain it out. Have you dismantled the filter bowl and cleaned all the water out and changed the filter? This is probably worth doing so you can verify if further water is getting in.
Have you tried inserting a section of clear plastic tube in the pump feed and looking for air bubbles?
Jeremy
The fuel filter is designed so that minor water contamination will not affect the running of the engine and is retained in the bottom of the filter bowl until you drain it out. Have you dismantled the filter bowl and cleaned all the water out and changed the filter? This is probably worth doing so you can verify if further water is getting in.
Have you tried inserting a section of clear plastic tube in the pump feed and looking for air bubbles?
Jeremy
The liquids you can buy for clearing water all contain very high proportions of alcohol. The alcohol absorbs the water and still burns, whereas just water plays havoc with everything inside the injection pump. If you've gat as much as 1/3rd water in your fuel you're in real trouble -bite the bullet and rain the tank. There's no way you could get that much water in the tank other than with the fuel. I'd guess that the storage tank was down to its last few hundred gallons when you filled up last. It might be an idea to ask them if they've had any other complainst . . .
//NiSk
//NiSk