Air in fuel line

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Deequeue
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Air in fuel line

Post by Deequeue »

Hi all,

Got a bit of an annoying issue with my 1.9D XUD dispatch, went to move the van this weekend, and its being a pain.


The engine it has never caught straight off the button since buying it, but once it started it ran fine. However now it is taking a while to strike up, then just dies as if it is not receiving any fuel. Pumped the priming button (Its one mounted to the filter housing as opposed to a grenade type), and it would strike up and run at idle for approx 1 min, but then die again. Changed the fuel and air filters - the fuel filter was about black - and noticed that the line from the filter housing to the injector is actually clear tubing, not black rubber..... So I cleaned it off and I can clearly see that there is air in the fuel line from filter to pump - sometimes very small bubbles, sometimes lots of air.

I have re-seated the filter oring and top, and cleaned it up - as far as I can see there are no leaks around the filter housing itself, and it seems to have helped it. It is still doing the same thing, but when it does start, it runs for longer.

So, what's the most likely culprit? I noticed that the sides of the primer button had a small amount of diesel on - although I'm not sure if thats from disconnecting the fuel pipe and some fuel has dropped into the primer housing itself, and its just picking this residue up.

I've read that the leak off pipes are a common issue on these, does the primer button fail too? I get the feeling it may not have been primed in quite a while from the state of the old filter, wondering if me using it has caused it to leak now.

Also, what's the correct fuel line size for these? I figured I might as well replace the leak pipes at the same time to rule it out.


Thanks
Dale
Peter.N.
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Re: Air in fuel line

Post by Peter.N. »

Follow the fuel line from the filter back to the tank, you will probably find a join to metal pipe just behind the top of the engine, this often cracks and leaks.

Peter
sparksie
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Re: Air in fuel line

Post by sparksie »

Yes and, as you surmised, the primer pump diaphragms perish and fail, nearly always following a filter change.


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2000 Xantia 1.9TurboD
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