ford focus 2009 wont start

xjr130002

Hi folks

well the wife was driving home from wexford and the car broke down
so when i got the car home the fuel filter was hanging out of it,
so i went and bought a new one and fitted it i done the usual and filled the filter first but she will not start so i cracked the line comming from the pump and im not getting diesel,
So is there anyway of testing the pump or am i just doing something wrong???
thanks in advance for any help

George Dalton

First of all, you should never open a fuel line and crank the engine over on a common rail diesel injection system. The pressures involved are such that serious injury could result from doing so.

Is it a 1.6 or a 1.8 diesel? Both can be difficult to bleed properly after a fuel filter change, the 1.8 particularly. If you have a hand primer you can try feeding the filter directly from a can of diesel to get the engine going then swap over to the line from the tank.

xjr130002

George Dalton wrote: »

First of all, you should never open a fuel line and crank the engine over on a common rail diesel injection system. The pressures involved are such that serious injury could result from doing so.

Is it a 1.6 or a 1.8 diesel? Both can be difficult to bleed properly after a fuel filter change, the 1.8 particularly. If you have a hand primer you can try feeding the filter directly from a can of diesel to get the engine going then swap over to the line from the tank.

Hi it's a 1.8, I don't have a hand primier ???

George Dalton

Well without one you are going to have a pretty hard time getting the engine running. These can be a right pain in the ass to bleed once air is introduced into the fuel system. You could try tow starting it but if that doesn't work then you will probably have to get the pros to sort it out for you.

xjr130002

George Dalton wrote: »

Well without one you are going to have a pretty hard time getting the engine running. These can be a right pain in the ass to bleed once air is introduced into the fuel system. You could try tow starting it but if that doesn't work then you will probably have to get the pros to sort it out for you.

i will buy a primier handy to have for doing brakes as well,if i get one were do i connect to to bleed it ??

George Dalton

You can do it 2 ways. If you get a hand primer like this one:



Then you can connect it inline between the fuel feed line and the filter and use it to draw fuel up from the tank and through the filter into the high pressure system. Have someone in the car trying to start it while you pump the hand primer. Depending on how badly airlocked the system is, this may or may not work.

If it doesn't work then you may have to take fuel from a can or other external source and feed it directly into the filter with the primer. then once the engine starts repeat the previous step before finally removing the primer from the system and cleaning up the awful mess you will no doubt have made :pac:

One final tip, if/when the engine does start don't be tempted to rev it up, leaving it idling gives it the best chance of clearing itself and purging the air from the system.

Of course all of this assumes that the bad fuel filter was the cause of the breakdown in the first place, I assume it is diesel that is in the fuel tank and not petrol?

xjr130002

George Dalton wrote: »

You can do it 2 ways. If you get a hand primer like this one:



Then you can connect it inline between the fuel feed line and the filter and use it to draw fuel up from the tank and through the filter into the high pressure system. Have someone in the car trying to start it while you pump the hand primer. Depending on how badly airlocked the system is, this may or may not work.

If it doesn't work then you may have to take fuel from a can or other external source and feed it directly into the filter with the primer. then once the engine starts repeat the previous step before finally removing the primer from the system and cleaning up the awful mess you will no doubt have made :pac:

One final tip, if/when the engine does start don't be tempted to rev it up, leaving it idling gives it the best chance of clearing itself and purging the air from the system.

Of course all of this assumes that the bad fuel filter was the cause of the breakdown in the first place, I assume it is diesel that is in the fuel tank and not petrol?

ill pick one up tomorrow and give it ago,thanks for all your help

George Dalton

You are welcome, hope you get sorted ok.

xjr130002

George Dalton wrote: »

You are welcome, hope you get sorted ok.

Well got a primer and primed from tank first then primed from a can into the filter and just kept priming whyll the wife turned it over and away she went,thanks for help george:D

keithclancy

George Dalton wrote: »

First of all, you should never open a fuel line and crank the engine over on a common rail diesel injection system. The pressures involved are such that serious injury could result from doing so.

Uggh .... how .. the fuel line is before the High Pressure system, is it going to suck your face off ? :pac::pac:

If there was high pressure involved i'd be worried since the fuel line up to the pump is see thru plastic tubing.

George Dalton wrote: »

Is it a 1.6 or a 1.8 diesel? Both can be difficult to bleed properly after a fuel filter change, the 1.8 particularly. If you have a hand primer you can try feeding the filter directly from a can of diesel to get the engine going then swap over to the line from the tank.

I managed this the last two times with just a reversed pump from an Airbed.

George Dalton

keithclancy wrote: »

Uggh .... how .. the fuel line is before the High Pressure system, is it going to suck your face off ? :pac::pac:

If there was high pressure involved i'd be worried since the fuel line up to the pump is see thru plastic tubing.

Apologies, I wasn't clear enough in my post. I mean opening a fuel line after the high pressure pump. This is what I would imagine the OP did when he said in his post:

i cracked the line comming from the pump and im not getting diesel

This is not advisable.