1.8tdci serviced but wont start.

brembo26

Hi all, a friend of mine just serviced his 02 Focus 1.8tdci. all filters were changed and the diesel filter was filled with diesel before it was put on.

He started the car up and it ran for about 20 seconds then it knocked off and hasnt started since.

Any ideas on how to get her going again?

Cheers in advance.

porsche boy

brembo26 wrote: »

Hi all, a friend of mine just serviced his 02 Focus 1.8tdci. all filters were changed and the diesel filter was filled with diesel before it was put on.

He started the car up and it ran for about 20 seconds then it knocked off and hasnt started since.

Any ideas on how to get her going again?

Cheers in advance.

Shes air locked. You can crack open the injectors individually while turning the engine over and try bleed them like that or if that dosent work she'll have to be towed with ignition on in second gear. She'll go evenrually.

Greyfoot

watch for high pressures there when working on them

beanie10

These are pigs to start after changing fuel filter. The easiest method I found was to tow start. Save your battery and starter.

brembo26

cheers guys, ill pass all that on and see what happens!

shamwari

Contrary to the advice given above, don't crack open the injectors or anything on the high pressure side.

Refill the filter, ensure the seals are air tight and tow it.

brembo26

beanie10 wrote: »

These are pigs to start after changing fuel filter. The easiest method I found was to tow start. Save your battery and starter.

Pig is right! pulled it for a mile or so in total but she got there in the end! :pac:

Greyfoot

shamwari wrote: »

Contrary to the advice given above, don't crack open the injectors or anything on the high pressure side.

Refill the filter, ensure the seals are air tight and tow it.

Sometimes you can pull those for a while, just cracking the injectors open when idling can be very quick and effective. Some diesels have a tendency to jump a teeth or two on timing when jump started.

brembo26

Im guessing he'd know if it had skipped? Doesnt seem to be any different than before the service now.

shamwari

Greyfoot wrote: »

Sometimes you can pull those for a while, just cracking the injectors open when idling can be very quick and effective. Some diesels have a tendency to jump a teeth or two on timing when jump started.

The high pressure side of a common railer has serious pressures going through it that really shouldn't be messed with. Apart from the dangers, the chances are that the engine will stop or fail to start due to the rail pressure being too low. Also on the Ford Tdci's, Ford often stipulate that any high pressure pipe work which is worked on should always be replaced to ensure they reseal properly. Again, you could otherwise well end up with leaks that cause poor running or no start.

Cracking open the injector pipes on the diesels of yesteryear was necessary on the older IDI systems because of how they worked. The way the modern stuff works with massively higher fuel pressures and electronic injector firing make mucking about with the HP pipe work unwise and largely unnecessary.

HevyKevy

Being following this thread with interest. Is the general thoughts here to leave the injectors alone and just keep trying to start the car on the key after a filter change hoping it will catch.

A mechanic I know once told me you can spray something flammable in through the air intake (cant exactly remember what he suggested) to encourage the engine along.

I have a 2.0 dsl mondeo approaching a fuel filter change and am quite concerned that the car wont start after I do it.

Any thoughts
HK

keithsfleet

Not too familiar with common rail diesels but is it not just a case of turning the key to the"on" position without starting the engine and letting the fuel pump do it's thing for 40-60 seconds?

shamwari

HevyKevy wrote: »

Being following this thread with interest. Is the general thoughts here to leave the injectors alone and just keep trying to start the car on the key after a filter change hoping it will catch.

A mechanic I know once told me you can spray something flammable in through the air intake (cant exactly remember what he suggested) to encourage the engine along.

I have a 2.0 dsl mondeo approaching a fuel filter change and am quite concerned that the car wont start after I do it.

Any thoughts
HK

That stuff is something like easy start or brake disc cleaner. Personally I wouldn't use it because the correct alternative is to prime the system using a hand primer. You can buy them for around €20 and if you do your own DIY servicing, they are a God-send!

keithsfleet wrote: »

Not too familiar with common rail diesels but is it not just a case of turning the key to the"on" position without starting the engine and letting the fuel pump do it's thing for 40-60 seconds?

Correct if you have a lift pump in the tank, but the Ford's mentioned here don't have these so manual priming / filter filling / towing is the alternative.

dooroy

What you need is something to draw fuel through the filter until its full - I use a vacuum device I bought years ago for draining oil through the dipstick tube .
Shanwari has covered it all and I would agree that easystart etc is not a good idea - a liitle too much and the knocking from the engine tells its own story . I only ever used it on old tractors in very cold weather and I would never consider using it on a modern car engine .
If you get the filter full and free of air then car will restart no problem - and the fact that it will start and run for a few seconds can mislead .
Draw fuel through the return pipe on the tank side of the filter.

beanie10

I tried vacuum pumps on this Ford engine before- no use.
I dont know what it is but as soon as I disconnected fuel line from filter I knew this was going to be hard. You can hear the diesel just fall right back into the tank. As soon as you break the seal in fuel line it doesn't matter if filter is full these are very hard to get going again.
That's why I suggest tow start otherwise you just kill battery and burn out starter motor. Definitely would not go near the injectors.

shamwari

beanie10 wrote: »

I tried vacuum pumps on this Ford engine before- no use.
I dont know what it is but as soon as I disconnected fuel line from filter I knew this was going to be hard. You can hear the diesel just fall right back into the tank. As soon as you break the seal in fuel line it doesn't matter if filter is full these are very hard to get going again.
That's why I suggest tow start otherwise you just kill battery and burn out starter motor. Definitely would not go near the injectors.

Try drawing the fuel up through the return pipe instead

dooroy

If you draw the fuel through the return pipe on the tank side of the filter then when you get air free fuel at that point everything back along should be full - and car should start easily .
I even did this on an 08 Focus 1.6 Tdci - had filled filter etc but car started then cut out and I knew I had problem :mad:. Having contacted a friend in the trade for advice as I deal a lot with older stuff , I then hooked up the vacuum unit for the oil to the return pipe on tank side of filter . Drew fuel through until it was bubble free ( took a while ), reconnected pipe and car started first time and was fine .
If you draw the fuel through the filter but your 'connection' is before the pump then there will be still enough air in the system to prevent starting .
Hope this makes sense:)