Pooj problems

[Billzilla]

We're about to change the engine in the '92 diesel turbo 2.8 Pajero for a good import one, but just to be sure we don't keep getting the same problem, I'd like to ask if anyone can help ...

It's worse when it's cold, and what it does is start (usually okay) then after a few seconds running it'll start to cough and carry on, the revs dropping and one or two cylinders missing badly for maybe twenty seconds or so. We have to hold the throttle open a fair bit to keep it running but even that doesn't work sometimes and it'll just gradually waffle to a stop. While it'd doing the coughing crap it'll belch out a LOT of white/grey smoke. That disappears as the engine picks up onto all four pots again.
It used to do that every now and then but now it does it pretty much every time and even when it's hot.
And also increasingly when you're driving along .... it'll lose speed and just gradually stop. A good twenty seconds of winding on the starter will get it running again.

Is it an air leak in the fuel line? We always get a little air out of the line when we bleed it, though with the second batttery in place we can't get to the bleeder anymore so it's hard to check.
We plane to take out the second battery so we can check the fuel line and I want to try bleeding it when the engine is doing it's little coughing trick.

So any other ideas?

Pooj in question.

[Vios-GT_07]

it doesn't have a throttle... if i remember correctly, this is because your fuel filter needs replacing, and also the fuel pump needs to be taken out and serviced, and judging from the wear and tear on the body, possibly need to be recallibrated. Water in the fuel tank also does this, so i'd suggest draining the tank and putting clean diesel in there..

also, check for any leaks in the intercooler hoses as this can also cause the symptoms you describe... just recently i experienced this white smoke and chugging you describe, and it was because of some (okay it was 1/4 tank) water inside the fuel tank.

[Billzilla]

it doesn't have a throttle... if i remember correctly, this is because your fuel filter needs replacing, and also the fuel pump needs to be taken out and serviced, and judging from the wear and tear on the body, possibly need to be recallibrated. Water in the fuel tank also does this, so i'd suggest draining the tank and putting clean diesel in there..

also, check for any leaks in the intercooler hoses as this can also cause the symptoms you describe... just recently i experienced this white smoke and chugging you describe, and it was because of some (okay it was 1/4 tank) water inside the fuel tank.

The pedal on the right is the throttle.
We figure the fuel pump might be a bit sad, the one on the new engine is a good one fortunately. We'll check for water in the tank, thanks.
And the intercooler pipes.

[MRMOPARMAN]

yeah it sounds like a fuel pump problem to me aswell.. so its not down on power, no knocks or anything?

there should be a water seperator built into the fuel filter. pull that off, or if theres a screw on the bottom, get all the fuel out of the filter into a clear container. that will tell you if theres alot of water in the fuel without draining the tank.

do you have a fuel pressure gauge you can rig up to it?

[Billzilla]

yeah it sounds like a fuel pump problem to me aswell.. so its not down on power, no knocks or anything?

there should be a water seperator built into the fuel filter. pull that off, or if theres a screw on the bottom, get all the fuel out of the filter into a clear container. that will tell you if theres alot of water in the fuel without draining the tank.

do you have a fuel pressure gauge you can rig up to it?

Nah power is fine when it's running normally.
Guess we'll pop the second battery out tomorrow and have a poke around the fuel filter as well.
We might have a pressure guage, what pressure do they run?

[MRMOPARMAN]

to be honest im not sure.. but if its anything like the 2.0l volkwagen diesel it will be in the range of 1000psi or so

[Billzilla]

to be honest im not sure.. but if its anything like the 2.0l volkwagen diesel it will be in the range of 1000psi or so

Yeah I thought it'd be up in the 1,000psi+ range - Got nothing like that unfortuantely.

[Gavatron]

At least it's only 1,000psi. The new common rail Hilux I drove today with the intelligent tester plugged in was 5,075psi at idle. When at full boost (16psi) and full load up a hill, it rose to over 20,000psi!

[MRMOPARMAN]

yeah the 3.0l merc diesels are the same!!

the vw only has 1000psi from the 'injector pump' to the injectors.. after that theres a plunger set up driven off rocker arms driven by the exhaust cam that push the pressure up to 20k+psi... weird setup!

[Gavatron]

Yeah, no injector pump here. That is rail pressure.

[Vios-GT_07]

At least it's only 1,000psi. The new common rail Hilux I drove today with the intelligent tester plugged in was 5,075psi at idle. When at full boost (16psi) and full load up a hill, it rose to over 20,000psi!

didn't know they made gauges on that scale .. are you referring to the D4-D engine ?? that has the variable geometry (anti lag or something) turbo?? the one that's supposed to come on boost as soon as throttle is applied?

[thechuckster]

bill: sounds like the pump is stuffed - missing with a diesel can only mean no fuel.

the long cranking time to restart suggests it's re-priming, further pointing to diesel pump

[takai]

bill: sounds like the pump is stuffed - missing with a diesel can only mean no fuel.

the long cranking time to restart suggests it's re-priming, further pointing to diesel pump

Could also be a massive restriction in the fuel filter, i know which one is cheaper to test the theory on.

[thechuckster]

yeah, quite possible and good to check before comitting to $1k+ of work - but massive fuel filter restriction would be evident across the entire rev range regardless of engine temp (even more so at cold if it has an ECU-controlled fuel pump like my 5LE hilux)

[Gavatron]

didn't know they made gauges on that scale .. are you referring to the D4-D engine ?? that has the variable geometry (anti lag or something) turbo?? the one that's supposed to come on boost as soon as throttle is applied?

That's one of them, yes. The gauge is an electronic sensor on the tester. Has an "aim rail pressure" and "current rail pressure". Had to reinstall the injector feed lines today, then use the tester to do the "Fuel leak test". This just maxes out the pressure in the rail/lines and revs the engine to suit. Peak pressure...23,800psi.

Yes, they are the ones with the "Variable Vane" turbos, as soon as you touch the throttle, as in the smallest little touch, it is already making about 2psi of boost. Peak boost is 16psi in the Hilux.

This one I was working on had had shitty fuel in it. Stalled at over 100km/h uphill due to it needing more fuel than the little swirl chamber could supply. Cleanout of the fuel pickup area and flushing of the lines and secondary filter and a vigorous cleaning of the fuel tank and she was sweet.

P.S - Sorry for the massive hijack Bill