Losing Power & Engine Cutting Out 3.0td 2nd gen

[Surf_MoFo]

ok 10 days ago my 3.0td 1994 td 2nd gen surf broke down, i was running it on veg, i got a mile along the road, it lost power and went slow, got a bit smokey and cut out, it would not start so got it towed home.

a week ago i changed the fuel filter, drain the veg oil from the fuel tank, rinsed tank with a few litres of petrol, added 10L of diesel, i blew down the fuel pipe to make sure there was no blockage. I took it a run and after a 2m it lost power and drove slow so i just made it home, the engine light was coming on and off. So after this suspecting pick up filter in fuel tank was blocked.

today i fitted a bike pump to the fuel line at the fuel filter housing and pumped air down it, i could then blow down it by mouth with no resistance so all was clear. I had to jump start it again and i took it a run the same way as last time and sure enough after 2m it slowed down but the engine cut out this time and i could not start it, there was not much power in the batteries even tho i had just done 2m so they soon went flat too. I disconnected the batteries and reconnected them, got my audi a4 along, jump started it, after a few attampts it finally fired up and i drove it home slowly which was half a mile.

so guys do you have any suggestions what this could be it does not seem to be related to veg oil although i thought it was at first.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Strainer on the back of the fuel pump blocked?

[Surf_MoFo]

Strainer on the back of the fuel pump blocked?

is this common, just wondering as cráp would need to get by the fuel filter to block that, is it simple to get at, might go out with a torch for a nosey.

[Albannach]

If the main filter is OK, there's a fair chance the wee strainer is choked, as Vince said. It's reasonably common.

Veg will choke filters for a while whilst it cleans out the fuel pipes.

[Surf_MoFo]

If the main filter is OK, there's a fair chance the wee strainer is choked, as Vince said. It's reasonably common.

Veg will choke filters for a while whilst it cleans out the fuel pipes.

well i assumed the main filter was the problem but as its proved not to be it might have been ok

i had a look for the strainer on the pump but i took off the nut where the rigid pipe connects but i could not see where the filter is.

is there just the one gauze filter on this fuel pump and is it the behind the fuel temp sensor, can it be removed without using a modified spanner?

[Surf_MoFo]

ok found the gauze filter a standard 22mm spanner is fine for the job

i found location in the pfd manual i downloaded , its on the rear lower side of the pump and needs a 22mm spanner to remove it. i found it and its clean so thats not my problem darn it.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60861571@N03/5957733311/

as you can see it came out pretty clean, this was it before i cleaned it lol

any other suggestions, i checked the batteries are charging and they are at 14v, i noticed when i opened the fuel cap there was a little suction is this normal, it was quite light.

[tonupteabag]

ok found the gauze filter a standard 22mm spanner is fine for the job

i found location in the pfd manual i downloaded , its on the rear lower side of the pump and needs a 22mm spanner to remove it. i found it and its clean so thats not my problem darn it.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/60861571@N03/5957733311/

as you can see it came out pretty clean, this was it before i cleaned it lol

any other suggestions, i checked the batteries are charging and they are at 14v, i noticed when i opened the fuel cap there was a little suction is this normal, it was quite light.

No mate the suction isn't normal theres a small one valve around the filler pipe i think, if this is blocked or not working properly it'll crate a vacuum in the tank restricting fuel flow by not allowing air in as the fuel is used, no doubt one of the others could explain it better...

[Surf_MoFo]

No mate the suction isn't normal theres a small one valve around the filler pipe i think, if this is blocked or not working properly it'll crate a vacuum in the tank restricting fuel flow by not allowing air in as the fuel is used, no doubt one of the others could explain it better...

ok thanks matey, ill have a wee search for info on this and hopefully someone can give us a bit more info on its location.

[yorta2]

Do you know if your primer pump button has been sucked down when your car has stopped? This is usually a good indicator that your fuel tank pick-up strainer is blocked. My guess is that it is, and you'll have to bite the bullet and drop the tank. Get the car up in the air - a hoist is best, but it can be done on the ground, but raised. It takes quite a while to get the tank out, but it goes back in fairly quickly. Clean everything.

Even though you have been able to blow air back into the tank from the front main filter, it only requires a small opening in the strainer to let that air into the tank. That opening will immediately block off when the fuel pump sucks fuel up through a filthy strainer, thus giving you only a few hundred metres prior to the engine stopping again. The blockage, combined with the fuel pump suction, will suck down the primer button and hold it there until eventually air seeping into the tank from the vent will release it. Good luck!

[Surf_MoFo]

Do you know if your primer pump button has been sucked down when your car has stopped? This is usually a good indicator that your fuel tank pick-up strainer is blocked. My guess is that it is, and you'll have to bite the bullet and drop the tank. Get the car up in the air - a hoist is best, but it can be done on the ground, but raised. It takes quite a while to get the tank out, but it goes back in fairly quickly. Clean everything.

Even though you have been able to blow air back into the tank from the front main filter, it only requires a small opening in the strainer to let that air into the tank. That opening will immediately block off when the fuel pump sucks fuel up through a filthy strainer, thus giving you only a few hundred metres prior to the engine stopping again. The blockage, combined with the fuel pump suction, will suck down the primer button and hold it there until eventually air seeping into the tank from the vent will release it. Good luck!

hi matey, the primer pump seems to operate just fine, it goes hard after serveral pumps and it does not stay down it returns back no problem.

i see what your saying re the strainer, i might try a tub with some diesel in it and connect it directly to the pump, as you say it may be one or the other or both the strainer or the breather.

[Surf_MoFo]

i have narrowed it down to it must be the gauze filter in the fuel tank.

todays antics were ---

got prepared to test the surf using fuel from a container, my worry was using around 2L would not last long due to it returning to the main tank, anyhow i got a small 2L containrer with a lid, put a bit of fuel line into it thru the lid and attached an inline filter and connected this directly to the pump. Took a 5L jerry can with me for top ups, i filled the container, it started no problem and i drove about 1.5m then it conked out and i was happy to find out it was due to the contaier running out of fuel, topped it up and done another mile this time a bit faster, it conked out again so i topped it up to get me a few hundred yards home. This has proved it it went maybe 3-4 miles fine using the fuel from the container. So at this point i thought it must be either the breather or the filter.

i connected the main fuel pipe again, unscrewed the fuel cap, filled up the jerry can again and drove 3m slowly without any probs, so this proved its ok going slow, i drove it hard, it then conked out, i blew down the fuel line and refitted it pumped the primer and it started again and drove ok, i drove hard again, it conked out again, this time i removed the fuel line going from the filter head and pumped the primer there was no fuel coming out, i blew down it again and pumped the primer and the fuel came flowing, connected the fuel pipe and drove home slowly. SO as the filler cap was loose it proves it is defo the gauze filter in the tank.

so now i can either remove the tank or i have seen someone cutting an opening in the floor under the seat to access the fuel connections and lid on top of the tank.

why is life never easy

look at the bottom of this page it shows 'biosurf' has cut the hole under the seat to access the tank. looks like a good idea to save a lot of time.

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/showthrea...=vacuum&page=8

[yorta2]

You may be surprised how much crud is in your tank, an it won't all come out when you drain it. Cleaning the gauze strainer will be good, but if the tank holds more crud, it'll happen again. After draining and removing my tank, I found there was still a bit of fuel in the tank, so I added even more, added some other solvents, shook it all about, and drained all that into a dirty oikl drum - lost of noise of 'bits & pieces crashing down the funnel of the old oil drum, but I reckon my tank was a hell of a lot cleaner then than it was after just draining it.

[Surf_MoFo]

You may be surprised how much crud is in your tank, an it won't all come out when you drain it. Cleaning the gauze strainer will be good, but if the tank holds more crud, it'll happen again. After draining and removing my tank, I found there was still a bit of fuel in the tank, so I added even more, added some other solvents, shook it all about, and drained all that into a dirty oikl drum - lost of noise of 'bits & pieces crashing down the funnel of the old oil drum, but I reckon my tank was a hell of a lot cleaner then than it was after just draining it.

yeah cheers ill try and get as much crud out as i can, i read a post where 'jaky cakes' done this and he just removed the gauze filter cause it kept blocking and to be honest you dont really need to cause the main fuel filter will catch everything anyway.

I had to clean this filter a number of times before finally binning it and fitting a glass bowl strainer in the engine bay.