Starting Issues - How can I win Silvia back?

[DRob]

Hi All,

I think Silvia (my bongo, 2.5 TD Auto) heard me talking about going to Cornwall in Freda (My friends Freda).

Now she won't start

I have owned her since February last year and once I had the glow plugs changed she never had any starting problems. I used her yesterday for a drive of about 10 miles and although she didn't start first time she did fire up more or less instantly on the second try.

Today however, she is having absolutely none of it! I have cracked off one of the injectors and fuel was seeping from it on turning the engine over. The exhaust seems to be smoking a bit whilst turning the engine over, but it's just not kicking into life. The battery is strong and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of giving up.

I'm at a bit of a loss, any help appreciated!

Dom

[Driver+Passengers]

I'm not an expert, but a couple of comments regardless... I think I remember reading that poor quality glow plugs have been known to fail in relatively short time... check the bar isn't shorting to ground, test the glow plugs themselves, etc...? What colour is the smoke?

[hijimhere]

I got deep into a non start on my drive -Gobsmacked as it turned out to be no/low fuel.

[DRob]

Cheers for the reply.

Still mulling this over and glow plugs are a potential problem, although as it has been a warm day I would have thought it would start ok even if they are duff. I need to get a multi meter, my previous one got melted through misuse

Other potential issues I've identified through searches include:

The fuel cut off solenoid, although it is making an audible click when the ignition is turned on.

Fuel filter blockage, although I would have thought this would have shown up when I cracked the injector. I'll try and find the right sized tools to crack off the other injector pipes to check fuel is coming through all of them. This will also rule out leaks within the fuel system if there is fuel in the injectors.

Worse case scenario it's a lack of compression. I do hope it's not that one! Anyone got any idea how much a head gasket change is just in case?!

Thanks,

Dom

[DRob]

Jim,

Was that no fuel due to a leak in the system or due to empty tank? I filled my tank ~400km ago so am pretty happy I have at least 1/4 tank left.