2.5 TD 1996 Bongo Failing to Start after Parked for 8 Weeks

[Bob]

It does sound possible, thanks for letting us know.

[scanner]

Ok.... Update on this one.

Went and bought a 10litre diesel can from halfrauds and filled, put into the Bongo and it started after about 30 seconds and now runs normally.

I estimate that there was between 9 and 11 litres already in the tank. The fuel guage is working correctly, did this around 3 years ago. Knowing the capacity of the tank and filling to the brim on long trips abroad, I've had the needle at around this point several times, so I think between 9 and 11 litres is a good estimate.

So the conculsion is that when parked for an extended period on a steepish hill (facing down in my case) with this amount of fuel in the tank, could cause problems when trying to start.

Not sure of the exact dynamics as to what has happened, but presumably the pipe that draws fuel from the tank is just out of contact with the fuel when the van is parked at this angle. The van will start happily after a couple of days using the fuel already in the pipeline/fuel filter but this is not the case when parked for an extended period.. Does that sound like a reasonable explanation ??

Yes.

[teenmal]

In this case its a strong possibility that the non return valve in the suction line is not holding as it should.