Engine running poorly [SOLVED]

[sanchod22]

Hey guys , I'm sure it's happened to people on here before but after spending a couple hrs digging up old post thought I'll do one myself if someone could help please .

Car has been having hiccups so I got a bloke out and done a injector clean and he convinced me to do a turbo manifold and so on clean aswell, is consist of a special type of gear they have and it sprays into you air box the it's eliminates all the gunk and build of in your engine well I was told the hiccups wouldn't last long after that well now it seems to have gotten worse I even done a trip to Newcastle on the freeway to clear the motor up but still doing it and getting worse I got them to plug a computer in and they said it was the exhaust sensor triggering the engine light to come up well it's been two weeks now and light still comes loss of power and savage hiccups at times low and high gears worse the more I drive but these guys have told me to continue driving the car it should go away, the reason I don't that service was i had bad fuel changed the filter and got them to clean the injectors thinking they could of been block it went away for a day after it and now it's bad

Any help or a mechanic that has delt with these issues before would be great I'm from western Sydney

 

[Old.Tony]

If the engine light is coming on, there's a code stored in your ECU - that code may help.

A momentary dramatic loss of power (that's how I'm reading "hiccup") is most often caused by the following things:

1) fuel supply problem - usually the SCV (cleanable or replaceable), rarely the injectors or fuel rail, sometimes air in the fuel line (which is often caused by replacing the fuel filter and not seating the inner o-ring properly, even mechanics get it wrong).

2) turbocharger vane control fault. A sudden fault is more likely a faulty vacuum solenoid (or its electrical connection) than the actuator itself, or the vacuum lines/pump.

To check if it's an air leak in the fuel line: there are two methods. First, you'd notice that it was hard to start (takes a fair bit of cranking). Method 1: wait until morning, pop the bonnet and pump the primer bulb. If it takes more than 5 pumps before it's firm, you have air in the line. Method 2: clamp the input line to the fuel filter, remove the output line from the fuel filter, attach a piece of clear hose to the filter output and connect this to the disconnected hose (which should be heading to the fuel pump). Start the car and watch the hose - if you see continuous air bubbles in the fuel stream, you have a leak (the fuel hose system is in vacuum so you should never see diesel leaking OUT of the hoses).

Finding the ECU code is rather easy, takes all of a minute tops with the right gear. A bluetooth OBD (ELM327) adapter and a smartphone app will have the code very quickly and is the cheapest way to do it. Alternatively, any decent mechanic's workshop should have an OBD tool to query the ECU.

 

[sanchod22]

Thanks tony for such a quick reply
the car starts first go every time never had a issue with it first problem I've had with it after all these years mate they checked the code which was to do with a exhaust sensor cause of the smoke it's making it go off but I'm abit suspect on them not knowing they said if it was the pump I would have a hard time starting the car up cause of no pressure well I seen an other post which I believe you were talking about the SCV I'll have to have an other look at how to do it , I want to go away on Australia Day and hope to have this issue fixed by then I appreciate your help

 

[sanchod22]

Tony one more thing mate would you happen to have a part number for that valve and is it the same for alll models mines a 3.0liter 2006 Str

 

[jonney]

can,t help with part number but i am sure the scv will be the same for all 3 litre str navara engines.

 

[Old.Tony]

Wait, wait, wait ... old guy syndrome here.

Ok, if it's a 3.0 diesel it probably has the VP44 Bosch fuel pump and THAT is a POS (which doesn't stand for "Point Of Sale" in this instance). It's such a common failure point that Google has "ebay bosch vp44" as a common search term. We've discussed this numerous times on this forum, example here, here and here.

It's sometimes not the whole pump - it's the electronics on it. Probably still best to replace the pump or see if you can get yours reco'd.

 

[sanchod22]

Thank fellas , I was having a quick read and my car does start and drives well until hit higher revs not all the time tho I've spoken to the mechanic and his going to have a look at it on Monday I mentioned the SCV and his agreed it most probably is that his going to test it now , hoping it's just that and nothing major thanks again and I'll update you guys when he has a look at it

 

[Ben_W]

The direct injection 3 litre ZD30 doesn't have a Suction Control Valve (SCV). If the engine light is on you need to find out what the actual fault code is. I would also check the fuel filter again for dirt/water, especially if you had a bad batch of fuel. Water, dirt in filter or air being sucked into fuel lines can cause a 0077 fault code. This is the same code as you often get with a buggered injector pump which is often related to the timing control valve in the VP44, so eliminate the simple/ cheap things before you fork out for a new I.P.
I would also check the air filter and could be worth unplugging the Neutral Position Switch just to eliminate that which is also a common problem. A faulty NPS can give symptoms which feel like a surging or missing. There are lots of threads on the NPS on the forum.

 

[tony d22]

Get the code from the ECU before you touch anything.
There are threads on here to give you a step by step to get them without any tools.

 

[tweak'e]

do the easy stuff first.

first is unplug the neural position switch on the gearbox.
then change fuel filter and check all fuel lines.
fit clear fuel line on pump outlet and check for air bubbles. if any fit clear line on inlet side working back and track where the bubbles come from. not uncommon to have air sucked in at the filter or primer, build up into a big bubble which then gets sucked through causing a momentary loss of fuel.

 

[sanchod22]

Appreciate all the help guys I ended up checking the basics today started with the neutral switch car was still acting up so I had a look around the engine bay all lines looked fine then i just done a trip to super cheap got a new filter both air and fuel I got the k&n filter got home changed both filters and the amount of water and rubbish I found in the fuel filters was into impressive only two weeks old I guess it done it's job and I do not recommend fueling up at speedways I was in rush one morning and only station on my way to work, worst thing I could of done , car is running good now after those tune ups the mechanic done it's got so much power now I recommend the manifoldand injector clean to anybody cost about 250 and runs so much better now thanks again for the help

 

[Old.Tony]

Excellent news. That means three things: no need for a fuel pump = mega $ saved, never touch Speedway fuel, and mark this thread as 'solved'. I'll also change the title to make it a little more accurate to the topic.

 

[sanchod22]

thanks for all the help tony i really appreciate it mate

 

[Old.Tony]

I can't take any credit for it, I didn't even think of poor fuel quality. And I live in Australia, I should be used to it! What's worse: because it's on the way home, I've started using Puma at Tea Gardens - my mileage has fallen considerably, I'm down from a typical mixed cycle of 12.4LPHK to just over 13LPHK now. Will have to time my refuels for when I'm passing Hexham so I can fill at the BP near the bridge.

 

[Horatius]

Have had to to remove and drain the tank, clean out fuel lines and so on a couple of times in the last few years thanks to fuelling up at "cheapie" servos. Never again. First time the fuel was full of dirt which, after I emptied it, left a coating in the tank which was very difficult to remove. Noticed not too long after they were closed with their bowsers fenced off, and machinery digging up the tanks. I put that one down to bad luck.

Last time it was only full of water. Different servos but same cheapie brand. Suppose you can sell it cheap when it is largely h2o lol. Not sure if the fuel they buy is crap to begin with, or they don't follow proper procedure as to maintaining the tanks. Don't care either way, won't buy from such servos again.

 

[jonney]

most of the time the under ground fuel tanks develop a crack thus causing water to get into the tank after rain has soaked in. this is why it does pay to fit one of the Provert water catch units that you fit inline with the fuel line.

 

[Czechmate]

Heard a good piece of advice a while ago from a farmer.
Always try to get your fuel from a service station on top of a hill, they're far less likely to have groundwater sitting around the tanks.
Ive stuck to newer servos that sit higher than the land/buildings around them and never had any fuels problems so far touch wood

 

[Buddy]

Surging problems in my d22

Hi all buddy here, I'm having surging problems only when i drive around manily surges in 3rd or 4th . Its a 2010 navara d22 2.5ltr only since doing a service it has started. I replaced the oil &air filters and cleaned the intercooler with hot water & dishwasheing liquid let dry & also hit it with a hair dryer to help it dry completely . Started to surge so I then did the fuel filter thinking it was that(Nope) Have removed the neutral position switch, doesn't seem to do anything as still surges. Have cleaned the MAF sensor still surges. Fuel primer goes hard by the 5th pump. Blew a tremendous amount of soot out the other day when i put my foot down and left soot all over the lawn . When i took the intercooler off I did notice some build up of gunk in the intake manifold. Also has oil around the out take of the intercooler down pipe leading to intake manifold but no oil around the turbo it self, so hopefully thats not a bad thing either .The check engine light isn't on & have plugged it in to OBD just to double check & nothing stick out at me. At the stage where I'm pulling my hair out with what it could be, can anyone please help me out....

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome to the forum!

It's a typical sign of neutral position switch failure, but you've removed the switch without change? Can we focus on that for a little though just to be sure ... next time it surges, hold the gear lever to the left or the right (don't try to change gears, just push the lever sideways). Any change? If so, it's definitely the NPS.

The oil coming out of the intercooler to the intake manifold isn't a surprise. Positive Crankcase Ventilation emits oil vapour as well as exhaust gases (blow by) and this condenses inside the intercooler. You could help the air paths out by removing the intercooler and flushing it with petrol a couple of times. I've done mine - normal unleaded fuel, cup my hand over one side, pour petrol in the other (maybe 100ml) then swish it back and forward by turning it over and releasing the pressure by letting the upper hand loose. I repeated that 5 times before I could see the red of the petrol as I empties the intercooler. I don't think it'll fix the surging, but it will help the air path and the intercooler's efficiency.

Another possibility is the VP44 fuel pump. These are known to be problematic and Bosch ought to be ashamed of them. There are things to check that I can't remember the specifics of, but I'm sure someone will come past to remind us!

 

[Buddy]

Thnx & hi Tony, have pulled the Nps out & left if off still to this day & still surges . Would it still be the nps if surging while it off???
When i did take nps off it did stop for a day or so the returned again. Also stop for a day or two after i cleaned the MAFsensor .
I did try to hold the gear in while i had the switch hooked up & it did seem to stop , but haven't tried that again since taking & leaving the switch off.
VP44 is that a code ?? Or the fuel pump number??
Also will try the petrol thing through the intercooler thnx handy lil tip to know.