ZD30 Wont start

[Ben_payne92]

Hey legends, im completely stuck here, so long story short the nav has had a rebuild about a month ago, after that it has been a constant struggle to start, ive changed the fuel filter/ and the housing. ive changed the starter motor and crank angle sensor, ive cracked the injector lines and turned it over so the lines are getting fuel to them, when it does start its got a fair bit of white smoke but it seems to run ok. whats next to check? could the injectors be bad? could the pump be bad? or would it not run at all if the pump was bad, side note when we do get it started its usually when i have a mate priming the pump whilst im turning it over

 

[Ben_payne92]

also pretty much all my fuel lines are clear hose atm there are a few small bubbles but one thing im noticing is that the injector fuel return hose is slowly losing diesel, is that normal i assume its meant to stay full?

 

[[email protected]]

punch in your problem in google it will refer you back to this forum for ideas (d22 has fuel delivery problems)

 

[tweak'e]

Hey legends, im completely stuck here, so long story short the nav has had a rebuild about a month ago, after that it has been a constant struggle to start, ive changed the fuel filter/ and the housing. ive changed the starter motor and crank angle sensor, ive cracked the injector lines and turned it over so the lines are getting fuel to them, when it does start its got a fair bit of white smoke but it seems to run ok. whats next to check? could the injectors be bad? could the pump be bad? or would it not run at all if the pump was bad, side note when we do get it started its usually when i have a mate priming the pump whilst im turning it over

when you did the rebuild did you vacuum test the injector spill line?
if you don't get the injector fittings just right it can suck a lot of air in and you won't see it.

 

[Ben_payne92]

when you did the rebuild did you vacuum test the injector spill line?
if you don't get the injector fittings just right it can suck a lot of air in and you won't see it.

Na i didnt mate i had a bit of time of work and wanted to tackle it myself so i could learn everything, its just this last hurdle i gotta get over now

 

[[email protected]]

glow plugs ??? bad earth...if you have some one having to prime it suggest sucking air could be at the pump inlet good luck

 

[Rumpig]

Pump timing,

 

[tweak'e]

Na i didnt mate i had a bit of time of work and wanted to tackle it myself so i could learn everything, its just this last hurdle i gotta get over now

either vac test it, or disconnect it and block off the fuel line side of it. make sure its not sucking air through the spill line.
its a known weak point that can let diesel leak into the engine oil.

 

[tweak'e]

Pump timing,

possible, would mean timing chain is not installed correctly.

 

[Bcato]

Timing chain incorrectly installed

 

[Ben_payne92]

hey guys, found out i had a leaky injector so to be on the same side i changed them all. hoping this would solve my issue but still a very hard start, ive got the timing cover off now triple checking the timing but ears to be ok, there seems to be quite a bit of white smoke while cranking and when starting but cleasrs kinda the more it heats up any other ideas

 

[Old.Tony]

White smoke is generally a sign of overfuelling. Have a sniff of the exhaust before it fires (so, crank it and stop before it fires) - it should smell like diesel.

This could mean that you may have a control problem with the injectors (since they're new, you'd hardly expect them to be sticky already). This could either be caused by an incorrect registration of the injectors with the ECU, or a sensor issue - example, in my car the fuel rail pressure sensor needs to be reading correctly, or the ECU will be metering incorrectly and that's how some "performance chips" fool the car into providing more power. I think your car has a MAPS instead, but the idea is the same - a poor connection will cause issues. Poor connections are often caused by pressure spraying the engine bay.

It may be something else, and I'm hoping we'll have a couple other guys come in to help some more.

 

[[email protected]]

check glow plugs are they all working , your primer pump should hold pressure ,if you are still having to prime pump then there is still air leak..
my luck with engines is that i always seem to have more than one problem

 

[tweak'e]

White smoke is generally a sign of overfuelling. Have a sniff of the exhaust before it fires (so, crank it and stop before it fires) - it should smell like diesel.

This could mean that you may have a control problem with the injectors (since they're new, you'd hardly expect them to be sticky already). This could either be caused by an incorrect registration of the injectors with the ECU, or a sensor issue - example, in my car the fuel rail pressure sensor needs to be reading correctly, or the ECU will be metering incorrectly and that's how some "performance chips" fool the car into providing more power. I think your car has a MAPS instead, but the idea is the same - a poor connection will cause issues. Poor connections are often caused by pressure spraying the engine bay.

It may be something else, and I'm hoping we'll have a couple other guys come in to help some more.

its not over fueling, its simply not burning. hence the diesel smell in the exhaust.
over fueling comes out black as its burning badly.

no injectors codes with those engines.

is the engine getting air? check it its sucking air when cranking. if none or weak it could be valve issues or blocked intake.
sounds like its getting fuel.
worth checking glows.
check compression. if valves are buggered or valve timing is way out it will show up as no compression. no compression no ignition.
if thats all ok then injection pump. it its miss timed or its timing solenoid is not working, or has fuel restriction which causes injection timing to go out.

 

[Ben_payne92]

its not over fueling, its simply not burning. hence the diesel smell in the exhaust.
over fueling comes out black as its burning badly.

no injectors codes with those engines.

is the engine getting air? check it its sucking air when cranking. if none or weak it could be valve issues or blocked intake.
sounds like its getting fuel.
worth checking glows.
check compression. if valves are buggered or valve timing is way out it will show up as no compression. no compression no ignition.
if thats all ok then injection pump. it its miss timed or its timing solenoid is not working, or has fuel restriction which causes injection timing to go out.

thanks so much mate you're a huge help, im still newish to working on engines but im determined to see this through and get it going again, has brand new glow plugs also, compression will be the next thing i check, i just assumed it wouldnt be that with the machined head,once started it seems to run alright and have power, the other day when i changed my injectors i turned them, upside down and turned the engine over to make sure they were getting fuel and all 4 had good spray patter, would that rule out the injector pump?

i was out there today and noticed if i use a bit of starter fluid it definatly sounds like it wants to start easier

 

[Erick]

This probably won’t help at all, but my zd 30 is hard to start as well, but always the same. Lights up on one cylinder and then catches on after a couple seconds. Engine, glow plugs etc all good and runs perfect. The thing is that it starts the best with foot off the pedal-go figure.

 

[tweak'e]

once started it seems to run alright and have power,

if its simply a starting issue and not a running issue, then highly likely its simply a glow plug problem. check you have voltage at the glows.

 

[tweak'e]

Lights up on one cylinder and then catches on after a couple seconds. Engine, glow plugs etc all good and runs perfect.

that sounds like air bubble formed in the pump. something like a poor fuel line connection. air in the fuel screws up injection timing (until its pumped through) which makes it hard to start..
or more commonly faulty glows and its not being checked correctly. seen that done a few times.

 

[Erick]

Yeah probably air getting in somewhere. As it does it when engine is hot as well. Done all the easy stuff like making sure it’s not the primary fuel filter, etc. Sort of fixed it by putting an electric fuel pump in the pick up line from tank. From reading this forum there are so many possibilities I don’t want to start messing with it.

 

[peter robbo]

think i put this on a different post, but my zd30 has been having starting issues intermittently. cranks fine but wont fire,...no diesel smell as in unburnt fuel. i can go to the hand primer and pump it up 8-10 times before it gets firm, tries to start,so have to repeat until i get the primer rock hard, then she starts. i replaced the filter as a precaution/first elimination and remaining fuel was quite clean. it would seem that fuel is draining back to the tank as if i have an air leak in the system somewhere. I suppose the hand primer may be at fault as in leaky o-ring/seal.???? once started she doesnt miss a beat. Does any of this sound like your issues Ben? has anyone had similar problem? cheers