Engine lost power then won't start any ideas. ?

[P4t]

Hi, I've been on here over the years but list my login details so reregistered..
Hoping for some help, my engine stopped like it quickly ran out of fuel, it's a 1996 bosch pump.
It wouldn't fire regardless of what I tried,
It's not out of fuel
The lift pump pumps plenty
The pipes are all free of any blockage all the way from tank to IP & back
No visible leaks at pump
Solenoid is working
Filter is new & filter head ball & spring works fine
Fuel comes out when injectors cracked off but maybe not enough pressure so I thought the pump was worn out & stripped it down but no obvious wear anywhere, the vanes on the vane pump are free & everthing in there looks nice, it's a really got me stumped.

[Altransit]

Stripped teeth on the timing belt

[P4t]

Hi, sorry I should have added that during pump removal there was no leakage at shaft & nothing wrong with belt which went on last year, timing is good.
I've got a set of pump seals on order but no seal on the pump appeared to have failed.
I've had probably 10 Di transits (plus some later type) over the last 30yrs & never had this happen on a Di.

[Altransit]

Have you removed the belt

[P4t]

The belt comes off during the process of removing the Injection pump, the belt is perfect.

[cherniy_chack]

Very rarely happens that the plunger breaks down.
I spent ten years at the Russian-language forum of FT, there is described one such case.
There may be a broken camshaft.
There may be a crash, but it is always accompanied by a strong knock.
Remove the timing belt cover, remove the timing cover.
Unscrew the nuts on the injectors and rotate the crankshaft with the starter.
Pulleys of injection pump and camshaft must rotate.
All valves must open and close.
From under all nuts should sprinkle fuel with a powerful jet.
And the first thing to do is to check that the fuel from the tank is fed by a booster pump, passes through the filter and enters the injection pump.
I correctly understood that the fuel reaches the injection pump, the shutoff valve is working,
the injection pump was removed from the car and partially disassembled?

[P4t]

These bosch VE pumps will happily pull fuel without a 'booster' (lift) pump actually but in this vehicle everthing is standard with a working lift pump ETC.... yes I have the pump off now, fully disassembled.
The engine didn't fail with any sudden mechanical event, it just lost power like it was running out of fuel but quite quickly over a few hundred metres.

[vanfox]

My two pen'orth. My first Di, R reg, died gently as I came to a halt. Called the AA, couldn't do out so towed me home. Fun loaded with no power steering, ha. I knew nowt about diesels so dragged it to a specialist. After threatening me with a new Bosch pump, they relented and bypassed the PAT thing on the pump and away I went. Further investigation showed the wiring loom to the engine, running past the starter, had failed and was making intermitent contact. Year or so later I had a compression test done. All injectors removed and pipes bent out of the way. I disconnected the cut off solenoid to stop squirting diesel all over the place, turned the key to run the test and a steady dribble of diesel came out of the pipes. Not the full blast like bleeding, just a steady dribble. The tester said it will still pass fuel even with the power to the stop solenoid removed. So... have you tried starting with the solenoid plunger removed? Maybe blocked or sticking, even if you can hear it click. Worth a try.

[P4t]

Hi, I remove the PATS on my Di's as I hate it, so won't be anything like that, mine is just a constant ignition fed live to a single terminal solenoid, it clicks fine but I will try it plunger removed when all back together just incase.

[KING OF ENGLAND]

Do I take it that it won’t even start using a little brake cleaner
As that would prove engine was all ok

[cherniy_chack]

The motor does not start in two cases:
1-there is nothing to burn;
2-there is nothing to set fire to.
The topic-starter P4t claims that the engine mechanics are in order.
Let's take this. Number two is eliminated.
So there is no fuel.
The nature of the manifestation of failure indicates that there was a shortage of fuel, this led to a decrease in engine power and then to its stop.
It is necessary to remove the tube from the discharge pipe of the boost pump and to switch on the starter for a few seconds.
From it there must be a jet of fuel to the hood.
If there is no fuel, then you need to check the pump itself and the fuel intake in the tank and the cleanliness of the fuel pipe from the tank to the boost pump.
If the tube and the fuel intake are clean, they can be purged with air from the mouth.
If the tube is not blown by the mouth, then you need to remove the tank, clean the fuel intake and clean the tank of dirt.
If the fuel lines from the tank to the fuel filter are clean, then you need to replace the fuel filter.
After replacing the filter, you need to check the fuel before the injection pump.
Failure of injection pump or timing mechanism leads to instantaneous engine shutdown.

[P4t]

Yes as I said earlier fuel supply is good from tank to injection pump & from filter back to tank, all checked first by pumping fuel & by blowing down all pipes.
Everything I could think of before deciding it must be a problem in the IP & removing it for inspection but i can't find anything wrong with it.

[cherniy_chack]

If the fuel circulates freely throughout the fuel system and the engine does not start, you need to check the amount and pressure of the fuel at the injectors.
It is necessary to unscrew the nuts on all nozzles to observe the fuel output when the engine is scrolling with the starter.
There should be a lot of fuel, there should not be foam.
I know of cases when the car stopped on the run without any visible malfunctions due to jamming of the injectors.
After replacing the injectors with other motor stops, they stopped.

[P4t]

Hi again, yes when this first happened i cranked it with injector nuts lose & I did suspect not enough pressure but I couldn't see that the engine would run fine then all four injectors fail at exact same time.

[cherniy_chack]

If the fuel pump gets air, then all the injectors do not work.