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Loss of power...

Transit Mk3, 4 & 5(smiley front) Forum. All Transits 1986 - 2000

Loss of power...

Postby Ron » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:22 pm

I've had my T reg 1999 Transit 100 for roughly three weeks now with trouble free driving, until today...

Driving to work this morning, and after traveling for about 10 or so miles I pulled up at a junction and the engine sounded like a tractor and when I pulled away, it kinda chugged away slowly as if it was 'firing on three'.

I chugged the mile or so to work slowly, without power, and parked up, lifted the bonnet, and had a look. Not really knowing what to look for, I thought I'd check air first (as it seemed easier than fuel) and inspected the air filter. All appeared fine. I then took the other end off where the air inlet hose joins the throttle housing. I noticed that there was no butterfly valve. This must have been removed/fallen off recently as although the rest of the throttle housing was filthy, the butterfly fixing holes were still clean and shiny metal.

Could this be the cause the problems? Could the butterfly have gone up further along the throttle housing? I've read about people wedging open their butterfly valve, but is there anything else that has to be done in conjuction with this? If this helps, the van started fine coming home, drove fine for about 10 miles, and then did exactly ther same for the last mile coming home! Maybe the problem is heat related? I dunno.

Any help with this would be great as I'm worried it's going to happen daily and I'm going to start loosing money. (self employed.)

Cheers.
Ron
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Postby 100ps_drw_hicube » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:50 pm

what engine turbo or n/a if its a turbo i should think its got something to do with the nasty epic system :twisted:
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Postby Ron » Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:13 pm

Sorry, should have said. It's a banana Di as posted here.

Cheers.
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Postby rover » Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:47 pm

Withe symptoms like that there are a nuber of possibilities, the first thing I would do is get the ECU read for fault codes..

Things to check yourself.. First thing is oil and water, make sure they are both topped up and not mixed together. Water in the fuel filter,let the van stand for a while , unplug the connector on the bottom and then unscrew the drain cap(make sure you have a container underneath cos you will get diesel everywhere), if water is present it will be quite obvious.

You say the 'butterfly' is missing, I assume you mean the one on the EGR valve?, that shouldnt cause your problem but make sure the mechanism is free.

When the van starts to play the fool take the diesel filler cap off, a rare possibility is a blocked breather pipe, which would cause a vacum in the tank and not let fuel flow properly......I havent seen that happen for quite a few years but I thought I'd throw it in anyway..


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Postby MrMPuk » Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:10 pm

rover wrote:Withe symptoms like that there are a nuber of possibilities, the first thing I would do is get the ECU read for fault codes..

Things to check yourself.. First thing is oil and water, make sure they are both topped up and not mixed together. Water in the fuel filter,let the van stand for a while , unplug the connector on the bottom and then unscrew the drain cap(make sure you have a container underneath cos you will get diesel everywhere), if water is present it will be quite obvious.

You say the 'butterfly' is missing, I assume you mean the one on the EGR valve?, that shouldnt cause your problem but make sure the mechanism is free.

When the van starts to play the fool take the diesel filler cap off, a rare possibility is a blocked breather pipe, which would cause a vacum in the tank and not let fuel flow properly......I havent seen that happen for quite a few years but I thought I'd throw it in anyway..


Rover.


It wont be the first one as it's not a turbo, have had the last one happen to me with a brand new van in 2000 went back to fords 4 times before I fixed it myself, does sound similar but like rover says unlikely.
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Postby Ron » Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:39 pm

Thanks for all help so far,

I'll carry out all suggestions tomorrow and let you know how I get on. Also, what's the best way to get the ECU read? Is this something I could buy and do myself?

Cheers.

:)
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Postby Nighthawk » Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:44 pm

It probably was running on 3 cylinders.

Crack off the injector pipes one by one while the engine is running for a few seconds, if the engine picks up and runs ok your suffering from air ingress.

1st place to look for trouble is the position of the leak off pipe.

if the leak off pipe isn't from No1 back to the tank that'll be your first thing to put right. The original leak off pipe went from No4 injector back to the return pipe, but this is a low point which will allow air ingress. The re routing cures it.
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Postby Ron » Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:50 pm

Thanks Nighthawk.

I'm not 100% sure what to look for when you mention the leak off pipe, but I'll get the trusty Haynes manual out and see if I can fathom it!

Again, thanks to everybody.

Such a friendly forum and a great source of information...

;)
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Postby Nighthawk » Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:14 am

look for the Injectors, connecting each of the injectors is a braided hose.

On the last injector in the chain there is a rubber blank, at the other end of the chain the injector will have a longer piece of the braided hose which runs back to the fuel return pipe.

If the pipework to the return goes from NO4 injector to the return pipe, it needs swapping round.
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Postby gazza » Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:58 am

mine used t do this, do as nighthawk has said and you will never have it happen again
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Postby Ron » Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:31 am

Thanks Highthawk :).

Are they numbered 1 to 4 from back to front or vice versa?

Thanks.

Update:

Well van is now doing the 'firing on three' thing all the time, and I didn't even have enough power to reverse off my drive this morning (slight slope). I tried taking the fuel cap off to see if it was a breather hose problem, but no dice! I'll be carrying out all other suggested remedies as soon as it is light enough to see, and will post back with my findings.

**Edit

OK, just found this post here. Going by this post, as I look at the engine bay from the front, No1 injector is nearest me.

One thing I am unsure of after reading that thread though. The leak off pipe problem is caused by No 4 injector being a little lower than No1 because of the angle of the engine. What happens if the van is parked on a slope overnight (as mine is)? This puts number 4 injector higher than number 1.

I know I'm probably way out with this, but I'm just trying to search the forum/google for information whilst waiting for it to get lighter so I can actually go and tinker with the engine!

Cheers again.
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Postby rover » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:46 am

All the 99s I've seen recently already have the leak off pipes swapped round...... does that mean the dealers do it as part of the service at some stage? Or did certain ones come from the factory like that?


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Postby Ron » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:46 am

Update:

I cracked open the injector pipes one by one (apart form number 4 whch I struggled to get to) and the engine picked up and runs fine. Hopefully Nighthawk was spot on with the leak off pipe modification as mine hasn't been changed.

Is there anybody who has carried out this modification that can explain in layman tearms what to do? Can the pipe be extended with a joiner of sorts? Does the blank just pull off and push in?

Thanks very much again for all help with this...
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Postby gazza » Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:35 pm

No 1 is slightly higher than No 4, No 1 cylinder is cylinder at front of engine eg behind fan. go to your local motor factor and buy some leak off rail hose, you shouldnt paymore than 2 quid a meter, there are several post on here about loss of power i will dig out my original posts if it helps.

good luck
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Postby gazza » Thu Feb 02, 2006 12:41 pm

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