1995 2.5D engine won't start after head gasket renewal

[metalworker0]

as dumper says .. pump has also to be timed , that's what i forgot yesterday

all the best.mark

[hetman]

It can’t be 180 out the pin for the flywheel pins it at top dead centre on cylinder 1 if the correct hole is used it’s the camshaft that dictates what stroke the engine I on and it has only one hole to pin it on the di is one of the most simple to time up if the pump has been set up correctly inside the pump by ( there are settings inside the pump that can be wrong this was told to me by a professional technician who overhauls them )the reconditioner then the only thing to get wrong is not slacking the bolts on the pump when setting the tension up

Thank you for confirming that the engine can never be 180 off. Some have mentioned that the timing might not be correct and I imagined 180 degrees off because that is possible with a gasoline/petrol engine if the distributor is installed backwards. Everything else will appear correct but of course the engine won't start. This happened to me once over 30 years ago on a V8 I owned. So.... it is impossible for me to have incorrectly set up the timing on this engine, in that case. As you correctly state, the engine is very simple. I, however, might lack some knowledge and experience with Diesel engines, true.

The man who rebuilt this injection pump is certainly an experienced tradesman with decades under his belt. In fact he is the one who rebuilt the injection pump on my 1.4 diesel VW engine in the ancient Polo I drive daily, and that was 7 year ago. So I have no reason to believe he messed up this pump.

Yesterday I was unable to carry out all the procedures I wanted to, for lack of my neighbor. But I did open up all 4 injector pipes and cranked the engine and there is a lot of fuel issuing from each port. I tightened them back up and tried to start it on the concentrated spray I bought, to no avail.

So I will try your method of priming the engine to start it when I get my neighbor to help me. Then try towing it, eventually. I know the engine has fuel at every point. I don't know if the rings are stuck, however.

[hetman]

1. Regarding the timing: thank you for confirming that the timing can be off 180 degrees.

11 degrees before top dead centre with number 1 piston on its firing stroke is the way of checking. number one it says is at the front

With regards to the engine starter spray .. if you get the technique right .. that's all that may be needed for it to start .. self prime .. and run properly.

2 years standing.

depends where stored .. if damp .. then rings can be stuck .. they recon ATF and Acetone in the cylinders ,
Position engine so pistons are all mid way down the bores - this is a quarter turn (90 degrees) from the pinning position.
Leave 24 hours ..if any left in cylinders after that . turn over and eject surplus through injector holes or glow plug holes.. as you don't want hydraulic lock up .

all the best.mark

Thank you for the confirmation. I was unsure what you meant by the possibility of having the engine improperly timed. I am still trying to figure out how this might be possible in my case and I am very nearly 10000% sure the engine is timed properly. At each juncture I pegged all three holes in the engine and always checked that. I followed the procedures listed in the LDV and Haynes manuals to loosen up the 4 pulley bolts prior to releasing the spring tensioner, and everything lined up perfectly.

I'm going to work on the spray technique some more. Yesterday I tried it again after bleeding the fuel runner pipes to the injectors, and they all poured fuel out of them. I know I have fuel delivery to all 4 cylinders now.

I do not know if the cylinders are holding compression, however. Like the fuel pump specialist told me, the rings might not be sealing anymore. The van was outside and it did get to -20F or more for extended periods of time during the past two winters, but I don't think any water got into the engine; it was covered well and always dry under the hood anyway. However, that doesn't mean my rings are providing a seal. I will try the trick that the pump specialist told me about: remove the injector and pour oil into the cylinders prior to starting it up, to get me some temporary cylinder pressure. I hope.

[hetman]

I have fantastic news to report, and I thank you all profusely for your significant part in helping me get my van back on the road.

Yesterday afternoon the Transit roared to life...eventually....with great birthing pains. LOL. My old neighbor friend came over and together we tackled this operation. He brought his portable electric starter/charger, so we had no lack of power. My neighbor checked the valves again (3rd time in a few days) just so he could know for himself that they are properly adjusted. Then we put a bit of diesel fuel down cylinder #1 after opening all of the metal fuel lines to the injectors and cranking the engine over, and plenty of fuel issued forth from all of them. However, we were not able to start the engine using this bleeding technique. It simply would not start this way. Since half of the intake manifold was removed, we sprayed concentrated starter spray into the various intake runners, and regardless of how many times we tried this, it failed to start the engine. No combination of cranking, spraying and bleeding worked. My neighbor is closing in on 80 years old, and in poor health....might not have many more days left on this earth..... and a machinist and mechanic by trade and vocation, and I've never seen him fail. Together we have always been able to solve any issue. This baffled him, however, and he said he had never seen anything like it in his life. His diagnosis was that there was insufficient fuel pressure to activate the fuel injectors, though there was fuel delivery to all of them. He then began to experiment, to try anything to make this engine work. By accident, he said, he discovered that placing his hand on an intake runner, thus blocking the air flow to each particular cylinder, another cylinder started up, and soon enough the whole engine roared to life. So the remedy for this engine was not bleeding until it started, but rather starving the cylinders of air. I don't have an explanation for it but now my Transit starts on half a key turn - faster than instantly - and runs beautifully. I am elated.

[dumper]

Glad to hear you’re sorted

[Altransit]

Glad to hear you’re sorted

Ditto, well done

[hetman]

Glad to hear you’re sorted

Ditto, well done

Thank you both, as well as others who have assisted. I hope my experiences can help others in the future.

I still have a problem: today I put everything back together and ran the engine for about 10 minutes or so, and noticed that there is a major fuel leak from the low-pressure leak-off hoses on top of the injectors. I admit to making a mistake unknowingly earlier when I bought the new injectors, which were complete with their seals and black plastic caps on top, to which connect the short black leak-off hoses. I thought that these black caps were supposed to be removed together with the hoses, all at once (all 4 of them), and so I removed the black plastic caps from the new injectors and replaced the earlier hoses and caps together and clamped them in with the wire clamps.

My questions are has anyone else ever done this, and how can it be fixed? Is there a special procedure to attach the caps properly to the injectors? In situ? Or will it be necessary to remove the injectors (thus opening up the fuel system again....arghhhh)?

It appears that I'm not done yet.

[dumper]

Check for missing O rings the guy who did your pump should have some if you have lost any also make sure the leak off pipe has not gone hard

[hetman]

I was able to fit the caps properly onto the fuel injectors, and now the van is running fine without leaks. The spring clips were installed incorrectly.

So I believe we can call this a success. I am quite relieved after 2 years off the road. Thank you all!

[Altransit]

Good result Mike