ran out of diesel, best way to prime??

[jason kennedy]

hi
first time on this forum,i'm not a machanic i'm a fireman??? so forgive me if i come across very basic in my discriptions.
van is a 2002 280 transit lwb high roof.
i had just under a 1/4 tank of diesel, no low fuel warnig lights and the van died on me.
put some fuel in it and it wouldn't start.. got a machanis to look at it and he bled the air out of it via filling the fuel filter and cracking an injector head nut??? sure this make sence to some body? anyway was driving for 15-20 mins and the same thing happened with a half tank of fuel. had to repeat the process again.
i later filled up completely and when i left the van resting for a while it was hard to start and didn't run well initially.

Q. shold i be looking for a fault along the fuel system and where do i look?

can anyone help me
thanks
jason

[FredTransit]

Welcome to the site Jason. Cracking off an injector is the usual, but you have to make sure it's properly tightened when the engine has finished bleeding through. Otherwise you will get air int othe system. However I have no idea how it will affect the later engines with fuel management ect.

[gemini]

Hi Jason, i would start by changing the fuel filter, if that doesnt cure it i would say its dirt in the tank blocking the fuel line

[jason kennedy]

thanks for your help
that's great, as far as i know the mechanic did tighten the nut firmly, if there is dirt in the line does it all have to be striped out or can it be blown out or dissolved in some way.
this process for starting up after running out of fuel seems a bit antiquated for a young van, i would have thought some as simple as a priming bulb along the line could rule all this out.

i'll try those suggestions and get back to you, i'll leave the van lying over night to see if air gets in.
thanks again

[crazyscoot]

Ive ran out of diesel a couple of times and ive never had to bleed the system? just keep turning it over and a minute later she fires. I'm not 100% but do you have to bleed a Di engine??

[MrMPuk]

You'll flatten a battery on a Di before it self bleeds, you must have been lucky!

[crazyscoot]

You'll flatten a battery on a Di before it self bleeds, you must have been lucky!

err....no, you are correct MrM! remember the story i wrote some time ago when i ran out od diesel and ended up at the football managers house! Then got a flat battery!

[jason kennedy]

ye thats what happened the battery flatened b4 i got primed

[jason kennedy]

i filled the van up last night with fuel went for a drive and after about 5 miles it died again, i blew some air thru the pipes back to the tank, just to clear any blockage... went thru the priming proceedure.. cracking injector and filling the filter ect.. still wont start.. can anyone tell me what components go to make the trip for the diesel from the tank to the injectors and whats likily to go on me.

thanks

jason

[gemini]

did you change the filter?? also it could be a faulty solenoid or wire to it

[jason kennedy]

no i'll change the filter on tuesday, i live in the country side and no where is open on this bank holiday weekend, so i'll have to wake till then, i spoke to a machanic and he said the lift pump may be gone, is that solinoid attached to the lift pump or the sender unit, "i've suddenly learned these term over the last 2 days" u would think i new what i was talkin about??

[bazw]

the solinoid is on the injector pump(shuts of the supply to stop the engine ) and has a wire running to it to work it , have someone turn it on to see if you can hear it click ,if it does theres a good chance its working if it dont then its not or the supply to it has no power

[jason kennedy]

ok i'll get that tested while doin the test on the lift pump..greatful my friend,

thanks
J.

[TiredTourneo]

Just a thought, but check around the stop solenoid for any sign of leaking fuel. The O-ring seal (where the solenoid screws onto the pump) can start to break up and cause a very small air-leak but from past experience it can have a drastic effect. My van would run fine for a while then suddenly lose all power while doing 80 in the outside lane. Sometimes it would pick up again before I got to the hard shoulder, sometimes I would have to crank it over for 5 mins till it started again. Took a few weeks to trace the fault but I was glad it was something so simple! This may not be the cause of your problem but its worth a look and easy to check. Try to get someone else to turn it over while you look for any sign of fuel bubbling out around the solenoid.
Good luck.

[jason kennedy]

hi all
i got some info last night from a machanic to check the lift pump in the tank along with the sender unit.. and i took out the fuel tank and open the cap on top and guess what? no lift pump only a sender unit float etc., but i got it running and going to leave it sit over night and see do i lose the lift again and then i'll check the filter and filter housing and work my way along the line to the injector pump and see where air can be gettin in