3rd time-any ideas?

[scas]

yesterday my van chugged to a halt again, this time i have the stuff with me to fix it. basically theres a vacuum being created somewhere in the fuel system, so when it stops, its like it running out of diesel. taking the filter off and filling it fixes the problem-as depending on the speed i was going the filter either has a small bit of fuel needed or when it happened on the motorway . it was half empty. this fixes the problem for a month or so. as it goes i changed the fuel pump 2 weeks ago, so i can rule that out, i changed the filter and filter head the 2nd time it happened, so its not that. fuel pickup in the tank looks fine and the breathers in the tank are clear. has this happened to anyone else??

[gt_addict]

Fuel lines letting air in from the filter to the pump and letting it drain back somehow?

[scas]

Fuel lines letting air in from the filter to the pump and letting it drain back somehow?

but would that create a vacuum, as the 1st time it happened on the motorway, when i loosened the filter drain i could hear air being sucked in

[Altransit]

Fuel tank breather blocked, creating a vacuum in the tank ?

[scas]

:idea: Fuel tank breather blocked, creating a vacuum in the tank ?

There are 2 breathers and they're both fine, thing I don't understand is why does it only happen every month or thereabouts?

[scas]

one more bit of info on it- the second time it happened i was bimbling about town and it chugged to a stop, after about 3 or 4 minutes it just about started again and it got me about a quarter of a mile, this happened about 8 times untill i got to a garage. so the vacuum will slowly go away if left

[Altransit]

Just throwing ideas out there, as it has never happened to me.

Is it fuel level dependant? Could it be something floating around the tank, that randomly blocks the pickup?

[scas]

Just throwing ideas out there, as it has never happened to me.

Is it fuel level dependant? Could it be something floating around the tank, that randomly blocks the pickup?

yes thanks thats what im looking for-ideas-when i dropped the tank and removed the pic up, there was very little fuel in it-obviously-to make it lighter, i had a good look in there and could see nothing floating or on the bottom. 1st and second time, it did cut out when the fuel was nearly on the orange light, but yesterday the old feker was half full

[scas]

and almost exactly a month later its happened again wife recons its a female

[Punto443]

Knew a guy who had similar, it ended up being a leaf floating in the tank, it would randomly get stuck to the bottom of the pick up.

Only found it after taking the tank down, it would cut out and everytime pressure released it would fall off, could go weeks before happening again, or minutes, totally random.

After finding it, he cut a v in the pick up

[Chug]

you could try one of those hand primer bulbs and see if the fuel pulls up easily from the tank to the filter to eliminate blockage, and blowing an air line (if you have one) or by mouth back down the fuel line and get the missus to listen at the tank for a nice bubbling sound.

[scas]

thanks, yes im thinking its something at the bottom of the tank, as it can happen when its empty or full, even though i had the tank and pick up out a couple of months ago and saw nothing. so in my tiny head i think that if either of the pipes going to the pump were blocked-it shouldnt cause a vacuum in the filter so if the return to the tank was blocked-it wouldnt either, so it can only be the one getting fuel from the tank to the filter. does that sound right?
looking at the filter housing , the 2 pipes on the right are the tank ones, which one is the pipe coming from the tank?

found it-its the one at the front

[Chug]

IIRC front right from fuel tank
front left to the injection pump
rear right return to tank
rear left return from the injection pump

[scas]

Thanks, on a slightly different subject, why the need to send return fuel through the filter, or is it just straight through?

[Chug]

No I don't think it's straight through, although I could be wrong, maybe it returns to the filter to save the pump having to suck so much up from the tank? as its already been filtered.