Yorkie Died

[bullstanky]

My old york diesel was tough to start the other morning-coughing and sputtering like it wasn't getting enough gas. It died after a couple of missed starts. It then started back up. But, after a couple of hundred yards down the road it died again. When I popped the bonnet, I noticed there wasn't any diesel in either the primary or secondary fuel filters-not a drop. Does this mean the old minimec is dead? If so, what now?

[doggypaddle]

No, it probably means you have a blockage somewhere!
start at the fuel tank by removing the pickup pipe and checking the gauze is clear, an check the integrity of the pipework to the lift pump and filters, there could be a filter in the lift pump blocked too, or an air leak in the pipe(or split pump diaphragm). remove and clean out the sediment bowl and wire gauze(very prone to blocking), an replace the 522 fuel filters. it should all bleed through OK then and run again.
sounds like a case of fuel starvation(which may be why its been so slow for a while )
you may need to bleed to the 1/2" bleed screws on the minimec(with lift pump lever) and then up to the injectors (by cranking over)as well as the filter housings.
makesure the stopper is in and depress the excess fuel button on the stop lever(cold start) to aid bleeding to the injectors.
Its a good idea to drain a half gallon out of the tank too to let out any water and detritus.
If the lift pump seems not to work try turning the engine and trying again, they can stop "on the cam" so the primer lever is ineroperative
good luck, youre gonna smell of diesel by the time youre done!

[MinorMatt]

You have got diesel in the tank? If you havent filled up recently it might be worth putting a jerry cans worth in!

[bullstanky]

You have got diesel in the tank? If you havent filled up recently it might be worth putting a jerry cans worth in!

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Yeah, my first thought was, "son of bitch, someone's siphoned the diesel out of my tank". I dropped a full 3 gallon jerry can in just in case and cranked it over for a60 seconds or so, but still no fuel getting to the filters....that's when I called the tow truck

[bullstanky]

No, it probably means you have a blockage
good luck, youre gonna smell of diesel by the time youre done!

My wife already hates when I come in all covered in grease

I'm not terribly familiar with the nomenclature of the minimec pump. Do you know of a resource that diagrams the pump and labels the parts, or do I just start unscrewing things?

It think I'm going to start with the tank and work my way up. If the lift pump is the problem, will a retrofitted electric pump do the trick?

[doggypaddle]

You could use an electric pump but the AC pump will be easy to get parts for, they are very common.. The only thing you need touch on the minimec pump is the bleed screws, you need to hand prime to these before you attempt to start the engine, they arent self bleeding and you need to be able to hand pump clean fuel out of the bleed screws before attempting to bleed to the injectors or start the engine.
Most likely the problem is sh1t or a split pipe, with any luck, the primary filter gauze in the glass bowl on my york used to block with alarming regularity even though the tank was clean.
The bleed screws on the pump are the 1/2 inch head ones on the pump head below the injector pipes, the ones on the filter head is the one on the top that dont hold the filter on!
tha fact that the filters are empty suggests that there is a blockage, even with a failed lift pump a mimnimec pump will usually lift the fuel once its bled, (but once air is i the pipe thats it)the chances of there being a fault with the inline pump are very small.
if you are systematic and start at the tank,check all the pipework, clean out the gauzes, change the filters and thoroughly bleed by hand to get air free fuel from the filter head and inline pump, with the excess fuel button in the injector pipes should bleed themselves after a few 10 second blasts on the starter. if not undo the injectoer end ad crank until the fuel comes out there too.
When i had the transit with the york many times i had to stop on the side of the road to remove the glass bowl and clean the gauze, by the time i drove off there was usually a small enviromental disaster left on the layby floor
BLEED THOROUGHLY AND SYSTEMATICALY and it will go again and have a bucket to catch the pumped out diesel there could be a lot come out until its air free.

[redeemer]

Im with doggypaddleon on this one
He gave you a detailed description, and its most probably a blockage from the filters back to the tank. if you dont bleed up until air free diesel is coming the engine wont start.
As you will be smellin diesel , its worth to air blow the main and return pipes because if there has been a dirty supply of diesel, in the future problems may arise. We have a TL truck with leyland 420 engine and for a time it kept stalling out and stopping; after many effort it was a dirty banjo connection on the return pipe which caused all this!
good luck ! and Buy a heavy duty hand cleaner and you might get some more kisses

[bullstanky]

Thanks for the tips gents - I found a labeled diagram of the minimec at the following link, so I hope to only hit the bleed screws, and leave everything else untouched

Now to wade through the fuel system digging out 40 year old sludge....

http://books.google.com/books?id=Vqsr7g ... &ct=result

[doggypaddle]

the fordson one on pg35 looks similar to the transit one.
good choice dont pull anything apart after the 522 filter no sh1t should have gotten that far, i would guess its a blockage in or before the 522 or in the lift pump.