downhill starting problem. diesel

["WEAZLECHIN"]

i have posted this weird problem before...
anyway if i park facing up hill,the van starts easy, but when i leave it downhill for a couple of days it takes ages to fire and will eventually kill my starter motor.
i have put a brand new filter on and changed the fuel line, but still the problem persists.
any ideas? its got me baffled..

[peasant]

You've got a tiny leak in the fuel supply somewhere. Gravity pulls the fuel back down to the tank in front and air gets into the line.

The hole is most likely not too far away from the injection pump. Gravity empties it and it then has got nothing else but air to pump.

["WEAZLECHIN"]

strange!! its brand new pipe (yesterday) from the tank to the pump.
the problem is the same as when the old pipe was on too

[oldiguana]

have a good look round the fuel tank owduck......a friend of mine had very similar symptoms and he had a knackered fuel tank....might not be the same solution owduck,but worth a look.........................

[weldore]

mine did it once while it was downward facing and it said i had 1/4 of a tank full..put a fiver in out a can and it started up

[kit]

Fit a non return valve between filter and pump, I did and no problems since.

[aliandgary]

I had exactly this problem with my '88 1.7 ky diesel. After new glow plugs, new fuel filter, manual priming pump from a Peugeot 406, you name it, I caught sight of a snippet of info in the wiki regarding a non return valve. £6 and ten minutes later the problem was solved. Just fit it into the fuel line that runs from the fuel filter over the top of the engine to the injector pump as near to the filter as you can. This will keep enough fuel from flowing back through the filter to get her started. My baby now starts on the button every time without fail. HAPPY DAYS!!!!

["WEAZLECHIN"]

2 of you have said the same thing now (getting interesting) where would i get one of these valves????

[kit]

I got mine from a diesel injector specialist garage, they crimped it on to a length of fuel line and I just had to connect it on to the pump and filter with jubilee clips, it is a clear line so good for seeing any air bubble ect.

Cost me £20 which I thought was a bit steep though.

[ringo]

I would have thought it was an air leak too - i had the same problem. Dont forget to check the return lines inbetween the injectors - if there's a leak there it could cause problems (but you normally can tell because diesel goes everywhere).

Good luck - it drove me nuts when i had the problem.

I was told to get a filter without the return line - i've had no problems since.

Ringo

[weldore]

but why down hill and not up hill

[peasant]

Because downhill your fuel flows back down to the tank, sucking in air behind it ... uphill it doesn't