Diesel brain picking

[normandybrit]

1991 t3 1700 non turbo diesel - 130000 miles.
I wonder if any of the experts out there can help me with a problem I'm having with my van. The other day I started up as normal and 200 yards later the motor cut out. It would grudgingly fire up again but now seems to be on one (?) cylinder only and lots of white smoke. I tried putting fresh fuel to the pump in case it was duff fuel - no different. The motor runs with the throttle wide open but there's not a lot of revs and there's still the smoke. No oil obvious in either of the water tanks. Slightly cracking the feeds to the injectors shows there's fuel under pressure. I'm presuming it's either a duff head gasket or the head itself but would have thought that the change from good to crap performance would have been more gradual. Any thoughts please gents.........

[RogerT]

White smoke, or white steam?

[normandybrit]

Given the way it dissipates I'd say it was steam. No obvious loss of water from the filler tank though.

[dave friday]

try letting some fuel/water out of the fuel filter tap!

[normandybrit]

I thought it might be that. Opened the tap and nothing came out. I then disconnected the lines from the filter to the pump and filled the lines with fresh diesel. No difference.......

[dave friday]

no Diesel in the filter!!? have you run out of fuel?

[Oldiebut goodie]

You have to loosen the top also otherwise the flow will not happen usually as there isn't enough suction to pull the fuel from the tank.

[clift_d]

You could try disconnecting the hose from the filter that runs to the injection pump and sticking it in a container of fresh diesel. That would at least determine whether the problem was the fuel supply or the engine.

[bigherb]

Check the timing belt it might have jumped a tooth.

[jhollies]

The crank pulley bolt could of worked lose & then rocks on the key waring half the key away about a tooth are more,ask me how I know ?