Club 80-90 Forums

Anyone any ideas whats fried on my engine to make it do that. I´ve had recently over heated the engine maybe and also not bleed it right and I´ve had a leaking injector pipe spraying diesel too, now sealed up ok.

It ran ok for 130 miles since all this and I stopped for 30 mins then drove another 20 miles and parked up for the night only in the morning it turns over but just won´t start, just coughs out medium grey sooty smoke.

Heres my original thread where langb20 has been helping me repair it and got it going and keeping me sane.

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76024" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks in advance no matter how bad it is, just need to know.

Cheers.

Head gasket
Cracked cylinder head
or glow plugs blown to bits

If it normally required glows to start, then take end off air-cleaner, apply hair dryer or hot air gun on medium/low for a few minutes, try to start..

Then if it starts and runs, can continue daignosis

This gets a round no glow plug problem

Leaky injectors or return pipes won't be helping much (and diesel is also combustible you know, when hot enough)

Its probably lost compression or starter isn't turning it fast enough...

Other than hair-dryer up inlet filter, get a tow start, and drive nice'n'steady you might make Santander yet... yes, if you can get on they'll tow you off (they'll have to!)
Is the driving on bit, so if you have to wait and turn off, arrange a tow on

Oh, check your oil by the way.. it'll have been using it a bit I expect, but don't overfill whatever you do


Sounds like van was not checked over properly

Try and get some sun/heat on to the engine, spray some wd40 into the inlet [to the turbo].
have you got the cold start lever out?
Carefull with the wd40 as it can melt plastic!!!.
Good luck.

Thanks for the replys, I did pull out the cold start lever for the first time ever as it was 7 centigrade and thats the coldest its been in since about last may. I´ve got a hire car and jump leads and turned it over and over but nothing. Its stuck at a rest over miles from anywhere so I can´t think of anyway to use a hair dryer, maybe try and find a 12v camping one but I always wait for the glow light to go out but sometimes forget and it always started ok. I´ll try the wd40 thing but I´d be spraying willy nilly really but might hit the right spot. Are glow plugs just as easy to change as spark plugs as I´ve never even seen one. If it is I´ll give that a go and then I´ve found a main dealer thats about 20km a way so a least thats an option but they´re not going to do much now till monday me thinks so i´ve some time to tinker.

Thanks again its sounding not a total disaster after all fingers crossed, cheers guys.

E D I T. ok i just read the wiki so i think I´ll pass on the glow plugs but try the wd40 and get some heat maybe the weather will heat up soon, cheers.

I had 3 glowplugs gone on me recently and it was very difficult to start. I found however that you need the cold start lever IN for it to catch and then pull it out immediately once it starts firing.

With the lever pulled it wouldn't start at all and with the lever in it would only fire occassionally but not stabilise.

Something else to tinker with if you're bored.

You should be able to feel heat in the cylinder hear around the base of one of the glowplugs.

Pull the air intake off, spin it over and give a SMALL squirt of easystart up the intake. If its going to go it'll go This is what the breakdown services do, just be gentle on the easystart otherwise it will blow the engine apart

Just tow it, you need to spin it to above 1000 rpm, maybe 2k, so 2nd gear and let the clutch only when above 15 or 20 mph

OR use calor burner/plumbers torch... remove filter and warm whole filter canister and air within it

if inlet air is hot it'll start..

OR use a BIG AA/RAC battery to keep it spinning for 3 to 4 mins, eventually it'll throw all the rubbish out and then they start, one cylinder just has to catch, then another... with two going it will clear all the rest out, including any bad ones...

Well I bit the bullett and bought some glow plugs from the vw main dealer (118 euros for four!) as I didn´t have much to loose. Good news I changed the one nearest the front of the van as that looked the easiest and was the one with the repaired leak and it started instantly. I did try the wd40 in the intakes first but no go but used it again so it all must of helped. Saying that this morning 6 degrees started instantly with no cold start lever. The plug wasn´t smooth like the new one but not pitted either but covered in black oily diesel but I wouldn´t know what a good one looks like. I´m going to fit the others when I get home as the 2 middle ones look quite difficult without taking the pipes off.

Thanks alot everyone I don´t know what I would have done without your help or this forum you´ve really got me out of a hole here. Now its Santander and find another main dealer to park next to just in case. I´m tempted to make a dash for Calais 600 miles since I´ve a paid for a ferry there but no I think I´ve used up all my luck on this trip and still got to get to Santander still but shes running sweet as ever and only another 100 miles.

Thanks again everyone,

btw I don´t know what glow plug means in Spanish but the parts girl couldn´t stop laughing. Either that or it was the fact I was paying 25 quid each. I just googled them and they´re about 7 quid online. I really I´m trying to stay away from those vw dealers.

Cheers.

The expensive ones usually last much longer than the cheap online crepe.

Good call

It often only takes one good one to get the thing firing then all the cylinders start running. and its often that No. 4 as its cyls 3 and 4 that have trouble with gasket leaking.
The difficult one to replace is the one under the pump, No.1

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... ug_spanner Borrow ?

To avoid losing the nut down behind the pump, maybe attach the busbar to glo first, which can also help position it, then open ended spanner or maybe one of these..

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... e_spanners

Keep an eye on water and oil levels now, will indicate if there is a probelm

You can test them by connecting up to a battery with jump leads to see if it glows, but wacth you don't burn yourself... bad ones usually look like they've been eaten away. A bad injector spray pattern can burn them away

Thanks mate and yep made it back last night after getting the ferry from Santander on Monday, everything still running smooth.

Now for some maintenance and a good look through the wiki as I just want to go back, cold, dark damp England doesn't agree with me or the van.

Cheers and thanks again.

yeehaa! glad you made it back to good 'ol blighty. don't forget to address that cooling water, now with all those flushes there can't be much antifreeze kicking about and all I can hear on the radio is how winter is here and it's zero C = busted block if it does freeze . Interestingly I just spotted that there's just ordinary water in my top-up tank behind the numberplate, would take some going to freeze and crack that, but better safe than sorry bet people don't check to antifreeze that bit of fluid!
best regards,
Brent

there's just ordinary water in my top-up tank behind the numberplate, would take some going to freeze and crack that,

They're know to crack I thought, have seen two that leak, whether frost or not don't know..