Air in Diesel after filter...

[Lazy-Ferret]

Took my car over to Suz's Dads house today, and while going up Reigate Hill on the M25, I lost power..

Tried a few things out, and it was not Limp Mode as the engine would still rev, and the engine would tick over fine, but when you asked for power, there was nothing there, and the car would actually slow down.

I managed to get it to the House, but it was hard work, and as it was snowing hard, tucked the front under his garage door to have a look.

I noticed a lot of air in the output pipe of the fuel filter, but nothing on the input. I can not see any leaks, and when I switch the car off, the priming pump stays hard. The filter holder has a a weird plastic bleed screw on the side, and when I opened it, a huge amount of air could be sucked in, so I re-tightened it, and that did seem to reduce the air a bit. I did it up as tight as I dared, and decided to take the car back home again, staying close the the hard shoulder, and could not get over 45mph.

It's freezing, and pouring down here, so I have not dug any deeper...

So, since the filter change was back in April, and and it's been running fine, I don't think the filter has started leaking, it could be the bleed screw, but again, why suddenly would it start to leak, so I was wondering if maybe, it could be a blockage further back, even in the tank, and the air being drawn is, is purely because the pump is sucking so hard, and as it can't pull up the fuel, it's pulling in air from the place of least resistance.

So my question is...

Do I need to disturb the tank pickup etc, by removing it, on the off chance, or could I prove the point, by taking off the input pipe from the filter, and use an airline to blow back down it, to see if it clears any debris away from the pickup, then if it runs fine for a bit, I will know it's muck in the tank, where as if it makes no difference, I will know it's the filter assembly... This reduces how much time I spend standing in the cold and rain trying to find out what is wrong.

Would this work, or will/could I mess something up? Any other ideas?

 

[solarman216]

To prove a restriction from the tank line I would remove the inlet to the filter and add a length of pipe and stick it in a derv container (at least 5 Ltr) and take it for a a short run, if performance is back to normal then investigate the tank line, if not bin the filter, Rick

 

[Banshee]

What brand is the fuel filter?

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

To prove a restriction from the tank line I would remove the inlet to the filter and add a length of pipe and stick it in a derv container (at least 5 Ltr) and take it for a a short run, if performance is back to normal then investigate the tank line, if not bin the filter, Rick

This is going to sound silly, but where would I put the fuel container? I take it, I would need a long enough bit of pipe to run out through the edge of the bonnet, and into the passenger foot well? Not sure I have anything here that will do the job.

What brand is the fuel filter?

Not 100% sure, but pretty certain it's a bluepoint one. Will have a look if the rain ever stops.

 

[Banshee]

This is going to sound silly, but where would I put the fuel container? I take it, I would need a long enough bit of pipe to run out through the edge of the bonnet, and into the passenger foot well? Not sure I have anything here that will do the job.




Not 100% sure, but pretty certain it's a bluepoint one. Will have a look if the rain ever stops.

As long as it's not a Boshi one from Milners you should be OK :thumb2

 

[solarman216]

Yes a pipe long enough to reach to the passenger foot well is good, no alternative, Rick

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Yes a pipe long enough to reach to the passenger foot well is good, no alternative, Rick

Cheers, looks like a job for Thursday.

Sent from my SM-T705 using Tapatalk

 

[macabethiel]

Turbo & Intercooler Pipework okay if you have one ?

On my r3mR I had a similar issue one time I found the turbo pipe had started to perish near the engine intake end so air was just not reaching the engine. There was a load of tape round the clamp end so it had been repaired before.

The hose was a fancy moulded shaped pipe with a small pipe connection on it, I did a temporary repair with some duct tape that worked for a couple of weeks until I could get a new one from Japan.

I bit the bullet and bought one from Nissan dealer for a hefty £122.22 as I did not have the time to make up Neoprene one.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

On my r3mR I had a similar issue one time I found the turbo pipe had started to perish near the engine intake end so air was just not reaching the engine. There was a load of tape round the clamp end so it had been repaired before.

The hose was a fancy moulded shaped pipe with a small pipe connection on it, I did a temporary repair with some duct tape that worked for a couple of weeks until I could get a new one from Japan.

I bit the bullet and bought one from Nissan dealer for a hefty £122.22 as I did not have the time to make up Neoprene one.

Ouch!!!

Thanks, I will check that pipe, but last time I looked it was still in nice flexible condition. Early on, when I first got the car, I did have issues with the pipes that link the intercooler to the turbo/manifold which would be similar, so know what that power loss feels like, this is much worse than that.

I have the clear fuel pipes, leading in and out of the filter, and in this case, it is massive bubbles that are actually in the fuel pipe as it leaves the filter area.

 

[Blocky10]

When I changed my fuel lines to hose, I pulled off the hoses engine end and stuck the airline on them to blow diesel back to the tank before removing them.
Just wondered if you doing that would clear ant debris or show up any leaks.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

When I changed my fuel lines to hose, I pulled off the hoses engine end and stuck the airline on them to blow diesel back to the tank before removing them.
Just wondered if you doing that would clear ant debris or show up any leaks.

Cheers, that's basically what I was asking in my first post, but I was not sure if blowing down the pipe might damage anything, like that anti-syphon valve thing above the rear axle, or if there were any non-return valves hidden in the tank.

 

[Blocky10]

Cheers, that's basically what I was asking in my first post, but I was not sure if blowing down the pipe might damage anything, like that anti-syphon valve thing above the rear axle, or if there were any non-return valves hidden in the tank.

Aw man. Never thought of that :lol
I've had no issues though:thumb2

 

[elty001]

Is it leaking any fuel from the water trap on the bottom of the filter?
I had a similar problem and it was the seals that had perished on the trap and started pulling in air.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Is it leaking any fuel from the water trap on the bottom of the filter?
I had a similar problem and it was the seals that had perished on the trap and started pulling in air.

I don't think so, but I will have a proper look over the weekend.