1990 TD27T

[Guest KiwiMR2]

Hey guys

 

Popped around and collected my bro's 1990 Terrano (TD27T) to give it a clean and tidy up for him. It was really quite hard to start after sitting over night, turned over heaps and even with the chock out full it would slowly die down and stall. Once I got it down onto the flat it was much better but still I stalled while driving 3 times in 10 mins until I finally decided to just sit in it & wait for some time. After another 5 mins just sitting it was fine, perfect even. After cleaning it I started it again it it jumped to life straight away no probelm.

 

What could be causing it to struggle when cold?? Any idea's what we can do to sort it?? Im new to diesels so could use some help

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[sw]

sounds like air in the fuel rails

 

prehaps do a fresh bleed of the fuel lines & injectors (injectors while the engine idles)

 

if this keeps happening look at the rubber fuel lines for any old & deteriorated sections of hose, it would only take a hair line crack for air to sneak in.

 

diesel fuel systems run under vac. so any small leaks are gonna cause trouble.

[Guest KiwiMR2]

Ah ok, something to check out....thanks

 

One thing I forgot about & my bro doesn't know about is glo plugs. Aren't ya supposed to wait a little bit with the ignition on but no starting for the glo plugs to heat up?? how often would they need changing??

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[sw]

yeh your on the right track. before starting switch on to 'ignition' wait till the glow light goes off then crank.

 

HOWEVER glow plugs have absolutely nothing to do with how the motor runs. their sole purpose is for starting. i think the deal is they either work or they dont ie you dont have to replace them very often.

[Vsicks Pathy]

Diesel is waxy and thickens up when it is cold, making it harder to get through the rails until everything heats up. Just a thought.... Do the TD's have a glow plug/preheating arrangement? If not, It sounds like it needs one. The symptoms you describe are exactly what happens when trying to strart a diesel cold.

[Guest KiwiMR2]

Took it offroading today, again had some issues with stalling but only on hills......which is where the vehicle is living overnight, up a drive way on a slope.

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[Vsicks Pathy]

Took it offroading today, again had some issues with stalling but only on hills......which is where the vehicle is living overnight, up a drive way on a slope.

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

Shouldn't be an issue. It is injected, there is no float or needle and seat?

[Guest KiwiMR2]

Hey guys

 

Will have a check of the battery as well.......would be great if it's that simple

 

It definitly has something to do with sleeping on a slope for a period of time though as for a couple of nights he left it down on the flat part of the driveway & the next morning on both occasions it was far easier to start & once going didn't stall.

 

Any idea what releated to the level of the vehicle might cause this sort of issue??

 

I haven't had a chance yet but Im still to check the lines etc. but I will, just thought I'd mention the hill thing as it is definitly related to the fault

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[Guest KiwiMR2]

Took the pipes AFTER the turbo off & there is most definitly quite a bit of oil blowing through......engine oil level isn't dropping at all though. Seems to start & idle smoother with that pipe off, could that be flooding something with oil causing the stalling issue's etc.?

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[Guest KiwiMR2]

I also wonder if it is the fuel pump....with this new diesel?? Overnight it's "leaking" out of the lines etc. making it a mission to pump back through 1st thing etc.......which also might explain why once it's going it stays going well until it's left overnight.

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[sw]

kiwi

first things first. you need to check all your fuel hoses, the hill thing is pointing more and more towards it. have had friends in the past with exactly the same problem.

 

btw: its not the battery. diesels dont need a battery to run. only to start.

 

when you are talking about pipes after the turbo are you talking inlet or exhaust?

 

i very highly doubt it is the pump unless there is a visible leak from it.

 

the oil blowing thru is know as 'blow by' its not an uncommon thing. however i dont know why it happens or if its bad.

[exodus_68]

sw are you 100% positive on that glow plug statement?

 

While the engine is still cold the compression stroke alone does not produce enough heat for the diesell to ignite, so the glow plug is used to warm up the chamber and help with the bang. Obviously this HAS to happen at startup, but I was under the impression that the glow plugs were still helping until the engine was at operational temperature.

 

Glow plugs - Yeah you do need to wait for them. There is an orange light with a coil simble on it to the left of the steering wheel. Turn the car on and wait for the light to go out as sw said. You need to change them when they are stuffed. If they take more than about 30 seconds to heat up (light goes out) then either your battery is low on charge or your plugs are on their way out (or already gone).

 

Blow by on the TD27T is normal. There will be a lot of it in the intake pipes between the turbo outlet and the throttle inlet. You can get a oil catch can but make sure you keep the pipe diameter the same otherwise you will come into problems. The blow by is a 'side effect' of the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve releasing pressure from the crankcase, and in a diesel is normal. The TD27T seems to blow by a bit more than most though.

 

If you do decide to put an oil catch can in make sure you do not reduce the diameter of this pipe. The engine won't be ablt to release pressure sufficiently and you can blow you motor. I reduced the size of this pipe and was very lucky...the pressure that built up was enough to blow the dipstick out the side of the motor and bang into the bonnet. Only thing I had changed was the catch can so I by passed it and problem gone!

 

Personally I think your problem is caused by dead glow plugs...but don't take my advice as gospel because sw has made me question part of my theory.

 

Justin

[exodus_68]

Oh and if your fuel was leaking back like you suggest then you would be blowing a lot of white smoke at start up. Diesel and air in the fuel lines is a no no.

[sw]

interesting point with the glo plugs.

 

hmmm well i was quite sure the glo plugs had nothing to do with the running, once started, on the td27.

 

well in a way we are both right, just guess is a bit of a mystery as to when the spontaneoues combustion has enough heat to keep it self going.

 

[Indigent]

How long has it been since you drained the fuel-water seperator? I had some starting/running problems a while back, and my japanese mechanic told me to drain the seperator until some diesel came out, and then prime the filter back up with the pump. I never had a starting problem again after that. He also said to do it every other oil change.

[Diesel Boy]

How did you get on with this in the end??

 

Just to clear up the glow plug thing:

 

On a TD27, the Glow plugs turn off soon after light goes out. Pre-Combustion chambers have been heated to a temperature suitable to allow engine to run. The intake manifold heater then kicks in and heats the intake manifold and the air passing through it to enable the engine to warm up quickly. You can double glow the engine if its very cold outside, glo, turn key off then back on again and wait for the light to go out the second time.

 

Sounds to me like their is something funny with the pic up in the fuel tank, or a small sealing problem in one of the fuel lines. Easiesy way to check is to remoce the tank inpection cover from under the carpet in the rear of the vehicle, remove the intake fuel like and pressurise with compressed air (carefully) look for a gradual decrease in pressure in the fuel line (may need to rig up a pressure gauge too). Either that or get some one to folow the fuels lines looking for fuel spraying out. Could be something as simple as a loose hose clamp..........ya never know.

 

Cheers,

Pete.

[geordie4x4]

Another thing to check is that the ait breather into the tank is not blocked.

 

When you open the fuel filler cap, if you hear a hiss of air back into the tank then the breather is blocked. On cold mornings the air in the tank contracts creating a slight negative pressure and inhibits fuel supply. I have just seen a similar problem in a Holden Jackaroo here in Australia, when the cap was removed it started first time.

 

The problem was a small air filter on the air breather line at the top of the tank.

I think there is one on the Terrano tank at the top corner near the filler hose. It is not easy to get at from below so you could try through the inspection cover under the back carpet.

 

Pete your idea to pressurise the tank may also do the trick for the filter blockage.

 

Geordie

[exodus_68]

Pete,

 

Thanks for clearing that info up.

 

Justin

[Datsunman]

Just thought I'd add something on blow-by. PCV systems don't work as well on turbo engines as they do on n/a ones due to the intake being under positive pressure some of the time. In an n/a engine there is never positive pressure in the intake so the PCV valve can vent crankcase gasses fine but the system is less efficient in a turbo. This, combined with higher cylinder pressures results in more blow-by gasses accumulating in the crankcase whereupon the systen has to vent excess pressure back via the valve cover and intake piping, usually the way fresh air is drawn in. This is where oil enters the intake and accumulates in the piping. Although I've not done it on a diesel yet, you can add in a T-piece into the the breater piping and attach a couple of one way valves to allow excess pressure to vent to a catch can when the engine is under load rather than back into the intake.

 

-Ed

[Guest KiwiMR2]

Hey guy's....been a while since I posted so I thought I'd update. Well after it got so bad it could only drive 500 metres then completly stal (and on my way to get it looked at the skid plate fell off at the front & I couldn't take off one of the nuts holding it on the back) oh & the front left shouck stripped off the nut at the top so that was banging around in there he left it home up the drive way for about 3 months. I told him to start saving up some $ & I'll get some of my mates to hook him up some cheap repairs.

 

I had a friend go around to take a look at it...he went over the motor checking everything & came to the conclusion that the fuel pressure was low & the fuel pump really needed to be looked at. He checked the glow plugs & noted that the peice...not sure exactly what that sits over them was not on properly so also clipped it back on as it should be.

 

About 2 weeks ago he called me to say that he tried using it again & it's running great!! I went & picked it up & have had it with me till last night. No choke needed & it starts 1st time everytime even after sitting in the cold all night...pretty much back to normal! It's driving fine & although it has what looks like a big oil leak it's not actually going through the oil. I scored & replacement shock off trademe for $50 & had that fitted so that's all back to normal, had a wheel alignment & balance so it's much smoother, although he noted the front left whell is a little bit buckled & the tyre's were all a bit buggerd so he couldn't balance them 100%...also there was to much air in the tyres!

 

I got them to remove the skid plate & he can get it fitted with some brackets at a later date. Now however it seems the fuel pressure is to high, when you 1st start the vehicle it blows a lot of black smoke....after driving for 5-10 mins it settles down and only really blows a tad if you boost it hard. The guys mentioned the fuel pressure is now to high...the smoke is not oil it's fuel, he said there is to much fuel being pushed through the lines so when it's started that's why it's blowing so much smoke. So for some reason the fuel pressure is changing by itself....I assume I really need to get the fuel pump looked at yeah?

 

I wonder if it's just easier to get a replacement one of trademe? i have a replacement turbo coming over in my car from japan so that will hopefully sort the issue with il blowing through the turbo.

 

Cheers

KiwiMR2