Air in Diesel fuel system -Advice / help please!

[LDV_Convoy]

Hi I have a 2002 Ford 2.4 Duraqtorq engine which is basically the transit engine fitted in my LDV Convoy Camper Van and am having problems with air in the fuel system, due to a faulty fuel gauge I ran her dry of diesel and since then have been having starting problems.
Added some fuel and changed the fuel filter. Primed the filter via the bleed valve and hand pump with the help of a clear tube and jar.
With a squirt of easy start she starts and runs for about 10mins then cuts out and wont re-start.
left overnight and re-attached tube to fuel filter bleed valve and after what seemed like a couple of hundred depressions of the hand pump of air bubbles cease again with easy start she starts and ran for approx 10 mins switched off and restarted ok but again after a few more mins just cuts out. Not sure what to try next any help or ideas?
I did wonder if there could be an air leak in the fuel lines but no sign of diesel leaks and would it run ok for 10 mins

[robbocop33]

LDV_Convoy said:

Hi I have a 2002 Ford 2.4 Duraqtorq engine which is basically the transit engine fitted in my LDV Convoy Camper Van and am having problems with air in the fuel system, due to a faulty fuel gauge I ran her dry of diesel and since then have been having starting problems.
Added some fuel and changed the fuel filter. Primed the filter via the bleed valve and hand pump with the help of a clear tube and jar.
With a squirt of easy start she starts and runs for about 10mins then cuts out and wont re-start.
left overnight and re-attached tube to fuel filter bleed valve and after what seemed like a couple of hundred depressions of the hand pump of air bubbles cease again with easy start she starts and ran for approx 10 mins switched off and restarted ok but again after a few more mins just cuts out. Not sure what to try next any help or ideas?
I did wonder if there could be an air leak in the fuel lines but no sign of diesel leaks and would it run ok for 10 mins

I remember i had this problem with a diesel, i cracked open each inector at a time till diesel came through air free.
Or get someone to tow you with your van in gear till it runs.

[TurboStella]

Don't crack injectors on a common rail system. The high pressure diesel that comes out can easily pierce the skin, and if it gets into the blood stream will kill you. Low pressure pre-common rail is fine, but not modern common rail

I don't know the layout of your van, but could it be a weak lift pump?

[300bhp/ton]

It’s probably sucking in air somewhere. Maybe try and resist the filter or replace again. And check for loose pipes/fittings. You might have to fill the filter with diesel too as it might not have a manual primer. Had this issue with a diesel X-Type.

[eskidavies]

I had this on an old vectra,ended up putting a non return valve in the feed from tank as it was syphoning back for some reason

[njw1]

TurboStella said:

Don't crack injectors on a common rail system. The high pressure diesel that comes out can easily pierce the skin, and if it gets into the blood stream will kill you. Low pressure pre-common rail is fine, but not modern common rail

I don't know the layout of your van, but could it be a weak lift pump?

Good advice, but, it won't be a common rail system on that engine if it's fitted in a convoy. The last time I ran a DI Transit dry of diesel I had to tow it in gear for a couple of miles before it would run, I've also had trouble with diesel filters not sealing properly on Transits so I would echo whats been said and check the filter.

[LDV_Convoy]

Hi thanks for everyone's input.
As I mentioned the fuel gauge is reading incorrectly is this likely to be linked in any way as to why the engine cuts out and the fuel is draining away from the manual pump assembly after 10 mins running?

I'm going to refit the fuel filter and crack the injectors if I get it running to see if this cures the air in the system

[Little Pete]

LDV_Convoy said:

Hi thanks for everyone's input.
As I mentioned the fuel gauge is reading incorrectly is this likely to be linked in any way as to why the engine cuts out and the fuel is draining away from the manual pump assembly after 10 mins running?

I'm going to refit the fuel filter and crack the injectors if I get it running to see if this cures the air in the system

Fit a genuine or premium make filter. I dont know why but cheaper filters can cause some problems on these engines. Never had a problem when I've fitted a quality filter.

[pcn1]

Dont know if this will help, but on my 2004 Diesel Grand Cherokee, its known firstly for the "O" rings on the low pressure fuel lines (clear hard plastic tubes) to get old a brittle, and let air creep into the system. Happened to me and made starting a pain.
Then the actual pipes get to let air in around the preformed connections and a new set of pipes is the cure. Yep, happened to me again, although the jeep ran fine, I could still see little air bubbles in the pipes so bit the bullet and replaced them.
All good now.

[LDV_Convoy]

Hi I refitted the filter which is a Bosch element still refusing to start.
So popped into local Diesel specialist garage, they couldn't provide a mobile service but provided some advice as follows :
To pinpoint the fault they advised bypass the fuel filter assembly and the fuel lines to the WEBASTO heater so I bought 4mts of 8mm clear poly tube and connected the fuel line from the fuel tank direct to the fuel pump inlet, keeping the return pipework and blanking feed pipes on filter assembly.
It still struggled to start as large air bubble (18") could be seen in the clear temp 8mm fuel line.
Cracked injectors one at a time whilst friend cranked the engine and it eventually fired into life.
The strange thing is once running the whole length of clear pipe 3" air bubbles can be seen every 12" moving quickly along the line this was continuous for the 45mins I let it run for. The engine ticked over on spec @ 800 rpm despite this vast amount of air going into the fuel pump.
I dont understand how the engine can deal with this large amount of air but it restarts ok .

So now I have to switch back to the existing fuel lines and fuel filter assembly and see if it starts and runs ok..
I know normally fuel lines are not transparent so you wouldn't see any air bubbles but is this normal.. has anyone seen this or can understand why i have air coming from the fuel tank?

[robbocop33]

It's like what i said earlier, tow the van with it in gear till it runs. Sometimes having it on the move just forces it to clear itself.
It's a similar thing that easystart fluid does, just that kick the engine needs then the engine takes over and does it itself.

[GreenV8S]

LDV_Convoy said:

has anyone seen this or can understand why i have air coming from the fuel tank?

If it is not low on fuel then I would have thought the most likely reason was that you have a leak in a hose/connector/component which is under suction.

[LDV_Convoy]

Thanks for all your input shes back up and running, must have just been dirt in the fuel pump or some sort of air lock in the fuel pump