losing fuel prime

hi,

I have a Land Rover series 3 with a 2.5l Daihatsu engine fitted and have been having some issues related to losing fuel prime.

when looking at the fuel system it seems like it is quite unusual compared to the 2.25 diesel. it only has a feed line from the tank and the return line has been blanked off, it also has no lift pump or any kind of electric fuel pump. and the leak-off rail goes right back into the injection pump. due to the lack of lift pump, this means that I have to spray compressed air into the diesel tank in order to bleed the system and then rely on the injection pump to suck up new fuel, obviously this isn't a very reliable system and is prone to losing prime easily. I was wondering what the best fix would be? I am thinking of putting in an inline electric fuel pump, this would ensure that it won't lose fuel prime and would make it easier to bleed the system if needed, however I am a bit worried because the fuel flow wouldn't be very high due to the fact that it has no constant flow system and would end up burning up the pump or over pressurising the low pressure system and blowing a hose? does anyone have any experience with fitting an in-line pump like this. would the fuel flow be too little to work? any suggestions appreciated. thanks

Search facet pumps. These get to a pressure & stop running. Most TDI run less than 6psi so you should look for the same.
Various models of these and you can get cheaper copies

Was going to say the same, facet pump.

Have you had a look at how that fuel system works in a Daihatsu?

Where is the fuel filter? Often air getting in at filter seal or any connections allows fuel to drain back to tank.

tottot said:

Where is the fuel filter? Often air getting in at filter seal or any connections allows fuel to drain back to tank.

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fuel filter is the highest point in the whole system, mounted to the top of the valve cover, I have already replaced the filter and am fairly sure there isn't any leaks there. I think I'm going to get a facet pump as suggested above, then replace all the rubber lines for good measure as well.

I'd consider running a spill return to the tank, stops the fuel system from accumulating air. Also cools the fuel. Well, we might have a summer.......

Wildefalcon said:

I'd consider running a spill return to the tank, stops the fuel system from accumulating air. Also cools the fuel. Well, we might have a summer.......

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yes, I have considered running a spill line, however the current setup has the leak-off rail going back into the pump, I think that if I moved the location of the leak off line I would have to blank off the pump in order to stop air accumulating. additionally, the leak off rail is tiny and only outputs a drip or so every few seconds. what would you do?

Most older type diesel systems did not run a return to tank line.

View attachment 331444

its taken me a while to find the original manual in English for the engine, and I've attached the photo of the fuel system here.

it seems like my lady is rigged up completely different and comes in from the tank at the top of the filter housing. I'm not an expert, but it seems like it shouldn't be to hard to put it right?

I haven't mentioned before, but I'm only 16, and hope to make this land rover my first car. so I think I will replace all rubber lines while I'm at it because I can't have it cutting out while driving to college etc. the rest of the car is in quite good shape, galv chassis, new bulkhead etc. so would be a shame not to fix it.

any other things to check, before I go and fully replace the system?

thanks.

tottot said:

Most older type diesel systems did not run a return to tank line.

Click to expand...

yes, seems to be the case, I've got the full manual here.