P38 DSE cold start problems

Hello all,
After reading a number of old posts on this subject, it has been mentioned that fitting a one way valve on the fuel line between filter and engine may mix the problem.
Has anyone actually done it, and what sort/size valve was purchased and from where?
Thank you.




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Are you sure your glow plugs aren't knackered and that your leak off pipes are all in top notch??

I dont have an inline one-way valve and mine always fires first time from cold (touches wood).

When I had my glow plugs die they went quickly, it went from gradually not being able to start and having to crank for maybe 6-7 seconds to having to crank for almost 35-40 secs with it then only just spluttering to life with lots of black smoke.

-Wills

I changed the glow plugs only 6 month ago.
Not sure about the leak off pipes, or what i am looking for to be honest with you, best take a look at the rave manual !

RIB said:

I changed the glow plugs only 6 month ago.
Not sure about the leak off pipes, or what i am looking for to be honest with you, best take a look at the rave manual !

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The spill or leak back pipes take un-injected diesel back to the injector pump from the injectors. They are either hard (when cold) plastic or fabric covered rubber, they have a tendancy to get brittle with age, usually found by smelling diesel under the bonnet or seeing diesel well up around the injectors.

You can buy the right tubing from your local motor factors for around a fiver for half a metre.

RIB
i have had the same problems as you have had, I could see the fuel running back through the clear pipe. Since fitting a one way valve before the filter the problem was solved, About a fiver on ebay

what size valve did you use storm1, i assume 6 or 8mm.
Thanks

In my humble opinion you don't need a one way valve as this is disguising the problem which is that air is getting into the system from your leak off pipes, you only need a small crack in one of the pipes for air in the system to allow the diesel to run back down the pipes. It is a bit like putting a straw in your drink, if you keep your finger on the top of the straw no drink will run out when you lift it out of the drink, if you remove your finger to allow air into the top of the tube then the drink will run back out.

I had this problem on my car and allthough the pipes looked ok once I came to change them they were rock hard and cracking on the ends and some of the fabric covering was diesely and dirty meaning there were some leaks. When the engine is running you may get a very small weep of diesel out of the pipes which will gather around the base of the injector and when the engine is stopped this will allow the air into the system and the diesel will flow back gradually with the resultant cranking over and over for long enough to pull the diesel back up. Fit new pipes regardless, it's a 30 minute job and will only cost between £5 and £10 for the pipe.

If you aren't sure what I am on about, standing at the front of the car you will see a plastic cover that runs front to back along the centre of the motor held on with three allen screws, remove the screws and slide the cover out forwards. You can now see the injectors and you will see a series of rubber or fabric covered rubber pipes that link each injector to the next and then from the front one back to the pump. These pipes just pull off and can then be replaced. You will probably have some difficulty getting them off as they will have probably gone hard.

Change these pipes before you spend any money on anything else as this is the cheapest place to start and makes a dramatic difference.

I hope this helps.

That sounds pretty straight forward, i will certainly do this first.
Many thanks for your advice.
I have just noticed that the pipe that feeds the filter may have a very small leak at the first joint following the clip. So looks like this is now my first priority ! I hope i don't need to re-run the whole line back to the tank.