I think my problem is more along the lines of the system not being airtight. So I'm guessing air is being drawn into the system which is displacing fuel. I think it's just a case of checking everything until you track down the problem. A slow process of elimination.
 
Bugger, no, it's not the leakoffs as it took me a good 30 secs of turning over this morning to get her going, and I had to floor the go pedal a couple of times.
if its possible put a clear plastic section or whole pipe to inlet on injection pump ,this will be useful seeeing if air is reaching pump, or you can slacken bleed screw and see if bubbles appear , these pumps arent self bleeding like tdis ,lift pump is common for letting air in though could be filter housing or any connection ,pipe etc ,cranking speed is vital as even with a good working pump and starter etc its only just enough to start it ,wear in injection pump or starter circuit can cause difficult starting ,ive had machine checked pumps that seemed ok when checked but enough wear in pump it wouldnt start with the slower speed given when cranking , you can check fuel to some extent by removing injector pipes from rear of pump and getting someone to crank it it should get even positive squirts from each outlet (delivery valve ),. check timing by putting pin in flywheel and removing plug on pump side behind plug is a disc with a slot in its edge you should be able o see slot fully line up with plug hole
 
Thanks for the tips James.

Just been thinking about this. I think before I do anything else, I will renew the injector seals, so that I can be sure these are good.

The reason I'm thinking along these lines is that once the engine is upto temp, I seem to have less or no problems starting and I know that the glow plugs are good, so maybe the injecor seals in ineffective when it's cold.

The dealer bodged a few things so I would imagine he has probably reused the ones I had in. While I'm on, I'll put some new fuel leak off washers on.
 
Got a few jobs done today. Removed inlet manifold and exhaust manifold so that I could remove one of the head studs that the dealer had snapped. Took me hours of moving it mm by mm, but it came out in the end. I was expecting a new stud in that area would resolve an oil leak, but it's still there!

I also removed the injectors. 1 and 3 were stuck in place. I replaced all injector washers. Whilst the injectors were put, I checked the torque on the headbolts. All good.

I changed the fan belt as the old one was slipping a little when cold from time to time.

I noticed the fuel union on 4 took a lot of tightening, and when I ran the engine it dripped occasionally. It took a lot of tightening to stop. Maybe this has been letting air back on. Certainly the injector seals were not airtight.

I will know tomorrow if any of this helped.
 
Got a few jobs done today. Removed inlet manifold and exhaust manifold so that I could remove one of the head studs that the dealer had snapped. Took me hours of moving it mm by mm, but it came out in the end. I was expecting a new stud in that area would resolve an oil leak, but it's still there!

I also removed the injectors. 1 and 3 were stuck in place. I replaced all injector washers. Whilst the injectors were put, I checked the torque on the headbolts. All good.

I changed the fan belt as the old one was slipping a little when cold from time to time.

I noticed the fuel union on 4 took a lot of tightening, and when I ran the engine it dripped occasionally. It took a lot of tightening to stop. Maybe this has been letting air back on. Certainly the injector seals were not airtight.

I will know tomorrow if any of this helped.
did you replace both washers for the injectors ,did you look at end of nozzles, you may need new pipes as they should only need nipping up, but it holds a pressure of 135 bar or1984 psi so i dont think airs getting in
 
Yeah, I replaced both washers in each injector. I did not realize the injectors operated at such high pressure! I could not find any of the smaller end washers, I know these are hard to get out as I've done it before, but hey appeared to be absent. If I've left any in and doubled them up, what would the effect be?
 
I'm going to try a new delphi lift pump. The existing one does not pump manually, I have tried loads of positions on the crank, but I never feel any resistance and I can't get fuel to appear at the bleed bolt on the fuel filter. I'll feedback.
 
Well, I've not got the lift pump, but when it comes I'll be keeping it as a spare.

I did some tests today with the lift pump with the injector feed line disconnected and it works a charm. Nice strong blast of fuel from the manual primer. I then went on to clean and PTFE tape all the high pressure joints.

Had the engine running nicely and then I had to go and nip up one of the injectors just a little bit more - cracked the injector pipe union nut. Bugger, should have left well alone.
 
Update and summary for anyone who searches in the future

Replaced fuel leakoff lines (leak on one section, replaced all)
PTFE on all fuel filter connections (no obvious leaks but worth a try)
Replaced starter solenoid (sounded weak and slow when turning over)
Replaced fuel injector pipes (these had been over-tightened and would not seal unless very tight, some evidence of slight weeping, under £2 each)
Replaced glow plugs (ones in use were from a blue box)

Result, 5 seconds on the glows and she starts from cold on the first turn from cold.
 
Good to here your problem is dealt with. Never trust new glow plugs, I recently fitted a set of cheapies in mine, the starting was much worse. When I testedthem only one worked!! I got Denso, two pounds a plug more expensive. Don't trust them unless you physically see them glow red!
About the little washers, scrape around with a screwdriver to loosen the carbon, and then remove the washers with a pencil. I have often removed several from used engines, or sometimes none!
 
Sounds like you did all the good trouble shooting, I had the same issue, mine ended up being the starter though, wouldn't start worth a crap when it was cold, checked the battery, that was good, fuel pump good, good fuel, new glow plugs and wires, but ultimately it was the starter it would not fully engage and made the click click sound too. Had mine replaced in Holland while on a 13 country tour last year.
 
Glad you got it sorted, and thanks for feeding back. Makes a useful reference that
 
For the glows, I got denso ones but they had to be wired in series - they still worked great but I had to make the wiring harness myself and add a resistor inline, so I was keen to get shot. I got the BM replacement set which seems to be working well so far.
 

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