Thread: 300Tdi Starving For Fuel

Blowing smoke?

If the mechanic disturbed some settings while doing the seal then it could be getting very little fuel. A discussion worth having with the mechanic

Also have you checked for air ingress? Divert the return fuel to a bucket and see if it is full of air.

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did you take it to a mechanic or a diesel specialist?

depending on what hes done and how hes gone about doing it I could probably list about 05 things that might be out of spec that could cause the problem.

throttle cable not on properly
throttle plate not on properly
boost aneroid stuck in the low fuel position
pump timing severly retarded.
valve timing advanced
fuel shut of solenoid damaged, not opening properly

and thats just the stuff you can get wrong changing a belt and unmounting the pump without removing the head off the injector pump.

The car was taken to a Land Rover mechanic for the work (because it needed some other non motor work as well). I've showed the list to the mechanic and we're going to go through it all and get it sorted today (hopefully).

No smoke blowing from it other than the obligatory white puff on start up (which it's always done and from what I've been told is normal since these pumps go full rich on start up).

Return line showed no aeration or, just a good solid stream of fuel with no bubbles or such.

Valve and cam timing appear spot on, as does the pump timing.

Throttle cable is seated in the mount correctly and the plate wasn't removed or adjusted so I wouldn't imagine that would be the case. Will double check though.

Fuel shut off solenoid was pulled and checked and confirmed to operate as it should.

We're now both going over the thing and looking at write ups to see what is anything could have been changed/disturbed. The only thing touched or opened up on the pump once it was removed was the distributor head, and it was only backed off just enough to pull out the old seal them slide the new one over and into place (this while it was on stroke so the springs and everything inside remained right and in place.

Any comprehensive write ups or terrible shooting guides you knowledgeable folk would recommend? I think I should stick with hammering bolts and tightening nails with spanners, but I'm determined to learn how this bloody thing works and to see to it that it does so properly again.

there is a slight chance the the pump head slacking was done with the plunger at the bottom of stroke that the linkage inside the top cover plate has become skewed (some are only rods pushing on plate type connections) and is not permitting full travel.

there is a similar chance that the boost compensator has shifted out of position and is now stuck.

there is a similar chance that the cut off solenoid is not working properly..

in reverse order.

remove the fuel cut off solenoid, remove the plunger put the solenoide back and start it up, If that solves it you either have a failing solenoid, contamination in the plunger seat which may now require dismantling of the pump to clean up. (should be done off vehciel but can be done in situe if you have the know how)

remove the boost compensator cover plate, withdraw the plunger assembly and test the movement of the follower pin with a screw driver.


Why was the pump removed to change the head seal, its just as easy to do it in situe, what method was used to remove, reinstall and time the pump?

if the pump was removed you could have a disturbance in the fuel lines and if its lost prime it could be the lift pump not picking up enough to provide the feed to the IP.

If you're lucky this is going to turn out to be a restriction that has developed in the fuel lines from disturbing them while removign the pump the big clue to that is a faint ticking that develops while the engine is running and starving for fuel at the IP. It will get worse as the fuel demand increases and if the engine is permitted to over run in an engine braking condition the next application of throttle will result in no ticking and the availabilty of normal operation until the fuel pressure in the IP begins to drop off.



As a terrible shooting guide.

mag on, hold the stock to your hip, flick the safety off and to full auto if your weapon support the single/burst/full auto settings, hold the trigger in to its final stop and then yank the cocking handle.

Thanks for the feed back. I'll try to check that all out.

The mechanic found it difficult to back off the distributor head with it in place so since the the belt was off he pulled the pump. I don't know about the manner in which it was done other than he said it was done according to the workshop manual.

As to the terrible (trouble) shooting guide, well what can I say autocorrect got the better of me.

Well, after a full teardown and inspection of the pump and a seal kit put in upon rebuild and then some more head scratching, it's up and running right and not leaking fuel anymore. Yay!


The prognosis? We believe the banjo bolts for the fuel lines on the pump were switched. The return line banjo bolt has a much smaller hole than the feed line, so fuel was being restricted going into the pump. Blknight you should add that to your list of possible pump problems.

I would never have thought of that. When I remove a pump I either tie the banjo bolts and washers to the fitting they come from or screw them back in sans the banjo head.

It makes perfect sense though.