Faulty Fuel problem

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:19 pm

Cheers demag, unfortunately i work 5 days a week, & in the meantime the other car eats fuel as soon as you sit in it, so i really need mine back on the road asap. Just wont have the time to go about trying to empty the tank myself.

I agree, i certainly could get the filter out & clean it (but no point if the tank is still contaminated), but i'll give that garage one last chance & then their out of luck as far as future business is concerned....

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:35 pm

If you've put fresh diesel in, the chances are that may now be OK and it's just the filter thats blocked.

All the garage will do is stick a pump down the hole and suck out the fuel that's in there. Then put new fuel in.

I doubt any garage will clean out the tank, let alone this one

To clean out the tank properly, you'd need to remove it and steam clean it. That plainly is not going to happen.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:24 am

Ok, i'll have a go at getting at the filter & seeing if it needs a clean, just akward as its going to be dark when i do it, & most likely pissing down with rain as well......

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:17 pm

Is it running yet?

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:15 pm

I've got tomorrow off work

, so i'll be having a go at sorting it myself. I'm hoping that it's not going to be peeing down like it has been.....

Do i twist the part where the pipes connect? or should i just wiggle it up & down to try & break the grip of the seal?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:30 pm

Read your Haynes manual - you'll see that the 2 caps rotate (anti-clockwise) a bit and them come out. Careful tapping using a piece of wood as a punch may help.

If you have a bulb type primer you could disconnect it and connect it to some suitable sized tube and suck the fuel out into a suitable container. Bulb type pumps can be purchased - something similar is sold for priming central heating systems by B & Q and Wicks for about £10.

Having got the tank empty - see what its state is and wipe up all the much and see what it is. If its solid fuel - it may dissolve in petrol or similar - if its general muck - you've got to get it all out.

Re-assemble when its all beautifully clean and only use fuel from sensible sources.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:33 pm

My haynes manual doesnt mention which direction, i did look honest. So cheers for the tip. I've got a syphon device already, so thats sorted.

Fuel from a reputable source? i guess if its not normal derv then you are correct. Just goes to show, try & save the environment & it cocks your car up.....

Thinking about it, bio-diesel has saved the environment in this case, car doesnt work, hence no fumes into the atmosphere...

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:42 pm

You've probably sorted it by now, so you'll realise that the centre piece with the fuel pipes does not move until you've unscrewed the locking ring that goes around the edge.

This unscrews in an anti-clockwise direction. Then the centre piece with pipes and filter will simply lift straight out.

toddao · Post by **toddao** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:16 pm

The EEC Energy commission has, just yesterday, done an about face on bio fuels - seems they're not such a good idea after all - just means more rain forest destruction and rising food prices.

Hope you get it sorted Mulley, I've had various similar problems myself and not altogther sorted but I no longer use bio diesel.
When you fill it up again put in some of that Wynns ( or similar) diesel cleaner which dissolves shit and gives the injectors a clean.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:17 pm

Success, 5hrs later including a test drive of 25 miles, it now works.

Ken, yes, i did notice the outer ring moved whilst the rest didnt, cleaned that up as it was caked in crud & felt crunchy as i was unscrewing it.

Unclipped both hoses, no diesel leakage (i'd already blown any fuel in the pipe back into the tank. Filter guaze was encrusted in golden coloured shite, blocking 90% i reckon, hot running water dissolved that gunk nicely. Bathed it in white spirit for that finishing touch.

Bought some jubilee clips to replace the one's i'd removed, managed to fit everything back together again.

Oh, i hand pumped approx 10 litres of scummy fuel out as well. My hands were aching afterwards.....

Re-primed the fuel into the system & dropped fresh derv (10litres) into the tank. Took car for a blast up the M1, no probs so far, i'll run it for the rest of the week & then check the fuel filter again.....

Hopefully i've seen the back of this problem, but at least i know what to do if it happens again, annoyed that i spent £25 getting a garage to do a crap job that i had to finish off myself....

Now just got to try & take approx 50litres of fuel back to the bio garage & get a refund as i'm not using that shit ever again....

I even tested some new fuel that they gave me, i filtered it, & guess what, it covered the filter in gunk, so i'm taking that back as evidence that their refining process clearly doesn't work.

This is a real shame, as i had wanted to be more environmentally friendly...

So a big thankyou for everyone's help/advice on this subject, hopefully may help others with similar probs....

demag · Post by **demag** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:57 pm

See! Told you you'd be ok and look now.........

RESULT!

Clock the mileage now and change the fuel filter in 500 miles. Renew it again don't wash it just in case there's still residue in the pipes.

Well Done I'm glad its turned out well.

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:09 pm

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:47 pm

Drove the car today, was a bit hesitant to fire up, but once underway only had a very slight hesitation in acceleration & when slowing down at idle the car's revs went a bit lower than expected so i picked up the throttle. On the way back from work, no worries at all. 40 mile round trip.

There is still crap in the tank as i could see it, i did put another 10 litres in to keep it slopping about to pick up more crud.....

Watch this space....

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:46 am

Changed the fuel filter yet again, i've now got 2 being bathed in white spirit to re-use. The latest one i pulled out was again polluted by the same shite that has been in the others.

So there is still plenty of crap in the tank, the car has been a little hesitant on occassion when accelerating hard, apart from that & poor starting, its been fine.

I'll drop another 10 litres in & keep this up for a bit, if the filters continue to pick up scum, then its going to be a case of getting the tank cleaned properly

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:41 am

Well done Mulley, STICK TO DIESEL! from now on dude lol