Faulty Fuel problem

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:53 pm

My car is now undriveable

I've been suffering with clogged fuel filters (i didnt know why) & the car has been down on power, fuel economy & will cut out on a regular basis. Its recently gotten terrible.

So i had the tank drained, however the mechanic couldnt access the tank from underneath the rear seats as he couldnt find the hole??? he reckons there isnt one there? i thought all BX's had a sender unit of some description residing there?

Anyway, so he drained it from the other end of the tank (not the best way apparently), he reckons there is still a bit in (how much, dont know???). So i plonked in 10 fresh litres to mix up with whatever is in there to hopefully pick up any crap to further clean out the tank.

However, the car drove exactly the same, flat out 40mph, occasionaly reaching 50mph, on off surging, but would eventually slow down & the engine would then cut out...

Mechanic said he checked the fuel filter & it was ok?? i will check it tomorrow.

Is there anything i can do to get the car running again? at the mo its scrap material as i cant drive it anywhere without being a mobile chicane....

I also went to the bio-diesel garage to find out about the fuel that i had dropped off last week that i thought may be contaminated & had been causing problems with my car...

They confirmed it was a bad batch of fuel & said that they would replace the fuel...

However, its cost me so far 1 fuel filter & £25 to drain the tank, plus i still cant drive the sodding thing, what can i do from a legal standpoint, basically i want the bio-diesel place to pay to fix my car as it was their fuel which has fucked things up right & proper.

You'll have to excuse my tone & language, i'm extremely pissed off about this....

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:17 pm

You've been to that f****** useless toss pot of a garage again

Get the back seat up.

Look for 2 black plastic discs under the insulation material.

The one nearest the the door (O/S) is the one you need up.

You'll see 2 rubber pipes with clips. Remove them.

Try to tap round the big plastic boss/nut type thing that holds the pick, filter assembly in position.

Lift out the filter and check it out.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:18 pm

Of course you can sue - the problem is that you'll have to provide evidence to prove your case - which will mean finding an expert and PAYING HIS FEE. If you win you might be able to recover the fee but as the claim is likely to be for under £5000 (awarded not claimed) generally no costs are ordered in favour of either side (except for court fees) its not worth the bother.

Oh the joys of environmentally destructive bio fuel.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:53 pm

Ken, this was a different garage i went to, but your comments still stand for the one you thought....

When you say tap, er with a hammer or?

I presume if i manage to get the pickup filter out, even if i clean it, wont it just get gunged up again?

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:00 am

It's like a very large diameter barrel plug. Sometimes they undo very easily. But if not, use a very dull tool or stick or something.

Once it's out, you'll have a better idea.

I converted a windscreen washer pump with a piece of rubber pipe for dropping in and emptying the tank.

If the filter is clear, I'm afraid it's probably damaged the pump.

Is it a Lucas or Bosch pump?

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:05 am

Bosch pump, & thanks for your advice, lets hope its not the pump, otherwise its going to the scrapyard...

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:10 am

You give up too easy

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:17 am

Limited knowledge, skills & tools = give up

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:24 am

I do hope it's not the pump. But even if it were, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

quite.

I have a really nice Lucas one here C/W injectors. Belongs to Mr Sleepy if everyone has their own.

tim leech · Post by **tim leech** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:02 am

Keep your chin up mate, everythings mendable.

demag · Post by **demag** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:41 pm

Hi MULLEY,

I posted in the Gallery section on your other post. Sorry Admin

I doubt its the pump yet. I would say pickup strainer is no1 suspect here.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:41 pm

Hi Demag, cheers for your reply.

Had a look today & managed to find the large plastic washer cap & even prized it off. Thought better with trying to mess with it though as there were a couple of those clip thingies on the 2 pipes, which i knew if i took off, they'd never go back on again.

Changed the fuel filter today & also blew down the fuel pipe to try & clean any potential crap from the suction pipe filter. That hopefully will mean i can at least drive the car to the garage again. I'll get them to clean the tank properly this time, & then with crossed fingers, that will be the end of my problems.....

I'll keep everyone updated on progress....

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:57 pm

I 'd avoid driving it to that particular garage.

How was the gauze filter?

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:50 pm

I didn't pull it out as i knew that once i had removed the pipes i wouldnt have been able to clip them back on with the metal clips that were already on, & then i would have been totally buggered.

The tank still has shite in it, as the fuel filter testified, so it does need to be re-drained & cleaned properly, so that will be the job of the garage that did a crap job to begin with....

I'm optomistic that once the tank & pipes have been cleaned properly, then the car will work fine again.....

How does it actually come out?, i did try pulling on it gently upwards, but it didnt move, does it unscrew? i didnt mess on anymore as i didnt want to break anything....

demag · Post by **demag** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:43 pm

MULLEY I agree with Ken, don't go back to that garage. They obviously don't understand the subtle nuances of the BX

This is quite straightforward to do, just give yourself a couple of hours and you'll breeze it!

Go to your friendly accessory shop and get a couple of jubilee clips to re-secure the pipes. Tell him they are for diesel pipes on a BX on the pickup unit. Better still get four, they're only coppers. Make sure you have a good size screwdriver that will fit the screw heads. (With a FLAT blade not a combination chisel/screwdriver

) Now if you can't get the original clips back on you can easily replace them. Mark the pipes and stubs before disturbing them but it should be obvious which way they fit. One is usually longer. It really is straightforward (smelly but straightforward!) I did my sons Pug 306 and the hardest thing was getting the lock ring to screw down square, took a few minutes just to double check it all went back ok. I used a pair of rigger gloves to get a good grip on the ring to undo it without hurting my hand. Not really difficult but the rubber sealing ring tends to grip everything. Once it moves it will undo easily. When you pull the unit from the tank go easy and just let it feed out. You might have to twist it to let it out. Once its out you will immediately see the mesh filter on the bottom of the pickup pipe.

Actually once the unit's out if you can get a few 5gallon drums and a pump you could get the suspect derv out yourself. I think you can hire inline pumps or Machine Mart might sell them to fit an electric hand drill.

The mesh filter is normally a push fit but I don't know about the Bx, should be. Its the same sort of shape as a cotton reel. Just clean it in your white spirit or petrol and reassemble. If its bad it will probably be caked in gunge. Check the pipes are clear as well.

Do it! If that's the problem and it fixes it I guarantee you will be over the moon with yourself afterwards and also saved 30-40 quid into the bargain.