'83 Diesel - No Start

I have an 83 240 diesel (Audi 5 cyl) that won't start.

It was running fine on the drive to work, while idling in front of the office, it suddenly started making a noise similar to fluid under pressure along with the diesel clatter. The exhaust was very rick (black).

Car sat for 9 hours, and now will not start.

any thoughts on what may make the fuel system suddenly go rich, while originally running normally?

ambient temperature about -15C

Reply to
brick
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It's a 6 cyl...

How's the timing belt? If it loses a tooth and slips slightly it could do this.

Reply to
James Sweet

Didn't know it had a timing belt, I thought it was a chain.

I'll have a look.

Reply to
brick

It has a belt on the front to drive the camshaft and then one in the back to drive the injection pump. Failure of the front belt will destroy the engine so it's a good idea to have it changed on or before schedule. Timing on these is very critical, and affected by the belt tension. A few special tools are required to replace the belt.

Reply to
James Sweet

Thanks, James. It is a belt, and is ok.

Still no start, no fuel at the injector. We cracked the injector nut and cranked the engine, and no fuel was present.

How do you check for the fuel pump operation, apart from checking fuses? There appears to be two pumps, at least there are two fuses, one 8 amp and one 16 amp. I can't hear a pump operating when the key is switched on.

Reply to
brick

As far as I know the only fuel pump in those Diesels is the engine driven injection pump. There may be a small pre-pump in the tank but I've never messed with that end. When the injection pump on the motor fails it's a very expensive repair ($800-$1200 for the part alone IIRC) unless you can find a good used one and you need a few special tools to time the new one. No reason not to replace the timing and injection pump belts at the same time.

Reply to
James Sweet

Brick are you sure that the pump belt is alright? If that breaks no damage to engine but no fuel gets pumped to the injectors. Have you changed the fuel filter, it may be full of water or crud and should be drained regularly by the tap on the bottom. There should be NO electric fuel pumps in the system. You should also check that the fuel cut-off solenoid is getting a supply when the ignition is on (wire goes to small dome-like object on top front body of pump).

Cheers, Peter.

Reply to
Peter K L Milnes

And if that breaks then the timing belt is not far behind, and that one

*will* wreck the motor.
Reply to
James Sweet

Thanks a lot guys.

Both belts look okay, (I am aware of the dreaded timing belt damage to interference fit engines). There is power to the fuel shut off solenoid when the key is in RUN position. This is critical, thanks Peter.

It is minus 40C these days, with threats of warming. We'll tow the car to our local Volvo enthusiast and have him look at it.

Be happy to share the results here, and really appreciate your input.

Reply to
brick

If it's -40, it's possible that the no-start is simply due to low compression from engine wear.

Reply to
James Sweet

That only leaves either the glow-plug relay or the wiring to the glow-plugs (including relay contacts which should pass around 36 - 54 Amperes of current (36A equals four plugs, 54A equals six plugs working fine). If the glow-plug warning light works as it should then it is likely to be the relay contacts or the 80A fuse (flat metal strip type on underside of relay by four-pin connector).

Cheers, Peter.

Reply to
Peter K L Milnes

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