Diesel Starting Problems - pug 206

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Tue 29 Aug 2006 14:27
Diesel Starting Problems - pug 206 - clachnacudden
How do,

Not been on for a while which is always good news, but i have a quick (but familiar) question for the diesel heads out there.

Winter is coming, which means starting problems for my Pug 2001 206. You may have already guessed that my car starts up no problem in the summer.

I just about managed through last winter without major starting problems (avarage two turns of the key), but got the glow plugs replaced in January by a Pug Dealer.

Anyway, is there an obvious solution to this problem, that would ease my winter worries (New battery perhaps), or should I expect the nightmare starts again. My fear being that the Pug will fair to start this year!!!

Car has over 100K mostly motorway miles on the clock.

A worried pug dealer, is there any other Kind?

Thanks,

Craig
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Tue 29 Aug 2006 15:06
Diesel Starting Problems - pug 206 - landmarked

Presuming the engine is the older, non-tubocharged 1.9D (XUD engine), there are only a few possible causes of poor starting and no particular reason why you should expect problems. To summarise the usual suspects:

Glow plugs - already eliminated

Glow plug relay - you'd know about it even in the summer if this went

Compression - very unlikely on a 100K XUD unless it has really been thrashed /neglected and you would probably experience other symptoms

Air in the fuel line - probably the most common cause of poor starting on XUDs, but easy to diagnose and cheap to eliminate. Sometimes the fuel line, fuel filter seal or fuel leakoff pipes become porous with age allowing air into the fuel system overnight. This is not a problem once the engine is started as the fuel pump bleeds the air out automatically, but it can cause smokey / reluctant starting and lumpy idling which is more apparant on cold mornings.
If this happens, try pumping the fuel primer bulb (LHS of engine bay) until it hardens up. If the car now starts normally, this is your problem.

Battery - Test by exchanging / jump starting / charging overnight

You have a fundementally simple and reliable engine that will probably outlast most of the other mechanical components on your car, along with the HDI engines fitted to more recent versions of your car.
Don't spend too much time worrying about what might happen, deal with things as simply and cheaply as you can if they do.
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Tue 29 Aug 2006 21:59
Diesel Starting Problems - pug 206 - southcoast_flier
if the car has a heated fuel system, the 2 metal pipes that are the flow and return work loose and let in air, the unit is fitted just above the offside driveshaft, on the back of the engine, it bolts to the block with a couple of hoses and both fuel lines, if you look over the back of the engine where the fuel lines go, follow them down the back, if they go straight along the chassis to the fuel tank the heater system not fitted, have done loads of these, and i always araldite the metal pipes when changing engines etc, saves later probs
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