Hi all,
I have a Mondeo 1.8 TD (L Registration), which was until recently running fine. I was low on fuel a couple of Saturdays ago (Just on the red) so I put £20.00 worth of diesel in from Tesco. I drove home (approximately 20 miles) and it ran fine. I did not use the car again until the Monday morning when I drove it to friends (about 3 miles away.) I parked the car up his drive and went to work with him in his car. When we returned that evening I started my Mondeo and it was running really rough, (seemed as if it was only running on 3 cylinders, would not rev above 2000 revs and smoked a lot.) after nurturing the throttle for a while it picked up and revved ok, but when I pulled away it was down on power, to a point I thought it was going to cut out. I parked up again and I kept revving the engine until eventually the smoke cleared and the car seemed to regain power. I drove the car to the garage and bought a bottle of STP diesel injector cleaner which I put straight into the tank, the whole bottle to about half a tank of diesel, then drove home.
The next morning the car would not start so I automatically suspected the glow plugs. My friend having an account with LCP told me to order a new set of plugs and have them delivered to his, and he would fetch them round that evening and replace them. I tried various times during the day to start the car but it would not start. I also suspected that maybe the diesel I had bought may be the cause so I telephoned the Tesco store where I bought it. They said they were not aware of any problems with their diesel but gave me the help line number they were issuing when they had problems with their petrol. I telephoned that number and they basically said the same thing but added that since they had problems with their unleaded, they had kept regular checks on all their fuels.
My friend came round that evening with the new set of plugs and I tried to start the car to show him the symptoms and strangely it started!! Although it ran rough as it did the night before. I took the car for a long run so as the injector cleaner could do its work and it did seem to run a bit better.
The next morning it would not start again so the following Saturday (last Saturday) I changed the glow plugs and since then (a week ago now) it starts first time every time, hot and cold but it still runs rough, no power, smokes a lot on hard acceleration especially in low gears. A strange thing is the exhaust fumes do not smell like diesel, but more like a steam engine if that makes sense. Once the engine has warmed up it is better but still not right. Still thinking the diesel my be at fault I went to my local Shell station and put £10.00 worth on top of the Tesco diesel but that made no difference.
I have had the car for about 7 months now and I have not changed the diesel filter which I know could be the problem; I will do so as soon as I can get somewhere where they sell them but in the mean time can anyone suggest anything else that may be the cause?
Sorry for the long post but I thought it would be best to explain everything from the start to make it easier for you guys.
Thanks
Russ.
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Russ
I'd think less about glowplugs and more about the very common split diaphragm fault in the round diesel primer on top of the filter housing. The air leaks in round the button; so tape a rubber glove [absolutely air-tight] over it and see if that makes a difference.
The diaphragms in the aneroid unit on the lower front of the injection pump are prone to splitting too. That one's not such a DIY fix.
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Hi Thanks for your reply. The glow plugs cured my starting problem but I did not expect they had anything to do with the smoke and lack of power, think it is just two problems that appeared at the same time.
Now this is confusing!! I had arranged to go round to a friend this afternoon to have a look at a small diesel leak that I have had for a while, to see if we could finaly find out where it is coming from, past attempts to find it have failed. I had the front of the car up on his ramps so as I could lay under the car to see if I could see where the diesel is dripping from, which I still can not, it seems to be dripping from the rear of the pump. After driving the car of the ramps and a going inside for half an hour or so, I started the car up to drive home and it was perfect all the way home, no smoke and it was as responsive as it has ever been before the problem begain a couple of weeks ago. I am not counting my chickens and will waite for a few days to see how it goes but it seems strange to me that it should be ok after having the front of the car up for 15 - 20 mins. I will let you know how it goes.
Cheers,
Russ.
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Russ
Pump leaks are uncommon; though that aneroid unit is in that area. Check the plastic cover on it's central nut; it should be dry. I have seen the big blanking nuts leak on occasions too.
A far more common leak is the blanking "condom" on the end injector. They often split.
If you've got a diesel leak [it would have been nice to have known that] then that may be your misfire; any fuel leak could also be an air leak inwards.
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