With the 2.2Dt Espace there is no electric pump in the tank. Instead the injection pump sucks the fuel from the tank. This means that the entire fuel line is under suction and has vacuum in it.

There are numerous snap-action quick release couplings in the line and one can surmise that these couplings have rubber O rings in them which perish and go hard, one can also surmise that the couplings then leak. Bad starting occurs and although jump leads and a second battery will work for a while, eventually the starter motor will get lazy and need replacing. The car will start however when it is towed by a 4x4 so it seems that the injection pump needs to be turned quite rapidly in order to get enough suction to lift up the fuel. From what I know about other people's Espaces it seems that air in the diesel is the number one reason for scrapping the car.

Allegedly the pipe stubs on the Tank Unit can crack (it is a tank-out job to check this) Unfortunately the pipe stubs on my tank unit look OK. At this point the problem does not appear to be a single-point-failure and it now looks as if the fuel line might be sucking air in several places. To have the problem cured at a garage is very expensive as presumably they replace all the fuel lines with new. Allegedly it is a very common fault as the knowledgable mechanic at the reputable garage said that he had done hundreds.

On no account go to the disreputable garage who will charge way over £100 to replace the primer bulb which has nothing to do with the problem. (A friend with a Grand Espace had this happen to him)

I have not yet solved the problem on my Espace but it is hoped to bypass all those rather iffy French couplings with a single piece of SAE approved fuel hose.

Oh by the way, one of the scrap-yards around here only pays £68 per ton for old cars that are driven in. With such a poor return on dead cars the infernal machines need to be repaired.