Ford Fiesta (2002 - 2008) - 02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 11 Jun 2009 14:04
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - markyparky
Hi folks , my partners 1.4 TDCi is leaking air into the fuel system , especially when parked nose up on a slope. re priming the system with the manual primer solves the peoblem, but can anyone help by suggesting where/how the air could be leaking into the system , and how I can fix it.

Thanks Mark
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 May 2011 14:50
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - Tiff

Hi, I've exactly the same fault that you posted about - it appears there's either an air leak in the priming bulb or possibly the none return valve associated with it - could you let me know what you found please ?
cheers,

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 May 2011 16:02
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - jc2

Priming bulb on a TDCI?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 5 May 2011 09:46
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - Tiff

To be honest I couldn't tell you exactly which engine it is - diesels are a mystery to me. However it def has a priming bulb on the left hand side of the cylinder head. There's some clear pipework leading from it & I can see the fuel filling it up as I squeeze the bulb, once the system is full the van will run again.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 5 May 2011 11:20
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - 547HEW

Air ingress to the low pressure fuel system can be caused by poorly fitted fuel filters, and leaking John Guest connectors. (These are the push-fit connectors).

If the latter, I would start by working out where the vacuum is llikely to be highest (e.g. in the line from fuel filter to fuel pump) and applying the thickest grease you have to one connector at a time.

That way, when the air ingress stops , you will know which connector is responsible, and can replace it.

Of course, all this is fine in theory.....

You are lucky to have a priming bulb. They were deleted when the current Stage IV 1.4 TDCi Fiesta came out. (2009MY)

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 5 May 2011 14:15
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - Tiff

Air ingress to the low pressure fuel system can be caused by poorly fitted fuel filters, and leaking John Guest connectors. (These are the push-fit connectors).

If the latter, I would start by working out where the vacuum is llikely to be highest (e.g. in the line from fuel filter to fuel pump) and applying the thickest grease you have to one connector at a time.

That way, when the air ingress stops , you will know which connector is responsible, and can replace it.

Of course, all this is fine in theory.....

You are lucky to have a priming bulb. They were deleted when the current Stage IV 1.4 TDCi Fiesta came out. (2009MY)

I've no time to spend on diagnosis, so I've ordered a replacement priming bulb assembly, hopefully this'll sort it, I'll post when I have a result.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 10 May 2011 10:15
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - Tiff

Changed the priming bulb & associated pipewok on Friday, air in fuel lines again on Sat.
What I did notice whilst working tho was that after changing the pipework it was a pain to prime - I took off the push fitting above the fuel filter & if I put my finger over the end it & primed up easily - so I'm guessing the leak is filter or further on in the sysytem - grease or pipe clamps it is I think to narrow it down further.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 19 Nov 2011 08:37
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - Tupski75

Changed the priming bulb & associated pipewok on Friday, air in fuel lines again on Sat.
What I did notice whilst working tho was that after changing the pipework it was a pain to prime - I took off the push fitting above the fuel filter & if I put my finger over the end it & primed up easily - so I'm guessing the leak is filter or further on in the sysytem - grease or pipe clamps it is I think to narrow it down further.

Hi, did you resolve the air leakage problem on the Fiesta? My wifes car has the same air leak problem on a 52 Ford Fiesta 1.4Tdci. We've had the fuel injector valves replaced and the hand primer along with all associated piping. When we try to start the car in the morning it wont go as loads of air in the fuel line. We use the hand primer to pull fuel through and it starts no prob. Its had a service every year including new air & fuel filters - this problem is a head scratcher. It would be great to hear from you, thanks.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 26 Dec 2011 22:01
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - MrEckerslikefromRamsbottom

And I've had this fault on two Fiesta 1.4 tdci's so it's obvious that the plastic fuel lines can be a problem. The Ford dealer fixed my first 2002 1.4 tdci priming problem, spinning me a story about one-way valves and bleed-off pipes, charging me a lot of money and returning the car with fuel leaking all over the road. When the same fault occured on my 2006 Fiesta, a local mechanic found that the pipe from the fuel filter to the priming bulb was cracked near to the priming bulb. (Fasten the priming bulb firmly to the side of the air-filter housing to prevent vibration cracking the pipe again!) It was letting fuel flow without leaking fuel, but when stopped, air leaked in and the fuel ran back to the tank. He used standard plastic fuel pipe for the repair. He showed me that standard-size plastic fuel pipe can be dunked in a mug of hot water and then slid over the Ford pipe. He cut the faulty pipe at the crack and slid the two ends into a length of new fuel pipe which cooled as a tight fit. Brilliant! And I've had no further trouble with it.

Happy New Year to all..

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 4 Jan 2012 18:51
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - WolfieCullen

Thanks for the advice. I have a similar problem with my 2002 1.4 TDCi and now know what to look for to try and solve it.

Also, hope you all had a good Xmas and New Year!!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 18 Feb 2012 17:00
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - biggie

That sounds exactly my car! 2005 TDCi 1.4.

I have the same problem since december!

We replaced the diesel filter, the high preasure pump and that little hand pump and that clean plastic tube still has air bubbles and no gas in it!

I will take it to the FORD Service Center on monday and see what they have to say

about it!

We'll let you know.

Rob from Hungary

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 24 Jan 2018 19:51
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - MrEckerslikefromRamsbottom

Oops - it's an old post.. I've replied once!

Edited by MrEckerslikefromRamsbottom on 24/01/2018 at 19:55

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 10 May 2017 20:23
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - dale bassett

know this was posted a few years back however i thought i would give my oppinion for others in the near future , i recently replaced injector seals on my tdci 1.4 fiesta and had the smell of diesel coming into the cabin so knew that diesel was leaking from the injectors anyway i successfully replaced seals only to find the car would start but after leaving it for a few hours i could not started so i checked under the bonnet and found that no fuel was going to the filter so checked the clear plastic fuel pipes and could see little air bubbles going through those pipes, so i squeezed the priming bulb to no avail it would not fill up no matter how many squeezes i gave it so i was at my witts end thinking is it the injectors etc but then when i was pressing the priming bulb i noticed i could hear air coming from it so i checked by putting my ear towards the pipes and could also hear air coming from it so i replaced them with new and bam it fired up 1st time just thought id share the issues i had and what caused my air leak worth a try if you can get hold of new pipe and priming bulb unit

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 9 Jan 2018 09:44
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - Mark Mogridge
2004 FORD FIESTA 1.4 TDCI LX

If have suffered intermittent problems starting this car, as described in the posts on this page...

Such as air bubbles/no fuel at all in the transparent fuel pipe when cold, when facing uphill, etc.

Every other morning this winter has been trauma getting car started.

The answer was to open the fuel tank cap before trying to start the car, you often hear a rush of air as the vacuum in the tank is filled. Problem solved.

Oh, and don’t use any throttle when starting.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 12 Oct 2022 10:00
02 1.4 Air leak into Fuel supply TDCi - CatralDave

Hi

Had same problem with my son's 2003 1.4 tdci.

If car was left overnight he had to prime system to remove air that had drawn in. The car started 1st time after priming.

Changed priming valve and all pipes, still the same. Ended up fitting a small non return valve in fuel return pipe.

Problem solved! Hasn't had to prime it for over a week now so Fingers crossed.

Edited by CatralDave on 12/10/2022 at 10:01

Reply | Report as offensive | Link